Gtcotr/ws041217
Today
is April 12, 2017 unless you are Jewish and then according to the Hebrew
calendar the date is Nisan 16, 5777.
This
date is a very important day each year. Let me give you a brief and important
look at why this date is important for Christians as well.
The
Book of Exodus gives the historical account of God delivering the Children of
Israel from Egyptian bondage as promised. God sent Moses to tell Pharaoh to
“let His people go!” Pharaoh refused and so a series of 10 plagues were
released by God upon the land of Egypt and the inhabitants excepting the Jews.
The Jews were given a special covering by God and as long as they followed the
instructions given them by Moses the plagues did not affect them.
The
10th and final plague was a terrible plague. The angel of death
passed through all the land of Egypt killing the firstborn child and animal
alike from the palace to the prison. The holy hope was to be covered by the
blood of a lamb. Moses instructed the Jews to do as God directed. Here were
their instructions as recorded in:
Exodus 12 KJV
1 ¶ And the LORD spake unto
Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying,
2 This month shall be
unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the
year to you.
3 Speak ye unto all the
congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they
shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their
fathers, a lamb for an house:
4 And if the household be too
little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his house take it
according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall
make your count for the lamb.
5 Your lamb shall be without
blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep,
or from the goats:
6 And ye shall keep it up
until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the
congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening.
7 And they shall take of the blood, and strike it
on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they
shall eat it.
12 For I will pass through
the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of
Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute
judgment: I am the LORD.
13 And the blood shall be to
you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood,
I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you,
when I smite the land of Egypt.
According
to Exodus 12:51, on that selfsame day the Lord brought the Children of Israel
out of Egypt. Reading the entire account from Exodus Leviticus, Numbers and
Deuteronomy, the Bible continues to give instructions as concerning this all momentous
time of the year and specifically today’s date on the Jewish calendar. God is
very date conscious and date connected.
The
killing of the Passover Lamb was commanded to be observed on the evening of the
14th day of Nisan which is during the full moon. The day following
is considered a special Sabbath whereupon begins the yearly Feast of Passover
which lasts for 7 days. The day after that special sabbath, the 16th
day of Nisan, begins what is referred to in the Book of Leviticus as the “Days of Omer”.
So,
today at sundown began the yearly recognition of the Days of Omer. Now what are
the Days of Omer and who cares … or to better put it, what difference does it
make to us?
The
Days of Omer count down the specific number of days between the Passover Feast
of Unleavened Bread and the Feast of Pentecost. Or in other words, God was
sending a message each year and inviting each one of His children to
participate in a few dress rehearsals which the Bible calls Feasts. Each one of
the 7 Feasts observed by the Children of Israel was a dress rehearsal and a
reminder of not only what God did in their history but also what God was going
to do in their future.
The
Passover Feast of Unleavened Bread pointed the Children of Israel to a time
when God would sacrifice a Passover Lamb and cover them with the Blood of that
Lamb so that the angel of death would pass over them. The Feast of Pentecost
which took place 50 days after the Passover Feast of Unleavened Bread on which
day God sent the Holy Spirit as recorded in the 2nd Chapter of the
Book of Acts.
Th
days between these two feasts are known as the Days of Omer – which are a
countdown to what God did on Mount Sinai, what He did in Jerusalem and what He
will yet do in the ultimate fulfillment with the release of a power the likes
of which this world has never seen! We can rest assured … God has a plan and He
has perfect timing!!!
Look
at how the Bible scriptures fit together … only God …
Exodus 12:6 And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the
same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it
in the evening.
Matthew 26:17 ¶ Now the first
day of the feast of unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus,
saying unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the passover?
Mark 14:12 ¶ And the first
day of unleavened bread, when they killed the passover, his disciples said unto
him, Where wilt thou that we go and prepare that thou mayest eat the passover?
Luke 22
7 ¶ Then came the day of
unleavened bread, when the passover must be killed.
8 And he sent Peter and John,
saying, Go and prepare us the passover, that we may eat.
9 And they said unto him,
Where wilt thou that we prepare?
10 And he said unto them,
Behold, when ye are entered into the city, there shall a man meet you, bearing
a pitcher of water; follow him into the house where he entereth in.
11 And ye shall say unto the
goodman of the house, The Master saith unto thee, Where is the guestchamber,
where I shall eat the passover with my disciples?
12 And he shall shew you a
large upper room furnished: there make ready.
13 And they went, and found
as he had said unto them: and they made ready the passover.
14 And when the hour was
come, he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him.
15 And he said unto them,
With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer:
16 For I say unto you, I will
not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God.
17 And he took the cup, and
gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves:
18 For I say unto you, I will
not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come.
19 And he took bread, and
gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body
which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.
20 Likewise also the cup
after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which
is shed for you.
Sound
familiar? I encourage you to read the rest of this account and how Jesus was
betrayed a few hours after that last supper by Judas to the High Priest,
arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane and judged. Later that same night Jesus
and through the next morning Jesus was taken to stand trial before Pontus
Pilate and King Herod before being beaten, mocked, led outside the city of
Jerusalem and crucified on Mount Calvary between two thieves.
Jesus
died on the cross as a sacrificial Lamb without blemish. He was buried in a
tomb in a nearby garden and then on the 3rd day, early on that
Sunday morning, Jesus was raised from the dead victorious over sin, death, hell
and the grave and He lives forevermore!
