Lamb Selection Day is closely connected with Yom haKippurim (Day of Atonement). Both occur on the 10th day of their respective months: first month for Lamb selection day and seventh month of Yom Kippur.
And the words of the herald for the Mashiakh (Messiah), Yokhanan the Immerser (John the Baptist), that Yeshua was “the Lamb of God Who takes away the sins of the world” (Jn. 1:29) further connects these two memorials of God’s salvation plan.
Two key themes in this passage are the arrival of Yeshua into Yerushalayim on a donkey and the responsive public cry, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.” That blessed One came as the Lamb of God, yet Israel’s “shepherds” ignored Him, searching for the prophesied Lion of Yehudah. When the Lamb of God returns as the Lion of Yehudah, no one will be able to ignore Him.
This chapter covers a central theme via the interrelated parables of the lost sheep, lost coin and lost son: The Son of God was sent to “find” and “bring back” the “lost sheep” of Israel. With the soon approach of the annual Lamb Selection Day for Passover — 10th day of the first month of God’s calendar — it’s fitting to note God’s “tale of three lambs” in Luke 15 and throughout Scripture
At Passover time, I feel a close connection to the death and sacrifice of Yeshua. God gives us millions of chances to repent and come back. That grace and opportunity comes from Yeshua’s sacrifice.
When Yeshua told the elders that the scriptures speak of Him, many of us had no idea how much Messianic foreshadowing is found in this book. The exit from Egypt after Passover and the journey to Canaan was orderly, not chaotic. The journeys to and from Egypt, for Abraham, Joseph, Jacob and the Messiah are a lesson for us.
We are continuing our “Journey to the 10 (commandments)” as our ancestors of old went the first time. We see God’s “high hand” redeem our ancestors from the Egyptians once and for all. Then they continue for three more days until they reached Marah on the 24th of Aviv.
Hindsight can be a beautiful thing but sometimes hindsight blinds us rather than illuminates us. As the people of Israel are ready to leave Egypt for good, they have little idea of the epic journey has in store for them. As we read the story of Yeshua’s life in the New Testament, we have the same benefit and “curse” of hindsight as we read about the last few weeks of his life. We tend to be a little judgmental towards His favorite disciples because of they lacked a true understanding of Yeshua’s mission until after His death and resurrection. Today, ignore hindsight and discover some truths in these stories that hindsight otherwise obscures.