Shabbat Shalom! Please open your Bibles with me. I would like to read just a couple of verses from the Word of God in order that we will have something before us as we are together being occupied with the Feast of Passover that had been celebrated by our people Israel for over 3500 years, beloved brothers and sisters. The Jewish people are celebrating the Feast of Pesach for 3500 years. Can you imagine? And every year, the people of Israel are looking back into one event, one single event that happened 3500 years ago when Israel, the nation, came out of the land of Egypt. Egypt, when they came out from bondage into liberty, when they came out to become a free people, people that were in bondage for 430 years.

Finally, they came out of the land of Egypt into liberty and freedom. They were no longer under the taskmasters in the land of Egypt. Now they were free to be able to worship the God of Israel, first of all on that wilderness journey, but ultimately in the promised land, the land of Canaan. Now the story of the Passover is a story that was told in many generations in our Jewish homes. If you would have visited a Jewish home some month ago when we were there in our homes with our families, we would read the text. First, there will be the Haggadah, the telling of the story of the deliverance out of the land of Egypt.

And that story is a story that speaks about you and about me who were slaves to sin, who needed deliverance from bondage to sin. So we will be able to receive forgiveness from God and being in a relationship with Him and no longer living in a separation from the true and living God. And that story is being told again and again by the Jewish people in our own homes. Of course, anyone who is a believer in Jesus and Yeshua the Messiah know very well that he or she themselves were in bondage to sin and that Yeshua HaMashiach the Messiah have given them redemption and salvation.

So I would like to read this passage in Exodus chapter 12 today and listen to the words that Moshe, Moses, the lawgiver of Israel, have put down for us in order for us to see the event that occurred many, many years ago. And so listen to this, beloved brothers and sisters and dear friends. And the Lord spoke unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, This month shall be unto you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year to you. Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers.

A lamb for a house. And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next unto his house take it, according to the number of the souls. Every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish. A male of the first year ye shall take it out from the sheep or from the goats. And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month. And the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. And they shall take of the blood and shall strike it on the two side posts And on the upper doorposts of their houses wherein they shall eat it.

And they shall eat the flesh in that night roast with fire and unleavened bread. And with bitter herbs they shall eat it. Eat not of it raw nor sodden at all with water, But roast with fire his head, with his legs, with his pertinence. And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning. And that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire. And thus shall ye eat it with your loin girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hands. And ye shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord's Pesach, the Lord's pass over. And here I'm stopping with the Old Testament.

And I just want to read one or two verses in the Brit HaChadasha in the New Testament. If you please turn with me to 1 Corinthians chapter 5. I want to read that verse as well for the sake of connection for us today. The Apostle Paul, Shaul wrote to the Corinthians. And he reminded them by telling them. Notice that in verse 7 he says, Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump. For ye are unleavened. For even the Messiah, our Passover, had been sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with the old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

And I'm stopping here with the long reading that I had read just now for you all. Well, beloved brothers and sisters and ladies and gentlemen, it is very unfortunate that today in the world in which we live in, people think that they can be right with God on their own terms and in their own manner and their own opinion, and they fail to recognize that God gave an instruction in the word of God as to how can one be made right with God. To remind you, dear friends, that 3500 years ago our own Jewish people, the Hebrews, were slaves in the land of Egypt. They were slaves, they were in bondage in the land of Egypt, and they could never come out free out of this land.

In fact, we read in Scripture, in Exodus chapter 1, that the children of Israel were slaves. They were building to the Egyptians the big cities, the Pitom and Ramses. And they were building all sorts of things, these great cities with a lot of bricks and a lot of labor and a lot of rigor, as we say it in English. They cried to the Lord. They cried to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob because they sighed. They were heavy. They were no longer free to be able to do as they pleased. They were under the taskmasters there, and they were crying to God for help. And the God of Israel, who have allowed the people of Israel to be there for 430 years, as he promised to Father Abraham.

He himself had a plan. He intended to bring them out of bondage into liberty. He intended to bring them out of slavery into freedom. And he wanted them to realize this in their own conscience, in their own hearts, to realize that without him, they could never, ever come out free. And so the people of Israel sighed. In fact, we read in the Bible, in Exodus chapter 2, I want to read those verses to you. It says in verse 23, "And it came to pass, in a process of time, that the king of Egypt died, and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage. And they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of their bondage." They were crying, and they were weeping, and they needed help and mercy.

They needed deliverance, and they could never come out on their own. So they cry to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And beloved brothers and sisters, it is so important to see that the story that happened historically to the people of Israel is symbolically a picture of all humanity. Just like Israel of old were slaves in the land of Egypt, you and I, by nature, are slaves to sin. The Bible teaches us that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. The Bible teaches us that we were slaves to sin. See, why do you think there are so many problems in the world in which we live in?

Just look around. Just open the television, and open the internet, and read the newspaper, and you will see that everywhere in this world, the conflict, the hatred, the wars, and all the things that are going on in this world today, is because of the fallen nature of sin, because we have all have inherited a sin nature. And by our people being in Egypt as slaves, it's a representation of the human race, who is slaves to sin. Who are slaves to that which is evil and wrong. That's why there are so many things that are going on in this world today that shock us, because we realize again and again the human condition.

Unless someone would think, no, no, I'm pretty good, I don't have any sin in me. The Lord will reveal this to us, as scriptures clearly indicate, through the psalmist of Israel, David, and through the apostle Shaul Paul, who both have declared that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. But when the cry came, and when our people Israel have cried to God for help, the Bible teaches us, and it's so precious, that in this scripture that we read in Exodus chapter 2, God heard their groaning, verse 24. And God remembered his covenant with Abraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov. And God looked upon the children of Israel.

And God had known their needs. You see, God desires to revive in us a relationship with himself, and he allowed men to experience the consequence of sin like Israel have experienced, so that he will listen to their crying and deliver them out of bondage. And so we read in the book of Exodus a little bit later on in chapter 6, the sevenfold promise of God that he will deliver the people of Israel out of bondage. And I can tell you, ladies and gentlemen, there is a promise that is given to us in the word of God, that if anyone will turn his or her heart to God through the person of Yeshua, the Messiah, there will be forgiveness, there will be restoration.

But one has to turn to the Lord like Israel have done so in the day when they were in the land of Egypt. And look at this, listen to this, beloved brothers and sisters, the sevenfold promise of God to deliver the people of Israel out of bondage into liberty, into freedom. In Exodus chapter 6, verses 6 and 7 and 8, we read of those promises of God. It says, It says, Moses was told, "Wherefore, say unto the children of Israel, I am the Lord. I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. I will rid you out of their bondage. I will redeem you with a stretched out arm.

I will take you to me for a people. I will be unto you a God. I will bring you into the land. And I will give you the land for an heritage. I am Jehovah." Notice the sevenfold promise that God had made to the children of Israel. Of Israel. "I will bring you out. I will rid you of their bondage. I will redeem you with a stretched out arm. I will take you for me for a people. I will be to you a God, number five. I will bring you into the land, number six. And I will give you the land for an inheritance." Totally the promise of God.

Totally, completely God made this promise. He didn't say to the people of Israel that they had to do something in order to receive from Him this great redemption that He is planning for them. He sure gave that promise to the people of Israel that this word in Hebrew, "I will," is actually much more than "I will." It is "I have already done so." Consider it done. In other words, if you say it in English, "I have already brought you out. I have already rid you of that bondage. I have already redeemed you. I have taken you to be for me a people. And I have already became your God.

I have brought you into the land of Israel. And I have given it to you as a possession." You know, when I think about these beloved brothers and sisters, you see, many times we make promises to one another. Many times men make promises and agreement and arrangement. And they make promises to one another, nations and other nations. On an individual basis we make promises. But we, as the human race, have failed in fulfilling the promises that we have made. But there is a living God who will never for a moment will deny the promises that He has made for His people. If He has made promises to you, He is going to fulfill it all the way to the end.

Even if it is not in this life, He will fulfill it in the fullness of time when He is going to take us to be with Him. And so God is planning to take His people Israel out. And if He is going to take His people out of bondage, you may ask the question, how will He do so? If God is going to save a sinner, if God is going to bring you and me into a relationship with Him, how do you think He is going to accomplish this? Do you think He is going to expect from you and from me to live a perfect life in order that you and I will be pleasing to Him finally?

And only when we are going to have a perfect life, He will accept us. If He will depend upon our performance, who of us is going to be able ever to be right with God? But God shows us a pattern. He knows the condition of the Hebrews in Egypt. He knows their failure, their weakness, their needs. Just like He knows your need and mine today. You know, sometimes it is puzzling to me when people are trying to be right with God, so they think that they are going to keep certain things in order to say, God, now I am going to be right with you.

I have kept this, I have done this, and I have accomplished this, and therefore now, God, you are going to accept me. But God is holy. He doesn't demand 50%. He doesn't demand 60%. He doesn't demand 70% or 80% or 90%. He demands 100%. Because He is holy and He is just. He cannot look upon sin. The prophet of Israel, Habakkuk, said many years ago to the Lord when he spoke to him in chapter 1, he says, For thou art of a pure eyes and to behold iniquity. And you cannot look upon sin. Do you think God is going to allow someone to enter into His presence without to deal with the question of sin?

That's why God gave instruction to the people of Israel to show us the very way whereby one can be right with God. And God can pass over this one person because he is acceptable by him. That's the whole story of Pesach, ladies and gentlemen. Passover is not only eating unleavened bread and eating certain things and certain food, maror, the bitter herbs and certain things, and just saying, well, I have been celebrating the Passover. Passover. Passover is linked with a person. Passover linked with one who shed his blood. Passover made it possible for a living and a holy God to allow a sinful person to be received because he can pass over because another become a substitute instead of the one who deserved to be punished.

That's why we are focusing on Pesach, on Passover, because again and again it reminds us, ladies and gentlemen, of the need that we had and the provision of God who provided the Messiah of Israel and the Savior of this world. And so God gave instruction to our Jewish people 3,500 years ago and those instructions are not to be taken lightly. There are serious instructions for the people of Israel as to how they can be delivered from bondage into freedom. From being in darkness and to receive light and to be brought into a relationship with the Lord. So look at those instructions with me, please, for a moment, beloved brothers and sisters.

We read in Exodus chapter 12. Listen, this is the word of the Lord. This is not somebody wrote it. This is not some smart man just had his own idea and put it in here in the word of God. These are clear instructions that were given to us in the word of God. And so notice that, first of all, God has declared that Israel will begin to become a nation on the month of Nisan in the spring, in the Aviv, when Israel are going to, as a nation, be brought out of bondage into liberty. Notice what it says, chapter 12 and verses 1 and 2. And the Lord spake unto Moshe and unto Aaron in the land of Egypt.

Notice what he said to them in verse 2. This month, not another month, this month shall be unto you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year unto you. Notice that, as he said to them in verse 1 and 2. This will be the first month, the beginning of the whole year for you, Moshe, Aaron, and the people of Israel. There is no other month that will be the beginning. It must be right that month. This month, according to Nehemiah chapter 2 and Esther chapter 3, is the month of Nisan. The Hebrew calendar, the month of Nisan, is in March, April, where the spring began and a new year began for the Hebrews, for the people of Israel.

And why is this new beginning for the people of Israel? Because something was going to happen. Everything, beloved brothers and sisters, began when redemption is being provided. You see, when we were born to our parents, we were born and we have inherited a sin nature. But when we were born from above, when we were born again, when we have accepted the provision of God, it is a new creation. We began a new life. We have been brought into a relationship with the living God. And that's why, as the Apostle Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5 and verse 17, all that are in Yeshua the Messiah are new creations.

All things have passed away. All become new. It's a new beginning. The people of Israel were in bondage. Now they were going to be brought out. And so it's going to be a new beginning. A new start. They are now going to be delivered from bondage and brought into a relationship with the Lord, with the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Secondly, notice that it says there in verses 3 and 4 of Exodus chapter 12, that every Israeli, every Hebrew, every Jewish man and a family had to choose themselves a lamb. If you and I would be there 3,500 years ago, we would say, wait a minute, Lord. You are the God of the universe.

You have power. You have created the heavens and the earth. Can't you just speak a word? And we're all going to come out of the land of Egypt. Why do you give us such a, you might say, an instruction that seems to be insignificant? But look what the Lord is saying. Verse 3 and 4. Speak, he's saying to Moshe and to all the congregation of Israel saying, In the tenth day of this month, they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for a house. And if the house will be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next unto his house take it according to the number of their souls.

Every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb. Now notice what he said. You Hebrews, you people of Israel, now I want you to, every one of you, every family of you, every man of you will have to go to the back of your homes and take for you a lamb from there and choose one for every family, for every household. Everyone had to choose. Everyone had to choose. You can just imagine, beloved brothers and sisters, what it meant there. There was a mass of choosing and electing lambs. Everyone would, every family would have to bring a lamb to their own house to make sure they take it, they choose it.

Lambs that were living among the people as the people, the Hebrews, were shepherds. And they had to bring their lambs and to choose one. Notice he says, every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house. Can you imagine? They said that about two million Hebrews came out of the land of Egypt some 3,500 years ago. Can you imagine how many lambs had to be chosen by every household? Thousands of lambs! Thousands of lambs! All had to be selected by the Israelis. You and I might say, God, what's the point? Why it is so important for us to take lambs and to choose them?

Why can't you find a way to bring us out of the land of Egypt without taking all these lambs? And yet God is telling us, beloved brothers and sisters, He tells us the story of redemption. The importance of submissiveness to Him in obedience to His instruction. And so, can you just imagine? First of all, in verse 3, it is a lamb. Secondly, in verse 4, it is the lamb. And now notice, beloved brothers and sisters, in verse 5, it's not only a lamb, and it's not only the lamb, but it is your lamb. Notice in verse 5, He says, your lamb, it's a very personal lamb. It's not only a lamb, just one of a hundred, one of a thousand, one of a hundred thousand.

It's not only the lamb, which is nice to have one person, but it is really your lamb. You have to appropriate it to yourself. It become yours. It's become a lamb that you make it your own. You see the value that is found in this lamb. But now I want you to understand, beloved brothers and sisters. When God pointing out to that lamb that become not only a lamb, the lamb, but your lamb, He tells them the qualification of that lamb. And that, to me, is so precious. Because you see, beloved brothers and sisters, God looks through the ages. And He saw the time where His Messiah, His Son, was going to enter into this world.

And if there is any lamb that will typify the person of the Messiah, Yeshua, the Deliverer, the Redeemer of this world, this lamb must represent the perfection of the Messiah of Israel and the Savior of this world. And so in verse 5, we have the quality of that lamb. It says, your lamb, number one, will be without blemish. Oh, beloved brothers and sisters, this is, to me, is one of the most fascinating. You cannot be a reader of the Bible and not see the importance of this symbolic lesson that point to our blessed Lord, Yeshua, the Messiah. A lamb that must have no blemish whatsoever in it.

A lamb that must be a perfect lamb. A lamb that cannot be blind, cannot be lame, cannot have anything, any defect in this lamb. Why? Because that lamb is a representation of one that will come in the fullness of time. That will have no blemish whatsoever in him. You know very well when our Lord Yeshua, the Messiah, was born into this world. He was born to the virgin Miriam. This Jewish woman who gave birth to the Messiah of Israel according to the prophecy of Isaiah, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall call his name Emmanuel, God with us. There was no man involved in the birth of the Messiah, only Miriam in the power of the Spirit of God when God had allowed the seed to be sown in her womb.

And Miriam gave birth to the Messiah, to the Savior, to the Redeemer that had no blemish in him whatsoever. You see, when you and I were born, we have inherited the sin of our parents. And they have inherited the sins of their parents. And they have inherited the sins of their parents, the sin nature. That's why the Bible teaches us very clearly that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. But there was one man that never sinned, a perfect man. He said in the Gospel of John, "Who of you can find in me any fault?" He said to the leaders of our own people Israel.

Pilate said, "I found in him no fault at all." That is a representation, ladies and gentlemen. Passover is not only eating matzah, unleavened bread and bitter herbs and saying, "I have celebrated the Passover." Passover is linked with the Passover lamb that would come in the fullness of time. And his name is Yeshua. He was, as it says here, without blemish. Peter said to the early Hebrew believers, "For ye were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of the lamb, without blemish." 1 Peter 1:18-19 You see, beloved brothers and sisters, God gave those instructions to our forefathers, the people of Israel, to take it to heart.

Because soon they are going to be delivered from bondage. They are going to go into the promised land soon, out of slavery, through the wilderness, to the promised land. He wanted them to understand that the lamb that they were chosen, it will be one that has no blemish and he must be their own. Notice what it says in the very same verse also, in verse 5. Not only that the lamb must be without blemish, but he must be a male in contrast to a female. And that's why when God, the son, in the person of Yeshua, HaMashiach entered into this world, we read in Luke chapter 2, she shall bring forth a son, not a daughter.

Though later on, when Miriam got married to Yosef, and had children with him, she had sons, but also daughters, later on. But first of all, she gave birth to the firstborn son, whose name was Yeshua, who was born of the virgin. And with no involvement of Yosef, her future husband, and what happened here that we can see, that is not only that he would be one that has no blemish in him, but he will be a male. As we read in the scripture in Luke chapter 2 and verse 7. Beautiful, beloved brothers and sisters. Now notice thirdly, what it says here in verse 5, that he must be a very, very young lamb.

It says here in our passage, of the first year. In Hebrew it says, "Ben Shana." "Ben Shana." Not an old lamb, but a young lamb. One year of age. It represents the fact that this lamb, that soon is going to be killed, would be a young person. It speaks of our Lord, of our Mashiach, Yeshua, who didn't live a long life here. Who didn't live in this world any longer than 33, 33 and a half years of age, when he ultimately was taken by wicked hands and placed on a tree. And became the redeemer, the savior of this world. Beloved brothers and sisters, we have very clear instruction here in verse 5, that the quality of the lamb must be without blemish.

He must be a male. He must be of one year of age, a young lamb. Notice finally what it says here in verse 5, that it says, "You shall take it out from your sheep or from your goats." It was a selection of that lamb out of all the flock. All the flock that existed among the people of Israel. And that is a representation of the Messiah who was a man like all other men. He is from among all humanity. He is the one who came like you and like me. He became a man in order to be qualified to be the deliverer, the redeemer. He was part of the nation of Israel, all the flock of Israel.

He was born to a Jewish family, grew up in the land of Israel. And then he became the redeemer, the deliverer in accordance with the purpose and the will of God for the nation of Israel and the nations of the world. And so after God gave this instruction, he says, notice, and I am just moving along. And I notice how precious it is, beloved brothers and sisters, in verse 6. And in verse 7, we find out that Israel was to keep the lamb for four days. And then to kill it in the evening. Now why four days? Why they are to keep the lamb? In verse 6, and ye shall keep it up until the 14th day of the month.

You see, in verse 3, they are to pick it up on the 10th day of the month. In verse 6, they are to keep it on the 14th day of the month for four days. Now what do you think they have done with that lamb for four days? They were watching it. They were looking at that lamb, checking it out, to see whether that lamb is suitable as God had required for Moshe and Aaron. Check it out. Look at him very careful. Observe to see what kind of a lamb. Is he without blemish? And that reminds us of the life of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah. He lived in this world in his service, in his ministry, the three and a half, four years ministry, before he died on the tree.

We have the four Gospels. And you can look at the Messiah from every angle and you find out there is no imperfection in Yeshua HaMashiach. He did no sin. In him there was no sin. He knew no sin. He was the perfect lamb of God. People try to find fault in the past and they are trying to find fault in the present. And they can never find fault in Yeshua the Messiah because he is the one that was born to the virgin Miriam. Sinless, undefiled, separate from sinners. And that's why we can trust him. That's why we can put confidence in him that he can be the Messiah and the Savior, the deliverer, the one that will give us eternal relationship with God.

And so verse 6 is very clear that they are to keep that very lamb for four days and they will check it up and they will find out that there is no imperfection in that lamb. And notice what it says at the end of verse 6. And the whole congregation of the people of Israel shall kill that lamb in between the evening. The whole congregation. That shows us also the fact that everyone is responsible of the death of this lamb. All are responsible. The whole congregation. No one can ever say, no, we are not guilty. We are not the problem that the lamb was killed. All the congregation of Israel were responsible to kill it in the evening.

I remember, and I said this many times in our meetings together many years ago, a Jewish man that I used to minister to who came from Russia. And he told me, Brother Gideon, the only reason I knew that I was Jewish in the former Soviet Union is because they said, you Jews killed Jesus. And he said, that's the only way I knew I was Jewish. And then I had to tell him and to remind him from the scripture that all of us are guilty. It was necessary that the Messiah will die like it is necessary was here for the lamb to be killed. And the whole congregation had to be responsible over the death of this lamb, just like the whole humanity is guilty in the death of the Messiah.

We all are guilty. He died for you. He died for me. He died because of my sin and your sin. That's why God is so clearly giving us these instructions in his word. And so we read in verse 7. They shall take of their blood. And they shall strike it on the two side posts and on the upper doorposts of the houses wherein they shall eat it. Now, brothers and sisters, this is important. This is so important to understand. Many times we hear about all sorts of views about the way of being acceptable by God. People try to find a way and they don't realize that the instruction here that is not only that the Messiah, not only is being typified here by the lamb, had to be killed, but its blood had to be placed, as it says here on the two side posts and the upper door of their homes where they are living.

In other words, what God is saying to our own forefathers, the Hebrews, you have to realize that the blood of this very lamb that you have taken and killed him, must be placed upon the doorposts and the lintel of your home in order to vividly remind you that here is an innocent lamb that was killed on your behalf. And you have to apply it to the doorposts and the doorposts and the lintel of your home, to mark it, to recognize that on the basis of these things that you are doing, God will be able to pass over you Pesach in order to hover over you who deserve to be punished by the living God.

And in the same way, I would say today, beloved friends, brothers and sisters, we have to understand from that and we can connect it with all the New Testament. Sometimes we sing that song, "What shall wash away my sin?" And the answer is nothing but the blood of Yeshua. If there will be any way of God to forgive sin, he must be pleased with the value of the lamb that was killed and his blood had to be shed. It's not good works. It's not how much money we give to the congregation and to the church or to the synagogue. It's nothing except the value of the blood of the lamb that the Messiah had to shed when he died for us on the tree.

And so how clear the instruction. You will take his blood and you will strike us on the two sideposts and on the upper doorposts of your houses wherein ye shall eat it. You are inside, the blood is on the doorposts and the sideposts of the house outside. You are feeding on the lamb inside and the blood is there to be shown to the Lord when he is going to come and to see the blood so he can pass over the homes of those that had the blood on it. Notice that it says here very clearly that it must be striked upon the two sideposts and the doorposts.

And so here we find out how the Hebrews, the people of Israel, were sitting in the homes, feeding on the lamb while the blood was placed on the doorposts and the lintel. It says in verse 8 and 9 and 10, we are drawing towards the end of this passage. Israel was supposed to feed on that lamb. This lamb is very precious. It reminds them of what's going to happen. Not too long in the midnight, God is going to pass over them so they are feeding. It says in verse 8, they shall eat the flesh. In that night, the Hebrews were to eat the flesh of the very lamb that was just killed.

They had to feed on it. It was being roast with fire. And unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it. You notice in scripture the only things that were on the table, on the Hebrews' table, was three things: the lamb, the bitter herbs, and the unleavened bread. Today, when you look at the Passover table, there are so many emblems that have been added to the Passover table. But 3,500 years ago, there were only three things: unleavened bread, bitter herbs, and the flesh of the lamb. That's it. They were inside the homes. The blood had been placed on the doorposts and the lintel on the outside.

They were feeding on that lamb that were just killed. And so God said to Israel in verse 9: "Eat of it not raw or sodden at all with water, but it must be roast with fire." Why roast with fire, beloved brothers and sisters? "It reminds us of the fire of God's righteous indignation against sin." God had to deal with sin. He had to punish the innocent lamb on behalf of the guilty Hebrew in the home. That innocent lamb had to die so the Hebrew individual will be delivered in a moment. Like Yeshua the Messiah, he had to be experiencing the fire of God's righteous indignation against sin.

That you and I, who deserve to be punished by God, that God can now allow us to be accepted. So he had to be roasted with fire. The fire of God's righteous indignation against sin is typified here by the roasted lamb. And the Hebrews what to eat? Notice his head, his legs and his pertinence, his inner being inside. And that is again remind us of the perfection of the Messiah, who knew no sin, his head. Who did not sin, his legs. In him there was not sin, his pertinence. All this is vividly speak about the perfection of the Messiah. Roshot, Kraav, Kirbo. All these words speak of his perfection.

The perfection of the Messiah that we clearly see here in these verses. "And let nothing of it remain until the morning, and that which remaineth until the morning ye shall burn with fire." And so, beloved brothers and sisters, the instruction that God gave the people of Israel is that you must pick up a lamb. You must kill the lamb. You must shed its blood and place it on the doorposts and the lintel. And you must feed of him because he is the one that met your need and paid the price of your redemption. And just as Israel was to anticipate to go out, we read in the next verses that Israel were to be ready.

Ready to go at any time to leave Egypt and they are going to go to the promised land. In verse 11 it says, "Thus shall ye eat it with your loin girded, your shoes on your feet, your staff in your hand, and ye shall eat it in haste, because it is the Lord's Passover." It says here, "It Pesach hu le'adonai." It is belong to the Lord. It is the Lord's Passover. God is pleased with that lamb so he can pass over the guilty nation. And the same thing, it is speaking to us vividly about Yeshua, the Messiah. Let me just give you the climax here in verse 12 and 13 of this passage, where it says, "I am going to pass through the land of Egypt this night.

And I will smite the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both of men and of beasts, and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment. I am Jehovah." You see, God has a case against the gods of the Egyptians. He will execute judgment against, as it says here, the gods of Egypt. And today, beloved brothers and sisters, people who reject the living God, introduce to themselves all sorts of gods. There's all sorts of views today in the world in which we live in. There is only one living God, and He will one day execute His judgment upon all the false gods that exist today.

He says, "I will," as it says here, "I will execute. I will bring my judgment against the gods of Egypt." And of course, you and I have to ask ourselves the questions. Do we believe in the living God? That we have accepted what God said in His word? Because one day, sooner or later, God will have to judge and execute judgment against idolatry, against that which is contrary to His will. And so He said to Israel, "Israel, you be distinguished. I am going to pass that night, and I will smite the firstborn of every person, whether it is an animal or whether it is a human being in the whole land of Egypt." Now I can tell you, beloved brothers and sisters, there is coming a day when God is going to judge this world in righteousness.

He will have to execute judgment upon this world. And all idolatry, all that which is contrary to Him, has to be judged. Sin must be judged. And so He is promising to Israel. But to Israel, He says, "You know what? You have to be ready. You have to be ready because I am coming in judgment. I am coming in judgment." You know, years ago when we shared the Gospel, and some people used to say, "You know, I have time. I don't need to be in a rush. I don't need to be right with God now. I'll take my time." But how do we know how long time you and I have here in this world?

How do we know? We might finish the meeting today, and we are going to go outside that door, and something may happen. And if we haven't trusted in the Messiah, and accepted the ways of God unto salvation, we will find ourselves eternally suffering the consequences of our sin. But God provided a lamb. He provided a way whereby one can be receiving forgiveness. And by rejecting the ways of God, one is putting himself or herself, in a sense, on an expectation period of time in which they will be judged by God. Because sin will be judged. All of us will have to recognize this. Sin must be judged.

God is of a pure an eye than to behold iniquity and cannot look upon sin. He will judge sin. You either accept the forgiveness of God through the work of our Lord Yeshua as the Lamb of God, or we will experience the judgment of God at the great white throne judgment. We are going to have to face him one way or another. Either today at the foot of the cross, or in a future day at the great white throne judgment. Because God said, I will come to execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt. I am going to do so, God said. And so, beloved, listen.

The last verse here of this passage that I read is a precious verse. It says in verse 13. The blood, listen to this again. And the blood shall be unto you for a token, for a promise. In Hebrew it's ot. The word ot means a sign. The blood will become a sign for you upon your doorposts and the lintel of your horns. It will be an evidence that you have actually submitted to what I said to you in my word. And you see, beloved brothers and sisters. When you and I accept the provision of God through the Lamb of God, the Messiah. What we are really saying to God, I have accepted what you have provided for me.

I know I deserve to be punished by you, but I am accepting your provision. I confess that I am a sinner, I am guilty, and I deserve to be judged. But you provided for me the Lamb. And its blood is being placed on the doorposts and the lintel of my heart. And God said, and when I see the blood, notice that. Here's where Pesach is coming. When I see the blood, I promise you, I will pass over you. Let me reverse it for a moment. If I will not see the blood, I will not pass over you. I can't. Because if I will pass over you and allow you in your sinful condition to enter my presence, I am really saying that I am not a holy God.

But when I see the blood, I know someone paid for your sin. Now I can pass over you. And now I can allow you to be delivered out of the judgment that you deserve. You know, I don't know, how can one more get it unless you read this text? You don't need to be a lawyer, a doctor, a professor. You don't need to be a genius to realize that. It is so simple. It is a matter of obedience and accepting what God says in his word. Now none of us will be able to blame God. If we left this world rejecting the Messiah, we will never be able to say, God, I was not sure.

I tried my best, you see. I worked very hard to be a good man and a good woman, a good husband and a good wife, an obedient son, an obedient daughter, a good friend, a good employee, a good employer. I tried my best. God said your best is just not enough. Because the best of man is a sinner. All have sinned. I did not say it. The Bible say it. And come short of the glory of God. It's not only a New Testament. Somebody from the New Testament, Paul, Peter, John, Jude said it. It's the Hebrew scripture, the Tanakh, the Old Testament indicated very clearly.

And when one rejects it, he or she can never expect God to pass over them. They will have to face the judgment of God. But why one has to face it? The Messiah has come. He has given his life for us. He has shed his blood for us. We read, I came down to this world not to do my own will, but the will of him that sent me, Yeshua said in the Gospel of John. I am the good shepherd, John chapter 10, who gave his life for the sheep. And so, beloved brothers and sisters, it is so important. You see, we are going to go through the routine of the Passover rituals.

You can do it again and again and again. You can do it every year on the 14th day of the month of Nisan. You can eat the unleavened bread. And you can drink the four cups. And you can eat the lamb. But all these are not only simply holidays to keep. It symbolically speaks of the work that the Mashiach of Israel have accomplished on our behalf, beloved brothers and sisters. And so, I am closing just with this reading. Listen to this verse. As the apostle Peter said in 1 Peter chapter 1 and verse 18. He said those words. He reminded those early Hebrew believers in Yeshua the Messiah.

He said, brethren, for as much as you know that you were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold. You didn't buy your way into heaven. You didn't pay silver and gold in order to receive redemption. This is the vain manner of life. You can pay for your salvation. But listen to verse 19. But you were redeemed with the precious blood of the Mashiach, the Messiah. As of a lamb without blemish and without spot. That's our Messiah. There was no blemish in him. There was no spot in him. And our redemption is simply on the basis of his work for us when he died for us on the tree.

And then Peter says, listen, it didn't happen by accident. It was verily foreordained before the foundation of the world. It didn't happen by accident. God in his wisdom, long before humanity came into being, in his plan, in his program, he knew very well that in the fullness of time the Mashiach will come. And he will give his life a ransom for many. And beloved brothers and sisters and dear friends, I can tell you, there is no greater story than the story of Yeshua the Messiah. Try to be right with God in any other way. It doesn't work. Religion does not save. The Messiah saved. His blood was shed.

He paid the price for you. And he said, come, I'm going to give you forgiveness of sins. I'm going to take you to be with me in heaven. You're going to be right with God. Never mind what people say. Never mind what man's opinion is. The important thing is what saith the Lord. What saith the scripture. We don't want to have opinion of man. We want to listen to the word of God. Man's opinion changes. God's word never change. And we can have confidence in the written word of God. May the Lord touch our hearts. And may the Lord draw us to himself. That we will recognize the value of the work of Yeshua the Messiah.

Can we say amen to that? Amen to that.