Creation to Eternity - Part III.

God - The Book Part III.
Creation To Eternity

The Exodus

Isaac, Abraham's son, married and became the father of twins, Jacob and Esau. Later, God gave Jacob the new name of "Israel," and he was chosen to carry on the promised line.

Jacob had twelve sons. One of them, Joseph, was sold into slavery by his own brothers, but through God's divine care, he eventually became ruler alongside the king of Egypt, the great Pharaoh.

Joseph, being a godly man, forgave his brothers and invited all his relatives to move to Egypt, saving them from a terrible famine. So the seventy descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, known as "The Children of Israel," moved to Egypt, the country which would one day enslave them, just as God had foretold Abraham.

Now these descendants of Abraham bore many children, and the land of Egypt was filled with them; But a new pharaoh, who did not remember Joseph, began to worry.

He told the Egyptians, "Behold, the Children of Israel --these Hebrews-- now outnumber us. We must deal wisely with them. If we let them continue to multiply and we become involved in a war, they might join our enemies and fight against us."

So the Egyptians turned the Hebrews into slaves. The brutal slave masters made the lives of the Children of Israel bitter with impossibly-hard work. But the more they were mistreated, the more they grew in number.

Then Pharaoh summoned the Hebrew nurses, and told them, "When you act as midwives for the Hebrew women, let their daughters live, but all newborn sons, you must kill."


The Exodus (Part 2)
   
One Hebrew mother hid her newborn son, but after three months could no longer conceal him. So she laid her baby in a basket covered with tar, and placed it in the reeds by the river's bank.

When Pharaoh's daughter came down to bathe at the river, she saw the basket among the reeds and she looked inside.
  
When she saw the baby and he cried, she felt compassion toward him and said, "This is one of the Hebrews' children."

She took the baby and raised him as her son, calling him Moses, which means, "Drawn Out of the Water."

So Moses became destined to inherit the Egyptian kingdom with all of its treasures. After Moses was grown, he went out among his Hebrew relatives who were all in bondage.

As he observed their hardships, he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew slave. When Moses thought no one was looking, he killed the Egyptian, and hid his body in the sand.

But Pharaoh heard about the Egyptian's death and went after Moses to kill him, so Moses fled and lived in the land of Midian.

After forty years, that Pharaoh died. The Children of Israel groaned under their slavery, and their cry rose up unto God. So God set about to honor His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.


The Exodus (Part 3)

Moses had become a shepherd, and, as he led his flock in the desert, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the middle of a bush: Amazingly, the bush burned, but was not consumed.

An Angel of the Lord appeared to Moses in a flame of fire from the a bush, but the bush was not burned. So Moses said, "I must go over there to see this great sight and find out why that bush is not burnt."

As he approached, God called to him out of the bush, saying, "Moses, Moses."

Moses answered, "Here I am."

Then God said, "Come no closer. Take off your shoes, for you are standing on holy ground. I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob."

Moses hid his face; because he was afraid to look at God. And the Lord said, "I have surely seen the affliction of My people in Egypt, and have heard their cry. I know their sorrows.

I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them into a good land flowing with milk and honey.

Now Moses, I will send you to Pharaoh, that you may lead My people, the Children of Israel, out of Egypt."

And Moses said unto God, "Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring Your people out of Egypt? When I say to the Children of Israel, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you'; and they say back to me, 'What is his name?' what shall I say to them?"

Then God said to Moses, "I AM THAT I AM. You shall say to the children of Israel, I AM has sent me to you."

And Moses said unto the Lord, "O my Lord, I am not eloquent. I am not a good speaker; my words get tangled up."

But the Lord answered, "Who has made man's mouth? Haven't I, the Lord? Now go. Aaron, your brother, is a good speaker. Talk through him. I will be with your mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you what you shall say and do.

When you return to Egypt, you will do miracles in front of Pharaoh. But I will harden his heart, so that he shall not let the people go. You must tell Pharaoh, 'The Lord said, Israel is My son, even My firstborn: Let My son go, so he may serve Me: and if you refuse to let him go, I will kill your son, even your firstborn."


The Exodus (Part 4)

Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, "The Lord God of Israel says, Let my people go." But Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he refused.
 
But Pharaoh demanded, "Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I don't know the Lord, neither will I let Israel go."

So Moses returned to the Lord, asking, "Lord, why did you send me? I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, but You have not delivered Your people."

God answered, "I am the Lord: And I appeared unto Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, only by the name God Almighty."

Then, the Lord explained to Moses that in Egypt He would soon reveal Himself as Jehovah, the Savior, and there also He would prove to the Egyptians that all people must worship the one true God, not His
creations. Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, "Go before Pharaoh. Take your staff, and stretch out your hand on the waters of Egypt."

Moses and Aaron did as the Lord commanded, and struck the river; and all the water in the river turned to blood. The fish died, and the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink any of the water throughout
all the land of Egypt.


The Exodus (Part 5)

The Lord spoke again to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh, and say to him, The Lord says, 'Let my people go, so they may serve Me. And if you refuse to let them go, indeed, I will strike your whole territory with frogs."

But Pharaoh refused. So frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. The frogs went into the people's houses, and into their bedrooms, on their beds, into their ovens and their mixing bowls.

Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and said, "Go, beg the Lord to take away the frogs, and I will let the people go."

But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief from the plague, he hardened his heart, just as the Lord had said. So God continued to bring plagues upon the land of Egypt. Each time Pharaoh pleaded for the plague to stop, and it would. And then each time he would break his promise to let the Children of Israel go.

So throughout the land of Egypt, God turned the dust of the earth into lice that crawled on man, and on animals. Then the magicians of Egypt said to Pharaoh, "This is the work of God."

Next, God sent swarms of flies upon Pharaoh and upon his servants. He sent a horrible plague that killed all the cattle of Egypt; but none of the cattle of the Children of Israel died.

Then Moses stood before Pharaoh and sprinkled ashes up toward heaven, which caused boils to break out on all the Egyptians and their animals. Next God warned everyone that he would bring a torrential hail storm on Egypt. All who believed the word of the Lord, made their servants and cattle hide inside their houses: But those who disregarded the word of the Lord left their servants and their cattle in the field.

Then hail, mingled with fire, came down, ruining every planted field, breaking every tree and killing the servants and animals which were not inside. Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel lived, there was no hail.

The Lord then brought locusts over all the land of Egypt. They covered everything, so that the land was darkened; and they ate every plant which the hail hadn't destroyed. Nothing green remained throughout the land of Egypt.

Then the Lord brought darkness—a darkness so thick it could be felt covered all the land of Egypt for three days. People could not see each other and they did not go outside of their houses; but all the Children of
Israel had light in their homes.

Pharaoh still wouldn't let all the people go and even threatened Moses by saying, "Get away from me. The day you see my face again, you will die."

Moses answered, "You have spoken correctly, I will never see your face again."


The Exodus (Part 6)

Then the Lord said to Moses, "I am going to bring just one more plague on Pharaoh and upon Egypt; afterwards he will actually send all of My people out of Egypt."

"This plague will bring death to all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on a throne, to the firstborn of the maidservant behind the mill. And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as has never happened before and shall never be again."

"Moses, speak to all the congregation of Israel. Tell them I said, Select a lamb, one for each household: Your lamb must a year old male with no imperfections. After four days, the whole assembly of Israel shall kill it in the evening."

"And you must take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the lamb's blood, and strike the top of the door frame and the two side posts with the blood; and none of you shall go out the door of your houses until the morning. And you must eat the lamb that night, roasted with fire; but do not break any of its bones. You must eat it with unleavened bread because it is the Lord's Passover."
   
"For I will pass through the land of Egypt, and will kill all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast. I will execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt: I am the Lord. And the blood shall be a mark of safety on the houses where you are, so when I see the blood, I will not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to smite you. He will pass-over you. And every year after this, you must celebrate the dinner of unleavened bread as a memorial, calling it the Lord's Passover."

So the Children of Israel did as the Lord had commanded them through Moses and Aaron.


The Exodus (Part 7)

Because of Egypt's sin, the Lord killed all the first born in the land of Egypt, all except his chosen people, the Children of Israel.
 
Then at midnight it happened. The Lord killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on his throne, to the firstborn of the captive in the dungeon; even all the firstborn of
cattle.

And Pharaoh and his servants and all the Egyptians woke up in the night; and there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a single house where there was not one dead.

But those inside the houses whose door posts were marked with the blood of the lamb were saved.

Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, "Wake everyone up. You and the Children of Israel must get away from my people. Go, serve the Lord just as you wanted."

And the Egyptians urged the Hebrews to hurry, trying to send them out of the land as quickly as possible, crying out, "If you don't leave, we are all going to be dead!" The Egyptians even gave their jewels and gold to the departing Hebrews.

And the Children of Israel--numbering now in the millions --left, taking with them flocks and herds.

Just as God had told Abraham, Abraham's descendants had been slaves, and they came out of bondage in the fourth generation with great wealth. So this huge nation, which God called His "firstborn" left the land of Egypt and camped on the edge of the wilderness.
  
And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, "Soon Pharaoh will think the Children of Israel have been ensnared by the desert." And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and he will follow after you; but I will be honored, so that the Egyptians may know that I am the Lord."

Then, just as God had said, Pharaoh and his servants again turned against the Hebrews, saying, "Why did we let the slaves of Israel go?"

And Pharaoh took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the other chariots of Egypt, and his horsemen and his army and pursued the Hebrews, overtaking them as they encamped with their backs to the Red Sea.


The Exodus (Part 8)

When the Hebrews looked up and saw the Egyptians, they were terrified, and they cried out to the Lord.

Then Moses said to the people, "Do not fear! Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will show to you today: for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you shall see again no more. The Lord will
fight for you."

The Lord said to Moses, "Lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea, and divide it: and the Children of Israel shall walk on dry ground through the middle of the sea."   

And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord caused a strong east wind to drive the sea back, and the waters were divided. And Israel went into the middle of the sea on dry ground—the waters forming a wall beside them on both sides.

Then all of Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen pursued the Hebrews, following after them across the dry ground. But the Lord confused the Egyptian army, and He caused the wheels on their chariots to fall off so that the horses couldn't pull them.

The Egyptians panicked. "Let's run from Israel because the Lord fights for them."

Then the Lord said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the sea." And when Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, the sea returned to its place. The Egyptians tried to escape from the water, but the Lord
defeated them in the middle of the sea.

The water covered Pharaoh's army, his chariots and his horses. All of them were destroyed. But the children of Israel had walked across on dry land right through the middle of the sea. When Israel saw this great miracle which the Lord did against the Egyptians, the people were awed, and they respected God and believed in the Lord and his servant Moses.


The Ten Commandments:

But soon after their rescue from Egypt, the Israelites complained to Moses, saying, "You brought us out into the wilderness to die. We have no water and we have no food."

Showing great mercy, the Lord responded to their doubt by bringing them water. And He also said, "Watch, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and you shall go out every morning and gather it." He did, and they called it "manna."

Soon this nation camped around a mountain in the desert of Sinai. Suddenly, there was thunder and lightning on the mountain, and out of a thick cloud, the sound of a trumpet blew so loud that all the people trembled. Then the Lord, cloaked in fire, descended on the mountain, and the whole mountain shuddered.

The Lord called Moses up to the top of the mountain and gave him the Ten Commandments.
 
And the Lord called Moses up to the top of the mountain and spoke these words to him: "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery." And as the Lord spoke, He wrote these ten commandments on tables of stone.

1. You shall have no other gods before Me.

2. You shall not make idols or bow down to them, nor serve them.

3. You shall not use the name of the Lord your God disrespectfully.

4. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

5. Honor your father and your mother.

6. You shall not murder.

7. You shall not commit adultery.

8. You shall not steal.

9. You shall not lie about your neighbor.

10. You shall not lust for your neighbor's house, or his wife, or any thing that is your neighbor's.


The Lord gave His perfect standard of holiness through these laws, but then He also showed Moses what people must do when they broke those laws.

The Lord said, "You must build an altar and dedicate it to Me. You shall make sacrifices on it and I will bless you. The blood will be a covering for your sin and I will forgive you."


NOTES:

Biblical Altar:

Biblical altars were generally structures of earth (Ex. 20:24) " 'Make an altar of earth for me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, your sheep and goats and your cattle. Wherever I cause my name to be honored, I will come to you and bless you.

or of

stones that had not been hewn
(Ex. 20:25) If you make an altar of stones for me, do not build it with dressed stones, for you will defile it if you use a tool on it.

Sacrifices were offered on them.

Altars were generally erected in conspicuous places (usually) under the direction of God:

Gen. 22:9;
When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood

(Also See: Ezek. 6:3; 2 Kings 23:12; 16:4; 23:8; Acts 14:13).

The word altar is used in Heb. 13:10 for the sacrifice offered upon it--the sacrifice Christ offered. "We have an altar from which those who minister at the tabernacle have no right to eat".

Paul found among the many altars erected in Athens one bearing the inscription, "To the unknown God" (Acts 17:23), or rather "to an [some] unknown God."  "For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you"
 
The reason for this inscription cannot now be accurately determined. However, it offered the apostle the opportunity to proclaim the gospel to the "men of Athens."

The First Altar Specifically Mentioned in the Bible is the one erected by Noah (Gen. 8:20), "Then Noah built an altar to the LORD and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it"

* I have often wondered though if during the time of Adam an alter was used for God's sacrifice as the first blood sacrifices was mentioned in Genesis with Adam and Eve (God's shedding of animal blood to make
coverings for them) and then again their son Able's offerings (Gen. 3-4).
 
* Any Thoughts On That??



Altars were erected by Abraham (Gen. 12:7; 13:4; 22:9),
by Isaac (Gen. 26:25),
by Jacob (33:20; 35:1,3),
and by Moses (Ex. 17:15, "Jehovah-nissi").

In the tabernacle, and afterwards in the temple, two altars were erected.

(1) THE ALTAR OF BURNT OFFERING (Ex. 30:28), called also the "brazen altar" (Ex. 39:39) and "the table of the Lord" (Mal. 1:7).

This altar, as erected in the tabernacle, is described in Ex. 27:1-8. It was a hollow square, 5 cubits in length and in breadth, and 3 cubits in height. It was made of shittim wood, and was overlaid with plates of brass. Its corners were ornamented with "horns" (Ex. 29:12; Lev. 4:18).

ALTAR UTENSILS - In Ex. 27:3 the various utensils used at the altar are listed. "Make all its utensils of bronze-its pots to remove the ashes, and its shovels, sprinkling bowls, meat forks and firepans". They were also made of brass. (1 Sam. 2:13,14; Lev. 16:12; Num. 16:6,7.)

TEMPLE ALTAR - In Solomon's temple the altar was larger (2 Chr. 4:1. Compare 1 Kings 8:22, 64; 9:25), and was made completely of brass, covering a structure of stone or earth.

This altar was renewed by Asa (2 Chr. 15:8). It was removed by Ahaz (2 Kings 16:14), and "cleansed" by Hezekiah, in the latter part of whose reign it was rebuilt. It was finally broken up and carried away by the Babylonians (Jer. 52:17).

After the return from captivity it was re-erected (Ezra 3:3,6) on the same place where it had formerly stood. When Antiochus Epiphanes pillaged Jerusalem the altar of burnt offering was taken away.

Again the altar was erected by Herod, and remained in its place till the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans (70 A.D.).

FIRE - The fire on the altar was not permitted to go out (Lev. 6:9).

ALTAR'S LOCATION TODAY? - In the Mosque of Omar, immediately underneath the great dome, which occupies the site of the old temple, there is a rough projection of the natural rock, of about 60 feet in its extreme length, and 50 in its greatest breadth, and in its highest part about 4 feet above the general pavement. This rock seems to have been left intact when Solomon's temple was built. * Some * believe this is the site of the altar of burnt offering. Underneath this rock is a cave, which may could have been the granary of Araunah's threshing-floor (1 Chr. 21:22).


(2) THE ALTAR OF INCENSE (Ex. 30:1-10), called also "the golden altar" (39:38; Num. 4:11), stood in the holy place "before the vail that is by the ark of the testimony."

INCENSE - On this altar sweet spices were continually burned with fire taken from the brass altar. The morning and the evening services were begun by the high priest offering incense on this altar. The burning of the incense was a type of prayer (Ps. 141:2; Rev. 5:8; 8:3,4).

SIZE AND CONSTRUCTION - This altar was a small movable table, made of acacia wood overlaid with gold (Ex. 37:25,26). It was 1 cubit in length and breadth, and 2 cubits in height.

In Solomon's temple the altar was similar in size, but was made of cedarwood (1 Kings 6:20; 7:48) overlaid with gold. In Ezek. 41:22 it is called "the altar of wood." (Compare Ex. 30:1-6.)

In the temple built after the Exile the altar was restored. Antiochus Epiphanes took it away, but it was later restored by Judas Maccabaeus (1 Macc. 1:23; 4:49). Among the trophies carried away by Titus on the
destruction of Jerusalem the altar of incense is not found, nor is any mention made of it in Heb. 9.

It was at this altar Zacharias ministered when an angel appeared to him (Luke 1:11). It is the only altar which appears in the heavenly temple (Isa. 6:6; Rev. 8:3,4).

History of Passover

~ Passover ~

Perhaps the best known of the Jewish holidays, the splendid festival known as Passover has a rich and fascinating history.

The origin of Passover relates back to over 3,000 years ago, when Jacob, a Hebrew, came to Egypt along with his twelve sons. Canaan, the land where they dwelt was struck by a severe famine. Jacob pleaded with the Pharaoh to allow them to live in Egypt. The kindly Pharaoh granted them the permission and allowed them to live in the Land of Goshen, the eastern part of the Nile Delta in Egypt. Jacob and his sons went there and started to live in peace. One of Jacob's sons, Joseph, even rose to acquire the post of viceroy over Egypt and the manager of Egypt's grain stores. Many years later, Jacob and his sons died but their heirs never went back to their land. For many years, the Hebrews resided and made their living in Goshen. They dwelt there in relative harmony with the native Egyptians.

But their rapidly growing population, in the eyes of the Egyptian royals, posed a threat to the empire. The new Pharaoh, unlike his ancestors, was harsh on the Hebrews and viewed them always with suspicion. He had forever seen them as outsiders and thought that the huge number of foreigners could join an enemy force and bring down the Egyptian empire any time. To keep them subjugated and quash their will, the Pharaoh enslaved the entire Hebrew population and forced them to build two new cities that were to be the centers of food supply for the Egyptians. Though he managed to do that alright, the population of the Hebrews could not still be kept under check. So the Pharaoh ordered his men to throw all newborn Hebrew boys into the waters of the Nile.

For many days, nothing but cries and wails could be heard from Hebrew households as their infant boys were killed with unfailing regularity. The Pharaoh's men followed his orders to the word. They raided every Hebrew home to check for any newborn male and brutally slaughtered it if they found any.

One day Thermuthis, one of the Pharaoh's daughters, saw a tiny boat floating on the river while she was bathing with her handmaidens. Curious, she ordered them to bring it to her. Her surprise knew no bounds when she found the boat to be only a small craft of bulrushes coated in pitch with a newborn baby boy inside. The princess took pity on the infant and upon the insistence of a little girl Miriam, ordered a Hebrew woman Jochebed to look after the baby. Little did she know that Jochebed was actually the mother of the infant and Miriam, his sister. The whole thing was a ploy by Jochebed to save her baby from the marauding soldiers of the Pharaoh.

Some years later, the princess adopted the child and gave him the name of "Moses", meaning "one who is drawn out" or "one who is pulled out" as the princess really brought him out of water. Little did the princess or the people of Egypt know at that time, least of all Jochebed, that the little boy was born to be the deliverer of the Hebrews.

Moses ended being brought up into the Egyptian royal family, his identity unknown to them. On reaching adulthood, however, he came to know who he was really. He went to see how his brethren who were enslaved to the Egyptians were faring. Angered by the brutal treatment meted out to the people of his race, in a fit of rage, Moses killed an Egyptian slave master whom he had seen beating a Hebrew and buried his body in the sand, supposing that no one saw it or even those who knew about the incident would be disinclined to talk about it. But he soon discovered from a higher authority that the affair was known, and that Pharaoh was likely to put him to death for it.

To avoid punishment, he made his escape over the Sinai Peninsula. He escaped to the desert, joined a group of shepherds, and became a shepherd himself. He married Zipporah, a shepherd woman, became a father and lived the life of a shepherd for forty years.

One night, as he was leading his flock, Moses was imparted supernatural powers by God Jehovah and commanded to be a deliverer of the Hebrews. By God's orders, Moses returned to Egypt with his elder brother Aaron and approached Pharaoh Rameses II, son of the previous Pharaoh. He delivered to the Pharaoh God's demand that the Israelite slaves be allowed to leave Egypt for 3 days for the purpose of observing a holiday of worship and prayer in the wilderness for Jehovah, the Lord God of Israel. When the Pharaoh refused, Moses and Aaron went away to return again the following morning. They showed him a miraculous sign of warning - Aaron's staff turned into a serpent. Pharaoh's sorcerers, using trickery, performed the same feat, but Aaron's serpent turned back into a staff after swallowing the staffs of the magicians (Exodus 5:1 - 5:9, 7:8 - 7:13).

The Pharaoh, however, remained unimpressed. He refused to read the signs. His refusal brought to the land of Egypt the famous ten plagues, an account of which is found in the chapters 7-12 of Exodus. By God's command and with his assistance, Moses inflicted the plagues to force the Pharaoh to release the Jews from slavery. The plagues wreaked havoc on the Egyptian households, but the Israelites were unharmed every time. The tenth and the last plague was the deadliest of them all. It resulted in the death of the firstborn of every Egyptian family, including that of the Pharaoh. But under instruction from Moses, the Israelites marked the doorposts of their dwellings with the blood of a spring lamb, so that God could identify them easily and spare their families and pass over their houses.

The festival of "Passover" commemorates this sparing of Jewish lives by God. The name of the holiday comes from the fact that God "passed over" the houses of the Jews when he was slaying the firstborn of Egypt. In Hebrew, it is known as Pesach (meaning "passing over" or "protection").

Following the tenth plague, there was widespread uproar in Egypt. Without any delay, the Pharaoh summoned Moses and his brother Aaron; he implored them to get out of the land of Egypt taking all the Israelites with them, whom he had kept as slaves. He allowed them to take their cattle and even all that they needed in their safe passage to another land.

As the good word was brought to them, the Hebrews made preparations to leave Egypt immediately for they feared that the Pharaoh might change his mind and stop them from leaving afterwards. In their haste, they could only take unleavened bread with them, called Matza, which is a part of celebration even today. By Moses' order, they took along enough food and water with them and even borrowed from the Egyptians their jewels of gold, silver and raiment who obliged readily. Such was the effect of the Lord's power on their minds that the Egyptians who had until then treated the Israelites as dirt, paid them respect now. They also feared that they might incur God's wrath further if the Israelites had to stay back. They lent them all such things that they required for their journey and wished them a safe passage.

As expected, the Pharaoh soon changed his mind, and before long, he was in pursuit of the runaways with a large army. He was determined to bring the Jews back. The Hebrews had traveled for 40 days and nights, and were just at the northern tip of the Red Sea, when they saw the emperor's army advancing towards them. Shut in between the Pharaoh's army and the sea, the Israelites despaired and asked for help from Moses. It was then that a miracle happened. The book of Exodus records that by God's command Moses held out his staff towards the sea. A fierce wind blew all night. At daybreak, the waters of the Red Sea stood divided with a patch of land in between so that Moses, with the Hebrews could pass safely across on dry ground. When the Egyptian army attempted to follow, God made the waters to return upon them and drown them. It is not known whether the Pharaoh met the same fate as his soldiers for the Egyptian records do not chronicle such an event.

The Jewish people still hold this day dear to their hearts and they still thank the Lord for saving their ancestors the way he did.

In the days before Passover, the house is prepared. The house is searched for any trace of yeast products (chametz), and the whole family is involved in the search. All products made from yeast are eaten or removed from the house, or given away to Non-Jewish people. All the dishes, silverware, pots and pans are changed for a set that is used only for Passover.

In remembrance of the hardships their ancestors faced in slavery, the Jewish people hold a feast called the 'Seder' on the first night of Passover (first two nights in Orthodox and Conservative communities outside the land of Israel), a custom that has been practiced ever since the Hebrews were free from the slavery.

The word 'Seder' stands for 'order' and signifies the order of historical events recalled in the Passover meal as well as the meal itself. The Seder is celebrated by each participant to relive the Exodus as a personal spiritual event. The Seder is of a religious nature with a carefully prescribed ritual that makes the dinner quite unlike family dinners held on civil holidays. The ritual is laid out along with the main story of Passover being retold from the 'Haggadah', a special book that is followed during the Seder. The table is set with the finest china and silverware to reflect the importance of this meal.

While the main story of Passover is read by Jews the world over, local customs and traditions have changed over time, so that the festival has been adapted to reflect the life and routine of individual communities.
As the Exodus of the Jews from Egypt took place in the spring, Passover is always celebrated in the spring. Passover is celebrated for 8 days (7 for Reform Jews), and always begins on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Nisan. The first day commemorates the escape of the Jews from the tenth plague while the remaining seven days mark their liberation from slavery and Exodus from Egypt.

In Israel, Passover is celebrated for seven days, with the first and last days observed as legal holidays and as holy days respectively. All the Jews abstain from work and observe these two days with special prayer services and holiday meals. The Seder is held on the very first day. The five days in between are known as "Chol HaMoed" (meaning "festival days"). It is a time for family outings and picnic lunches of matzo, hardboiled eggs, fruits and vegetables, and Passover treats such as macaroons and homemade candies. While modern Israeli Jews observe a seven-day holiday wherever they are, Diaspora Jews observe the festival for eight days, the only exceptions being the Reform and Reconstructionst Jews. The Jews outside Israel conduct the Seder twice, on both the first and second days of Passover.

The "Passover" festival is also referred to as "Chag he-Aviv" (the Spring Festival), "Chag ha-Matzoth" (the Festival of Matzahs), and "Zeman Herutenu" (the Time of Our Freedom). It is the first of the three major Jewish festivals (the other two are Shavu'ot and Sukkot) with both historical and agricultural implication. Agriculturally, it marks the beginning of the harvest season in Israel. The primary observances of Passover are related to the Exodus from Egypt after 400 years of slavery.

The Bread of Life...

"And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it, and gave to them, and said, Take, eat: this is my body. And he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them: and they all drank of it. And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many" Mark 14:22-24

During the Passover ceremony, three pieces of unleavened bread, or matzah are brought out in a special covering. This is known as a Unity. The middle piece of matzah is removed, broken, and hidden away. This hidden piece of bread is known as the Afikmen.

Later on, during the meal, the Afikmen is brought forth from it's hiding place, is blessed, and is broken and eaten. This is the piece of bread that Jesus broke and distributed to his disciples, saying, "Take it; this is my body."

This bread was the middle piece of three, as in, Father, Son, Holy Ghost! This bread was broken and hidden away, just as Jesus' body was broken and hidden in a tomb! This bread is known as the Afikmen, which means, "I have come"!

In the order of the Passover ceremony, a cup of wine known as "The Cup Of Redemption" is blessed and passed around for all to drink. This is the cup that Jesus offered to his disciples, saying, "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many,"

For 3500 years, the Jews have unknowingly foreshadowed Christ's death in their Passover ceremony, and for 2000 years we have continued as Christians to do this in remembrance of our Lord and Savior. What a beautiful ceremony Passover is! What a beautiful ceremony Communion is! What a beautiful thing our Lord has done in connecting them forever, through Jesus Christ!