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This week’s Parasha is entitled Bo which in Hebrew is the command form of “come” and covers Exodus 10:1 – 13:16
In the previous Parasha, due to the hardness of Pharaoh’s heart, the first seven of ten plagues were unleashed on the inhabitants of Egypt. We now pick up in Chapter 10 where Adonai commands Moses to enter or go before Pharaoh once again in order to continue to demonstrate Adonai’s superiority over the false god’s of Egypt.
Moses was instructed to announce to Pharaoh the next plague, the plague of locusts.
In reply, Pharaoh stated that he would allow the Israeli men and only the men to go worship the Lord in the desert. But this was not God’s complete will. This was a form of partial obedience. The Lord wanted the whole family there to worship Him.
Faith involves the whole family, not the men only. It’s the privilege of the husband and father to lead the family into the blessings of the Lord.
Once the plague of locusts passed, God hardened Pharaoh’s heart once more, and Pharaoh would not let the Israelis go.
So Adonai told Moses to lift his hand toward the sky so that darkness could spread over all of Egypt. This was a darkness that could be felt and was so dense that no light could penetrate it.
What a terrible darkness engulfed all of Egypt, except in the land of Goshen where the Children of Israel lived.
In his misery, Pharaoh summoned Moses and said he was willing to let him leave with the people, but not with their flocks and herds. This was another attempt of Pharaoh to compromise.
Pharaoh is a type or a shadow of the Adversary. Satan wants our material wealth so that we can’t use it for the Lord.
To rob Adonai by leaving their flocks and herds for Satan to use would have been tragic. All that we have belongs to God; Messiah Yeshua tells us that “where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
At this point, Pharaoh has had enough but his heart is too hardened now to just give up.
So instead, he threatens Moses by telling him that he will have Moses killed if he steps foot inside the palace again.
Did Pharaoh not realize that Moses could send plagues without the need of seeing his face?
To threaten Moses with death, this prophet who was empowered by the Creator of the Universe showed how hard Pharaoh’s heart had become.
A hard heart, contempt of God’s word and disdain for His commandments can bring men and nations to certain destruction.
So Adonai prepares Moses and the nation of Israel for the last and final plague: the death of the firstborn son.
The Lord gave Moses and the nation of Israel specific instructions concerning every portion of the Passover.
When you look at these instructions with the hindsight of knowing that Yeshua is the Messiah, we can clearly see the foreshadowing and symbolism of the greater Lamb of God.
First they were instructed to pick out a lamb without blemish and take care of it and watch it for four days.
They were to remove any leaven from the house.
They were to slaughter the lamb and place its blood on the doorpost of their houses.
They were to roast the lamb and ensure there was nothing left over.
In order for a foreigner to participate in the Passover, he had to first be circumcised. And they had to stay in the house as the Angel of Death went forth to complete the Will of God.
Scripture says that once the fullness of the Gentiles has come about, the blinders on the eyes of Jewish people will be removed.
I submit to you that on that day, they are going to look at their own holidays and clearly see Yeshua in all of them.
The Passover lamb was selected on the tenth day, and killed on the evening at the end of the fourteenth day. The lamb was set aside for the specific purpose of death.
Yeshua is the Lamb set aside before the foundation of the world. The lamb was to be a male without blemish, a picture of the perfect Lamb of God in whom there was no spot or stain.
From the tenth to the fourteenth day, the people watched the lambs to make sure they were satisfactory, just like Yeshua was tested and watched during His earthly ministry, especially during the last week before He was crucified.
If the lamb was found to be without defect then he became your lamb.
It’s the same when it comes to the choosing of the ultimate Lamb, the Messiah.
An angel told the shepherds: Today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Messiah the Lord – a Lamb is selected.
The Samaritan men of Sychar said to the Samaritan woman who first told them about Yeshua: it is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this One is indeed the Savior of the world. The lamb is chosen.
Mary declared: My spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. The lamb is made your personal lamb.
It’s not enough to call Messiah “A Savior” (one among many), or “THE Savior” (for somebody else).
Each of us must be able to say, “He is MY Savior.”
A living lamb was a lovely thing, but it could not save. We are not saved by Messiah’s example or even by His life; we are saved by His death and his Resurrection.
Killing a lamb seemed like foolishness to the wise Egyptians, but it was God’s way of salvation. Sins cannot be forgiven without a blood sacrifice.
The blood had to be applied to the doorposts of their homes just like the blood of Jesus has to be applied to the doorposts of our hearts.
There was no difference between the firstborn of Egypt and the firstborn of Israel. The difference was in the application of the blood. The same principle applies to us today. All are sinners, but those who have faith in Messiah are under the covering of His blood and saved.
Our Messiah was killed on the 15th day of the month, the same time when the Passover lambs were being offered.
The blood of the lamb was sufficient to save from death, but the people had to feed on the lamb to get strength for their journey. Salvation is just the beginning.
We must feed on Messiah, the living Word of God if we are to have the strength to follow Him.
Too many people receive the Lamb as their salvation from death, but they do not feed on the Lamb daily for sustenance for the journey to the New Jerusalem.
The lamb was to be roasted with fire, which speaks of the sufferings of Yeshua on the cross. Nothing was to remain to be eaten later. The lamb was special, and leftovers could become corrupt, and this would ruin the type; for Jesus was perfect and not corrupt.
The feast was to be eaten among the people of the covenant. No stranger could participate, nor could a hired servant or one who was uncircumcised. These regulations remind us that salvation is a birth into God’s family – no strangers are there. It is by grace – no one can earn it.
Along with the lamb, bread was eaten – unleavened bread. Leaven (yeast) in the Bible is often used as a picture of sin: it works silently; it spreads and puffs up.
The Jewish people had to put all leaven out of their homes at Passover season, and they were not allowed to eat leavened bread for seven days.
The bread speaks of Messiah. He is pure and sinless, and as we feast on Him, by getting close to Him and staying loyal to Him, we become more able to lead a life free from sin.
First the people had to believe and then they had to put that faith or belief into action. If they said they believed but did not apply the blood, their firstborn died. Only by believing and then acting was the first born saved.
This teaches us that faith without works is dead. If we say we believe that Jesus is our personal Savior, then we should have some actions or fruit to back up the claim.
After this last plague Pharaoh finally admitted defeat and allowed the Israelis to go free.
For hundreds of years, the Jewish people had slaved for the Egyptians without pay, now God permitted them to ask for (not borrow) their just wages.
Generations earlier Adonai made a promised to Abraham saying: My people will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years, I will punish the nation that they served as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions.
The Three-In-One God had now kept the promise He had made with Abraham. The God of Israel is always faithful, His Word is true and He is always true to His Word.
If at this moment you are unable to say Yeshua is MY Savior, I encourage you to pray and receive the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world into your heart.
And, if you have already done that, in 2014, may you feed on the Lamb daily for sustenance, getting close to Him and drawing strength from Him for the journey to the New Jerusalem!
Shabbat Shalom!