The Feast of Passover

We are approaching the Feast of Passover. Millions of People will celebrate this Judaic feast. Most Christians will be acknowledging this feast as the time that Jesus was crucified. Because "covenant" is a term used to describe certain acts and times in the Bible and not a way of life, we do not recognize covenant in the feasts. But at the time that God was meeting Moses to give the written part of the Abrahamic covenant, God established the three times that Israel was to celebrate the feasts that God ordained. It was a covenant response that Israel, as a nation, was to give to God and so recognize the relationship they had to God. Each feast was unique and the response or ritual of each feast expressed a different aspect of that relationship.

The Feast of Passover was a feast of remembering the deliverance from the slavery and bondage of Egypt. The celebration of their freedom from slavery gave the Feast an element of gaity. The ritual was repeated yearly and so became ingrained in each generation. Therefore, it was not only the Feast of Deliverance but was also called the Feast of Remembrance. The ten plagues were rehearsed each year and Israel's immunity was celebrated during the ceremony with a splash of wine on each plate as each plague was announced.

It was also called the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The need to rid the house of the yeast was an annual exercise in rigorous housecleaning as walls, ceilings and floors were vigorously scrubbed. Any grease and dirt must be removed during the week before Passover. Only unleavened bread is eaten during the entire time that Passover is celebrated. The Passover meal is eaten the evening before the Sabbath of Passover, which is the first day of Passover that lasts seven days, ending with another Sabboth. These Sabboths are not to be confused with the seventh day Sabboth. Every feast began and ended with a sabbath day of rest, no matter what day of the week it happened to be.

Each of the feasts have a relationship with God. We see the relationship of Jesus to the Feast of Passover. We see the relationship of the Holy Spirit in the Feast of Pentecost. We see the relationship of the Father in the Feast of Tabernacles when God sent His Son to tabernacle with us at that feast time. We see the three feasts brought up to a higher spiritual understanding as they were repeated in the New Testament as His Church is created. We will see each one brought to a higher plane of understanding as God brings His Church to the perfection of the Bride.

Each feast time is a time for humble worship before a Mighty, Eternal God so we might be brought into deeper understanding of His Love and provision for us.