April 19, 2024 • 27 mins
Discover the profound echoes of an ancient story that has shaped millennia, as we journey through the Passover narrative - an epic tale of faith, liberation, and divine intervention. As your guide, I'll walk you through the pivotal biblical events that forever altered the course of Jewish and Christian history. From Moses' leadership to the fateful night that marked the beginning of the Exodus, this episode is an invitation to explore the deep spiritual significance and cultural impact of these historic moments.
Join us at our virtual table, where the scent of tradition and the warmth of memory blend into a feast for the soul. With insight from renowned scholars and religious leaders, we unravel the symbolism of the Passover lamb and the blood-stained doorposts, ponder the haste of a fleeing nation, and celebrate the enduring legacy of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Together, we'll uncover the layers of meaning within the Passover Seder and reflect on the command to rest and remember, connecting ancient customs to the rhythms of our present-day lives. This episode isn't just a retelling; it's a rediscovery of a story that continues to define and enrich the identity of generations.
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Speaker 1 (00:08):
Welcome to our Ancient Future Story, navigating
Scripture Through the Eyes ofFamily, where I share with you
biblical stories like a familymember would share a story
around the dinner table.
As children of God, we are apart of God's family and his
family story has a lot ofhistory.
Each week, we will take onestory and talk about it the
cultural, historical,geographical and sociological
(00:32):
impacts.
We will be looking at the storyfrom the perspective of our
ancestors, through the lens andancient times, in hopes of
learning more about our family.
This is our Ancient FuturesStory.
Welcome back to our AncientFutures Story.
(01:01):
I'm Vic and I am so excited tocontinue Moses' story with you
today.
Well, actually, today's storyis the story of every single
Israelite and Jewish personalive.
This story is, of course, aboutthe Passover.
Passover is the celebration andremembrance of the mighty acts
of Yahweh in Egypt.
This is the festival that iscelebrated to this day.
(01:23):
In fact, on April 22nd, jewishfamilies are gathering together
to remember God's mighty act inhistory.
But we, as Christ followers,can also look at the Passover
and remember the Last Supper andthe mighty acts of Jesus on the
cross.
So over the next few minutes, Iwant to guide you through the
purpose and the history ofPassover.
So grab your cup of coffee orsomething to drink and let's get
(01:44):
ready to dive into the historyof Passover.
So grab your cup of coffee orsomething to drink and let's get
ready to dive into the story ofPassover.
When we left off last time,egypt was in complete ruin.
Yahweh had proven himselfpowerful and defeated the
(02:05):
Egyptian gods.
But now Yahweh is setting up astatue with his people for all
generations, a way to neverforget what they have
experienced in these days.
But our story today is going tostart after the ninth plague.
But before the tenth plague,Yahweh comes to Moses and tells
them this month shall be thebeginning of months for you.
You shall start your yearremembering this day.
(02:28):
Tell all of Israel that thetenth day of the month, every
man shall take a lamb for hisfamily, but his family is too
small.
He shall partner up with hisneighbors and get a lamb to
share.
The lamb must be perfect,one-year-old, male, from the
sheep or the goats, and youshall keep it until the
fourteenth day of the month,when the whole congregation of
Israel will kill the lambs attwilight, then take the blood
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and put it on the doorpost ofyour houses you are eating in.
That night you shall eat thelamb roasted with fire, with
unleavened bread and bitterherbs.
Eat all of the lamb and letnothing remain until morning.
But if anything does remainuntil morning, it must be burned
.
And this is how you should eatthe meal with your belt fastened
, sandals on your feet, thestaff in your hand.
(03:13):
You shall eat it in haste, forit is the Lord's Passover, for I
will pass over the land ofEgypt that night.
I will strike down all thefirstborns, both man and beast,
in the land and I will executejudgment on the gods of Egypt.
The blood on the doorpost willbe a sign for you, for when I
see the blood on your houses, Ishall pass over you and no harm
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will come to your family when Istrike Egypt.
This day will be a memorial foryou and you shall keep this
feast to the Lord as a statuteforever, throughout all
generations.
For seven days you will not eatunleavened bread, and if anyone
eats anything with leaven in it, they shall be cut off from
Israel.
On the first day you must holda holy assembly.
No work should be done, exceptfor what is required to make
(03:57):
this meal.
This is the feast of unleavenedbread to the Lord.
Every time you celebrate thisfeast, remember how I brought
you out of the land of Egypt.
This is a statute forever.
You shall eat unleavened breadfrom the evening of the 10th day
of the first month until theevening of the 21st day of the
first month.
For seven days, there shall beno leaven in your home and if
(04:19):
anyone, whether he be nativeIsraelite or a sojourner among
you, if anyone eats anythingwith leaven in it during these
days, they shall be cut off fromisrael, for you shall only eat
unleavened bread.
Then moses called the elders ofisrael together and told them
all that god had told.
And he said when your childrenask you, what are you doing, you
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tell them this is the sacrificeof the lord's passover, for he
passed over the houses of thepeople of Israel in Egypt when
he struck the Egyptians butspared our lives.
Okay, pause.
I love how this conversationwith Moses and the elders of
Israel is in the past tense.
It hasn't happened yet, butthey are talking like it had.
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This is the statute forever.
Tell your children what Yahwehdid for you and how he spared
you when the angel of deathpassed over Egypt, when the
leaders had heard all of this,they bowed their heads and
worshipped Yahweh.
Then they went out and all theIsraelites did as the Lord had
instructed.
(05:22):
So that night the angel ofdeath came through Egypt and
passed over the Israelite homesthat had the blood on the
doorposts.
But there was a great cryacross Egypt, for there was not
an Egyptian home without someonedead.
Then Pharaoh summoned Moses andAaron in the middle of the
night and said Get out, takeyour people and your livestock
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and go serve Yahweh, as you haveasked.
So the Israelites gatheredtheir dough without leaven their
bowls and all their belongings,including all the gold and
silver, jewelry and clothingthey had gotten from their
Egyptian neighbors, and theIsraelites left Goshen.
They brought with them theirlivestock, both flocks and herd,
and their unleavened bread.
The time that the people ofIsrael lived in Egypt was 430
(06:05):
years.
At the end of those 430 years,to the day, yahweh pulled his
people out of Egypt.
Then Moses said to the peopleRemember this day in which you
have come out of Egypt, out ofthe house of slavery, for, by
(06:29):
the strong hand of Yahweh,brought you out of this.
Then Moses said to the peopleand he swore to your forefathers
you shall keep this feast forall generations and you shall
tell your children we keep thisfeast because of what Yahweh did
for me when I came out of Egypt, for you were rescued by the
strong hand of Yahweh.
This is a statute forever andthat is where our story ends for
(06:51):
today.
Yahweh charged Israel toremember this day for all
generations as a statute forever.
They are to remember thismoment and tell their children,
year after year, about whatYahweh did for them in pulling
them out of slavery in Egypt.
If you grew up in church, youmay or may not have heard this
(07:20):
story before.
It is usually one that getspassed over when telling about
God's rescue in Egypt, but thisstory is vital to understanding
of our Jewish brothers andsisters, and I want to mention a
few things that are importantfor us to know and will
hopefully help shape the contextof the story for us.
The first is location.
We know our story takes placein Egypt, roughly around 1446 BC
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if you take the early date, or1275 BC if you take the late
date.
As we have said many times overthe course of this series that
the pharaoh in 1446 BC wasThutmose III and the pharaoh of
the late date in 1275 BC wasRamses II, but when we left off
last time, egypt is in completeand total ruin.
(08:05):
The land is completely bare,the Nile is contaminated and,
the final straw for theEgyptians their legacy has died.
Egypt never fully recovers fromthe showdown with Yahweh has
died.
Egypt never fully recovers fromthe showdown with Yahweh.
They have some high points overthe centuries, but never again
become the superpower they oncewere.
Next I want to talk aboutPassover and its statue
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throughout all generations.
The Passover got its namebecause the angel of death
passed over.
The houses of Israelites hadthe blood of the lamb on the
doorpost.
But on every house in Egyptthat did not have the blood of
the lamb on the doorpost, thefirstborn son of man or beast
died.
But the Passover Seder cameabout because Yahweh wanted his
(08:49):
people to remember this moment,remember that he rescued them
out of slavery, that he redeemedthem to be his people and
established them in the landthat was not their own.
And the way God did this wasthrough a festival.
That's right.
God instructed all of Israel tothrow a party every year.
This would mark the beginning ofthe Jewish calendar, which I
(09:11):
love.
That God said your beginning iswhen I rescued you out of Egypt
.
Start every year withremembering what I have done for
you.
This was every singleIsraelite's testimony.
What if we started our yearremembering what Jesus did for
us?
What if we told our testimonyat the beginning of the year and
we remembered that day and weremembered it and held it sacred
(09:33):
, and every year, we told ourfamilies, friends and children
about the day that God rescuedus?
This is what Passover is to aJewish person.
This is a day for them toremember Yahweh and what he did
for their forefathers and whathe did for them.
He did for their forefathersand what he did for them.
(09:53):
To this day, every Jewishperson remembers the Passover as
if they themselves were rescuedfrom Egypt.
It is as much their story as itis their forefathers.
This is why God orders it to bea statute for all generations.
Tell your children and yourgrandchildren and your
great-grandchildren, year afteryear after year, whenever they
ask why do we celebrate this?
Tell them the story of howYahweh pulled you out of Egypt.
(10:17):
This is what Yahweh did for meand this is what he can do for
you as well.
Now, god told Israel to take aperfect one-year-old male lamb
from the flock and kill it andput the blood on the doorposts.
This may seem weird for ustoday, but killing of the lamb
was to symbolize a life for alife.
(10:39):
So the blood on the doorpoststook the place of the oldest son
inside the house.
This part we know.
But what you may not know isthat to sacrifice a lamb was an
abomination to the Egyptians.
This is why Moses tells Pharaohthey cannot sacrifice and
worship Yahweh in the land ofEgypt.
They must leave and go to thewilderness to sacrifice.
(11:01):
But why is killing a lamb fromthe flock an abomination in
Egypt?
That is a great question, andit goes back to the Egyptian
gods.
Of course, the god Amun is knownas the king of the gods.
He is closely related to Re,the sun god or creator god of
ancient Egypt.
In fact, they are often fusedtogether as Amun-Re, the
(11:22):
national deity of ancient Egypt.
Amun is depicted as a humanmale body with a ram's head.
Amun's name means the hiddenone and was thought to possess
invisibility qualities.
Therefore, he was often labeledas the god of the oppressed.
Now, who were the oppressed inEgypt?
Oh yeah, israel.
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But here is where it gets evencrazier.
Passover happens in the monthof Abib, the first month of the
Jewish calendar, but Abib isalso known as Nisan.
Any guesses what theastronomical sign of the month
of Nisan is?
That's right, aries, the ram.
So why is this important?
(12:06):
Well, the ancient Egyptianswould have believed that the ram
god, amun, would have been athis greatest strength during the
full moon of the Ariesconstellation path, and it's
during this that Yahweh tellsIsrael to sacrifice the lamb and
spread the blood on thedoorpost.
Can we just pause for a secondand think about the incredible
(12:27):
faith the Israelites had to havein this moment, about the
incredible faith the Israeliteshad to have in this moment, the
act of killing a lamb during themonth of Amun's greatest power.
The Israelites had to believe.
Three things were true.
Number one, they had to believethat Yahweh would actually pass
over their homes and they wouldbe saved from the angel of
death.
Two, they had to believe thatYahweh was greater and more
(12:49):
powerful than Amun.
And three, they had to believethat somehow Yahweh would rescue
them before the Egyptianskilled them.
Following God's instructionshere was a complete and total
act of bravery and faith.
So how does Yahweh commemoratethis special day?
He tells his people to take aweek every year to remember it.
(13:10):
And when you do, on the firstday of the feast, hold a sacred
assembly and do no other workother than what is required for
the Seder meal.
Why does God give them thisinstruction?
Because after years and yearsand years in slavery and working
nonstop, god is giving them thegift of having a day off.
This is also part of the reasonhe gives them the Sabbath, but
(13:34):
Yahweh wanted his people to takethe time to remember Egypt, but
also rest in knowing they areno longer there.
The next two main points that Iwant to talk about are going to
deal with numbers.
The first has to do with howmany people actually left Egypt.
Our Bibles say it was about600,000 men plus the women and
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children, which would be roughly2 million people.
However, if you remember what Isaid about numbers in the Bible
, sometimes our English doesn'talways have the best
interpretation of it, but thispassage and many other numbers
come down to this little Hebrewword, eliph, which can be
translated as a thousand, but itcan also be translated as clan
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or family, and if we translatethis verse as 600 clans of men
plus women and children, we geta number much closer to 6,000
than 2 million.
I tend to lean into this ideabecause there is no ancient
archaeological evidence to prove2 million people left Egypt at
(14:39):
any point in history, but thereis some evidence of a few
thousand leaving Egypt.
Nevertheless, we can all agreethat from the time Joseph moves
his family to Goshen, they wereonly 70 people, but now, leaving
Goshen, they are somewherebetween 6,000 and 2 million
people, and we can all agreethat this increase in number is
(15:02):
impressive.
Now, as for the other numberthat is debated in our Bibles is
how long Israel was actually inEgypt, and for this we have to
go back to Abraham.
When God is establishing acovenant with Abraham in Genesis
15, god says Know for certainthat for 400 years your
descendants will be strangers ina country not their own and
(15:24):
that they will be enslaved andmistreated there, but I will
punish the nation they serve asslaves, and afterward they will
come out with a great possession.
Now some scholars havesuggested that the strangers in
a country not their own could beboth Egypt and Canaan, and
these scholars believe that theyears of mistreatment started
with Hagar the Egyptian and herson Ishmael, who mocks Isaac.
(15:49):
And if this is true, then theIsraelites were only in slavery
in Egypt for about 215 years.
However, there are otherscholars who look at Exodus 12,
40 through 41 which says thetime that the people of Israel
lived in Egypt was 430 years.
At the end of the 430 years, onthat very day, all the hosts of
(16:10):
the Lord went out from Egyptthat day and they concluded that
Israel lived in Egypt for 430years.
That can mean from the timethat Joseph moved his family to
Egypt until the Exodus was 430years.
Now this does depend on whenand how you date the Exodus.
So let's break down both earlyand late date.
(16:32):
If we go by the early date in1446 BC, 430 years prior would
be 1876 when Joseph moved hisfamily to Egypt.
This does not count the yearsthat Joseph was in Egypt by
himself prior to moving hisfamily there.
So from 1876 until Amos I inthe new kingdom, who did not
(16:55):
know Joseph came to power in1550 was 326 years.
That means for 326 years Israelwas sojourners in the land of
Egypt, but they were not yetslaves.
But when Amos I came to powerhe enslaved the Israelites and
they remained slaves for thenext 104 years until the Exodus
(17:17):
in 1446.
But if we go by the late datein 1275 BC and add 430 years to
it, we get the year 1705 BC,when Joseph would have moved his
family to Egypt, then Israelwould have lived in freedom for
155 years before Amos I enslavedIsrael in 1550.
(17:40):
And then Israel would have beenenslaved for 275 years before
the Exodus in 1275 BC.
But either way, israel wassojourners in a foreign land for
400 plus years, just as God hadtold Abraham.
So each time we get together, wewill talk about how the story
points to Yahweh.
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In today's story, yahweh issetting up the Passover feast, a
way for the Israelites toremember what he did for them in
Egypt.
Every part of the Seder meal isa piece of the story and helps
Jews remember the Exodus andGod's mighty works.
In history.
They have celebrated this mealevery year on the 14th day of
the first month since leavingEgypt, and they have done it the
(18:25):
same way year after year, thatis, until Jesus flips the script
.
Now it is important for us toknow that Jesus does not change
the Passover.
He just adds more depth to itbecause he knew what he was
about to do and, just like allof his teachings, jesus tries to
tell his followers what isgoing to happen to him.
(18:46):
See, jesus is the mighty workof Yahweh in the New Testament
and, just like every Jewishperson remembers the Exodus as
Yahweh rescuing them fromslavery in Egypt.
We, as Christ followers,remember the cross and Jesus
rescuing us from our slavery tosin.
So how did Jesus flip thescript?
Well, for that you'll have tocome back next time.
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So, as we end our time together,I want to spend some time
reading the scripture from whichour story comes from today, in
Exodus 12 and 13.
I hope that as we read thistogether, in light of everything
we have learned, that thisstory will be illuminated for
you.
Let's read the Lord said toMoses and Aaron in the land of
Egypt this month shall be foryou the beginning of months.
(19:31):
It shall be the first month ofthe year for you.
Tell all the congregation ofIsrael that on the tenth day of
this month, every man shall takea lamb according to their
father's houses, a lamb for ahousehold.
And if the household is toosmall, take a lamb according to
their father's houses, a lambfor a household.
And if the household is toosmall for a lamb, then he and
his nearest neighbors shall takeaccording to the number of
persons, according to what eachcan eat, shall make your count
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for the lamb.
Your lamb shall be withoutblemish, a male a year old.
You shall take it from thesheep or from the goats and you
shall keep it until thefourteenth day of this month,
when the whole assembly of thecongregation of Israel shall
kill their lambs at twilight.
Then they shall take some ofthe blood and shall put it on
the doorposts and the lintel ofthe houses in which they eat it.
(20:15):
They shall eat the flesh thatnight, roasted on the fire with
unleavened bread and bitterherbs.
They shall eat it Do not eatany of it raw or boiled in water
, but roasted its head, with itslegs and its inner parts, and
you shall let none of it remainuntil morning.
Anything that remains untilmorning, you shall burn in this
(20:36):
manner.
You shall eat it with your beltfastened, your sandals on your
feet and your staff in yourhands, and you shall eat it in
haste.
It is the Lord's Passover, for Ishall pass through the land of
Egypt that night and I willstrike all the firstborns in the
land of Egypt, both man andbeast, and on all the gods of
Egypt I will execute judgment.
(20:56):
I am the Lord.
The blood shall be assigned foryou on the houses where you you
are, and when I see the blood,I will pass over you and no
plague will befall on you ordestroy you when I strike the
land of Egypt.
This day shall be for you amemorial day and you shall keep
it as a feast to the Lordthroughout your generations, as
a statute forever.
(21:16):
You shall keep it as a feastSeven days.
You shall eat unleavened bread.
On the first day, you shallremove leaven out of your houses
, for anyone who eats what isleavened from the first day
until the seventh day, thatperson shall be cut off from
Israel.
On the first day you shall holda holy assembly, and on the
seventh day a holy assembly.
(21:36):
No work shall be done on thosedays, but what everyone needs to
eat, that alone may be preparedby you and you shall observe
the feast of the unleavenedbread, for on this very day I
brought your host out of theland of Egypt.
Therefore, you shall observethis day throughout your
generations as a statute forever.
In the first month, from thefourteenth day of the month at
(21:59):
evening, you shall eatunleavened bread until the
twenty-first day of the month atevening, you shall eat
unleavened bread until the 21stday of the month at evening.
For seven days, no leaven is tobe found in your houses.
If anyone eats what is leavened, that person will be cut off
from the congregation of israel,whether he is a sojourner or a
native in the land.
You shall eat nothing leavened.
In all of your dwelling placesyou shall eat unleavened bread.
(22:22):
Then m Moses called all theelders of Israel and said to
them go and select a lamb foryourselves, according to your
clans, and kill the Passoverlamb.
Take a bunch of the hyssop anddip it in the blood that is in
the basin and touch the lentiland doorposts with the blood
that is in the basin.
None of you shall go out of thedoor of his house until the
morning, for the Lord will passthrough to strike the Egyptians.
(22:45):
And when he sees the blood onthe lentil in the doorpost, the
Lord will pass over the door andwill not let the destroyer
enter your house to strike you.
You shall observe the right asa statute for you and for your
sons forever.
And when you come to the landthat the Lord will give you, as
he has promised, you shall keepthis service.
And when you come to the landthat the Lord will give you as
he has promised, you shall keepthis service.
And when your children say toyou what does this mean by this
(23:09):
service?
You shall say it is thesacrifice of the Lord's Passover
, for he passed over the housesof the people of Israel in Egypt
when he struck the Egyptiansbut spared our lives.
And the people bowed theirheads and worshipped.
Then the people of Israel wentand did so as the Lord had
commanded Moses and Aaron.
So they did.
At midnight the Lord struckdown all the firstborn in the
(23:32):
land of Egypt, from thefirstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on
the throne, to the firstborn ofthe captive who was in the
dungeon, and all the firstbornof the livestock.
And Pharaoh rose up in thenight and he and all of his
servants and all the livestock.
And Pharaoh rose up in thenight and he and all of his
servants and all the Egyptians.
And there was a great cry inEgypt, for there was not a house
where someone was not dead.
Then he summoned Moses andAaron by night and said Up, go
(23:54):
out from among my people, bothyou and your people of Israel,
and go, serve the Lord as youhave said, take your flocks and
your herds, as you have said,and be gone and bless me.
Also, the Egyptians were urgentwith the people and sent them
out of the land in haste, for,they said, we shall all be dead.
So the people took their doughbefore it was leavened, their
(24:17):
kneading bowls being bound up intheir cloaks on their shoulders
.
The people of Israel had alsodone as Moses told them, for
they had asked the Egyptians forsilver and gold, jewelry and
for clothing, and the Lord hadgiven the people favor in the
sight of the Egyptians so thatthey let them have what they had
asked.
Thus they plundered theEgyptians, and the people of
(24:38):
Israel journeyed from Ramses toSuccoth about 600,000 men on
foot.
Besides women and children, amixed multitude also went up
with them, and very muchlivestock, both flocks and herds
, and they baked unleavenedcakes of the dough that they had
brought out of Egypt, for itwas not leavened because they
were thrust out of Egypt andcould not wait, nor had they
(25:01):
prepared any provisions forthemselves.
The time that the people ofIsrael lived in Egypt was 430
years.
At the end of the years, onthat very day, all the hosts of
the Lord went out from the landof Egypt.
It was a night of watching bythe Lord to bring them out of
the land of Egypt, so that thesame night is the night of
watching, kept to the Lord byall the people of Israel
(25:24):
throughout their generations.
Then Moses said to the peopleRemember this day in which you
came out from Egypt, out of thehouse of slavery, for by a
strong hand, the Lord broughtyou out from this place.
No leavened bread shall beeaten.
Today, in this month of Abib,you are going out and when the
Lord brings you into the land ofthe Canaanites, the Hittites,
(25:46):
the Amorites, the Hivites andthe Jebusites, which he swore to
your fathers to give you, aland flowing with milk and honey
, you shall keep this service inthis month.
Seven days you shall eatunleavened bread, and on the
seventh day you shall be a feastto the Lord.
Unleavened bread shall be eatenfor seven days.
No leavened bread shall be seenwith you and no leaven shall be
(26:09):
seen with you in all of yourterritory.
You shall tell your son on thatday it is because of what the
Lord did for me when I came outof Egypt, and it shall be for
you a sign on your hand, as amemorial between your eyes, that
the law of the Lord may be inyour mouth, for with a strong
hand, the Lord has brought youout of Egypt.
You shall therefore keep thisstatue as an appointed time,
(26:32):
from year to year.
Speaker 2 (26:37):
Thank you for listening to today's episode of
our Ancient Future Story.
I hope that you really enjoyedit.
This episode was written by me.
Vick harman music is embarkingon an adventure by evan mcdonald
.
Please support the show bysubscribing and rating us, and
if you want to know more or growdeeper, check out our website
at our ancient future storycom.
(26:57):
See you next time.
Bye.
Welcome to our Ancient Future Story, navigating
Scripture Through the Eyes ofFamily, where I share with you
biblical stories like a familymember would share a story
around the dinner table.
As children of God, we are apart of God's family and his
family story has a lot ofhistory.
Each week, we will take onestory and talk about it the
cultural, historical,geographical and sociological
(00:32):
impacts.
We will be looking at the storyfrom the perspective of our
ancestors, through the lens andancient times, in hopes of
learning more about our family.
This is our Ancient FuturesStory.
Welcome back to our AncientFutures Story.
(01:01):
I'm Vic and I am so excited tocontinue Moses' story with you
today.
Well, actually, today's storyis the story of every single
Israelite and Jewish personalive.
This story is, of course, aboutthe Passover.
Passover is the celebration andremembrance of the mighty acts
of Yahweh in Egypt.
This is the festival that iscelebrated to this day.
(01:23):
In fact, on April 22nd, jewishfamilies are gathering together
to remember God's mighty act inhistory.
But we, as Christ followers,can also look at the Passover
and remember the Last Supper andthe mighty acts of Jesus on the
cross.
So over the next few minutes, Iwant to guide you through the
purpose and the history ofPassover.
So grab your cup of coffee orsomething to drink and let's get
(01:44):
ready to dive into the historyof Passover.
So grab your cup of coffee orsomething to drink and let's get
ready to dive into the story ofPassover.
When we left off last time,egypt was in complete ruin.
Yahweh had proven himselfpowerful and defeated the
(02:05):
Egyptian gods.
But now Yahweh is setting up astatue with his people for all
generations, a way to neverforget what they have
experienced in these days.
But our story today is going tostart after the ninth plague.
But before the tenth plague,Yahweh comes to Moses and tells
them this month shall be thebeginning of months for you.
You shall start your yearremembering this day.
(02:28):
Tell all of Israel that thetenth day of the month, every
man shall take a lamb for hisfamily, but his family is too
small.
He shall partner up with hisneighbors and get a lamb to
share.
The lamb must be perfect,one-year-old, male, from the
sheep or the goats, and youshall keep it until the
fourteenth day of the month,when the whole congregation of
Israel will kill the lambs attwilight, then take the blood
(02:51):
and put it on the doorpost ofyour houses you are eating in.
That night you shall eat thelamb roasted with fire, with
unleavened bread and bitterherbs.
Eat all of the lamb and letnothing remain until morning.
But if anything does remainuntil morning, it must be burned
.
And this is how you should eatthe meal with your belt fastened
, sandals on your feet, thestaff in your hand.
(03:13):
You shall eat it in haste, forit is the Lord's Passover, for I
will pass over the land ofEgypt that night.
I will strike down all thefirstborns, both man and beast,
in the land and I will executejudgment on the gods of Egypt.
The blood on the doorpost willbe a sign for you, for when I
see the blood on your houses, Ishall pass over you and no harm
(03:34):
will come to your family when Istrike Egypt.
This day will be a memorial foryou and you shall keep this
feast to the Lord as a statuteforever, throughout all
generations.
For seven days you will not eatunleavened bread, and if anyone
eats anything with leaven in it, they shall be cut off from
Israel.
On the first day you must holda holy assembly.
No work should be done, exceptfor what is required to make
(03:57):
this meal.
This is the feast of unleavenedbread to the Lord.
Every time you celebrate thisfeast, remember how I brought
you out of the land of Egypt.
This is a statute forever.
You shall eat unleavened breadfrom the evening of the 10th day
of the first month until theevening of the 21st day of the
first month.
For seven days, there shall beno leaven in your home and if
(04:19):
anyone, whether he be nativeIsraelite or a sojourner among
you, if anyone eats anythingwith leaven in it during these
days, they shall be cut off fromisrael, for you shall only eat
unleavened bread.
Then moses called the elders ofisrael together and told them
all that god had told.
And he said when your childrenask you, what are you doing, you
(04:40):
tell them this is the sacrificeof the lord's passover, for he
passed over the houses of thepeople of Israel in Egypt when
he struck the Egyptians butspared our lives.
Okay, pause.
I love how this conversationwith Moses and the elders of
Israel is in the past tense.
It hasn't happened yet, butthey are talking like it had.
(05:02):
This is the statute forever.
Tell your children what Yahwehdid for you and how he spared
you when the angel of deathpassed over Egypt, when the
leaders had heard all of this,they bowed their heads and
worshipped Yahweh.
Then they went out and all theIsraelites did as the Lord had
instructed.
(05:22):
So that night the angel ofdeath came through Egypt and
passed over the Israelite homesthat had the blood on the
doorposts.
But there was a great cryacross Egypt, for there was not
an Egyptian home without someonedead.
Then Pharaoh summoned Moses andAaron in the middle of the
night and said Get out, takeyour people and your livestock
(05:43):
and go serve Yahweh, as you haveasked.
So the Israelites gatheredtheir dough without leaven their
bowls and all their belongings,including all the gold and
silver, jewelry and clothingthey had gotten from their
Egyptian neighbors, and theIsraelites left Goshen.
They brought with them theirlivestock, both flocks and herd,
and their unleavened bread.
The time that the people ofIsrael lived in Egypt was 430
(06:05):
years.
At the end of those 430 years,to the day, yahweh pulled his
people out of Egypt.
Then Moses said to the peopleRemember this day in which you
have come out of Egypt, out ofthe house of slavery, for, by
(06:29):
the strong hand of Yahweh,brought you out of this.
Then Moses said to the peopleand he swore to your forefathers
you shall keep this feast forall generations and you shall
tell your children we keep thisfeast because of what Yahweh did
for me when I came out of Egypt, for you were rescued by the
strong hand of Yahweh.
This is a statute forever andthat is where our story ends for
(06:51):
today.
Yahweh charged Israel toremember this day for all
generations as a statute forever.
They are to remember thismoment and tell their children,
year after year, about whatYahweh did for them in pulling
them out of slavery in Egypt.
If you grew up in church, youmay or may not have heard this
(07:20):
story before.
It is usually one that getspassed over when telling about
God's rescue in Egypt, but thisstory is vital to understanding
of our Jewish brothers andsisters, and I want to mention a
few things that are importantfor us to know and will
hopefully help shape the contextof the story for us.
The first is location.
We know our story takes placein Egypt, roughly around 1446 BC
(07:45):
if you take the early date, or1275 BC if you take the late
date.
As we have said many times overthe course of this series that
the pharaoh in 1446 BC wasThutmose III and the pharaoh of
the late date in 1275 BC wasRamses II, but when we left off
last time, egypt is in completeand total ruin.
(08:05):
The land is completely bare,the Nile is contaminated and,
the final straw for theEgyptians their legacy has died.
Egypt never fully recovers fromthe showdown with Yahweh has
died.
Egypt never fully recovers fromthe showdown with Yahweh.
They have some high points overthe centuries, but never again
become the superpower they oncewere.
Next I want to talk aboutPassover and its statue
(08:27):
throughout all generations.
The Passover got its namebecause the angel of death
passed over.
The houses of Israelites hadthe blood of the lamb on the
doorpost.
But on every house in Egyptthat did not have the blood of
the lamb on the doorpost, thefirstborn son of man or beast
died.
But the Passover Seder cameabout because Yahweh wanted his
(08:49):
people to remember this moment,remember that he rescued them
out of slavery, that he redeemedthem to be his people and
established them in the landthat was not their own.
And the way God did this wasthrough a festival.
That's right.
God instructed all of Israel tothrow a party every year.
This would mark the beginning ofthe Jewish calendar, which I
(09:11):
love.
That God said your beginning iswhen I rescued you out of Egypt
.
Start every year withremembering what I have done for
you.
This was every singleIsraelite's testimony.
What if we started our yearremembering what Jesus did for
us?
What if we told our testimonyat the beginning of the year and
we remembered that day and weremembered it and held it sacred
(09:33):
, and every year, we told ourfamilies, friends and children
about the day that God rescuedus?
This is what Passover is to aJewish person.
This is a day for them toremember Yahweh and what he did
for their forefathers and whathe did for them.
He did for their forefathersand what he did for them.
(09:53):
To this day, every Jewishperson remembers the Passover as
if they themselves were rescuedfrom Egypt.
It is as much their story as itis their forefathers.
This is why God orders it to bea statute for all generations.
Tell your children and yourgrandchildren and your
great-grandchildren, year afteryear after year, whenever they
ask why do we celebrate this?
Tell them the story of howYahweh pulled you out of Egypt.
(10:17):
This is what Yahweh did for meand this is what he can do for
you as well.
Now, god told Israel to take aperfect one-year-old male lamb
from the flock and kill it andput the blood on the doorposts.
This may seem weird for ustoday, but killing of the lamb
was to symbolize a life for alife.
(10:39):
So the blood on the doorpoststook the place of the oldest son
inside the house.
This part we know.
But what you may not know isthat to sacrifice a lamb was an
abomination to the Egyptians.
This is why Moses tells Pharaohthey cannot sacrifice and
worship Yahweh in the land ofEgypt.
They must leave and go to thewilderness to sacrifice.
(11:01):
But why is killing a lamb fromthe flock an abomination in
Egypt?
That is a great question, andit goes back to the Egyptian
gods.
Of course, the god Amun is knownas the king of the gods.
He is closely related to Re,the sun god or creator god of
ancient Egypt.
In fact, they are often fusedtogether as Amun-Re, the
(11:22):
national deity of ancient Egypt.
Amun is depicted as a humanmale body with a ram's head.
Amun's name means the hiddenone and was thought to possess
invisibility qualities.
Therefore, he was often labeledas the god of the oppressed.
Now, who were the oppressed inEgypt?
Oh yeah, israel.
(11:44):
But here is where it gets evencrazier.
Passover happens in the monthof Abib, the first month of the
Jewish calendar, but Abib isalso known as Nisan.
Any guesses what theastronomical sign of the month
of Nisan is?
That's right, aries, the ram.
So why is this important?
(12:06):
Well, the ancient Egyptianswould have believed that the ram
god, amun, would have been athis greatest strength during the
full moon of the Ariesconstellation path, and it's
during this that Yahweh tellsIsrael to sacrifice the lamb and
spread the blood on thedoorpost.
Can we just pause for a secondand think about the incredible
(12:27):
faith the Israelites had to havein this moment, about the
incredible faith the Israeliteshad to have in this moment, the
act of killing a lamb during themonth of Amun's greatest power.
The Israelites had to believe.
Three things were true.
Number one, they had to believethat Yahweh would actually pass
over their homes and they wouldbe saved from the angel of
death.
Two, they had to believe thatYahweh was greater and more
(12:49):
powerful than Amun.
And three, they had to believethat somehow Yahweh would rescue
them before the Egyptianskilled them.
Following God's instructionshere was a complete and total
act of bravery and faith.
So how does Yahweh commemoratethis special day?
He tells his people to take aweek every year to remember it.
(13:10):
And when you do, on the firstday of the feast, hold a sacred
assembly and do no other workother than what is required for
the Seder meal.
Why does God give them thisinstruction?
Because after years and yearsand years in slavery and working
nonstop, god is giving them thegift of having a day off.
This is also part of the reasonhe gives them the Sabbath, but
(13:34):
Yahweh wanted his people to takethe time to remember Egypt, but
also rest in knowing they areno longer there.
The next two main points that Iwant to talk about are going to
deal with numbers.
The first has to do with howmany people actually left Egypt.
Our Bibles say it was about600,000 men plus the women and
(13:56):
children, which would be roughly2 million people.
However, if you remember what Isaid about numbers in the Bible
, sometimes our English doesn'talways have the best
interpretation of it, but thispassage and many other numbers
come down to this little Hebrewword, eliph, which can be
translated as a thousand, but itcan also be translated as clan
(14:19):
or family, and if we translatethis verse as 600 clans of men
plus women and children, we geta number much closer to 6,000
than 2 million.
I tend to lean into this ideabecause there is no ancient
archaeological evidence to prove2 million people left Egypt at
(14:39):
any point in history, but thereis some evidence of a few
thousand leaving Egypt.
Nevertheless, we can all agreethat from the time Joseph moves
his family to Goshen, they wereonly 70 people, but now, leaving
Goshen, they are somewherebetween 6,000 and 2 million
people, and we can all agreethat this increase in number is
(15:02):
impressive.
Now, as for the other numberthat is debated in our Bibles is
how long Israel was actually inEgypt, and for this we have to
go back to Abraham.
When God is establishing acovenant with Abraham in Genesis
15, god says Know for certainthat for 400 years your
descendants will be strangers ina country not their own and
(15:24):
that they will be enslaved andmistreated there, but I will
punish the nation they serve asslaves, and afterward they will
come out with a great possession.
Now some scholars havesuggested that the strangers in
a country not their own could beboth Egypt and Canaan, and
these scholars believe that theyears of mistreatment started
with Hagar the Egyptian and herson Ishmael, who mocks Isaac.
(15:49):
And if this is true, then theIsraelites were only in slavery
in Egypt for about 215 years.
However, there are otherscholars who look at Exodus 12,
40 through 41 which says thetime that the people of Israel
lived in Egypt was 430 years.
At the end of the 430 years, onthat very day, all the hosts of
(16:10):
the Lord went out from Egyptthat day and they concluded that
Israel lived in Egypt for 430years.
That can mean from the timethat Joseph moved his family to
Egypt until the Exodus was 430years.
Now this does depend on whenand how you date the Exodus.
So let's break down both earlyand late date.
(16:32):
If we go by the early date in1446 BC, 430 years prior would
be 1876 when Joseph moved hisfamily to Egypt.
This does not count the yearsthat Joseph was in Egypt by
himself prior to moving hisfamily there.
So from 1876 until Amos I inthe new kingdom, who did not
(16:55):
know Joseph came to power in1550 was 326 years.
That means for 326 years Israelwas sojourners in the land of
Egypt, but they were not yetslaves.
But when Amos I came to powerhe enslaved the Israelites and
they remained slaves for thenext 104 years until the Exodus
(17:17):
in 1446.
But if we go by the late datein 1275 BC and add 430 years to
it, we get the year 1705 BC,when Joseph would have moved his
family to Egypt, then Israelwould have lived in freedom for
155 years before Amos I enslavedIsrael in 1550.
(17:40):
And then Israel would have beenenslaved for 275 years before
the Exodus in 1275 BC.
But either way, israel wassojourners in a foreign land for
400 plus years, just as God hadtold Abraham.
So each time we get together, wewill talk about how the story
points to Yahweh.
(18:01):
In today's story, yahweh issetting up the Passover feast, a
way for the Israelites toremember what he did for them in
Egypt.
Every part of the Seder meal isa piece of the story and helps
Jews remember the Exodus andGod's mighty works.
In history.
They have celebrated this mealevery year on the 14th day of
the first month since leavingEgypt, and they have done it the
(18:25):
same way year after year, thatis, until Jesus flips the script
.
Now it is important for us toknow that Jesus does not change
the Passover.
He just adds more depth to itbecause he knew what he was
about to do and, just like allof his teachings, jesus tries to
tell his followers what isgoing to happen to him.
(18:46):
See, jesus is the mighty workof Yahweh in the New Testament
and, just like every Jewishperson remembers the Exodus as
Yahweh rescuing them fromslavery in Egypt.
We, as Christ followers,remember the cross and Jesus
rescuing us from our slavery tosin.
So how did Jesus flip thescript?
Well, for that you'll have tocome back next time.
(19:09):
So, as we end our time together,I want to spend some time
reading the scripture from whichour story comes from today, in
Exodus 12 and 13.
I hope that as we read thistogether, in light of everything
we have learned, that thisstory will be illuminated for
you.
Let's read the Lord said toMoses and Aaron in the land of
Egypt this month shall be foryou the beginning of months.
(19:31):
It shall be the first month ofthe year for you.
Tell all the congregation ofIsrael that on the tenth day of
this month, every man shall takea lamb according to their
father's houses, a lamb for ahousehold.
And if the household is toosmall, take a lamb according to
their father's houses, a lambfor a household.
And if the household is toosmall for a lamb, then he and
his nearest neighbors shall takeaccording to the number of
persons, according to what eachcan eat, shall make your count
(19:54):
for the lamb.
Your lamb shall be withoutblemish, a male a year old.
You shall take it from thesheep or from the goats and you
shall keep it until thefourteenth day of this month,
when the whole assembly of thecongregation of Israel shall
kill their lambs at twilight.
Then they shall take some ofthe blood and shall put it on
the doorposts and the lintel ofthe houses in which they eat it.
(20:15):
They shall eat the flesh thatnight, roasted on the fire with
unleavened bread and bitterherbs.
They shall eat it Do not eatany of it raw or boiled in water
, but roasted its head, with itslegs and its inner parts, and
you shall let none of it remainuntil morning.
Anything that remains untilmorning, you shall burn in this
(20:36):
manner.
You shall eat it with your beltfastened, your sandals on your
feet and your staff in yourhands, and you shall eat it in
haste.
It is the Lord's Passover, for Ishall pass through the land of
Egypt that night and I willstrike all the firstborns in the
land of Egypt, both man andbeast, and on all the gods of
Egypt I will execute judgment.
(20:56):
I am the Lord.
The blood shall be assigned foryou on the houses where you you
are, and when I see the blood,I will pass over you and no
plague will befall on you ordestroy you when I strike the
land of Egypt.
This day shall be for you amemorial day and you shall keep
it as a feast to the Lordthroughout your generations, as
a statute forever.
(21:16):
You shall keep it as a feastSeven days.
You shall eat unleavened bread.
On the first day, you shallremove leaven out of your houses
, for anyone who eats what isleavened from the first day
until the seventh day, thatperson shall be cut off from
Israel.
On the first day you shall holda holy assembly, and on the
seventh day a holy assembly.
(21:36):
No work shall be done on thosedays, but what everyone needs to
eat, that alone may be preparedby you and you shall observe
the feast of the unleavenedbread, for on this very day I
brought your host out of theland of Egypt.
Therefore, you shall observethis day throughout your
generations as a statute forever.
In the first month, from thefourteenth day of the month at
(21:59):
evening, you shall eatunleavened bread until the
twenty-first day of the month atevening, you shall eat
unleavened bread until the 21stday of the month at evening.
For seven days, no leaven is tobe found in your houses.
If anyone eats what is leavened, that person will be cut off
from the congregation of israel,whether he is a sojourner or a
native in the land.
You shall eat nothing leavened.
In all of your dwelling placesyou shall eat unleavened bread.
(22:22):
Then m Moses called all theelders of Israel and said to
them go and select a lamb foryourselves, according to your
clans, and kill the Passoverlamb.
Take a bunch of the hyssop anddip it in the blood that is in
the basin and touch the lentiland doorposts with the blood
that is in the basin.
None of you shall go out of thedoor of his house until the
morning, for the Lord will passthrough to strike the Egyptians.
(22:45):
And when he sees the blood onthe lentil in the doorpost, the
Lord will pass over the door andwill not let the destroyer
enter your house to strike you.
You shall observe the right asa statute for you and for your
sons forever.
And when you come to the landthat the Lord will give you, as
he has promised, you shall keepthis service.
And when you come to the landthat the Lord will give you as
he has promised, you shall keepthis service.
And when your children say toyou what does this mean by this
(23:09):
service?
You shall say it is thesacrifice of the Lord's Passover
, for he passed over the housesof the people of Israel in Egypt
when he struck the Egyptiansbut spared our lives.
And the people bowed theirheads and worshipped.
Then the people of Israel wentand did so as the Lord had
commanded Moses and Aaron.
So they did.
At midnight the Lord struckdown all the firstborn in the
(23:32):
land of Egypt, from thefirstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on
the throne, to the firstborn ofthe captive who was in the
dungeon, and all the firstbornof the livestock.
And Pharaoh rose up in thenight and he and all of his
servants and all the livestock.
And Pharaoh rose up in thenight and he and all of his
servants and all the Egyptians.
And there was a great cry inEgypt, for there was not a house
where someone was not dead.
Then he summoned Moses andAaron by night and said Up, go
(23:54):
out from among my people, bothyou and your people of Israel,
and go, serve the Lord as youhave said, take your flocks and
your herds, as you have said,and be gone and bless me.
Also, the Egyptians were urgentwith the people and sent them
out of the land in haste, for,they said, we shall all be dead.
So the people took their doughbefore it was leavened, their
(24:17):
kneading bowls being bound up intheir cloaks on their shoulders
.
The people of Israel had alsodone as Moses told them, for
they had asked the Egyptians forsilver and gold, jewelry and
for clothing, and the Lord hadgiven the people favor in the
sight of the Egyptians so thatthey let them have what they had
asked.
Thus they plundered theEgyptians, and the people of
(24:38):
Israel journeyed from Ramses toSuccoth about 600,000 men on
foot.
Besides women and children, amixed multitude also went up
with them, and very muchlivestock, both flocks and herds
, and they baked unleavenedcakes of the dough that they had
brought out of Egypt, for itwas not leavened because they
were thrust out of Egypt andcould not wait, nor had they
(25:01):
prepared any provisions forthemselves.
The time that the people ofIsrael lived in Egypt was 430
years.
At the end of the years, onthat very day, all the hosts of
the Lord went out from the landof Egypt.
It was a night of watching bythe Lord to bring them out of
the land of Egypt, so that thesame night is the night of
watching, kept to the Lord byall the people of Israel
(25:24):
throughout their generations.
Then Moses said to the peopleRemember this day in which you
came out from Egypt, out of thehouse of slavery, for by a
strong hand, the Lord broughtyou out from this place.
No leavened bread shall beeaten.
Today, in this month of Abib,you are going out and when the
Lord brings you into the land ofthe Canaanites, the Hittites,
(25:46):
the Amorites, the Hivites andthe Jebusites, which he swore to
your fathers to give you, aland flowing with milk and honey
, you shall keep this service inthis month.
Seven days you shall eatunleavened bread, and on the
seventh day you shall be a feastto the Lord.
Unleavened bread shall be eatenfor seven days.
No leavened bread shall be seenwith you and no leaven shall be
(26:09):
seen with you in all of yourterritory.
You shall tell your son on thatday it is because of what the
Lord did for me when I came outof Egypt, and it shall be for
you a sign on your hand, as amemorial between your eyes, that
the law of the Lord may be inyour mouth, for with a strong
hand, the Lord has brought youout of Egypt.
You shall therefore keep thisstatue as an appointed time,
(26:32):
from year to year.
Speaker 2 (26:37):
Thank you for listening to today's episode of
our Ancient Future Story.
I hope that you really enjoyedit.
This episode was written by me.
Vick harman music is embarkingon an adventure by evan mcdonald
.
Please support the show bysubscribing and rating us, and
if you want to know more or growdeeper, check out our website
at our ancient future storycom.
(26:57):
See you next time.
Bye.
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