Yom Hey, Eve of Passover and liberation of many people

Today it is Yom Hey, the day before the most important day and period of the year. On the 13th of Nisan we may have the search for the leaven and tomorrow we come to remember the night that Jesus came together with his apostles to remember the Pesach or Passover.

2016 April 22 brings us the remembrance of the Fast of the First born (Hebrew: תענית בכורות, Ta’anit B’khorot or תענית בכורים, Ta’anit B’khorim) and the First Ceder Night.

14th of Nisan, 5776 = Erev Pesach

Pesach (Passover) begins at sunset on Friday April 22, 2016
and continues through nightfall on Saturday April 30, 2016 .

These days we are looking forward to the most important offering in history. In Scriptures we do have Positive and Negative Mitzvahs.  for the 14th of Nisan we remember the negative mitzvah or command 92:

We are forbidden to slaughter blemished animals as sacrifices
Leviticus 22:22 “You shall not offer these to the L-rd”

We are not allowed to slaughter animals that have blemishes for use as sacrifices (see also, Positive Mitzvah 61).

20 centuries ago a unblemished sacrifice was made by the lamb of God, the Nazarene Jew Jeshua who gave himself for the world.

Passover Seder table with an Esperanto Haggadah of Pesach Esperanto: Seder-tablo dum Pesaĥo kun Hagada en Esperanto (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

He had asked his disciples to  prepare all Seder items and food for the holiday meals before the onset of the holiday and Sabbath. He asked them also to hire and prepare a place where they could come together for the remembrance of the miracle which spared the firstborn Jewish sons from the plague which struck down the firstborn sons of the Egyptians. By right, this fast should be held on the anniversary of the day on which the miracle occurred: on the night of the fifteenth of Nissan. However, since the fifteenth is already Passover, and we do not fast on Festival days the fast is pushed back to the fourteenth when at dawn on Friday 22 April 2016 by the Jews only firstborns are required to fast.

Jeshua has become the first born of the new generation or of the new world. By him self giving himself as a lamb on the slaughter for God as payment for the sins of the world. The sacrifice offer had to be pure and that is what Jesus was. He always had loved the God of Abraham and always kept to This God’s Commandments.  Even in the most difficult period of his life, he only wanted to do God’s Will and not his own will. (Naturally if Jesus would be God he always would have done his own will, but the Bible tells us that Jesus is the son of God, who did follow up God’s and not his own will.)

Luke 22:39-44 (TS98)
39 And coming out, He went to the Mount of Olives, according to usage, and His taught ones also followed Him. 40 And coming to the place, He said to them, “Pray that you do not enter into trial.” 41 And He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and falling on His knees He was praying, 42 saying, “Father, if it be Your counsel, remove this cup from Me. Yet not My desire, but let Yours be done.” 43 And there appeared a messenger from heaven to Him, strengthening Him. 44 And being in agony, He was praying more earnestly. And His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

Before he started preaching his cousin had warned people already to look at this special man

John 1:29  (TS98)
On the next day Yoḥanan saw יהושע {Jehsua} coming toward him, and said, “See, the Lamb of Elohim who takes away the sin of the world!

It was this rabbi who was sent by god who was also prepared by God and already foretold before Abraham was born.

Zephaniah 1:7  (TS98)
Hush! in the presence of the Master יהוה {Jehovah}. For the day of יהוה is near, for יהוה has prepared a slaughter, He has set apart His invited ones.

Christians like Jews should commemorate God‘s kindness towards the Israelite firstborn; when Jehovah slew all the Egyptian firstborn males but spared their Jewish counterparts.

In a way the heathen or gentiles could be compared to the Egyptians, but know the blood was from a man, Jeshua, and salvation comes over all those who want to believe in that ransom offer, the Kristos or Christ Jesus.

Many abide by the custom that the father of a firstborn male who is under the age of Bar Mitzvah fasts in lieu of his son.

Whilst it is customary for all synagogues to organize a Siyum (Hebrew: סיום‎) or “completion” of any unit of Torah study, or book of the Mishnah or Talmud in Judaism, usually followed by a celebratory meal, or seudat mitzvah, a meal in honor of a mitzvah, or commandment, Christians should also come together in the manner Jesus did. They should take time to listen to the completion of a tractate of Talmud, and come to break bread with each other in remembrance of rabbi Jeshua taking the bread and saying those words we should write in our heart.

Luke 22:7-18 (TS98)
7 And the Day of Unleavened Bread came when the Passover had to be slaughtered. 8 And He sent Kĕpha and Yoḥanan, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover for us to eat.” 9 And they said to Him, “Where do You wish us to prepare?” 10 And He said to them, “See, as you enter into the city, a man shall meet you carrying a jar of water. Follow him into the house he enters. 11 “And you shall say to the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says to you, “Where is the guest room where I might eat the Passover with My taught ones?” ’ 12 “And he shall show you a large, furnished upper room. Prepare it there.” 13 And going they found it as He had said to them, and they prepared the Passover. 14 And when the hour had come, He sat down, and the twelve emissaries with Him. 15 And He said to them, “With desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before My suffering, 16 for I say to you, I shall certainly not eat of it again until it is filled in the reign of Elohim.” 17 And taking the cup, giving thanks, He said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves, 18 for I say to you, I shall certainly not drink of the fruit of the vine until the reign of Elohim comes.”

Today we still wait for that Reign of God to come, but we can see already much more light, because we can see lots of signs which are declared signs of the coming Last Days.

We invite you to be with us in prayer these days and to remember the liberation of the People of Israel and the liberation of the people given liberation by Jesus Christ his offering.

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Preceding articles in English:

Holidays, holy days and traditions

Seven Bible Feasts of JHWH

White Privilege Conference (WPC) wanting to keep the press out for obvious reasons

First month of the year and predictions

Entrance of a king to question our position #2 Who do we want to see and to be

Shabbat Pesach service reading 1/2

Who Would You Rather Listen To?

Focus on outward appearances

Preceding articles in Dutch:

 De zeven Feesten van God

Azteekse en Romeinse tradities die ons nog steeds beïnvloeden

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Additional reading

1. Solution for Willing hearts filled with gifts
2. Vayikra after its opening word וַיִּקְרָא, which means and He called
3. High Holidays not only for Israel
4. Commemorating the escape from slavery
5. 1 -15 Nisan
6. 14-15 Nisan and Easter
7. Days of Nisan, Pesach, Pasach, Pascha and Easter
8. Passover and Liberation Theology
9. Seven days of Passover
10. Living in the Wilderness
11. Getting out of the dark corners of this world
12. A Holy week in remembrance of the Blood of life
13. Around the feast of Unleavened Bread
14. The son of David and the first day of the feast of unleavened bread
15. Day of remembrance coming near
16. A new exodus and offering of a Lamb
17. Observance of a day to Remember
18. Peter Cottontail and a Bunny laying Eastereggs
19. Easter holiday, fun and rejoicing
20. Objects around the birth and death of Jesus
21. Jesus memorial
22. A Great Gift commemorated
23. Death of Christ on the day of preparation
24. Actions to be a reflection of openness of heart
25. Why we do not keep to a Sabbath or a Sunday or Lord’s Day #3 Days to be kept holy or set apart
26. After darkness a moment of life renewal
27. Deliverance and establishment of a theocracy

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