Tag: Exodus 12

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Discussions Torah

Bread of Heaven, bread of vengeance, bread of mercy (Exodus 10:1–13:16)

When God says, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay” (Deut. 32:35; Rom. 12:19; Heb. 10:30), He means it. We can take matters into our own hands and enact a form of justice on those who commit evil against us and our people, but we can only right the wrong done to us. Our acts of justice don’t vindicate God and bring Him honor and glory.

We see the intersection of vengeance and mercy in the 10th plague on Egypt, memorialized in the annual remembrances of Passover and Unleavened Bread, two key lessons in the Torah reading בוא Bo (“come,” Exodus 10:1-13:16).

They also are key lessons that teach us about the Messiah in the Gospels.

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Discussions Torah

Judgment that doesn’t have to come: Lessons from Egypt’s plagues (Exodus 10:1–13:16)

The Death of the First-born by Lawrence Alma Tadema. Published by Ebers, Georg. "Egypt: Descriptive, Historical, and Picturesque." Volume 1. Cassell & Company, Limited: New York, 1878. p 264b. Photo in Public Domain

The cost of freedom for enslaved Yisra’el was the death of the firstborn of Mitzraim, and the cost of our freedom from slavery to the deathward lifestyle away from the Creator is the death of the LORD’s Firstborn.

The last three plagues, including the coming of the Destroyer for the firstborn of Mitzraim, and the first Pesakh are the focus of Torah reading בוא Bo (“come,” Exodus 10:1-13:16).

Categories
Discussions Passover Torah

Exodus 10:1–13:16: Make me unleavened

"The Angel of Death and the First Passover"
Charles Foster, ed., "The Angel of Death and the First Passover," "Bible Pictures and What They Teach Us," Drawing, Public domain (U.S.), W.A Foster: Philadelphia, 1897.

When we observe the commandments of God, we are like the flatbread: nothing added, nothing taken out. In this discussion on the Torah reading Bo (“come,” Exodus 10:1-13:16), we learn are not to add to God’s commandments and we are not to treat any traditions we keep on the same level as God’s commandments. Matzot gives you life but it also give you some affliction and difficulty. God’s mitzvot are the same, they give us life but they also bring some difficulty to life.

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Torah

Does ‏אלף ’elef mean ‘thousand’ or ‘clan’ in Exodus and Numbers?

Some have asserted that the huge numbers of people listed in various places in Exodus and Numbers are impossible or unlikely for a number of real-world reasons. Those include lack of mention of such big numbers in Egyptian and other secular accounts, archaeological estimates of populations at the time, food supply and other logistics for such huge numbers during the Exodus, number of years Israel was in Egypt, smaller numbers mentioned in the Bible hundreds of years later, trepidation of Israel to invade the Land despite having huge army, etc.

Rather than exegesis — a critical examination of a text from the text — this is eisegesis — a critical examination of a text from considerations outside the text.

What follows is a close study of the numbers listed in Numbers 1 (cf. Ex. 12:37 and 38:26), the pattern for which is used in following chapters and elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible. The plain reading of the text is that the Hebrew word אלף ’elef (Strong’s lexicon No. 505) means “thousand,” rather than “clan,” “chief,” or “group.”

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Appointments With God Discussions Passover

Exodus 12 — Israel leaves Egypt for good at the first Passover

A contemplative man with a beard and mustache, wearing a straw hat and green button-up shirt, rests his chin on his hand against an olive-green background. Beside him, yellow and white text reads: "Food for Thought: Israel leaves Egypt for good at the first Passover — Exodus 12." The bottom right corner features a logo and the text "hallel.info".

The exile of the Israelites in the land of Egypt comes to a climatic end with the 10th plague — the death of the firstborn — and the first Passover, or Pesakh in Hebrew.

Categories
Appointments With God Passover Unleavened Bread

Feast of Unleavened Bread: Get the leaven out

A paint of a Roman era Jewish family of wife, husband, son and daughter sweep bread off the floor and throwing it into a trash can. The title "Get the Leaven OUT!" appeared in the upper left corner of the picture.

Why does God tell us to remove leaven — “yeast” in the NIV translation — from our mouths, homes and community during the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the seven days right after Passover? Why does God tell us then to put leaven in our mouths at Shavu’ot (Pentecost) a short time later? What does this have to do with Messiah? The connection is startling.