Category: Passover

Bread of Affliction

8/10/2025

Sweat trickled in small streams down his face, making narrow rivulets through the dust and grime. He lifted his hand over his head and brought is down again in a swift, sudden movement, beating the miniscule wheat out of the chaff. The process was especially difficult—there was no breeze to chase away the chaff or the heat that beat down upon him, the waves dancing up and down upon the chiseled-out rock winepress.
      “Egypt,” the man of God had said. “Deliverance.” “...Gave us this land.” The words repeated continuously in his mind, in cadence with every blow. The “God of Israel.” The One who “led” us.
      The young man paused, lifting his back up into a standing position, arching against the pain. His painfully thin arm reached up and scrubbed away at the sweat trickling into his eyes, the salt stinging, the moisture blurring his vision. He looked out over the fields below. Stripped. Bare. Ugly. Brown.
      They had come again and left nothing. Seven long years they had come. He looked down again to his small pile. All he had beaten out was barely enough to sow for next year, let alone live off of through the winter.
      He felt tears spring to his eyes, smarting painfully before joining the sweat pooling on his chin. The man of God had given no hope. Just condemnation. Only a reminder of what God had done for others. Just the statement: “You haven’t obeyed.”
      He knew it was true. He’d watched his village meet at the Asherah pole and sacrifice what they had to Baal. They’d hoped that serving the gods of their enemies would prevent their enemies from coming, would ensure an abundant harvest and bigger families. But the child sacrifice had only made their numbers smaller, only brought more pain and grief as the laughter in the streets had turned to silence and the sound of the little feet running had ceased.
      Even more shameful was that it was his own dad who had set it up. As he recalled that night, his head hung lower and his shoulders, their blades sticking gauntly from his back, began to slump. His dad had thought maybe they could be like the other nations; that wealth and abundance could come to them just like it seemed to for their enemies.
They used to have some things, but now there was nothing left—except his dad’s bulls. Those he had kept. They were a symbol of Ba’al, the storm god who controlled the rains that made their crops grow. They were sacred. They had to be fed and fattened with the grain that was withheld from the starving people.
      A picture of the idol sprang to his mind, the golden head of the bull with his horns of strength and might raised up into the sky. His arms were outstretched, waiting for the children he would be given in exchange for his favor. The sacred tree-pole of the Asherah goddess was erected next to him, her promise of supernatural fertility mocking the now emaciated worshippers.
      Gideon shuddered as he shook away the horror of what he’d seen, wishing to erase it from his memory. How could people be so cruel?
He looked up again, eager to look elsewhere, to redirect his mind. He sighed. Yes, they did deserve this. They had given their children and disobeyed God’s commands. He had told them never to give their children or to serve those idols.
He felt anger grip his heart, tightening, painful in its intensity. In a sudden, weary exhaustion, the anger collapsed back to fear and despair.
God would never forgive them. They were here because of their own sin.
There was no hope.

The people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of Yehovah, and Yehovah gave them into the hand of Midian (מִדְיָן S#4080 midyan: descended from Abraham’s son Midian by his wife Keturah; from מִדְיָן S#4079 madown: brawling, contention) seven years. 2And the hand of Midian overpowered Israel, and because of Midian the people of Israel made for themselves the dens that are in the mountains and the caves and the strongholds. 3For whenever the Israelites scattered seed, the Midianites and the Amalekites (עֲמָלֵק S#6002 Amalek: a descendant of Esau; from עָמַל S#5998 strenuous human effort that carries a sense of weariness, frustration, and even sorrow) and the people of the East would come up against them. 4They would encamp against them and devour the produce of the land, as far as Gaza, and leave no ability to stay alive in Israel and no sheep or ox or donkey. 5For they would come up with their livestock and their tents; they would come like locusts in number—both they and their camels could not be counted—so that they laid waste the land as they came in. 6And Israel was brought very low because of Midian. And the people of Israel cried out for help to Yehovah. Judges 6:1-5

God's hand is mighty. The Bible often tells us that God saved His people by His mighty hand. Yet, when we sin, it is not His hand but the hand of others who also sin to whom God gives us over. He does this to remind us of what our sin does. As others hurt us through their sin, we begin to realize the sad reality of what sin does, now turned against us. Often our response is to blame God for our consequences: “A person’s own folly leads to their ruin, yet their heart rages against the LORD” (Prov. 19:3 NIV), But this is a mistake and will never bring us back into relationship.
It is our Midianites and Amalekites that bring us back to God by showing us the result of our choices. Midianites are the contentions that arise, those fights and arguments that steal our peace and cause our relationships to be broken. Amalekites are all the human efforts we put into trying to save what we have in a way that only brings weariness, frustration and sorrow.
These two painful enemies come into our lives like locusts, swarming in such numbers and landing on everything green and growing that we have in our lives. By the time they are done ravaging our land, there is nothing left; everything is stripped bare and lifeless. There is no more bread.
When we have finally had enough of our own selfishness and sin, when we finally can see the devastation it causes in our lives and the lives around us, we may find ourselves willing to cry out to God.

7When the people of Israel cried out to Yehovah on account of the Midianites, 8 Yehovah sent a prophet to the people of Israel. And he said to them, “Thus says Yehovah, the God of Israel: I led you up from Egypt and brought you out of the house of slavery. 9And I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all who oppressed you, and drove them out before you and gave you their land. 10And I said to you, ‘I am Yehovah your God; you shall not fear the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell.’ But you have not obeyed my voice.” Judges 6:7-10

"Why didn't you listen to the ones I sent?"
Have you ever had a friend, pastor, fellow Christian, family member—or even a complete stranger, confront you about your sin? It is easy for our response to be offended denial and defensiveness. "Who are you to judge!" We might angrily retort. We may resist the very words of God if we are not sufficiently humbled enough to receive even the hard words that might bring life back to our souls. How that grieves Jesus!

“Whoever listens to you listens to me; whoever rejects you rejects me; but whoever rejects me rejects him who sent me.” Luke 10:16

And they went back and reported [Jesus' resurrection\ to the rest, but they did not believe them either. 14Later, as they were eating, Jesus appeared to the Eleven and rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen. Mark 16:13-14

Instead of becoming angry when we are confronted, let's remember how much courage and love they must have to face the potential of our anger and perhaps punitive response. Fortunately, and notably quickly for the stories in the book of Judges, the people were ready to respond to God’s gracious remonstrance. And as God always does, He had a plan already for their salvation.

11Now the Ambassador of Elohim came and sat under the oak (אִלָה S#424 or terebinth; from אַיִל S#352 strength, mighty, a pillar, a mighty man, to be twisted together to form a stronger element, as in a cord) at Ophrah (from עָפַר S#6080-6083 dust), which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon ( גִּדְעוֹן S#1439: one who cuts down, a warrior, a feller of trees; from גָּדַע S#1438 gada and גָּדַל S#1438 gadol: to twist, to be great, to grow, to be mighty) was beating out wheat in the winepress to allow it to escape from the Midianites. Judges 6:11

Gideon was hiding at the place of dust, Ophrah, from which he had been created. Dust reminds us that just as we were made from the dust of the cursed ground, as a result of our sin we also will return to dust at the end of our toilsome days (Gen. 3:19). It is our inevitable end to work with difficulty to cultivate the ground, to scatter seed and to have thorns and thistles make the task of yielding a harvest of seed and bread for food a wearisome task (Gen 3). Dust reminds us of our frailness, the temporal nature of our fleeting lives and our extreme vulnerability.
Contrastingly, the oak (or terebinth) tree was a symbol of strength and might in the Bible, and it was under these trees that judgments and judicial decisions would be made by judges, as well as covenants entered into by the people. And yet it is here that Gideon is found, not threshing the grain on the hilltop so that the wind might chase away the chaff, but hiding down in a winepress in order that the Midianites might not see that he was trying to store away what he had been able to retain.

12And the Ambassador of Elohim (מֲלְאָךְ S#4397 / מֶלֶךְ S#4428 malek: ambassador, king, envoy of the king; אֱלהִים S#430 elohim: plural of God, the triune godhead) appeared to him and said to him, “Yehovah is with you, O mighty man of valor!” (חַיִל S#2428 chayil: mighty, valor, abundance, wealth) 13And Gideon said to him, “Please, my lord, if Yehovah is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all his wonderful deeds that our fathers recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not Yehovah bring us up from Egypt?’ But now Yehovah has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian.”

"Why, God?"
Oh, dear ones! Isn’t that so often the question aching in our hearts? If God is with us, if God is for us, if God loves us, if God is all powerful and all knowing, then “Why???” Why did my mom die from painful disease? Why did I lose my baby? Why did my spouse betray me? Why did my child reject me? Why did we lose everything we had worked hard for? Why are we impoverished? Why is everything I try to accomplish destroyed by the enemy of my soul?
We’ve heard the stories of what God has done for others. Incredible miracles. Happily-ever-after soundbytes. It’s even painful to hear them at times. And yet God has allowed devastation to come on us and seems to be uncaring. In fact, when the prophet came to condemn the people for not obeying God, it wasn’t necessarily Gideon who had been disobedient. Often, though, we find God’s people suffering along with others as God has to give loving discipling and correction to whole nations and communities.
But God’s representative has not come to berate Gideon for the sins of his family members or his nation. Rather, He has come to commission Gideon and to remind him that though he is dust, his very name carries the greatness, abundance and might that God can instill in a person committed to operating by faith.
Though Gideon had learned through trauma and hardship to have a scarcity mindset, God was ready to teach him about the abundance we have in Christ.

14And Yehovah turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you?” 15And he said to him, “Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh (מְנַשֶּׁה S#4519; from נָשָׁה S#5382 to cause to forget), and I am the least in my father’s house.” 16And Yehovah said to him, “But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.” 17And he [Gideon] said to Him, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, then show me a sign that it is You who speak with me. 18Please do not depart from here until I come to You and bring out my present and set it before You.” And he said, “I will stay till you return.”

It is worth noting that, although Gideon was hiding, he had, in fact, shown a tremendous amount of faith in his act of continuing to scatter seed and gather it even through seven long years of raids by their enemies. Though he was hiding in a winepress, he was still using the strength he had and the resources he could find. Perhaps it was as a result of this act of faith that the Ambassador of Elohim, the very image-bearer of God Himself, would come to him. Under this great and mighty oak, God manifested in the flesh as Jesus had come to Gideon. He had declared that Gideon also was a mighty man of valor. Just as the word for Oak means also to be twisted together for strength, we know that it is a “three cord strand” that is “not easily broken (Eccl. 4:12). When we are twisted together with Jesus, God the Father and the Holy Spirit, we are indeed mighty.
Gideon was a descendant of the tribe of Manasseh, which means “to forget.” Joseph had named his son Manasseh because God had so blessed him with abundance and greatness that he no longer remembered the painful years of slavery his brothers had inflicted upon him in Egypt.

[God\ allowed no one to oppress them;
he rebuked kings on their account,
15saying, “Touch not my anointed ones,
do my prophets no harm!”
When [God\ summoned a famine on the land
and broke all supply of bread,
17He had sent a man ahead of them,
Joseph, who was sold as a slave.
18His feet were hurt with fetters;
his neck was put in a collar of iron;
19until what He had said came to pass,
the word of the Lord tested him.
20The king sent and released him;
the ruler of the peoples set him free;
21he made him lord of his house
and ruler of all his possessions, Psalm 105:14-21 ESV

Psalm 105 tells us that first God would not allow His chosen ones to be harmed, then shares that Joseph was allowed to be harmed. In Joseph’s story, it was also a famine of grain, just as in Gideon’s. Additionally, God had promised Joseph that one day he would be great and powerful. It was God’s word to him that tested and tried his faith while falsely accused and imprisoned for many years.
But in due course, God word was fulfilled and Joseph’s faith was found to be genuine. So also with Gideon, God would bring him through this testing of his faith and into a place of abundance.

19So Gideon went into his house and prepared a young goat and unleavened cakes from an ephah of flour. The meat he put in a basket, and the broth he put in a pot, and brought them to him under the terebinth [oak\ and presented them. 20And the Ambassador of Elohim said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened cakes, and put them on this Rock, and pour the broth over them.” And he did so. 21Then the Ambassador of Elohim reached out the tip of the staff that was in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened cakes. And fire sprang up from the Rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened cakes. And the Ambassador of Elohim vanished from his sight. 22Then Gideon perceived that he was the Ambassador of Elohim. And Gideon said, “Alas, O Lord God! For now I have seen the Ambassador of Elohim face to face.” 23But Yehovah said to him, “Peace be to you. Do not fear; you shall not die.” 24Then Gideon built an altar there to Yehovah and called it, Yehovah Is Peace. To this day it still stands at Ophrah (dust), which belongs to the Abiezrites (אֲבִי הָעֶזְרִי S#33 abi (father of) ezer (help).

Gideon was now offering a sacrifice to Yeshua, to Jesus, who is the Ambassador and direct representation of the Father (Heb. 1:3).
This offering is reminiscent of the Pesach, or Passover Supper that Jesus celebrated with His disciples on the night before His death as their Passover Lamb. This Last Supper, Jesus declared, was symbolic of His own body and blood given for the sin of mankind. According to the commandments relating to the observance of this Feast, this animal offering could be either a firstborn, unblemished, young goat or lamb (Exodus 12:4-5). This offering would be eaten in haste and entire, and the blood put over the door of their households in order to spare their firstborn from death. It would be served with unleavened bread, in sign of the haste with which they would need to leave Egypt out of their slavery. Instead of the children of Israel being killed as the pharaoh had predicted, it was instead his own son whose life had been required.
Just as Jesus vanished from Gideon’s sight after receiving the offering, so also Jesus vanished from the sight of His disciples after death and His resurrection.

30When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. 31And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. 32They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” 33And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, 34saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” 35Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread. Luke 24:30-35

After this realization, the disciples immediately went running back to Jerusalem to tell the rest of the unbelieving disciples that they had just seen the Risen Lord, just as He had foretold. Their hearts had burned, just as the Gideon’s bread had burned, both with the eternal fire of Jesus.

And they [the two disciples of Luke 24:30-36\ went back and reported it to the rest, but they did not believe them either. Mark 16:13

36As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace to you!” 37But they were startled and frightened, thinking they had seen a spirit. Luke 24:36-37

14Later, as they were eating, Jesus appeared to the Eleven and rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen. Mark 16:14

When the word of God has so touched our hearts, when we realize that we have been with Jesus, our hearts burn within us. The sacrifice that He receives are a broken and contrite (repentant) heart (Ps. 51:17) that we give Him as a result of our gratitude for His sacrifice for us.
Just as Gideon was startled and frightened when he realized he had seen the face of God in the form of Jesus, so also the disciples became afraid. But Jesus is the God of Peace, and it this peace He leaves with us—not a peace like the world gives, but a peace that is everlasting and can never be taken away!
The Rock from which the fire sprang is Jesus (1 Pet. 2:4-8) and He Himself was made from the dust of the ground, just like us, being made like us in every way (Heb. 2:17). He still stands with us, being fully God and fully man.
All of it belongs to Abi-ezer, our "Father of Help." God is our Father, and the Helper, the Holy Spirit, is the other member of the triune godhead:

But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. John 14:26

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8

“So Send I you!”

25That same night Yehovah said to him, “Take your father’s bull, and the second bull seven years old, and pull down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the Asherah that is beside it 26and build an altar to Yehovah your God on the top of the stronghold here, with stones laid in due order. Then take the second bull and offer it as a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah that you shall cut down.” 27So Gideon took ten men of his servants and did as Yehovah had told him. But because he was too afraid of his family and the men of the town to do it by day, he did it by night. Judges 6:25-27

It is notable that it was the very same night that God gave this instruction to Gideon. Jesus also went out from the Passover Last Supper with His disciples and was taken in custody by the soldier in the Garden of Gethsemane. This was done by night, because the high priests were afraid of the people who believed Jesus to be their Messiah:

At that hour Jesus said to the crowds, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me? Day after day I sat in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me. But all this has taken place that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples left him and fled.
Matt. 26:55-56

The ten servants represent the ten commandments of the Law, by which Jesus must be crucified in order to redeem us from the curse of the Law (Matt. 5:17), thus fulfilling all the requirements of the Law, and the stones represent the entirety of the nation of Isael:

There are to be twelve stones, one for each of the names of the sons of Israel, each engraved like a seal with the name of one of the twelve tribes. Exodus 28:21

Additionally, Though Jesus had vanished from Gideon’s sight, He is still there. His presence would not leave, and His voice would be heard. He has promised never to leave us, never to forsake us (Deut. 31:6, Matt. 28:20)
Before we can fight the larger battles, there is often a battle closer to home that we need to address. While sin comes in a multitude of ways, the sins of the ancient people groups really aren’t any different than we encounter today, in our own culture, in our own families.
Abortion, sexual immorality, greed (which is idolatry (Col. 3:5), lust, dishonesty, rebellion, lust and hatred are just some that God has repeatedly warned us will bring nothing but destruction to our lives.
God did not send Gideon first to tackle the nations problem. He sent him first to his own family’s issues.
Sometimes these seemingly smaller battles to win people to a relationship with God are more intimidating than the larger ones. The fear of alienating family members, rejection by our immediate community and friend groups, and even retaliation for our obedience to cutting off anything from our lives that causes us and others to sin that can be very intimidating and have painful reactions by those we love.
Jesus’ final command to His disciples after He rebuked them for not listening to the women and men He had sent to witness to His death and resurrection was to go to world and witness to what we have seen:

15And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. Mark 16:15-16

Gideon’s family had been practicing idolatry—what is more, they had been leading their community in this practice. Gideon’s name also carries the idea of cutting down, of felling. He was being instructed to walk in this: to cut down the idols, to cut down the Asherah pole.
Not only that, but the bull God instructed Gideon to sacrifice was what his family was saving to live off of. No doubt they had been carefully hidden and safeguarded from their enemies. Gideon was to take his father’s bull, and a second bull seven years old. This second bull had been alive ironically and tellingly as long as the oppression the people of Israel had undergone. It had been kept safe through all of the difficulties; honored, worshipped and fattened. Just as the Ba’al idol was fashioned in the image of a sacred bull, the symbol of strength and might, the bulls represented the strength the people were trying to obtain through their efforts and pointless sacrifices.
God had commanded Gideon to remove it, placing his entire dependence upon God alone for their needs. They could no longer count on these physical provisions or their own ingenuity to protect them from starvation. They must rest their hope entirely on God’s help. With the sacrifice of Jesus, the people unknowingly rejected Him while simultaneously securing the means to the salvation of the world.

Jesus was the second bull, taking on the form of sinful flesh, though innocent of all charges. The first man, Barabbas, guilty of sin and charged justly under the Law, was released because his debt was being paid by Jesus:

After [Pilate\ had said this, he went back outside to the Jews and told them, “I find no guilt in [Jesus\. But you have a custom that I should release one man for you at the Passover. So do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?” They cried out again, “Not this man, but Barabbas!” Now Barabbas was a robber.
John 18:38-40

The people, crying out to crucify Jesus with the chant, "We have no king but Caesar!" showed their own idolatry to the pagan idolatrous practice of worshipping their Caesar.

28When the men of the town rose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was broken down, and the Asherah beside it was cut down, and the second bull was offered on the altar that had been built. 29And they said to one another, “Who has done this thing?” And after they had searched and inquired, they said, “Gideon the son of Joash (יְהוֹאָשׁ S#3060 fire of Yehovah) has done this thing.” 30Then the men of the town said to Joash, “Bring out your son, that he may die, for he has broken down the altar of Baal and cut down the Asherah beside it.” 31But Joash said to all who stood against him, “Will you contend for Baal? Or will you save him? Whoever contends for him shall be put to death by morning. If he is a god, let him contend for himself, because his altar has been broken down.” 32Therefore on that day Gideon was called Jerubbaal, that is to say, “Let Baal contend against him,” because he broke down his altar.
Judges 6:28-32

We find that what Joash should have done, Gideon did. Joash had been unwilling to take on the responsibility, had been too afraid of the nations, of the idols and of the people. But just as Ba’al, the storm god, was depicted with lightning, the fire from heaven in their reliefs, so Joash’ name reflects this dynamic. It was the fire of God that they needed to fear. It was the fire of God, which had touched Gideon’s offering.
But Joash did state one thing very correctly: If Ba’al was god, he could fight his own battles.

Though Gideon was certainly not a god, Jesus was God Himself. It is ironic, then, that the declaration of Baal's need to contend, or fight for himself, is echoed in the mocking jeers of the rulers at the foot of the cross:

And the people stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!” Luke 23:35

We see that to the Jews, power is all-important as a sign of God's authority (1 Cor. 1:22-24), which became a stumbling block to them receiving Jesus. However, it is in the foolishness and weakness of the cross that the gospel was chosen to come to us. Jesus knew that He would receive salvation from the grave in due time and willingly gave up enacting His own contention. Unlike Baal, who would indeed come next to contend against Gideon, Jesus knew that His vindication would come from God alone.
This was an entire sacrifice, including the accursed wood of the asherah tree. Significantly, it was the wood of the tree, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, that had borne the fruit that through mankind’s disobedience would bring death and sin to all of God’s Creation. It was the wood of this tree that was accursed. As it is written:

22“And if a man has committed a crime punishable by death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, 23his body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall bury him the same day, for a hanged man is cursed by God. You shall not defile your land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance.
Deut. 21:22-23

“Bring out your son that he may die!”
Early in the morning the men of the town surrounded Gideon's father. This happened also with Jesus:

Early in the morning, the chief priests, elders, scribes, and the whole Sanhedrina devised a plan. They bound Jesus, led Him away, and handed Him over to Pilate. Mark 15:1

The words of the people of Ophrah, those people of dust, resound in our ears with impact. Unlike Gideon's father, our The Father, God, did bring out His Son. He was given as a sacrifice because of the need to destroy the works of darkness, to destroy that ancient enemy, the Serpent. It is this cursed tree that must be used to redeem us from the curse of sin. Jesus would become sin, become our curse, so that we might be brought back into relationship with our God:

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.”
Gal 3:13

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Cor. 5:21 ESV

When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. 15And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. Col 2:13-15

Just as Gideon had to contend first with his sin and that of his family, so Jesus was sent first to the lost sheep of Israel (Matt. 15:24) and then His disciples were sent to bring the good news to the world. This would take great courage.
Gideon, the feller of trees, the mighty warrior, stands in the symbolic place of Jesus, who felled the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, became sin on this tree and broke down the altar of Ba’al (בַּעַל S#1168 ba’al: owner, master), the slave master over us. God had indeed rescued Gideon and His people from Egypt once again. With Jesus’ help, we will never again be in slavery to sin or endless work to receive our salvation.
There is, and only ever will be, one Sacrifice that will bring us victory over sin's mastery and back into relationship with God. Have you trusted in Jesus alone for your salvation? Have you confronted your need to repent?
Have you been willing to confront the sin in your family and in your community? When will it be worth it to tell people just how devastating their sin has been and what their remedy is?

Will you let fear stop you from bringing salvation to those you love?

https://www.thearchaeologist.org/blog/the-worship-of-baal-in-the-ancient-levant
https://armstronginstitute.org/325-zeus-baal-and-a-rare-bronze-bull-idol-discovered-in-greece
https://www.ancient-origins.net/history/moloch-0016383
https://www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends-asia/identity-moloch-0011457

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Behold, the Lamb of God!

4/28/2024

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Every year Pesach is celebrated, and every year the Jewish nation awaits their Messiah. When we visited Israel two years ago, I was able to speak with a Jew at the Pool of Siloam. He questioned me about Jesus, and told me that the Jewish people are fearfully awaiting the coming of the Messiah, because they are told that he was coming soon, ready or not. To get ready, they are told, they must do enough good works. Sometime between now and the end of the 6000 years of the world, he will come. If they are ready, it will be to set up his kingdom. If they are not, it will be to judge them. He asked me about our Messiah. We talked about how Jesus, a Jew, is the passover lamb, crucified for our sins to bring us back into a relationship with God. We talked about how He is coming again, and all those who place their faith and trust in Him have no fear of His coming, but only joy and anticipation!

It was deeply sad to me that, for many of the Jews, a "veil lies over their hearts," so that they cannot see that their Messiah has come.

Yet hidden in their own Seder meal is the very heart of the gospel. Moses prophesied that a “Prophet like” him would come, One whom God’s people must listen to. The Messiah, a prophet deliverer like Moses has come, was rejected, suffered and died for our sins to reconcile us to the Father and rose again to give us new life! This good news is first for the Jews, then to the Gentiles. Not only that, but the Exodus story is prophesied to repeat itself, when our Messiah returns for His people. On that day, The Suffering Messiah will come as the Triumphant King! God’s people will be delivered and the Enemy we see before us today, we will see no more forever! (Ex. 13:14)

As we meditate on this holy and deeply meaningful feast, I invite you to join us as we discover the meaning behind each element and the incredible hope we have as we await our Messiah, Jesus, who will return again for us!

The week of Pesach, of Passover, begins on Nisan 14th with a Seder meal and concludes with the bringing of the Firstfruits and rituals in readiness for the Harvest.

Yeast Removal

Each household was commanded to examine and remove all leaven from their homes. Ridding all forms of yeast, or leaven, from the whole household was meticulously done for days. All breads with any leaven were abstained from for the entirety of the seven day festival. This represented the close examination of our hearts by the Holy Spirit to remove any sin against God or others. We are to repent of any wrong and remove anything within our homes or families and even throughout our whole church family that causes us to turn away from obedience to God (Exodus 12:8, 15, 13:7, 1 Cor. 5: 11:27-29).

Fast of the Firstborn

Some Jews have the practice that the firstborn in every family fasts on the eve of Passover from sunrise to sunset. This comes from the firstborn son being consecrated to God alone as the Firstfruits of the womb. Instead of sacrifice their firstborn, they would instead redeem him with a sacrifice (Ex. 13:13-16). In addition, it is in memory of their redemption out of Egypt, the house of slavery to dead, unending work. Both Pharaoh and Herod killed all the male Hebrews babies two years old and under, in their attempt to prevent the Messiah/Deliverer from coming (Ex. 1:22; Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, Chapter 9.2; Matt. 2:16). This Deliverer had been prophesied in each instance by wise men who instructed the ruler about the coming Deliverer. In an outstanding reversal, it is God who brings Pharaoh’s second attempt at killing the firstborn back upon him, when the Angel of Death comes to take the Egyptians firstborn, and passes over the firstborn of all under the blood of the sacrificial lamb.

Cessation from Work

During the first two and last two days of Passover observant Jews will abstain from all work, resting in the finished work of God. This symbolizes the finished work of Christ in his life, death and resurrection and how believers are to enter into His work and refrain from any form of trying to earn their own salvation through good works or observance of the Law (Genesis 2:2; John 17:4, 19:28-30; 1 Cor. 5:1-9; Hebrews 4:9-10).

Seder Meal (Last Supper/Communion)

1. Kadesh — Kiddush (“Holy,” or “sanctified”)
The wine is blessed at the start of the meal. This cup of sanctified wine represents the blood of Christ, poured out in death for us. His side was pierced on the cross, blood and water pouring out as He prophesied at the Seder meal (Last Supper)(Luke 22:20-21, John 19:34). There are four cups of wine:

The Cup of Sanctification
The Cup of Deliverance/Judgement (deliverance for those who repent, judgment for those who refuse
The Cup of Redemption
The Cup of Acceptance

2. Urhatz —Wash
Washing is first performed in preparation for eating. A towel is wrapped on the arm of the one serving. This person goes around to each of the participants, pouring water over the hands from a pitcher into a bowl. In Jesus' time, this would have included foot washing because of the many miles of walking through dust with sandaled feet. Jesus represented this washing when He wrapped a towel on himself and washed the feet of His disciples, declaring them fully “clean.” This further signifies how Jesus washes His bride, the Church, with the water of the Word, cleansing her and preparing her for the Wedding Supper of the Lamb when He returns for His Church. (John 13:1-17, Eph. 5:26)

3. Karpas — “wool”
Any vegetable that is not bitter may be eaten. Common vegetables used are celery, parsley, onion, or potato. Dipped in salt water for purification and seasoning, they remind us of the baby boys cast in the Nile and the tears shed by the slaves.
In its meaning of “wool,” it is used in the Hebrew scriptures to demonstrate Christ types, who as a “lamb before His (wool)shearers was silent, so He did not open His mouth” at His trial and crucifixion (Isaiah 53:7:
It is used to describe Esther’s royal robe when she went before the King after three days, risking her life to intercede for her people and gaining their freedom on the day of Passover.
It describes Joseph’s “coat of many colors,” made of wool, torn and dipped in the blood of the goat as his brothers when they sold him into slavery.
It describes Tamar’s torn “coat of many colors” as she was defiled by her brother, her blood being shed.
Finally, they remind us of Jesus’ command to rejoice at our own persecution as believers, stating that we are the salt of the earth in order to bring the purification of Christ to others. Though we are favored by our Father, just as Esther, Joseph, Tamar and Jesus, and wear the royal robes of righteousness, through suffering, we allow others to “taste and see that the Lord is good!” (Matt 5:10-16, Psalm 34:8)

4. Yahatz — “Divide”
Three matzahs (unleavened breads) are used in the ceremony, represented the triune nature of God. The middle matzah is broken and the larger part saved for the conclusion of the meal, signifying Jesus’ body, broken for His people (Luke 22:19). The saved portion signifies the return of the Messiah at the end of time. The matzah is unleavened, representing the innocent and sinlessness of Christ. It is pierced through many times, representing the piercing with the spear by the soldier at Christ’s death as well as the flogging He received in order to save us from our sins: 5But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. (Isaiah 53:5

5. Magid — Narration of the Exodus story of redemption from slavery

The plate of affliction. The plate with the symbols of affliction is lifted up.
The shankbone of the Paschal lamb or kid: the zero’a of the paschal sacrifice is included because the word zero’a literally means “arm,” alluding to the verse which states, “I will redeem you with an outstretched arm . . .”;

Boiled egg: In Aramaic (spoken by Jews at the time of Jesus), an egg is called bey’a, which also means “pray” or “please.” Thus, the foods silently plead, “May it please the Merciful God to redeem us with an outstretched arm.”

Bitter herbs: These signify the bitterness of the death. The word bitter in Hebrew is “marah,” and was included in the names of the women, three different Marys, who attended Jesus’ cross, burial and witnessed to His resurrection.

Invitation to the nations. An invitation to the stranger and foreigners is to join the Seder meal, signifying the invitation to the world, including Gentiles, to become part of the Body or Church of Jesus.

The wine cups are refilled.
The youngest person at the seder asks the Four Questions and responses are given.

The Four Children
These signify four kinds of people who respond to the gospel: wise, wicked, simple, and one who does not know how to ask. Jesus’ parable of the farmer who sows his seed represents the gospel being shared with people. There are four kinds of people who receive His Word: 1) Those who hear, but Satan comes and takes it away so they will not believe to salvation; 2) those who receive it with joy, but because they do not press onto maturity through a deeper understanding and relationship with God, only persevere in the faith for a time until they give into temptation; 3) those that are consumed by the cares, riches and pleasures of this world and bring no fruit of the Spirit because they never reach in maturity in God; and 4) those who are honest and good in heart, who having heard the Word, hold tightly to it and bring much fruit with persevering patience (Luke 8:5-15).

The Ten Plagues. The word “plague” is also the word “stricken.” Just as Jesus was stricken, so also the evil of the world will be stricken at the end of time as the Lamb of God avenges and delivers His holy people who have suffered at the hands of those who refuse to repent (Rev. 15).

Cup of Suffering. Since our “cup of salvation” cannot be regarded as full when we recall the suffering of the Egyptians, a drop of wine is removed from the cup with the mention of each plague. This signifies the remainder of the suffering which we as believers will endure as we also drink the Cup of Suffering given us by our Father (Mark 10:38-40, John 18:11, Col. 1:24)

Dayenu (It Would Have Been Enough). Let all present join in the refrain thanking God for all the miracles he bestowed upon the Israelites.

The cup is again lifted in joy, thankful for God’s deliverance, ready to praise Him with the first word of the Psalm of praise (Hallel). Two Psalms of the Hallel, Psalms 113-118
Drink the wine, with the blessing of salvation.

6. Rohtza — WashReady to eat, the hands are washed before the meal, as is required at any meal. It is similar to the previous hand-washing, but now all wash with the usual benediction as the hands are dried.

7. Motzi Matzah — Eating MatzahThe first food at the meal is the matzah, the unleavened bread. It is blessed before being eaten.

8. Maror — Bitter HerbsSmall pieces of horseradish are dipped into haroset (a sweet paste symbolic of mortar) to indicate that overemphasis on material things results in bitterness.

9. Korekh —The Passover lamb or kid (young goat) was sacrificed in memory of the blood of the lamb or goat that was put on the doorframe of the houses of Egypt in order for the angel of death, which was bringing judgment, to pass over them and spare their families. In ancient times, the Talmudic scholar Hillel ate the three symbolic foods (lamb, matzah, and bitter herbs) together so that each mouthful contained all three. Thus, the symbols of slavery and liberation were intermingled.

10. Shulhan Orekh — MealThe joyous feasting gives us the feeling of human fellowship in harmony with God.

11. Tzafun — DessertNow the afikomen. Either someone has “stolen” it, or parents can hide the afikoman when it is first put aside (Step 4) and let the children look for it during the meal to win a prize. The larger piece of matzah, the unleavened bread which was broken and hidden is now found and shared among those present. This represents how the body of Jesus was hidden from the sight of His disciples as he ascended into the clouds, with the promise that He will return one day in the same way He ascended and that every eye will see Him on that day! Those who pierced Him will mourn for Him as for an only, beloved son (Acts 1:9-11, Rev. 1:7). Just as the matzah is hidden, it is found by the children and they are rewarded, so also Jesus is coming soon, and says to us, “My reward is with Me!” (Rev. 22:12)

12. Barekh — “Let us praise!”This is the usual “bentschen,” grace after meals, including, of course, thankfulness for the Passover holiday. Fill the cup before this grace and drink the third cup at its conclusion, with the usual “bore p’ri hagafen” blessing.

Door for Elijah. At this point in the seder, they open the door for Elijah, who by tradition is the forerunner of the Messiah, the harbinger of hope, and sing “Eliyahu Ha-navi.” At Jesus’ transfiguration, there was both Moses and Elijah who came and talked with Him. Moses represents the 5 books of the Law that witness against our sin, while Elijah represents the Prophets who prophesied of the Messiah’s coming. Afterward, the disciples asked Him about this, and Jesus declared that Elijah would come, but also had come in the form of John the Baptist, the forerunner of the Messiah. Malachi 4 prophesies of the Judgment Day of the Lord, the second coming of the Messiah, wherein Moses’ Law would testify to our guilt and the prophets would testify to whether we have received the Messiah. Elijah would come again, and if the hearts were not restored, would “strike” the land with a decree to bring them all under the curse of those devoted to destruction.
This is prophesied for completion at the end of time, when the two witnesses will stand and strike the earth with plagues before being martyred and resurrected (2 Kings 2:11, Jude 1:9, Matt 17:1-12, Malachi 4:1-6, Rev. 11:3-13, Zechariah 4:11, John 6:30-46, Luke 16).

13. Hallel — Psalms of PraiseThe rest of the evening is given over to hymns and songs. The Hallel is sung, including Psalm 118, a messianic prophecy of the rejection of Messiah by the leaders of Israel, the Messiah’s death and resurrection and how He becomes the gateway to God for His people (Matt 26:30, Psalm 118).

14. Nirtzah — “Accepted”Nirtzah means to be accepted. Because of the Lamb’s sacrifice, we are included in the righteousness of Jesus when He offered the payment for our redemption price in the form of His life. God accepted us in His Beloved and we are also to accept one another in Jesus in the same way. At this conclusion, they sing L’Shana HaBa’ah B’Y’rushalayim [Next Year in Jerusalem] (Eph. 1:6, Rom. 15:7).

Bringing the Firstfruits (Bikkurim)

By law, the Israelites were commanded to bring the first of their crops and the firstborn of their children or animals to the temple (Ex. 23:19; 34:26, Num. 15:17–21; 18:12–13; Deut. 26:1–11). If it was a crop, it was given to the Levites. If it was an animal or a child, it was redeemed. All firstfruits, however, belonged to God. Jesus became the firstfruits, the firstborn from among the dead in order to redeem all other firstborns (Col 1:18). Just as the firstborns were redeemed before the Exodus from death by the blood of the sacrificial lamb, so when Christ became our Lamb He redeemed us and became the firstborn among many brothers and sisters (Rom. 8:29).

The Resurrection of Christ would begin the first day of the counting of the Omer--on Nisan 16. This harvest counting would give time for the harvest to be fully brought in and completed.

As we continue our studies into the Book of Acts and the work of the Holy Spirit in beginning the Harvest of all souls, let's prayerfully consider how we can follow Jesus, our forerunner.

Isaiah 53

Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
2For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.
3He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.
5But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.
6All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
7He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he opened not his mouth.
8By oppression and judgment he was taken away;
and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people?
9And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death,
although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.
10Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief;
when his soul makesh an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.
11Out of the anguish of his soul he shall seei and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous,
and he shall bear their iniquities.
12Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many,
and makes intercession for the transgressors.

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Bread of Affliction

There are to be twelve stones, one for each of the names of the sons of Israel, each engraved like a seal with the name of one of the twelve tribes. Exodus 28:21

15And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. Mark 16:15-16

And the people stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!” Luke 23:35

Early in the morning, the chief priests, elders, scribes, and the whole Sanhedrina devised a plan. They bound Jesus, led Him away, and handed Him over to Pilate. Mark 15:1

Behold, the Lamb of God!

Yeast Removal

Fast of the Firstborn

Cessation from Work

Seder Meal (Last Supper/Communion)

Bringing the Firstfruits (Bikkurim)

Author

Archives

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Bread of Affliction

​

There are to be twelve stones, one for each of the names of the sons of Israel, each engraved like a seal with the name of one of the twelve tribes. Exodus 28:21

15And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. Mark 16:15-16​

And the people stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!” Luke 23:35

Early in the morning, the chief priests, elders, scribes, and the whole Sanhedrina devised a plan. They bound Jesus, led Him away, and handed Him over to Pilate. Mark 15:1​

Behold, the Lamb of God!

Yeast Removal

Fast of the Firstborn

Cessation from Work

Seder Meal (Last Supper/Communion)

Bringing the Firstfruits (Bikkurim)

Author

Archives

Categories

15And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. Mark 16:15-16

Early in the morning, the chief priests, elders, scribes, and the whole Sanhedrina devised a plan. They bound Jesus, led Him away, and handed Him over to Pilate. Mark 15:1