A Time Of Rejoicing

For those who follow our Heavenly Fathers cycle of life/chaim reflected in the annual moedim, the Appointed Times of the Lord; we are in the weeks celebrations of Sukkot.

Sh’mot 23:16 7th month – 15th day through 21st day (7 days). Vayik’ra 23:33-36, 39, 40-43.

Although covered in previous posts, all of which are available on home page; here is a brief summary of this moed for new readers.

The moadiym/ the Appointed Times of The Lord, are times to remember prophetic declarations of His Word and His promises to His children. They offer a unique opportunity for us to be discipled by His Spirit, as we walk in the ways of HIs Son Yeshua ha Mashiach toward our full potential and usefulness for the Father. It is a time for all believers in Messiah to draw closer to Him and to become more effective, victorious disciples for Yeshua/Jesus.

This last great appointed time of Israels annual calendar is Chag haSukot – feast of tabernacles. It is also called Chag haAsif – feast of the Ingathering, because it is positioned at the end of the year, when all the fruit of our labor is gathered in from the final harvest. 

Like the Feast of Matzah/unleavened bread celebrated in the spring at Passover/Pesach, Sukot, sometimes spelled Sukkot, lasts for 7 days and is a time for great celebration. However, unlike the feast of Matzah/unleavened bread, only the first day of Sukot is a holy convocation. In Judaism the 7th day of sukkot came to be known as Hoshanna Rabba and was celebrated with a huge water libation ceremony to plead for abundant rain over the next season.

This is also the day when Jesus/Yeshua being in attendance at this ceremony, cried out . On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, lethim come to Me and drink. John 7:37

On this first day of Sukot, Israel is commanded to do no work and to rest. Sukot begins just 5 days after Yom haKippuriym/Yom Kippur, on the 15th day of the 7th Hebrew month Tishrei and lasts until the 21st day.

The main feature of sukkot is of course the sukkah or booth or tabernacle which is to be constructed from the various trees and flora surrounding Jesusalem.

“You shall dwell in booths (sukkot) for seven days. All native Israelites shall dwell in booths.” – Vayikra /Leviticus 23:42. 

The purpose of the sukkah is to remind us that Adonai caused the people of Israel to live in sukkot (tents/temporary dwellings) when He brought them out of Egypt and they travelled through the wilderness. This experience helps us understand and appreciate the spiritual themes of our Heavenly Fathers protection, deliverance and provision. The temporary and minimal nature of the structure itself should also remind us of our own physical condition. Our bodies have weaknesses, vulnerabilities and are finite. They have an expiration date! And as long as we inhabit these earthly dwellings/sukkah it is a timely reminder that we are indeed passing through. This earth is not our permanent home, we are spiritual beings, we, the real us, are not our bodies; they are the temporary dwellings provided for us while we are on earth fulfilling the Fathers plan for us and one day we will leave them behind!

The sukkah is a symbol of how our Father cares for us protecting us from both physical and spiritual elements, that are constantly arrayed against us. At the time of the final ingathering we are to celebrate with great joy that He has delivered us, watched over us, and will soon be taking us to dwell permanently in the sukkah of His presence that will last forever.

In 2 Peter 1:10-14, Peter is encouraging us to be doing the word as much as we are knowing it. He is stirring us up, reminding us that we can know how to live a life for Messiah and we can be convinced of the truth; but if we are not diligent to make our calling and election/selection sure/firm, it will be as if we have forgotten everything we ever knew.

Time is short and soon we will be all laying aside our earthly dwellings. Knowing the truth is not enough, we have to remember it and use it by applying it while we still can. The feast of ingathering will soon come to and end and this sukkah in which we abide will not last or stand forever either. It is important that while we live in our earthly dwellings that we diligently secure our calling and election. We can do this by acting on the things we do know, because that truth is what will bring in a harvest of righteousness. As Peter says: Therefore I will not be careless to remind you always concerning these things for by doing these things you will never stumble.

This week ends with Simchat Torah, a time to express our love for our Heavenly Fathers Words of Life and for the Word Who became flesh and tabernacled among us for a short season. This He will fulfill completely when he returns to reign. There is a lesson for us that first we must submit ourselves to the discipline of studying the scriptures. As Messiah said in John 46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me.

And in Matthew 5:18 He said:

For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished.

Messiah considered all of the Torah and TeNaKH to be important so we can rejoice in the knowledge and comfort they provide us. In other words there is no d’rash without p’shat, meaning: there is no application without the study of the scripture texts. Then after we have studied His word, we are given the gift of great joy, that of of knowing the truth of His Words. John 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

Ps 33:4 for the word of the Lord is right His every deed is faithful.

Enjoy the rest of the days of this moed and above all rejoice that our names are

written in the Lambs Book of Life.

Shalom shalom

‘Mishpachah’

‘Family/Tribe’

משפחה

Mish-pa-KHa,

friends, visitors and every reader…

Please don’t leave this page before making certain you are His

and are truly born again from above.

Know of a certainty that Jesus/Yeshua is

your Redeemer, Savior, Lord

and soon returning King

and that you have a personal relationship with Him.

You are greatly loved and precious in His sight.

It’s all about Life and Relationship, not Religion.

NOT SURE? YOU CAN BE..

SAY THE FOLLOWING FROM YOUR HEART RIGHT NOW…

Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus asking for forgiveness of my sins for which I am truly sorry.

I repent of them all and turn away from my past.

I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus is your Son and that He died on the cross at calvary to pay the price for my sin, so that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of Heaven. Father I believe that Jesus rose from the dead and I ask you to come into my life right now and be my personal Savior and Lord and I will worship you all the days of my life. Because your word is truth I say that I am now forgiven and born again and by faith I am washed clean with the blood of Jesus.  Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Season Of Change?

Time for a change of focus?

We are in the season of the 10 Days of Awe

in Hebrew it is

Yamim nora’im –  ימים נוראים

These moedim appointed times of the spiritual year as given by our heavenly Father can be found in Leviticus 23.

These 10 days are a time to change our focus off of ourselves and our lives and look towards the Lord; in that we focus our attention on Him and our relationship with Him. It is a time of repentance and remembering what He has provided for us and that He is and always will be the Lamb of God Who gave His life for us; that His shed blood is on the kapporet crying mercy and forgiveness on our behalf.

We are to look only to the Creator of heaven and earth and we are warned in Isaiah 2:22 who points to the necessity of placing trust in Him.

“Cease ye from man, whose breath/spirit is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of?”

This last week the 7th month and the first day is commanded in Leviticus 23:23-25

 ראש השנה), (literally “head of the year”),

Feast of trumpets is the common name for this moed, despite the fact that it is not a feast and is only linked with trumpets, shofars or rams horns by inference, shabaton in the verse.

 שַׁבָּתוֹן, ‘shabbaton‘ meaning ‘special Sabbath’.

“On the seventh month, on the first day of that month, you shall have a shabbaton [a day of rest], zichron tru’a, mikra kodesh [a day set aside for gathering], do not work,

There are a few facts that we can clearly see from this instruction. First we know that this moed falls on the new moon, so it would follow that it shares similar instructions with the other 11/12 new moons that occur every calendar year. The new moon determines the beginning of each Hebrew month on Israel’s calendar, unlike the Gregorian calendar followed by the western worlds system. it is not listed in Lev. 23, there are specific sacrifices commanded for each new moon and the silver trumpets are to be blown. Numbers/Bmidbar 10:10.

Secondly, like many other moadiym, this moed is a holy convocation or sacred assembly.

Thirdly, on this day unlike the other ‘no regular work days,

rest

is specifically commanded, so this day is to be more restful than even the days of the spring moadiym/moedim.

 

The unique feature of this moed is found in the words

zik ron t’ruah

זִכְרוֹן תְּרוּעָה

but the context here does not offer much help in understanding its meaning.

Reference for Hebrew text : https://www.blueletterbible.org/kjv/lev/23/24/p0/t_conc_113024

Literally the words can be rendered:

remembrance – zik’ron (with) loud blasts (of sound) – t’ruah.

“zik” (זִק) means “sound.”

“ron” (רוֹן) means “joy” or “song.”

“t’ruah” (תְּרוּעָה) refers to the “blast” or “sound” of the shofar.

In other words we are supposed to remember or memorialize something. This is to done with, or caused by, loud blasts of sound. Psalm 81:3 invites us into a moment of celebration and reflection. The call to “blow the trumpet” in this verse emphasizes a significant time, marked by the new moon is referenced, a full moon and a feast day too.

This pattern only occurs on the 1st and 7th months. Because there is no special significance to the 1st months new moon as this one, is it meaning that the t’ruah can be made through the blowing of the shofar?

In Josh 6:20, there is a connection between t’ruah and the shofar but only by association.

And the people shouted – rua and blew – taka with the shofarot and it came to pass when the people shouted – rua with a great shout – t’ruah g’dolah and the wall fell flat.

Although the shofar is mentioned

it is not what made the t’ruah… the people did!

In other scriptures also, t’ruah is the sound of people shouting and making noise and loud sounds with their mouths. In other scriptures t’ruah is the sound of the shofar, as on Yom haKipuriym in the year of Jubilee, a shout of praise shout of joy and loud blasts of sound. Leviticus 25:9.

When truah is connected to the command for zikron it is for remembrance. To remember why we are celebrating these moedim after the long hot summer.

This zikron truah is the season of remembering the incredible provision, protection, atonement and deliverance of Messiah. We are to remember how great He is, of His goodness, faithfulness and loving kindness.

This moed has a strong command to it, however the traditions of Judaism have made it into the High Holy Day, second only to Yom Kippur. The traditions around this day are many and it is observed with great reverence. Already noted, traditionally it is known as Rosh Hashanah which literally means ‘head of the year.’ Judaism recognizes the 1st day of the 7th month as the beginning of the new civil year, now 5786. One of the main features of Rosh Hashanah is the blowing of the shofar, which according to Judaism fulfills the command to make t’ruah. Because this moed has become so closely linked with the shofar some Messianics and Christians have connected it with prophetic scriptures dealing with referring to the ‘day of the Lord’ or the 1 Thess. ‘catching away’; which has evolved to be tagged as ‘the rapture’. Since this moed has no direct scriptural link to the shofar, is there really any solid ground for making such a prophetic jump?

There is much confusion around this saying as it has been taken out of context and consequently taken on a life of its own; becoming a doctrine in some denominations. Earlier posts have addressed this subject.

This year more than most previous years, many ‘prophetic voices’ were pointing to the moed last week as the rapture day. The days came and went and once again disappointment settled in. The scripture ‘cease from men… ‘ quoted above, is to warn us not to put our hope in human dating. We are not to trust in those who state what, and when, our Heavenly Father, Creator of the universe is going to do things. Not all dreams are from the Lord God of Heaven and if they don’t line up with scripture they may be supernatural but are not of divine origin.

Recall the scripture, 2 Corinthians 11:14 And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.

By masquerading as an angel of light, Satan seeks to imitate the appearance of goodness and divine truth, making his deceptions more convincing.

However well meaning these youtube videos on the internet are, many times they give false hope and misdirect our focus, making people look for the wrong thing. And when that hope is dashed, it can lead to loss of faith, depression and disillusioned thought processes that take people away from the truth of the Word. Our hope is to be placed firmly in Messiahs promises, in our Fathers plan and in His Word. The scriptures are clear, Yeshua/Jesus own words are those we are to pin our hope on. Not peoples words.

In Matthew 24:36 He said clearly

“But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”

Not even Him, the Son. ….So how do these prophetic voices know?

He will return, He said, as a thief, when no one is expecting Him.

A thief comes when no one is not only watching but no one is expecting. 

This is so we will live according to His commandments every day, a lifestyle, and not just when we think He is coming on a certain day.

The Matthew 13;24 reference is another reason to think…why we are looking for a quick escape?….Here it’s the tares who are taken first, not the wheat. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.”

Cease from men … The enemy will use our fears to give us false hope of escaping persecution and troubled times, however we should not be in fear; but in faith that our Heavenly Father is true to His word and He has everything under control. We are to be busy about our Fathers business, doing with all our might what He has called us to do. Doing the work of His kingdom. We know all things will be fulfilled but in His timing not when it suits us, thinking we are going to avoid hardships. Every day 1000’s of believers around the world are experiencing disasters and unthinkable situations, needing relief far more than those in the west. Matthew 24:13 says He who endures to the end will be saved.

As believers in Yeshua/Jesus we have plenty to celebrate. . He will not leave us nor forsake us, we are to trust only in Him, not in people.

We are to place our hope in Him and in a day when you least expect your Lord will come.

The Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect” (Luke 12:40).

We are to place our hope in His words, not peoples; we are to have faith in His promises, not peoples; because they are human and subject to failure. Our Father will not and cannot ever fail. Heaven and earth will pass away but my words will never pass away…Matthew 24:35

In Hebrews 13:5 The Amplified translation leaves us in no doubt of His promise “He [God] Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down (relax My hold on you)! [ Assuredly not!]”.

During these 10 days of awe, the fall moedim, let’s focus on the Lord, His will, plan and purpose. Let’s rejoice in the remembrance of what Messiah has done and will do when He does return. Previous posts on the fall moedim are listed on Homepage. Only Our Heavenly Father is right – He is Truth – so our opinions are irrelevant, we are to simply study for ourselves and so, let the reader decide.

Shalom shalom and Happy New Year

‘Mishpachah’

‘Family/Tribe’

משפחה

Mish-pa-KHa,

friends, visitors and every reader…

Please don’t leave this page before making certain you are His

and are truly born again from above.

Know of a certainty that Jesus/Yeshua is

your Redeemer, Savior, Lord

and soon returning King

and that you have a personal relationship with Him.

You are greatly loved and precious in His sight.

It’s all about Life and Relationship, not Religion.

NOT SURE? YOU CAN BE..

SAY THE FOLLOWING FROM YOUR HEART RIGHT NOW…

Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus asking for forgiveness of my sins for which I am truly sorry.

I repent of them all and turn away from my past.

I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus is your Son and that He died on the cross at calvary to pay the price for my sin, so that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of Heaven. Father I believe that Jesus rose from the dead and I ask you to come into my life right now and be my personal Savior and Lord and I will worship you all the days of my life. Because your word is truth I say that I am now forgiven and born again and by faith I am washed clean with the blood of Jesus.  Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’ name. Amen.

A Grain Of Wheat?

Having counted from the Omer,

50 days are now fulfilled and we are again at

שָׁבוּעוֹת/Shavuot/Pentecost.

The cycle of life, both physical and spiritual, continues and as we remember the reason for this Appointed Time /Moed/מוֹעֵד/Festival.

As well as rejoicing in the fulfillment of prophecy recorded in Acts by the outpouring of His Spirit of Holiness; let us take the time to examine our lives and see if our lives truly are a grain of wheat.

Brief summary of the Spring Moedim.

In Leviticus 23, there are two different Hebrew words that translate feast. The first word is Mo-ahd, and is often translated appointed time. Mo-ahd means to set an appointment, as in a set time or season, for a specific assembly or festival. The plural form of mo-ahd is moedim. This particular word for feast refers to the weekly Sabbaths and all the Levitical Holy Days.

Mo-ahd also has a root meaning:

to repeat, and can mean

a signal as appointed beforehand.

There are things that are to be repeated each time the preset appointed time has come. For example: When there is an anniversary, the signals or signs that this date has come is to have a celebration, usually repeated every year. It is the same with the Father’s Appointed Times. The feasts are signals and signs to help us know what is on the heart of the Lord. There’s a large difference in how believers observe the Spring moedim (Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits, and Pentecost). These holidays have been fulfilled in the life of Yeshua/Jesus.

In dying on the cross, Yeshua fulfilled the first two festivals. Passover deals with redemption through the death of a lamb. Unleavened Bread is about removing leaven/sin.

The death of the Lamb of God /Passover,

paid the price for our indebtedness and gave us

freedom from sin (Unleavened Bread).

Yeshua’s resurrection from the grave fulfilled the festival/moed of First Fruits. This holiday deals with offering YHVH the first of the produce.

1 Corinthians 15:20  But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep

Finally, Pentecost /Shavuot was fulfilled in Acts 2 upon the receiving of the Holy Spirit.

Shavuot/Pentecost deals with the seal of covenant relationship with God as the people received the Law on Mt. Sinai. Yeshua gave us the promise of His Ruach haKodesh/ Spirit of Holiness.

Ephesians 1:13 says, In him you also… were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit. His Holy Spirit living inside of us is the fulfillment of Shavuot.

Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. John 12:24-26

His statement conveys a powerful and enduring message about life, death, resurrection and transformation. Yeshua/Jesus was speaking in response to the request of a group of Greek seekers, however the time for meeting people and talk had come to an end.

Messiah uses the metaphor of a grain of wheat to illustrate a deeper spiritual truth, because one of the key realities of the Kingdom of the Heavens is that

life springs forth from death. 

Yeshua/Jesus was telling those with ears to hear, that the hour had come for Him to be glorified, and that meant He was to die….

…like a kernel of wheat.

He compared His death to

a grain of wheat that falls into the earth and dies,

but produces much fruit.

He uses this metaphor to explain the need

to lose one’s life for His sake and the gospel’s.

John 12:24-26

If a grain of wheat….

Are we a generation of the undead?

Because if a grain of wheat falls to the ground and

does not die

it abides alone.

We are nourished daily by His Word, we eat and we drink in the comforting presence of His Holy Spirit/Ruach haKodesh.

We grow, flourish, and seek to please our Lord and Master. We humble ourselves before our maker, bowing in worship, praise and thanksgiving.

We have been delivered from death forever through the atoning blood sacrifice of the Son, and yet the life we live is lost as long as we remain alive to our old ways and to our self-serving lifestyle.

Has the grain of wheat reached its goal and final destiny?

After standing among the ripened stalk, once it is cut down and bound for the threshing floor, will it attain its full potential if it falls to the ground unnoticed, just laying there, and doing nothing?

Like the grain of wheat, we too have a destiny in Messiah, and it is certain that we will die one way or another; and we cannot go on to fulfill the purpose of our life in Messiah/Christ unless we die to self…. but if we, as that seed, do die, we will bear much fruit.

2 Corinthians 4:10-11 We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11 For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake so that His life may also be revealed in our mortal body.

As disciples of Messiah we must be

more than fallen grain

because He teaches us that…

He who loves his life will lose it and he who hates his life in this world to life age enduring will keep it.

If all we have become is mature, great looking, immaculate stalks of wheat, we have failed to fulfill our final destiny and goal in Messiah. Growing and maturing in Him is not the ultimate goal, it is and always has been a process, a means to an end. Our end then is to die to ourselves so that we may live for Messiah.

By yielding to His process in us, as we, the old us, decays in the ground like the seed, being tended to by the Master Farmer, our life will bear much fruit. Only in this death will we live and that happens when we give ourselves away to serving others, in turn producing a new crop of grain that will soon be ripe for the harvest.

Messiah teaches us that if anyone serves Him,

let him follow me and where I am there also my servant will be.

John 12:26

Yeshua/Jesus was the first to die and He was also the first to bear fruit, us, we are the fruit; and that includes every one who trusts in Him from that resurrection day until He returns. As we serve Him, let’s accept the invitation to follow and be with Him, including being buried with Him in His death and as much as we are raised from the dead in His life. Let’s no longer be the undead following Him, those who are still abiding alone and yet failing to live, by not pouring into others the resurrection life that was given for us.

Let us serve the master, not so that our Heavenly Father will honor us, but instead let’s fall to the ground and die, so that we will finally be the generation that bears much fruit.

We must allow him to make us useful so that we will be

more than a fallen grain of wheat

and let Him show us how to follow Him into death of self that we may finally live the life we have been raised with Him to live.

For new readers there are many posts on Shavuot which can be accessed from homepage.

Chag same’ach.

(pronounced: KHAHG sah-MAY-ach)

Shalom aleikhem

chaverim and mishpachah!

Peace to friends and family.

Shavua Tov, Have a blessed week.

Make certain Messiah Jesus/Yeshua is your Redeemer, Savior, Lord and soon returning King and that you have a personal relationship with Him.

It’s all about Life and Relationship, NOT Religion.

You are very precious in His sight.

Not sure ..you can be…

SIMPLY SAY THE FOLLOWING MEANING IT FROM YOUR HEART..don’t delay one more minute,

SAY IT RIGHT NOW…

Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus/Yeshua asking for forgiveness of my sins for which I am truly sorry. I repent of them all and turn away from my past.

I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus/Yeshua is your Son and that He died on the cross at calvary to pay the price for my sin, so that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of Heaven. Father I believe that Jesus/Yeshua rose from the dead and I ask you to come into my life right now and be my personal Savior and Lord and I will worship you all the days of my life. Because your word is truth I say that I am now forgiven and born again and by faith I am washed clean with the blood of Jesus/Yeshua. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’/Yeshua’s name.

Pesach – Passover And YHVH’s 4 Verbs of Redemption

As this is the season of

Pesach/Passover

and

Chag HaMatzot (חַג הַמַּצּוֹת) – Feast of Unleavened Bread: 

and the Israelites were required to eat unleavened bread for seven days, beginning on the 14th, first day of Passover, and Nisan 15 through Nisan 22.

Let’s look and see if there’s a connection we may have missed with the Divine Name YHVH and Pesach.

The matstsah: Unleavened bread…

In Hebrew is: מַצָּה
Transliteration: matstsah
Pronunciation: mahts-tsaw’
Phonetic Spelling: mats-tsaw’
Meaning: sweetness, sweet, an unfermented cake, loaf, the festival of Passover

From the root verb מָצַץ matsats,

meaning: to drain or to suck out.

Corresponding Greek G106 (ἄζυμος, azymos): Referring to unleavened bread, used in the New Testament in the context of the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. e.g., Matthew 26:17, Mark 14:1.

The term matstsah refers to unleavened bread, which is bread made without yeast. In the Hebrew Bible, it is primarily associated with the Feast of Unleavened Bread, a significant observance in Jewish tradition. The unleavened bread symbolizes purity and the haste with which the Israelites left Egypt, as they did not have time to let their bread rise. In ancient Israelite culture, unleavened bread was a staple during the Passover festival. The Feast of Unleavened Bread, which lasts seven days, begins on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Nisan, immediately following Passover. This festival commemorates the Exodus from Egypt, when the Israelites were commanded to eat unleavened bread for seven days as a reminder of their swift departure and God’s deliverance. The absence of leaven (yeast) is symbolic of removing sin and corruption, as leaven is often used metaphorically in the Bible to represent sin.

The noun מצה massa, from matstsah literally describes something “drained/liquid” and specifically denotes unleavened bread. Leaven is a fungus that creates bubbles in bread and beer and unleavened bread is bread without spirit. The word for leaven, שאר – se’or, literally means: remnant, and anything unleavened was either made in such haste that the residual starter batch of leaven had had no time to spread through the rest of the dough, or otherwise, the baker had had no access to a properly cultivated culture mentioned in 1 Samuel 28:24.

Unleavened bread מצה, massa came in the form of לחם lehem, which is general bread, חלה halla, possibly a donut or pretzel, and רקיק raqiq, a thin wafer. All three are mentioned in Exodus 29:2.

There is a symbolic meaning with this unleavened bread. Anything leavened was called: חמץ – hames, which is probably closely related to the verb חמץ – hamas, meaning: to violate violence, or push into the wrong direction. The word for bread is לחם – lehem, whereas the highly similar verb לחם – laham means: to fight or do battle. The noun מצה – massa, in turn, is closely similar to the noun מצוה – miswa, meaning: commandment.

It is significant to remember that the plagues that befell Egypt were sent in order for Pharaoh to release the children of Israel so they could worship YHVH. We know it as the Exodus which is annually remembered as the Lord commanded in Exodus 12:14

‘So this day shall be to you a memorial; and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast by an everlasting ordinance. NKJV

‘Now this day shall be a memorial to you, and you shall celebrate it as a feast to the LORD; throughout your generations you are to celebrate it as a permanent ordinance. NAS

It is one of the 3 The Three Pilgrimage Festivals,

In Hebrew: shalosh regalim,

which are: Passover, Shavuot and Sukkot,

to these three, all males are required to attend in Jerusalem.

רגלים   שלוש  in Hebrew: shalosh regalim

During the Passover meal/Pesach seder, as

the Haggadah is read,

a drop of wine is spilled at the mention of each plague since the suffering of the Egyptians lessens the joy of the participants.

Haggadah in Hebrew: הַגָּדָה, means:

the”telling”;

plural: Haggadot;

is a foundational Jewish text that sets forth the order of the Passover Seder.

An interesting note in the Exodus scriptures is that before the Lord sent the plague of insects, He instructed Moses to tell Pharaoh that the plague would not affect the region of Goshen but it would strike the rest of Egypt:

that you may know that I am the lord in the midst of the earth.

By means of the plague the Lord would make a distinction between the Israelites and the Egyptians.

The Lord was forewarning once again, that Israels status of

His firstborn

was not to be disregarded, even at the risk of imperiling the firstborn sons of Egypt.

The word pedut comes from the root padah

meaning: to ransom or redeem

and from which is derived

pidyon ha ben, the ransom of the first born.

Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the LORD: “Israel is My son, My firstborn.

So I said to you, ‘Let My son go so that he may serve Me’; but you have refused to let him go. Behold, I am going to kill your son, your firstborn. Ex. 4:22-23.

Despite hearing the warnings and witnessing these miracles however, Pharaoh remained proud and unmoved. After Pharaoh still failed to relent the Lord God of Israel further hardened Pharaoh’s heart, setting the stage for the final plagues upon the people and the great Exodus from Egypt that was to follow.

The destruction that came and pidyon ha ben /redeeming the firstborn, were on the 14th Nisan.

Pedut from root padah: to ransom or redeem.

Strong’s Hebrew: 6304.

פְּדוּת (peduth) — ransom

Transliteration: peduth

Phonetic Spelling: ped-ooth’

Definition: ransom

Word Origin from padah 

Definition ransom NASB Translation division (1 ), ransom (1 ), redemption (2 ) . Brown-Driver-Briggs מְּדוּת …

Strong’s Hebrew: 6302b.

peduyim — a ransom

Transliteration: peduyim

Definition: a ransom

Word Origin from padah 

Definition: a ransom NASB Translation ransom 

Strong’s Hebrew: 6302a.

paduy — that are to be that were redeemed

Transliteration: paduy

Definition: that are to be that were redeemed, NAS

Word Origin pass. part. of padah ,

from the root padah

Strong’s Hebrew: 6299. פָּדָה (padah) — to ransom

Original Word: פָדָה

Part of Speech: Verb

Transliteration: padah

Phonetic Spelling: paw-daw’

Definition: to ransom

6299 padah: To redeem, ransom, rescue

Original Word: פָדָה
Part of SpeechVerb
Transliteration: padah
Pronunciation: pah-DAH
Phonetic Spelling: paw-daw’
Definition: To redeem, ransom, rescue
Meaning: to sever, ransom, gener, to release, preserve

Corresponding Greek G3084 (λυτρόω, lutroō): To release on receipt of ransom, to redeem

– G629 (ἀπολύτρωσις, apolytrōsis):Redemption, deliverance.

The Hebrew verb padah, primarily means: to redeem or ransom. It conveys the idea of delivering or rescuing someone or something from a state of bondage or danger, often through the payment of a price. In the Old Testament, padah is frequently used in the context of God’s deliverance of His people, whether from physical captivity or spiritual bondage.

In ancient Israel, the concept of redemption was deeply embedded in the social and religious fabric. Redemption often involved a kinsman-redeemer (go’el), who had the responsibility to redeem a relative in distress, whether by buying back land, freeing them from slavery, or avenging blood. This practice is clearly recorded in the book of Ruth.

Strongs #1350 gaal: Redeem, act as kinsman-redeemer, avenge, ransom, deliver.

This cultural practice is reflected in the spiritual context of God’s redemptive work for Israel, particularly in the Exodus narrative, where God redeems His people from slavery in Egypt.

From this comes pidyon ha ben – the ransom of the 1st born.

It is customary for a firstborn male (whose father or mother are not a Kohen or Levi) to undergo Pidyon HaBen, meaning “Redemption of the (firstborn) son.” The ceremony of redeeming the firstborn occurs on the 31st day after birth Ex 13:13 and Num. 18:16 with 5 silver/shekalim, given to the Kohen/priest. It symbolically relieves the child from service in the priesthood referring back to Num. 3:12-14.

Strong’s Hebrew: 6306b. pidyon — a ransom

Transliteration: pidyon

Definition: a ransom NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin from padah 

Also:

Strong’s Hebrew: 6306a. pidyom —

ransom, that were redeemed, redemption

Transliteration: pidyom

Definition: ransom, that were redeemed, redemption

Word Origin another reading for padah , q.v., and peduyim , q.v.

Israel is YHVH/God’s first born son and

He declared His warning to Egypt in Exodus 4:22,23.

bekor: Firstborn

Original Word: בְּכוֹר
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: bkowr
Pronunciation: beh-kor
Phonetic Spelling: bek-ore’
Definition: Firstborn
Meaning: firstborn, chief

Derived from the root בָּכַר bakar,

meaning: to be born first or to bear early fruit.

Corresponding Greek G4416 (πρωτότοκος, prototokos):

Used in the New Testament to refer to Yeshua/Jesus as the

firstborn over all creation. Colossians 1:15

and the firstborn from the dead. Revelation 1:5.

The term bekor refers to the firstborn son in a family. In the Hebrew Bible, the firstborn held a place of special significance, often associated with inheritance rights and familial leadership. The firstborn son traditionally received a double portion of the inheritance and was expected to assume the role of family head upon the father’s death. In ancient Near Eastern cultures, the firstborn son was often seen as the primary heir and successor to the family lineage. This concept is deeply embedded in the biblical narrative, where the firstborn’s rights and responsibilities are both a matter of legal and spiritual importance. The firstborn was also significant in religious practices, as we have seen in the Passover narrative where the firstborn of Egypt were struck down, and the firstborn of Israel were consecrated to YHVH, Exodus 13:2.

How is this connected to the Divine Name?

The divine name known as Ab is JA or YA,

but before the Exodus and

all the miracles and

the Passover itself,

they only knew Him as

el shaddai – Almighty God,

which is evident in Ex. 6:2,3,8.

I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as

El-Shaddai – ‘God Almighty’ –

but I did not reveal my name, Yahweh, to them.

 “And God spoke.”

Exodus 6:2 The announcement “I am the Lord ”

( Heb “Yahweh”)

and this draws in the preceding revelation in Exod. 3:15.

15 God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The Lord,[a] the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.

Maybe we should take note of that!

Two important statements have just been made:

Exodus 3:14.

The first was our Heavenly Father’s description of Himself,

to be used as His name: e’heyeh aser’ e’heyeh  

This means “I am Who I am.”

The second used similar language to instruct Moses to tell the people of Israel that he had been sent by I am.

Both imply a being Who must exist.

Unlike all created things, our Heavenly Father is not the product of anything else. John 1:1–3. He simply “IS.”

Here, scripture continues with a third statement from YHVH regarding His name. Moses is to specify that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had sent him to the Israelites. The I AM, Who now speaks to Moses is the same ONE who appeared to Abraham in Genesis 12:1–3.

God refers to Himself using the word Lord, spelled YHWH in Hebrew letters. This is related to the root verb hayah, earlier translated as I am. Exodus 3:14. God is the I am, the self-existent one, and the Lord of Abraham and his descendants. Many believe the term was initially pronounced as YAH-way, often spelled in modern contexts as Yahweh.

It is sometimes transliterated as Jehovah. The name Yahweh would be known as the unique name of Israel’s God throughout Jewish history. Later, the name YHWH was considered so holy that readers would not pronounce it. Instead, they substituted another word for Lord – Adonai. This was intended to keep Jews from accidentally breaking the commandment regarding using the Lord’s name in vain, Exodus 20:7.

 As a name, our Heavenly Father uses the phrase I AM, indicating His eternal, uncreated, necessary, absolute existence. This connects to the Hebrew term YHWH, most often seen as Lord, Yahweh, or sometimes translated as Jehovah. Messiah Yeshua/Jesus used this same phrasing in the New Testament.

I and my Father are One in John 10:30,

In that place where God called Moses

in Exodus 6:1 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh. For with a strong hand he will let them go, and with a strong hand he will drive them out of his land.”

Verse 2 Then God spoke to Moses, telling him, “I am Yahweh. Jehoveh

Verse 3 I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob (Israel) as God Almighty [El Shaddai], but by My name, LORD, I did not make Myself known to them [in acts and great miracles]. I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as God Almighty, but I did not reveal My name Yahweh to them.

6 Therefore say to the children of Israel: ‘I am the LORD; I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, I will rescue you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments.

7 Then I will take you for My people, and I will be your God; and you shall know that I am the LORD your God, who redeemed you and brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.

This passage and the accompanying revelation of YHVH ‘s 4 verbs of redemption describes what He was about to do as YHVH for HIs Firstborn…

I will free – deliver – redeem – take you.

All because of His covenant stated in verse 4, I have also established My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, in which they were strangers.

It is intended to indicate that the direct experience of YHVH’s power and glory was not fully understood or experienced by the forefathers of Israel. What He was about to do would change their lives forever as the promises made to Abraham were now being fulfilled.

The 4 verbs of redemption declared by YHVH.

I will free – deliver – redeem – take you to Myself, are not confined to Passover alone because they are a reality in the life of a born again from above, Holy Spirit filled child of YHVH.

Jesus/Yeshua has fulfilled these Passover promises, He has

made us free from the law of sin and death and

we are delivered from the bondage of this worlds system and

we are redeemed by the shed blood of the Passover Lamb Messiah

and He has promised to take us to Himself forever.

He is Yeshua, Jesus, Messiah, the Passover Lamb, the broken bread, the poured out wine, YHVH, Yahweh, Jehoveh, Yehoveh, Avinu, Av/Ab, Abba, Yah, and God Almighty, El Shaddai and so much more…. He is I Am Who I Am, e’heyeh aser’ e’heyeh, He is Our Redeemer Who has Redeemed Us.

Shalom, shalom mishpachah/family

and cheverim/friends!

It’s all about Life and Relationship,

NOT Religion.

You are greatly loved and precious in His sight.

NOT SURE?

YOU CAN BE..

SAY THE FOLLOWING FROM YOUR HEART RIGHT NOW…

Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus/Yeshua asking for forgiveness of my sins for which I am truly sorry. I repent of them all and turn away from my past.

I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus/Yeshua is your Son and that He died on the cross at calvary to pay the price for my sin, so that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of Heaven. Father I believe that Jesus/Yeshua rose from the dead and I ask you to come into my life right now and be my personal Savior and Lord and I will worship you all the days of my life. Because your word is truth I say that I am now forgiven and born again and by faith I am washed clean with the blood of Jesus/Yeshua. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’/Yeshua’s name. Amen.