Exodus 12:3 Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying: ‘On the tenth day of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household.
Joshua 4:19 Now the people came up from the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and they camped in Gilgal on the east border of Jericho. 20 And those twelve stones which they took out of the Jordan, Joshua set up in Gilgal.
Matthew 21:8-9 And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way. And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.
The Temple Institute in the Old City of Jerusalem has been preparing temple articles, priestly garments and studying for years to prepare a priesthood for service in a proposed rebuilt temple on the Temple Mount. A recent news article reported that training had begun for the preparation of the Passover sacrifice. The day for the training was the 10th of Nisan, the day designated in the Old Testament for choosing the Passover lamb. Since the eyes of the Jewish people are still partially blinded to the true identity of their Messiah, most of them don’t know that the ultimate Passover Lamb was already sacrificed 2000 years ago.
The 10th of Nissan was an historic day in the history of our faith. Not only was it the day the Passover Lamb was chosen and brought into the houses of the Israelites in Egypt – it was also the very day that the children of Israel, freed from slavery, finally crossed into Jordan entering the “Promised Land” for the first time. And one other significant event happened on this day: Yeshua of Nazareth (Jesus, called Christ) entered Jerusalem on a donkey, just as the prophet Zechariah had said He would [Zech. 9:9] as crowds of Israelites shouted “Hosanna!” or “Save now!” to Him, confidently identifying Him as their savior and Messiah. In effect, the entire nation was choosing their “Passover lamb” who was to deliver them from sin and death! But the leaders of the nation rejected Him…
…and so modern Israel is still waiting for the Messiah, even here in the Promised Land, while He continues to be revealed as the Savior of the world in the Gentile nations. There is a remnant of Jews who have discovered Him, who have chosen their Passover Lamb carefully and who know He is without blemish, and a growing number have also come to live in Israel in fulfillment of God’s promise to restore the nation in the latter days. But for most, Messiah’s coming is still in the future…
There is a “Promised Land” for every soul who carefully chooses his Passover Lamb, Yeshua the Messiah, whether Jew or Gentile. It is the promise of deliverance from sin, death, and Hell, into eternal life in a New Heavens and a New Earth. Our Passover Lamb, Yeshua, is the only way of entry into this Land. Choosing Him has made us “priests” who offer spiritual sacrifices of prayer that His salvation will be known all over the world, and finally, once again, here in Israel.
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]This passage in Isaiah contains a poetic play on words which is lost to any reader but one who understands Hebrew. A word for word translation runs something like this: “If not you will believe (lo ta-aminoo), surely not you will be established (lo te-amenoo).” The three letter Hebrew root – “aleph”- “mem”- “nun”, is the same in both words, and the Holy Spirit through the prophet Isaiah is clearly playing on this root to emphasize His point. The same root letters are also used in the spelling for the familiar word “Amen” which literally means “truthfully”.
Momentum is simply the force or speed of movement that carries an object to its final destination. If you want to break through, you need to have a certain amount of momentum. In order for a rocket to blast into space, it needs tremendous momentum to break the gravitational barrier – but with the enormous power of jet engines and rocket fuel the ship is propelled faster and faster till it breaks free of the earth’s gravitational pull.
As we press in closer to the Lord and His calling on our lives, the enemy becomes more and more fierce, throwing all kinds of darts of fear and doubt our way. But as beloved children of God, we can trust the Lord to defend us! God has an invisible army all around, ready to protect us in our times of need. When the battle intensifies, when the enemy seems to be attacking from every side, when it seems all too great for our eyes, know that the Lord has placed His protection all around you! We may not see it — but we must walk by faith!
When the Apostle Paul wrote this letter to the Corinthians, he was speaking to a church that was surrounded with sexual immorality. The city of Corinth was a haven of hedonism where many temples hosted hundreds of prostitutes which were visited by vast multitudes of foreigners. In the ancient world, the term “Corinthianize” indicated a life of sexual promiscuity.
You know how sometimes we get a phone call from someone who didn’t intend to dial us? And what do we usually say? Sorry, you have the wrong number.
This one of several theophanies found in the Old Testament of the “preincarnate” Yeshua (Jesus). In this story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. These three men refused to bow and worship another God besides the God of Abraham, Issac and Jacob. While they knew that God was able to deliver them, they also knew that He might choose not to do so–and whether He delivered them or not had no influence on their loyalty to Him. These three faithful Hebrews were convinced that idolatry was a non-starter for them, no matter what! Their unquestionable loyalty brought wrath upon their heads. Nebuchadnezzar’s violent rage moved him to increase the furnace fires seven times!
The word “midst”, in the Greek, is ‘meros’ which literally means “the middle”. In the ‘meros’ of the throne in heaven is the Lamb of God. The very focus of heaven — the center of attention — is the Lamb of God!