Showing Himself through the Lattice on Passover

My beloved is like a buck or a young deer: 

behold he stands behind

our wall, he looks forth at the windows,

 showing himself through the lattice. 

Song of Solomon 2:9

Early in the month of March, I had decided to request off of work for Passover eve/day (April 15/16). During holy week, I had asked the Lord what He would have me to do – go to a seder (Jewish Passover meal), go out of town, host a Passover meal with my family, etc. I never felt a direct leading of the Spirit of the Lord, and have been wanting to go camping. I decided on Wednesday that that's probably what I would do. I talked with my sister who lives on a large rural property north of Indianapolis and she agreed that would be fine. So, on Friday, I headed up north, stopping on the way to get basic supplies for a small seder to commemorate the Lord's supper. It was a beautiful afternoon and I got my camp set up and shared in a small communion with my sister. I went to bed around 9pm and was awakened by a coyote pack yipping and barking in the close vicinity. I would have recorded it, except I fell back asleep to quickly because it was raining hard outside my tent.

I was awakened on Saturday morning by a variety of song birds chirping loudly in the woods. I could also distinguish about 3 or four different doves cooing to one another. After I got up and dressed, I decided to walk around the large field. When I was approaching the back corner where there is a small wooded area with tall grasses, suddenly two animals sprang to their feet and ran away from me into another nearby field. Just as they were clearing the trees, I realized it was two small coyotes, that had bedded down for the morning. It was only about a quarter of a mile from my campsite. While most people would have been alarmed, I felt God's presence and hand even in this.

When I arrived back to my campsite, I felt compelled to read the Song of Solomon. There is a verse that talks about the rain being over and the birds singing in the trees, also the voice of the dove being heard – so much of the experiences I had had that morning. The Jewish sages teach that the Song of Solomon is an allegory about the Israelites journey out of Egypt and through the wilderness. As a believer in the Jewish Messiah, Yeshua (Jesus), I believe it is an allegory between the Bridegroom (Yeshua) and His Bride.

After packing up my camp late in the evening, while driving back home, I glanced over to see a doe standing beside a small creek that runs beside the road. I began to weep thinking about the references to the deer in the Song of Solomon. Then I was reminded of the psalm of David, “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul after You, O God.” Psalm 42:1

The next morning, after praying, I read from my devotional that I have used for many years, now – Daily Light on the Daily Path. This is a morning and evening devotion that is simply Scriptures placed together by believers from 18^th century – Jonathan and Samuel Bagster. So oftentimes, the Lord has spoken directly to my situation and given me direction through this book. The morning devotion was certainly good, but I found my eyes looking down to the evening section. The headline read “Draw me, we will run after thee,” which is a line from SOS 1:4. I was ecstatic, but I decided not to get ahead of myself by reading the evening portion.

After work, on Sunday, I came home and watched the Sunday morning service of a church. The pastor was speaking from Song of Solomon 2:11-12, “For lo, the winter is passed, the rain is over and gone; the flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the dove is heard in our land.” I could not wait until my evening prayer time. I opened my devotions and read the rest of my evening portion. THERE it was: Song of Solomon 2:10-13! I almost passed out in the floor from excitement. It was as if the Great Shepherd was showing Himself through the lattice. He was speaking to me over and over: “Arise my love, my fair one and come away!” SOS 2:10

I am sure there is much more He will unfold to me concerning this past weekend with Him, but I am so thankful for the glimpses that He gives us of His face.

PESACH: The Feast of Passover

"And when I see the blood, I will pass over you"

The Passover feast commemorates the exodus of the children of Israel from the land of Egypt and the passing over of the angel of death from the houses of Israel who applied the blood of a lamb to the doorposts of their house. The meal is set in an order by the Rabbis and has been this order for several thousand years. By the reading from the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, Yeshua (Jesus) was commemorating the Passover meal much the same as Jewish people do in there homes every year. The order of the service is read from the HaGadah (HA-g'DAH or also pronounced H'GAH'dah) which means “The Telling”. It tells the story of the exodus from Egypt by symbols.

There is a Seder plate which has a place for a lamb (shank bone) – the Passover sacrifice, an egg – the festival sacrifice, bitter herbs – “caused to serve with rigor” , green vegetable, Charoset (sweet salad of nuts, raisins, apples, wine and cinnamon) – because of it's similarity to the mortar used in ancient Egypt. 

A Seder in my "Upper Room"

When Yeshua celebrated the Passover with his disciples, it didn't look anything like the Leonardo de Vinci painting, where they are seated on chairs around a modern table. Rather, it was, most likely, a table that was U-shaped, called a Triclinium by the Romans and Greeks of His time.  There was a designated arrangement as to who sat where. The master of ceremony would be seated on the left side, probably the second seat in. The guest of honor would be seated to his right and then around the table was the other guests. The one seated at the last position on the right side (across from the master of ceremony was probably the servant's seat or lowest seat of honor). Based on the reading from John 13, we can make an educated guess as to who sat where.  

Taken from The World of the Bible Gardens Ein Karem, Jerusalem

by Jim Fleming & Biblical Resources

Artist Unknown

Even though John's Gospel did not call the Last Supper a Passover Meal, it was remembered as a reclining meal (the beloved disciple reclined against Jesus' chest to ask him who the betrayer was). Knowing the Roman custom of reclining on one's left elbow would cause readers to associate John with position #2. The host customarily shared his bowl with the guest of honor. That Jesus shared his bowl with Judas, place Judas in position #3. No wonder John says, "it was night" when the betrayer left having had Jesus reclining close to his chest all night. That Peter had to signal the beloved disciple (John) to inquire about the betrayer, indicates Peter was not seated near Jesus. Because Peter was the only disciple at first to refuse to let Jesus wash his feet, he may have been pictured reclining at position (#4), normally assigned to the one expected to wash the feet of the other guests.

Upper room seder my house

Now the Seder or Order which Yeshua and His disciples followed was not as elaborate as is the Seder used in traditional Judaism, today.  It was compiled less than a century later. But many elements were the same as today.  The Lamb, the bitter herbs, and the Matzo were a must.  However, just a few decades before, the Rabbis had included the Charoset and at some point before had included the four cups of wine. We know that Yeshua probably drank the four cups of wine that were used, as Luke indicates the first cup before supper and likewise the cup after supper... Luke 22:20.  The four cups of wine are linked to a passage in Exodus 6:6-7 "Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I AM the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will free you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a outstretched arm, and with great judgments: and I will take you to me for a people, and I will be a God" 

 The first cup of wine is called Kadesh, which means sanctification (called out, separated). The second cup is the cup of the ten plagues. The third cup of wine is the cup of Redemption. This cup comes after the supper. Luke indicates it was this cup Yeshua was drinking when He declared, "This cup is the New Covenant  in my blood, which is shed for you." Luke 22:20  Finally, the last cup of wine is called the Hallel, which means praise. It is, in fact, the Hebrew root word for Hallelujah. The tradition of singing Psalm 113-118 is customary. We find, in Matthew 26:30 & Mark 14:26, "And when they had sung a hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives." This may well have been referring to Psalms 113-118 or even to 136 which is also read on Passover.

The most essential element of the Passover is not the cups of wine, rather it is unleavened bread (Matzah in Hebrew). It is made without yeast or any component that will cause the bread to rise. Therefore it is flat and dry like an American cracker or European biscuit. Matzah is pierced many times over to cook the bread even faster and not allowing any rising to occur. How well this brings to mind the prophecy of Zechariah 12:10, They shall look upon Me whom they have pierced..." 

[In the modern Seder three pieces of of matzah are placed in a three-part cloth bag called a matzah tash . Early in the service the middle piece of matzah is broken. Half is divided into large enough pieces for everyone at the table and eaten. The other half, called the afikoman, is hidden, to be found by children later and eaten by everyone as the last food of the meal. While in modern Judaism the three matzot (Plural for matzah in Hebrew) are taken as representing Priests, Levites and Israel, many scholars believe this ritual was added to the Seder service by Messianic Jews, (Jewish believers in Jesus) for whom the three matzot represent Father, Son and Holy Ghost. The second matzah - representing the Son, who called Himself the "bread of life" John 4:41;48) and who in the Matthew 26:26 says of the matzah, "This is My body" -- is broken for all and given to all (symbolically representing His death for all mankind). Yet there is a mystery, a hidden part, similar to the hidden afikoman: like the middle matzah at the Pesach meal, the Messiah appears twice in  history, in a first and second coming. All these symbolisms are hidden from non-Messianic Judaism. But like the afikoman, these truths about the Messiah will eventually be found. ] Excerpt taken from Jewish New Testament Commentary, David H. Stern, 1992, pg 80