20220108 Parsha Bo – Life or Death The choice is yours
Blessing
Torah Portion Exodus 10:1-9
Haftarah Jeremiah 46:13-20
Brit Chadashah John 1:29-34
The fifteenth reading from the Torah is named Bo (??), which means "Come or in context can mean Go." The title comes from the first words of the first verse of the reading, which say, "Then the LORD said to Moses, '[Come or Go] to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart" (Exodus 10:1). The portion begins by concluding the narrative of the ten plagues, the tenth of which is the slaying of the firstborn. To avoid the plague, the Israelites are given the instructions for the Passover sacrifice and the laws of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Pharaoh finally consents to let Israel go, and they leave Egypt.
This particular Parsha has several very well known incidents within it that are foundational to our belief system as Jews, Messianic Believers and Christians. One’s understanding of the events surrounding Passover, or Pesach depends entirely on your perspective regarding the Messiah.
The Jewish person will look at this and see only the idea of Passover in the Passover lamb whereas the Messianic would look at this as being the Passover, of course, and also the Passover Lamb being Yeshua. Generally, the Christian would look at this and agree that the Passover Lamb is Jesus, but they don't really internalize the story of Passover as being personal for themselves. To most Christians, it is a Jewish holiday. The Jewish people look at Passover as extremely personal, and we put ourselves in the place of the early Israelites as if we were actually there too.
Today I would like to put these views together into a cohesive story that would include the Jewish view of things, the Messianic view of things, and the Christian view of things.
For the Jew, the story of the Passover is a historical observation that is remembered every year. It tells the story of Moses being called by God to lead the Israelites to freedom. A perfect livestock lamb was slain to provide blood that was to be splashed on the door posts and lintel of their dwellings. If the people did what Hashem commanded, then the angel of death would pass over their homes and no harm would come to their first born.
Most Egyptians chose not to follow God’s commandment. They suffered the consequences of losing their first born. The edict was carried out from the lowest hovel to the palace of Pharaoh.
Did the relief from death apply to others outside the Israelites? We can’t know for sure, but scripture tells us that there was a large amount of people called the “mixed multitude” that were also with the Israelites when they left Egypt the next day. It seems most likely that anyone who went with B’nei Israel would have also had faith enough to cover their doorpost with the markings prescribed by the Israelite God. So I think it is possible that the population as a whole could have avoided the tenth plague if they put the blood on the door posts. They had a choice.
The sages tell us that only 20% of the population of Israel chose to leave Egypt. Why would that be? Did only 20% of the Israelites follow God’s commandments? Did the other 80% fail to heed Hashem’s warning and as a result decided not to follow Hashem into the desert because they too had lost their first born? We don’t know, but it is an interesting question. The Egyptians, the mixed multitudes and all of Israel had a choice to make. They could follow God’s commandment and have life or disregard His commandment and suffer the consequences of death.
When the sun rose over Egypt on the 15th of Nisan, there were two emotions present in the land. In all of Egypt there was wailing and crying over the loss of their first born children. But in Goshen there was a different sound. It was the sound of preparation and excitement. For you see, when the Israelites killed the lambs and splashed blood on their doorposts, they were slaves in a foreign land. But when light dawned on Goshen, the people of Israel were no longer slaves. They were a nation of free men and women. The blood made the difference. It was their choice. They chose life.
Today we hear much about choice. A woman’s right to choose.
In the coming weeks, the US Supreme Court will be looking at some cases involving. abortion. I think it's incumbent upon each and every one of us who are Believers to be in prayer about this, because this is very, very important to our nation. Since the landmark decision of Roe V. Wade in 1973 over 63 million babies have been killed in the United States in abortion clinics. The most evil organization that I can think of in the United States right now is Planned Parenthood. These guys make the Holocaust, Stalin, Genghis Khan and Molech look like choir boys when compared to how many babies have been murdered in Planned Parenthood clinics. In Israel, one must get a 3-panel committee’s approval for abortion, but once it is approved, it is covered by government funding until the age of 33. Out of a population of over 8 million, over 20,000 abortions are performed in Israel annually. I cannot help but wonder if troubles in the US, as well as Israel, are somehow connected to our utter disregard for the most innocent among us. Clearly, the abortion industry and their supporters in government chose to put the wrong blood on the door posts.
The drash delivered on Christmas morning, regarding the date of Yeshua’s birth, had over 2600 views on social media. Some people agreed, some disagreed and some shrugged and said “whatever”. But that figure of 2600 views was a wakeup for me. Most of my drashes or sermons have been targeted to those of you who are sitting here in this building. As a result, they are focused largely on Believers and the lives you lead. This week, I felt the urging of the Ruach HaKodesh to change the focus and speak to the hundreds that watch this service at home. Many have not accepted Yeshua as their personal savior. I am speaking both to Believers and those who are not. Jew and Gentile. Christians and Muslims. To anyone who has ears to hear.
We have often discussed the problems people have as they live their lives. Many are burdened with addictions, depression, bad habits, destructive relationships, the list goes on. Somewhere in our lives, each of us is faced with a choice. A life changing choice. Maybe you chose to smoke that first cigarette, or pop some kind of pill, or entertain that first kiss that you knew would lead to destruction. You started hanging with people who support your choices, because it was fun or exciting or to escape the discomfort of your reality. It doesn’t really matter how, when or where these decisions were made. Bad choices bring about bad results. In computer language, garbage in, garbage out. Eventually, bad choices which result in bad consequences will destroy your life, your job, your family. Let’s face it. Our choices can make us just as much a slave to sin as the Israelites were slaves in Egypt. You may have experienced many plagues in your life with no Moses to lead you out.
But there is a way out. I said I would connect the dots between Judaism, Messianic Judaism and Christianity. Jews look at the Passover lamb as a historical fact. The death of the lamb was necessary to provide blood for the door posts. Jewish tradition does not ascribe any messianic significance to the lamb.
However, for traditional Christians, and for us as Messianic Believers, we look at the lamb differently. The prophet Isaiah spoke of the Messiah as a lamb.
Isaiah 53:7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted yet He did not open His mouth. Like a lamb led to the slaughter, like a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He did not open His mouth.
While Yochanan the Immerser, (John the Baptist), was preaching and immersing repentant Jews in the Jordan River, he saw Yeshua approaching and declared him as “ the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world. John 1:29.
Rav Shaul, the Apostle Paul, spoke of Yeshua this way: “ for Messiah, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed.” 1 Cor 5:7
Peter equated the blood of Messiah to the Passover Lamb.
1 Peter 1:19 but with precious blood like that of a lamb without defect or spot, the blood of Messiah.
For those of us who are Believers in Yeshua HaMashiach, Jesus the Messiah, the Passover lamb takes on a monumental significance. The Passover Lamb in Egypt was significant because it separated those that believed in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, from those who did not. The Passover Lamb in Egypt did not save anyone from their sins. It was a vehicle to physically save the Israelites from the horrors of losing their first-born children. But they still were not absolved of their sins. They were then set free from the bondage of Pharaoh. But they still had their sins.
The difference is that the lamb could not remove their sins. Only the blood of one born of God who lived a sinless life could be the agent who removed their sins and our sins.
Hebrews 10:4 for it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
This passage was speaking of the sacrifices of the temple system. Those sacrifices were but a covering. David prophetically spoke of the Messiah and sin.
Psalms 103:12 As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.
East to the west. That means that your sins are gone from one infinity to another. There is no circling back like the north and south. There are North and South poles that can be measured geographically. But there are no east or west poles. Your sins are gone.
This morning all of us need God’s forgiveness. If you are a human like me, you have sin in your life. It is easy to become a slave to addictions, bad habits, evil thoughts, …whatever is troubling you. You don’t have to live a life of slavery. The Israelites started their Passover meal with the roasted lamb as slaves. But Baruch Hashem, praise God, when the sun came up the next morning, they were no longer slaves. They were free. Just like them, we need to be set free. Every day, we need to paint the doorposts of our hearts with the blood of Yeshua. Yeshua’s sacrifice only needed to happen once to absolve the world of sin, but we have to choose His sacrifice every day. Apply His blood to your addictions. Splash His blood on the doorposts of your home and every aspect of your life. You can wake up to a new day as a free person, free from the sins that weighed you down.
Let us all pray this prayer together right now.
Heavenly Father, forgive me of my sins, my failings, by bad choices. Cover the entrance to my heart with the blood of Yeshua the Messiah. I invite Yeshua into my life, into my home, into every part of my being. I want Him to be my Lord and Savior.
I know, it is just a simple prayer, but I believe that if you sincerely prayed that prayer, or something similar to it, your sins are washed away. You are no longer a slave. Make your preparations for the promises of God for your life.
