Passover begins on Weds, April 8, 2020, at Sunset. As a Bible-believing Christian, you have read that, “And this day [Passover] shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever” (Exodus 12:14). This was a Commandment to the Israelites and the ‘fellow sojourners’ (people who believed that Yahweh was the one, true God . . . especially after Yahweh had proven himself against the idle idols of Egypt) who came out of Egypt with Israel.
If you did not read my last blog, entitled “Passover vs Good Friday”, then I recommend you read it before you read about the meal. The reason for celebrating is more important than the actual meal. Luckily, both blogs are relatively short.
The Seder (sēdher literally, “order” or “arrangement”) itself is based on the Biblical verse commanding Jews to retell the story of the Exodus from Egypt: “You shall tell your child on that day, saying, ‘It is because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.'” (Exodus 13:8)
Traditionally, families and friends gather in the evening to read the text of the Haggadah (a Jewish text that sets forth the order of the Passover Seder), an ancient work derived from the Mishnah (“study by repetition” or “to study and review”. It is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions known as the “Oral Torah”). The Haggadah contains the narrative of the Israelite exodus from Egypt, special blessings and rituals, commentaries from the Talmud, and special Passover songs.
Seder customs include telling the story, discussing the story, drinking four cups of wine (Each cup is imbibed at a specific point in the Seder. The four cups represent the four expressions of deliverance promised by God Exodus 6:6–7: “I will bring you out,” “I will deliver,” “I will redeem,” and “I will take”), eating bitter herbs and matza (unleavened flatbread), partaking of symbolic foods placed on the Passover Seder Plate, and reclining in celebration of freedom. The Seder is performed in much the same way by Jews all over the world. (Wikipedia)
There is nothing wrong with celebrating a traditional Seder, but the traditions and the rituals passed down seem a little excessive compared to what Yahweh commanded at the first Passover. Yahweh kept it simple and later commanded that it be celebrated every year so that future generations would know what He did to free the Jews from bondage in Egypt.
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. 8 And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. 9 Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; his head with his legs, and with the purtenance thereof. 10 And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; and that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire. 11 And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the LORD’S passover. (Exodus 12:3-11)
24 And ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to thy sons for ever. 25 And it shall come to pass, when ye be come to the land which the LORD will give you, according as he hath promised, that ye shall keep this service. 26 And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service? 27 That ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of the LORD’S passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses. And the people bowed the head and worshipped. (Exodus 12:24-27)
The meal, at a minimum is:
1) Roast lamb (not baked – lamb is very fatty and a baked lamb will make you sluggish . . . I know from experience) enough for all participating (no leftovers);
2) Unleavened bread (easy to carry without destroying it while traveling – like the bread we got in our MREs while I was in the Army) – Since Passover ushers in the Feast of Unleavened Bread, we can assume that they had enough to travel with initially; and
3) Bitter herbs – it does not specify what those herbs were and every website I visited listed different spices.
- I am awful with a grill, so I will include a friend’s recipe for smoked lamb at the end of this article. It was very yummy.
The rest of the meal is conjecture (generally based on the foods available in Egypt at that time), but these three items could have been the actual extent of the meal. Imagine you are hungry, but your time is limited – you may grab a quick burger on your way to work because you don’t have time for a complete meal. The sorrow of the Egyptians allowed the Israelites to leave their bondage, but that sorrow would no doubt transform to rage (which it did). They may not have had time to prep a meal and prep to depart.
Circumcision?
48 And when a stranger shall sojourn with thee, and will keep the passover to the LORD, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as one that is born in the land: for no uncircumcised person shall eat thereof. 49 One law shall be to him that is homeborn, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among you. (Exodus 12:48-49)
Before you rule out joining a Seder feast because you are not circumcised, remember that it is just a memorial and not an actual Passover. Circumcision will be required in the future when there is a House that Yahweh has put His Name to (literally US when we have our new bodies).
Circumcision is a commandment, but the Apostles decreed that new believers must be convinced in their heart (Rom 2:29) before having the mark in their flesh. The debate in Acts 15 is between believers who want the gentiles to keep the whole Law instantly (a ‘works’ based theology) and those that believed that faith should be taught first. James came up with a compromise when he commanded that the gentiles should commit to not doing a few ultra-nasty pagan rituals and then learn to do the rest of the Law over time during the weekly synagogue assemblies (Acts 15:19-21).
Paul’s letter to the Galations discusses this debate in some detail. It is a good read (as is the whole Bible) since the church still struggles with this debate today. I have broken down the Letter to the Galatians in a four-part blog if you want to understand more about the debate and why Torah observance is still a must for faith-believing Christians.
Those teaching that Paul instructs that circumcision was done away with have to explain why Paul later had Timothy (a Greek / Gentile) circumcised (Acts 16:3). Paul did not do things to please the people around him – his sole motive in everything was to do the Will of God. If you are uncircumcised, you should be convinced by scripture before going under the knife.
If the people hosting the Seder object due to your uncircumcision (or other reason), then try to find another Feast or host your own. It does not have to be as elaborate as the traditions have made it.
A traditional Jewish Seder does not take into account the sacrifice made by Yeshua, who was the perfect Passover lamb. Because of the death and resurrection of Yeshua Ha’mashiach (Jesus the Messiah – the ultimate Passover lamb), we have even more reason to want to celebrate Passover. No matter how you choose to observe this feast, make sure you focus on the reason for it and those that freed you from the bondage of sin.
18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; 19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: (1Peter 1:18-19)
21 What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. 22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. 23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:21-23)
Passover is celebrated for Yahweh’s act of saving Israel in Egypt and for Yeshua (the Passover lamb) saving all mankind, who have faith, through his sacrifice. Be sure to tell both stories during your feast.
Second Passover (Pesach Sheni)
Passover is the only holy day that allows for a second chance. You don’t get to choose which day you celebrate it, you have to meet certain conditions. This leaves less of an excuse for not celebrating Passover each year.
5 And they kept the passover on the fourteenth day of the first month at even in the wilderness of Sinai: according to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so did the children of Israel. 6 And there were certain men, who were defiled by the dead body of a man, that they could not keep the passover on that day: and they came before Moses and before Aaron on that day: 7 And those men said unto him, We are defiled by the dead body of a man: wherefore are we kept back, that we may not offer an offering of the LORD in his appointed season among the children of Israel? 8 And Moses said unto them, Stand still, and I will hear what the LORD will command concerning you. 9 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 10 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If any man of you or of your posterity shall be unclean by reason of a dead body, or be in a journey afar off, yet he shall keep the passover unto the LORD. 11 The fourteenth day of the second month at even they shall keep it, and eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. 12 They shall leave none of it unto the morning, nor break any bone of it: according to all the ordinances of the passover they shall keep it. 13 But the man that is clean, and is not in a journey, and forbeareth to keep the passover, even the same soul shall be cut off from among his people: because he brought not the offering of the LORD in his appointed season, that man shall bear his sin. (Numbers 9:5-13)
This, then, begs the question . . . “When can a practicing Mortician observe Passover?” Obviously, a partner and creative scheduling come into play.
Seriously, the carnage inflicted upon the Creation during the Tribulation and the Wrath will be so great, that it will take many months to bury all the dead. God has made a way for the grisly laborers to celebrate this Feast.
With all the “social distancing” and lock-downs this year, due to the Covid-19 virus, you may want to take advantage of the Second Passover so you can celebrate with family and friends. I plan to celebrate twice – with my family on Wednesday and again with my fellowship when it is safe to congregate again.
Smoked Lamb
In a freezer bag put 2 tablespoons of grapeseed oil 1 cup warm water 2 tablespoons of organic, no salt seasoning in the meat. Shake and allow to marinate for at least three hours in the refrigerator
Soak the smoking chips (hickory and pecan) overnight in water so that they are very moist when it’s time to use the smoker if you do not have that sort of time just after you start the meat marinating then you will want to start the woods soaking. I prefer the ones that are in chunks about the size of a ping-pong ball versus the ones that look like shaved yard mulch (you can generally get the wood chips wherever smokers are sold).
The trick to smoking is keeping the heat at about 235° to 250° using the vents on the side of the firebox to control the fire
About three hours of smoke will get the right amount of smoke on the meat but the meat will not be warm enough to serve – it will still be very rare, so you want to wrap it in aluminum foil if you want to continue to use the smoker to finish the cooking process or you’ll have to move it to a warm oven about 325°
Horizontal smokers are good because you can direct the smoke flow and you can keep the meat off the direct heat.
Remember the reasons for the season (all of Yahweh’s proscribed days are significant for at least two reasons – one at the time of the proscription and another when Yeshua came to Earth the first time or a future celebration when he returns to subdue and restore the Earth. Celebrate what the Father and His son have done for you and your Passover will be a success . . . even if you burn the lamb.