Jewish Pasover Feast in the O.T. and Our Communion Today -- some thoughts.

 

Deuteronomy Chapter 16, Part I: Law of the Feast, especially celebrating Passover

Deuteronomy 16:1-17 – Gems and Thoughts from the Passage

The first eight verses of this chapter are very specific as to why, when, where, and how the Passover is to be observed annually. It makes me wonder whether or not we have strayed from God’s intent for the Passover, or the Communion Table remembrance after Christ’s last supper and subsequent death. Might we be observing it too often and it loses its power and impact on our lives and thus on the lives of others? Are we making it too easy for others who have not been brought out of their spiritual bondage to take part in it?

These and other questions are certainly deserving of some consideration. I know that what matters is that we who do observe the Passover or take Communion must do so solemnly fully understanding what God and His Son have done for us. I think of it this way: If a king has saved me and my family from ruin or the enemy and I have a chance to remember that act of his in his presence, in his court – will I insist on doing it my way, or follow every bit of instruction the king’s representatives have given me as to how to behave, what to say or not say, etc. I think the latter. How much more so when, in the presence of our Lord and God, we remember His saving us.

From verse 7 one could also surmise that the eating of the Passover lamb is an all-night event, not just a few moments during our services when we celebrate Communion.

Chuck Smith in talking about this chapter points to the need, mentioned twice – verse 11 and verse 14 – for us to “rejoice” in these celebrations, Even in remembering the death of Christ at Communion, there needs to be a sense of great thanksgiving and rejoicing in what Christ did for mankind.

The latter part of the chapter deals with the Feast of Weeks, the Joy of Pentecost, and the Feast of Tabernacles. The Israelites were commanded to observe all these feasts and to the extent allowed, invite others to join them for some. After all, celebrations are an incredible opportunity to share one’s faith.

Wrap-up

There are many things that Scripture tells us about God and one of those is that He loves for us to celebrate Him through Feasts. I know that we are no longer bound, after the death and resurrection of Christ, to follow all the laws and feasts of the Old Testament, but surely there are some that we do follow – including communion. Perhaps it is time for us to elevate them to a stature that God may have intended for us.  Just a thought as we start a new ministry year at our respective churches.

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Connecting with God and the Observance of Passover -- How Often?

Numbers Chapter 28: Offerings, Passover, Unleavened Bread

Numbers 28:1-31

Day 85. Just got the approval from our Premier for Ontario churches to be allowed to meet at 30% capacity starting tomorrow, June 12^th.  That’s great news. But it’s no easy matter. People are waiting to hear from their churches as to how that will happen since many of the precautions for social distancing, etc. are still in place. We press on.

The Passage

Verses 1-8 cover the required daily offerings.

Verses 9-10 cover the required weekly offerings.

Verses 11-15 cover the required monthly offerings.

Verse 16 stipulates the Lord’s Passover shall be on the fourteenth day of the first month.

Verses 17-25 cover the Feast of Unleavened Bread and the associated offerings.

Verses 26-31 cover the required offerings of the First Fruits.

Each of the above section has some detailed instructions on the various requirements.

Thoughts on the Passage

First of all, much of this, if not all of it, is a reiteration of things God had commanded before. The Israelites had been keeping these to the best of their ability for the last 38 years. But Matthew Henry suggests there were three reasons for this “review” here:

1.     This was a new generation of men.

2.     Because they were now entering into war and God didn’t want the Israelites to think they need not observe such offerings. [We take note of this as we consider our troops in various battlefields all over the world.]

3.     Because they were about to enter the Promised Land where they would have plenty of everything and feasting a lot.  It was then God didn’t want them to forget His statutes. [Again, this speaks to us – we are living in generally good times and that makes it easier for us to forget God. We do so at our own peril.]

But as I look at all the activity, I can’t help but think of how dedicated God’s children were expected to be – daily, weekly, monthly, and annual special sacrifices and offerings. And at great personal financial cost in terms of livestock, etc. The questions remain, “What does God expect of us today in this regard?” and “What are we giving to God today?” Each person will need to answer that for themselves. Once we determine that, we next need to ask ourselves, “Is that enough?” I’m not suggesting more will buy us anything – certainly not salvation. I am suggesting that it may be a measure of our love towards our Creator. [Your thoughts always welcomed.]

Notice verse 4 tells us that the daily offering is made twice – once in the morning and once in the evening. David Guzik suggests this reminds us to start and end our day with a statement of trust in God’s atonement and expression of our devotion to Him.

In verse 16 we read about Passover.  Most consider the Passover to begin on the 15^th day of the month of Nisan.  Then why does our Bible say the 14^th day. This may help: The 15^th day begins in the evening (of the 14^th day), after the sun sets, and the Seder meal is eaten that evening.

Some groups observe communion every week; some once a month. Jesus never specified how often when He told us to observe this Memorial of His death. However, he did introduce the observance after sundown on Nisan 14, 33 AD, according to the Bible’s lunar calendar (Matthew 26:18-20, 26).

Jesus instituted the Lord’s on the date of the Jewish Passover, and he died later that same day. (Matthew 26:​1, 2) This was no coincidence. The Scriptures compare Jesus’ sacrifice to that of the Passover lamb. (1 Corinthians 5:​7, 8) The Passover was observed once each year. (Exodus 12:​1-6; Leviticus 23:5) Likewise, the Memorial of Jesus’ death was observed only once each year by the early Christians, to the best of our knowledge, according to The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, Volume IV, pages 43-​44, and McClintock and Strong’s Cyclopedia, Volume VIII, page 836. Jehovah Witnesses only observe this meal once a year, and so do some other sects such as The Dawn Bible Students Association.

The Feast of Weeks (or First Fruits) is now known as the Feast of Pentecost.  Its primary purpose was not atonement, but thanksgiving for the harvest. Atonement in this case was a secondary purpose.

We don’t have to observe all these offerings in the same way – but we must not ignore God’s intention for these offerings with respect to His people. That intention is the same for us – we must not forget our God in boom times or in war times. We must remain in contact with Him at all times of the day throughout our lives once we become His child. May that be our prayer for each of us.

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.

This Leviticus Scripture Has a lot to say about Yesterday's Sin, and much more.

Leviticus Chapter 22: More Priesthood Laws

Leviticus 22:1-16 What Priests Can’t Do

Day 22 of social distancing. Its end is being talked about but with no certainty. As my daughter observed, “We really can’t start the countdown yet, can we?”  So, we press on. One of our small groups that we are involved with meets for the second time virtually tonight. I am teaching a course next week virtually. I’ve started a set of collective bargaining negotiations via email this week. Life is changing. But hey I love some of the changes. Maybe we’ll keep some of them long after this is over. So, hang in there. I’m continuing my study in Leviticus about the priesthood. I really love delving into the mind and thinking of God as He shared it with Moses. Hope you’re enjoying it too.

The Passage

Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Tell Aaron and his sons to be careful with the holy gifts of the sons of Israel, which they dedicate to Me, so as not to profane My holy name; I am the Lord. ³ Say to them, ‘If any man among all your ^[a]descendants throughout your generations approaches the holy gifts which the sons of Israel dedicate to the Lord, while he has an uncleanness, that person shall be cut off from before Me; I am the Lord. ⁴ No man of the ^[b]descendants of Aaron, who is a leper or who has a discharge, may eat of the holy gifts until he is clean. And if one touches anything made unclean by a corpse or if a man has a seminal emission, ⁵ or if a man touches any teeming things by which he is made unclean, or any man by whom he is made unclean, whatever his uncleanness; ⁶ a ^[c]person who touches any such shall be unclean until evening, and shall not eat of the holy gifts unless he has bathed his ^[d]body in water. ⁷ But when the sun sets, he will be clean, and afterward he shall eat of the holy gifts, for it is his ^[e]food. ⁸ He shall not eat an animal which dies or is torn by beasts, becoming unclean by it; I am the Lord. ⁹ They shall therefore keep My charge, so that they will not bear sin because of it and die thereby because they profane it; I am the Lord who sanctifies them.

¹⁰ ‘No ^[f]layman, however, is to eat the holy gift; a sojourner with the priest or a hired man shall not eat of the holy gift. ¹¹ But if a priest buys a ^[g]slave as his property with his money, ^[h]that one may eat of it, and those who are born in his house may eat of his ^[i]food. ¹² If a priest’s daughter is married to a ^[j]layman, she shall not eat of the ^[k]offering of the gifts. ¹³ But if a priest’s daughter becomes a widow or divorced, and has no child and returns to her father’s house as in her youth, she shall eat of her father’s ^[l]food; but no ^[m]layman shall eat of it. ¹⁴ But if a man eats a holy gift unintentionally, then he shall add to it a fifth of it and shall give the holy gift to the priest. ¹⁵ They shall not profane the holy gifts of the sons of Israel which they offer to the Lord, ¹⁶ and so cause them to bear ^[n]punishment for guilt by eating their holy gifts; for I am the Lord who sanctifies them.’”

Footnotes:

1. Leviticus 22:3 Lit seed
2. Leviticus 22:4 Lit seed
3. Leviticus 22:6 Lit soul
4. Leviticus 22:6 Lit flesh
5. Leviticus 22:7 Lit bread
6. Leviticus 22:10 Lit stranger
7. Leviticus 22:11 Lit soul
8. Leviticus 22:11 Lit he may
9. Leviticus 22:11 Lit bread
10. Leviticus 22:12 Lit stranger
11. Leviticus 22:12 Lit heave offering
12. Leviticus 22:13 Lit bread
13. Leviticus 22:13 Lit stranger
14. Leviticus 22:16 Or iniquity requiring a guilt offering

Thoughts on the Passage

The first nine verses of this chapter are specifically directed towards those who are from the family of Aaron – the Levitical family of the priesthood throughout the ages. They repeat, for all intents and purposes, the same restrictions that were uttered earlier in the book of Leviticus.

There is a lesson for us in verse 7, however. Notice the unclean person referred to there is only unclean until sunset, and then he is clean. David Guzik has this helpful information for us:

The Jews start their days at sundown, not sunrise or midnight. With this description God indicates that one can start the new day clean and pure to the Lord. No matter how we might have failed the day before, we can begin each new day pure and close to the Lord. His mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:23).  In application, we can stop beating our self up for yesterday’s sin. We should confess it, repent of it, and then get on with the business of walking with Lord today. 

In verse ten, the focus shifts to how the priests interact with the layperson. The priests are forgiven to give the holy food offered to God to a layperson, a sojourner, or a hired hand.

Verse 11 make an exception for the slave that the priest has bought with his own money. The exception also applies, I would assume from this verse, to all slaves born in the priest’s house, or maybe even to those born to sojourners who are in the priest’s house.

In his commentary, Guzik correctly points to the difference between a purchased servant and a hired hand. As Christians we have been bought with the blood of Jesus and belong to His family. We are not hired hands to accomplish some divine mission although we are called to work with God in His mission for mankind. What a privilege.

Verse 13 indicates that once a priest’s daughter marries a layman, she cannot participate of this food from the offerings. The daughter of a priest who becomes a widow or is divorced and has no child and returns to the priest’s house ‘in her youth’ – she is able to partake of the food of offering. And then God repeats, “no layman shall eat of it.” Robert Jamieson says it is important to note that if such a widow or divorcee . . .

had become a mother, as her children had no right to the privileges of the priesthood, she was under a necessity of finding support for them elsewhere than under her father’s roof.

Verse 14 covers food eaten by error. If someone does that, he must increase the amount eaten by 20% and give it to the priest.

Matthew Henry sees this whole passage as a reminder to our own pastors and other clergy that they are not to just allow everyone to partake in certain sacraments (communion comes to mind) without making sure they have been adopted into the family of God by accepting Christ as their Savior. I often observe communion services where the leader does not remind those in audience of what the qualifications (being born again) are for partaking in holy communion.

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.

The Ordinance of the Passover -- Exodus 12:43-51

The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the ordinance of the Passover: no foreigner is to eat of it; but every man’s slave purchased with money, after you have circumcised him, then he may eat of it.  A sojourner or a hired servant shall not eat of it.  It is to be eaten in a single house; you are not to bring forth any of the flesh outside of the house, nor are you to break any bone of it.  All the congregation of Israel are to celebrate this.  But if a stranger sojourns with you, and celebrates the Passover to the Lord, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near to celebrate it; and he shall be like a native of the land. But no uncircumcised person may eat of it.  The same law shall apply to the native as to the stranger who sojourns among you.”  Then all the sons of Israel did so; they did just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron.  And on that same day the Lord brought the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their hosts.
 
An “ordinance” as used in Scripture, is a “prescribed religious rite”.  Outside Scripture it carries the connotations of “an authoritative order” or “decree”.  It is also a municipal government level of legislation.  In our text, God gives Moses and Aaron a piece of legislation, a decree, or more exactly perhaps a prescribed way of observing the particular religious rite of the “Passover”.  That ordinance of God’s requires that no foreigner is to participate in this meal.  This rite was strictly for the households of the children on Israel.  The modern-day parallel for Christians is that our equivalent of the Passover – the Lord’s Supper or Communion is not to be shared with or partaken of by those who are ‘foreign’ if you like, to the Body of Christ.  One must be a believer in Jesus Christ as his own personal savior in order to take Communion.

So a traveler or passerby may not participate in this meal celebration.  Neither could a slave that is simply hired temporarily or rented on the long term.  However, if an Israelite owned a slave that had been purchased properly, and circumcised him (if a male) as an Israelite, then the servant could be a participant in this meal.  [One would assume that female slaves so purchased could also participate although due to cultural positions at the time, Moses in his writings omits mentioning this.  As a minimum, it seems to me those female slaves so purchased and whose husbands or fathers have been circumcised, would also be allowed to participate in this Memorial Meal rite.]   The person was deemed to have become part of the household of his Israelite owner.  The concept involved is one of “permanence” or “staying power”.  The idea then, as it is today with our Lord’s Supper or Communion Table is not to be exclusive in the end, but to be inclusive, subject to one being willing to first become part of the family or household then, or the Body of Christ today.  In either case, a lasting or forever relationship.  And of course, we note that the slave had to undergo (if he were male) a painful circumcision process.  There was a definite cost to joining an Israelite household.  We would do well to remember that there is a definite cost (though not in the form of circumcision) to join the Body of Christ today.  It is not like buying a ‘one-day’ membership to a fitness club in order to get you the discount.  There is a cost to becoming a Christian.  Too often we, in our efforts to convert the lost, emphasize only the benefits.  We say nothing of the costs of discipleship, sacrifice, and obedience to Christ that is required in our lives from that point forward.  Unwarned of these, many hastily make the decision, raise their hands to accept Christ, and then just as quickly abandon Him.  I regret to suggest that we may well have a major responsibility in that.

Given the above and given what God tells Moses and Aaron about this meal, and perhaps when we consider how Jesus celebrated the Last Supper (which is our model for the Lord’s Supper and the Communion table), there is some merit in having communion observed by churches in a separate service from the regular worship services.  Note that Jesus did not rent a synagogue to do so, but held it in a private room with his disciples.  I am not necessarily suggesting a day other than when our main “open to the public” services are held, but I am suggesting a separate portion of the service, perhaps at the end and after the general dismissal, where those who are not yet part of the Body are free to excuse themselves, if they wish.  As a minimum, the message must somehow be strongly communicated that the Lord’s Supper or Communion is only for believers.  I have sat through too many services where this is not even mentioned.  Can you imagine the confusion of those who are guests or not used to this observance?

Thirdly, the Passover meal is to be eaten inside a “single” house of the family or household.  I find that interesting.  God wanted this special meal to be eaten by His people together, as a family, and not in their various homes – the whole family under one senior patriarch was to eat together.  God wants us to celebrate Him and our deliverance from bondage as a family, perhaps a ‘local church family’ today.

Fourth, no part of the Passover meal is to be taken outside.  Matthew Henry suggests, “None of it must be carried to another place, nor left for another time.” This raises the issue of whether or not, “communion” as we know it was to “be taken to others” – say as in a hospital or prison much like some priests carried their consecrated ‘host’ or ‘communion bread’ form house to house.  While I understand the need for a prisoner or a sick person to take ‘communion’ I believe, if we were to be true to Scripture and take this ordinance as a prototype or model of how the Lord’s Supper should be celebrated today, then we would be careful not to let a prisoner or ailing person take communion alone, but that a number of others in the Body of Christ take it with him/her.

Fifth, no bones of the lamb that was used for the Passover meal were to be broken.  David Guzik suggests, “None of the bones of the Passover lamb were to be broken. This looks forward to Jesus, the ultimate Passover Lamb, who had not one bone broken even in His crucifixion.”

Sixth, “All the congregation of Israel” were to celebrate this.  There were no exceptions for the Israelites.  Similarly, Matthew Henry writes, “The New-Testament Passover, the Lord’s Supper, ought not to be neglected by any who are capable of celebrating it.”  How many times do we opt to skip this Memorial Meal because “we’re running late, or have other appointments, or just don’t feel like it”?  While in the New Testament we are simply told, “For as often as you do this, do it in remembrance of Me (Christ),” we would do well to remember that in the Old Testament, this was indeed an ordinance that had to be observed.  We may not be required to do so today, but would God find it more pleasing if His Children considered it a privilege as well as a responsible act of thanksgiving to do so?  I believe He would.

Perhaps the seventh point being ‘ordained’ here is this.  Strangers would have to be “circumcised” then and “become part of the Body” today to participate in this Meal of Remembrance.  But once they do, they are to be treated like “one of us” or “native” to us.  That says a lot of how we treat fellow-believers who are passing through.  We, as believers, are to extend hospitality not only in our homes, but also in our worship, and in the activities of our church, to fellow believers who are part of the Body of Christ.

Eighth, whether they come from ‘next door’ or ‘from afar’ this law applies equally to them.  If they became circumcised and bonded with the Israelites as are part of their ‘family’ they could participate.  If they did not, they could not.  So, it is with us today with respect to who can and cannot participate in our Communion Table.

The chapter concludes reminding us that “all” the children of Israel did as they were told to do by God, through Moses and Aaron.  And the very next sentence, the last one, says, “And God did as He promised.”  God did for them – He saved them, He delivered them – because they obeyed Him.  And He did it “on that same day” – for all of them – “by their hosts” that is, “in their large numbers”.

David Guzik writes, “When Israel left Egypt, it was a nation born in a day. It was as if the 430 years were a time in gestation when the baby grew large. The plagues were like labor pains before birth and now the nation is born.”  And we look forward to studying their journeys from that point forward.   But for now, let us contemplate on how we view, and partake of, the Lord’s Supper.

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