~ Featured Inside ~

Sha1om Aleichem,

      Peace be unto you through our Father in Heaven, and His Son, our Saviour, Yeshua, HaMashiach.

      It is indeed a privilege to be able to write, edit and publish this publication. Through the pages of Hebrew Roots we are able to share with each of you the many marvelous things that we have been learning over the past few years. Because we have personally committed ourselves to publishing on a fairly regular basis, we are also blessed by having the need to continue studying and learning more about those things which pertain to our Father and Saviour. Without this prod it would be easy to slack off in our studies and stop growing in understanding and knowledge. There is really so much to learn that we cannot hope to even scratch the surface in this lifetime. No wonder that God has promised us eternal life. We will need an eternity in order to learn all that He has prepared for us.
      Another blessing that we receive from publishing Hebrew Roots is the contact that it provides us with like-minded brethren. Many of you have sent us letters and some have even called us on the phone. Of course, we do not always agree in every detail of interpretation of the scripture, but for the most part there is a profound desire in each of you to learn and to grow.
      The same is true of us. We do not claim to have all the answers. Some days it seems as if we have all the questions. But in time God always comes through with answers. Sometimes, by our standards, the wait is quite long. One particular item in question has been simmering for several years now, and still there is no definitive answer. But when we come to the point where we are really ready for that answer, or in real need of it, He will provide. Of this we have no doubt. In the process we learn perseverance and patience.

      This is one thing that we must all be very careful to avoid. That is the tendency of many, now that they are free from large corporate church organizations, to pick up and run with every wind of doctrine that comes along. Do not be too quick to embrace "new truth" whether you find it in this publication or any other place. It may sound really good at first blush, but do not rush into great changes without giving adequate time to prove the validity of the doctrine.
      It is our firmly held belief that the god of this world, HaSatan (the adversary and accuser of the brethren) wants to divide and conquer. He is doing this in a variety of ways but mostly through an attitude that is far too common in many of us who are involved with religion. It is best summed up in an old story about an elderly Puritan couple who lived in Colonial America in the early 1700’s. The couple had just finished their daily Bible study when the husband turned to his wife and said; "Really my dear, I believe the only ones in the entire colony who know the real Truth are thee and me, and I am not too sure about thee."

      This attitude of parochialism is one of the most difficult to overcome. We receive a lot of literature from various sources. Some of it we have requested, other material is sent to us because someone has seen our publication and wishes to have input. We do not have a problem with people sending us their publications or personal essays. The problem is when someone tells us that, "This is the truth proven from the Bible and you had better believe it or God will punish you." It is especially incongruous when a few days later we may receive another publication that takes an opposing view but with the same dogmatic attitude. Who are we to believe? What is the truth? As someone once said; "Man is the most reasonable being on the face of the earth, he can find a reason to do most anything he wants to do." The same is true of the Bible. It seems that two people can read the very same Bible, the very same translation (usually the King James Version), the very same verses and come to almost opposite conclusions. Obviously one (if not both) is in error to some degree.

      Today we have disagreements over many issues. The Servant’s News recently ran a box in their publication listing twenty-four doctrinal issues over which people in the Church(es) of God disagree. This may just be the tip of the iceberg.

      How could we have arrived at such a place in the history of the Church of God? Quite easily, it seems, and primarily because of the previously mentioned attitude. We really need to cut each other some slack and not be so quick to call into question each others conversion or relationship with the Father and the Messiah just because the other person does not believe the same as we do on NON-SALVATIONAL issues. We have very dear friends who hold quite opposing views from ours on certain issues. But we love them, and they say they love us (and we know they speak the truth), and we agree to disagree on some things. One day Elijah the Prophet will come and set us all straight. In all likelihood we will all be corrected in some way when that day arrives. May he come speedily and in our time.
      One of the primary ways that HaSatan is using to divide people is through issues such as the calendar, the day of Messiah’s crucifixion, how many nights in the grave, etc., etc. The end result is that the Bride of Messiah (that’s all of us folks!) is being distracted from what she should be doing, and that is to prepare herself for her soon coming wedding!!! No wonder half of the virgins are asleep without oil. They are so busy bickering with each other about who is going to stand where, or who knows the most about wedding etiquette that they are forgetting the weightier matters of the law; "...judgment, mercy and faith...” (Mat. 23:23), and "...the love of God...” (Luke 11:42).

      We must become focused on the proper preparations for our wedding, which is to properly prepare the wedding gown: "...His wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright: for the fine linen is the righteous inns of the saints.” (Rev. 19:7-8)

      This issue of Hebrew Roots focuses on the Festival of Passover, the Days of Unleavened Bread and the Wave Sheaf Offering, all of which have great relevance in the preparation of the Bride. While there is some information included in this issue with which some of our readers may not fully agree, we feel that the majority of the information given here will be of value to each of you. Let us resolve to emphasize those areas in which we agree and try to minimize those areas in which we currently disagree. One day we will all be in complete agreement because God will have straightened us out on our various misconceptions. In the meantime let us agree to disagree in peace (shalom).
      Because of the great amount of information in this issue about Passover, we have decided to postpone the article Oral Torah until next time, however, our regular features are included. Food for Thought emphasizes the need for each member of the Bride to be holy, set apart for God. In the Beginning continues with the story of God’s first marriage to the nation of Israel.
      In Jerusalem: A Cup of Trembling we continue the brief overview of the history of the modem state of Israel and some of the causes for the current problems that exist between Jews and Arabs. As usual, Iron Sharpens Iron, and Endnotes round out the fifth issue of Hebrew Roots.
      Tape offerings for this month include Part V of the Roots of Our Faith series entitled: The Covenant of Promise Continues. Here we explore how the covenant that God made with Abraham developed as it passed down through the generations. The second tape is entitled Sin and the Days of Unleavened Bread. This message focuses on the only way in which one can "put sin out of their life." The Wedding of the Messiah series will continue with the next issue.

      Please continue to pray for Hebrew Roots, that our Father will always guide the selection of material and the method of presentation. We pray that Hebrew Roots be a healing publication for the Bride of Messiah, and will never be a source of dissension or division.

            May the peace of God
            be with you always,

            Dean & Susan Wheelock

Passover

      The most cherished freedom that man can possess is religious freedom, to be free to worship the Creator God in “spirit and in truth.” To most of us living in the western world of twentieth century civilization, religious freedom is pretty much taken for granted. Yet there are many places today where people are not free to worship the Creator God in the manner they believe to be correct. For example, China currently remains one of the principle nations where people are continually denied their religious freedom. It is not a well known fact, but there are also many Christians being persecuted in the fundamentalist Islamic nation of Iran. Jail and torture are the common methods used to force them to recant their belief that Jesus (Yeshua) is the Messiah, thereby forcing them to return to the Moslem faith.
      Where exactly did religious freedom originate? Was it really in Philadelphia’s Independence Hall in 1789 when the First Congress wrote the Bill of Rights that guaranteed religious freedom to the citizens of the new nation of the United States of America? Or, in fact, was religious freedom an issue many millennia earlier when the children of Israel were still subject to the Pharaoh of Egypt? Just what was the motive behind the cry; “Let my people go?” True, a great motive was to escape physical slavery, but was not the freedom to worship God in the manner in which He was to reveal Himself also a primary motivation?
      One cannot truly understand the Exodus story except in the context of religious freedom. But freedom has many facets to it. With freedom comes obligations. Our Messiah Yeshua said;

      “...If you abide in My word, you are my disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.”
(John 8:31-32)

      Free from what? Free from the need to worship God at all? Free to worship in any bizarre way imaginable? That is not what Yeshua had in mind when He made the above statement. The people to whom He was talking thought they were already free:

      “They answered Him, ‘We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can you say, ‘You will be made free?’
      “Jesus answered them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, Whoever commits sin is the slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house for ever: but a son abides forever. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.’”
(John 8:33-36)

      The lesson never learned by the children of Israel as they trudged through the wilderness, was that with true religious freedom comes equally true obligations. This is also the lesson that has not been learned by our modern societies, where religious freedom means; “...everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” (Judges 21:25).
      As we study the Passover, the Exodus and the religious observances that emanated from that experience, we must always remember that obligation and obedience to the truth of God, as revealed in the Scriptures, are the legitimate daughters of religious freedom. License to sin, even in the guise of religion, is the illegitimate daughter which results from the casting off of true religion. In this manner ‘religious freedom’ becomes not true freedom, but a subtle kind of slavery to sin and to death.
      If the children of Israel had only experienced Passover and the Exodus, they would have been liberated from their physical bondage. However, be-cause they went on to Mt. Sinai and received the Torah, the instruction book of God, they were given the opportunity to experience true religious freedom, which is being able to freely give oneself to God in the fullest sense of the word. This can only be achieved when one accepts an obedient lifestyle to the standards set by Almighty God, and this lifestyle must be based upon the Torah. Once this crucial step is taken, then the redemption that comes through faith in Messiah can find full expression in Believers by the manner in which they live their lives.

~ The Roots of Passover ~

      In order to fully appreciate the story of the Passover and the Exodus we must go back in time four hundred and thirty years to the days of Abram (Heb. Avram = Ahv-rahm’) who’s name was later changed to Avraham (Ahv-rah-hahm’). God chose Avram, out of all men alive in the world at that time, to be the progenitor of a race of people that would be special to Him. We pick up the story at the point where God reveals Himself to Avram.

“Now the LORD had said to Abram:
‘Get out of your country,
From your kindred
And from your father’s house,
To a land that I will show you.
I will make you a great nation;
I will bless you
And make your name great;
And you shall be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you,
And I will curse him who curses you;
And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’”
(Gen. 12:1-3)

      Avram trusted God and departed from his father’s house. He, along with his wife Sarai (Sah-rye’) and his nephew Lot (Loht), moved into the land of Canaan and from that day forward lived in tents as strangers in a strange land.
      Avram was very familiar with the idolatry of the Canaanites since he had grown up in the city of Ur of the Chaldees where (according to tradition) his father had been a manufacturer of idols as well as an official in the court of King Nimrod. However, (again according to tradition) Avram, at a very early age, forsook the idolatry of his father and began to search for and serve the one true God, then known as El Shaddai (Ehl Shahd-die = God Almighty) the Creator of the universe. Avram was seventy-five years old when God first spoke directly to him, as recorded in the above passage.
      Later, in the spring of that same year (the ancient calendar began in the fall), God again engaged Avram in conversation and instituted a formal agreement with him. This covenant is commonly known as the Covenant Between the Parts.

      “After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.’”
(Gen. 15:1)

      Avram protested that he was childless and wondered out loud how the promise would be fulfilled. God assured him that a physical child would be forthcoming from his own loins. However, God did not specify at this time who would be the mother. Not only would Avram have an heir, he would have a multitude of heirs:

      “Then He brought him outside and said, ‘Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.’ And He said to him, ‘So shall your descendants be.’”
(Gen. 15:5)

      It is at this very point where Avram displayed that firm, trusting, belief that God could and would do what He had promised, even though Sarai, who had been barren all of her life, was now beyond the time in life when she could naturally bear children. It is for this reason, and this reason alone, that God considered Avram to be righteous.

      “And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.”
(Gen. 15:6)

      So now, Avram believed that he would have a multitude of descendants, as many as the stars in heaven. But God made an additional promise. Not only would Avram be the progenitor of many people, they would also inherit the land of the Canaanites.

      “Then He said to him, ‘I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to inherit it’
      “And he said, ‘Lord, GOD, how shall I know that I will inherit it?’”
(Gen. 15:7-8)

* Cutting the Covenant *

      What follows is a formal covenant procedure as was commonly made between parties at that time. God instructed Avram:

      “...‘Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.’
      “Then he brought all these to Him and cut them in two, down the middle, and placed each piece opposite the other, but he did not cut the birds in two.”
(Gen. 15:9-10)

      This ancient ceremony is where the modern term ‘cutting a covenant’ originated. The animals were slaughtered and cut in half. One half of each animal was placed on one side of a path, while the other halves were placed on the other side of the path. The two parties would walk together, side by side between the parts of the slaughtered animals.
      This action made the profound statement that if either party was to ever break the agreed upon terms of the covenant, they would expect to have their bodies cut asunder just as had been done to the animals.
      The next verse seems rather incidental and pointless. Yet it is the inspired word of God and there is a reason for its inclusion.

      “And when the vultures came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.”
(Gen. 15:11)

      How often have each of us made a commitment to God and then had the ‘vultures’ try and dissuade us from holding to that commitment? It was a credit to Avram’s faith that he worked diligently to keep the vultures from devouring the covenant sacrifice and thereby nullifying the promise.

      “Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him.
      “Then He said to Abram: ‘Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years.
      “‘And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions.
      “‘Now as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age.
      “‘But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.’”
(Gen. 15:12-16)

      According to tradition, during his deep sleep Avram saw in vision all of the difficulties into which his descendants were to fall, including the harsh slavery they were to be subjected to in Egypt. This is why “...horror and great darkness fell upon him.” Many people desire to see into the future, but Avram’s experience shows us that such a view might be better hidden from our eyes. “...Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” (Matt. 6:34)

      However, “all’s well that ends well,” and Avram’s descendants were prophesied to eventually come out of that slavery experience with great abundance. This is, of course, a direct prophesy of the Exodus which was to take place a full four hundred and thirty years later.

      “But God spoke in this way: that his descendants would sojourn in a foreign land, and that they would bring them into bondage and oppress them four hundred years.”
(Acts 7:6)

      “And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years -- on that very same day -- it came to pass that all the armies of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt.”
(Ex. 12:40)

      “And this I say, that the law (Torah), which was four hundred and thirty years later, cannot annul the covenant that was confirmed before by God in Christ, that it should make the promise of no effect feet.”
(Gal. 3:17)

      At first glance, this all seems rather puzzling. God says they will be oppressed for four hundred years, then two scriptures (Ex. 12:40 and Gal. 3:17) confirm that it was a full four hundred and thirty years from the cutting of the Covenant Between the Parts until the Exodus.
      The explanation is really rather simple. The prophecy in Gen. 15:13 specifically addresses the length of time during which Avram’s heirs would suffer persecution in a land that was not theirs.
      Since, at this time, Avram was not yet a father, the persecution cannot be counted from the date of the Covenant Between the Parts.
      So when did the persecution begin? According to Jewish tradition it began the day Yitzchak (Yeet-zhak) was born. But his birth was to come only twenty-five years after this time, not the required thirty years. The Jews get around this problem by saying that the events of Gen. 12:1-3 took place five years before verses 4-5. This scenario holds that Avram would have been seventy years old when God first appeared to him and it was at this time when Avram and his father left Ur of the Chaldees to settle in Haran. They go on to claim that Avram then left Haran five years later, moving into Canaan when he was seventy-five years old.
      This view has one major problem. Avram was told to leave his father’s house. According to the above scenario he waited five full years before making this move. Yet the scripture seems to indicate that he left immediately:

      “So Abram departed as the LORD had spoken to him ... And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.”
(Gen. 12:4)

      It is this writer’s opinion that a better solution to the problem is found in the following passage:

      “So the child grew and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast on the same day that Isaac (Yitzchak) was weaned.
      “And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, scoffing.
      “Therefore she said to Abraham, ‘Cast out this bondwoman and her son; for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, namely Isaac.’”
(Gen. 21:8-10)

      While it may seem strange by modern standards (when many babies are not even breast fed) for a child to not be weaned until the age of five, it is not an unheard of custom in some cultures even to this day. However, it is here that scripture records the persecution to have begun. According to tradition, Ishmael brought idols into the tent of Avraham and Sarah. He also shot arrows at Yitzchak pretending to be shooting at a bird, because he was jealous, knowing that Yitzchak was heir to the promise. It is also interesting to note that tradition tells us Yitzchak was born on Nisan 15 and that the Weaning Feast was held on his birthday. If this initial act of persecution is, in fact, a full thirty years after the cutting of the Covenant Between the Parts, and it began on Nisan 15, then a full four hundred years of persecution would bring us to the very day of the Exodus.
      Based on this scenario, further chronological study reveals that the children of Israel spent a total of two-hundred and fifteen years in Egypt. (The Jewish scenario says it was two-hundred and ten years.) The actual amount of time they were in total slavery cannot be definitely known. Again, the Jews say the children of Israel lived ninety-four years in Egypt before slavery and one hundred six. teen years in bondage. These lengths seem about right, but if one holds to the two-hundred and fifteen year theory, then it is necessary to add five years to one of those figures. Since the children of Israel were already in slavery when Moses was born, and he did not return to lead them out of slavery until he was eighty years old, it stands to reason that they had to have been in slavery in excess of eighty years.

* Sealing the Covenant *

      Now back to the Covenant Between the Parts.

      “And it came to pass, when the sun went down and it was dark, that behold, there was a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed between those pieces.
      “On the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying:
      “‘To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates--...”
(Gen. 15:17-18)

      Please note that Avram never did walk between the parts. Apparently he was asleep. If not asleep, he merely watched as God, in the form of a “...smoking oven and a burning torch...,” cut the covenant entirely on His own. This fact is confirmed in the Brit Chadasha (Renewed Covenant):

      “For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself,...”
(Heb. 6:13)

      The Covenant Between the Parts did not depend upon Avram or anything he or his descendants might do, it depended entirely upon the promise of Almighty God (El Shaddai). Let us never forget this great truth as it has profound meaning to all Believers. The promise of salvation is dependent entirely upon the promise of God and the sacrifice of Yeshua.
      Undoubtedly the “...smoking oven and ... burning torch...” devoured the sacrificial offerings that Avram had prepared. Since this same night would eventually be the Passover, it was important that what remained of the prepared animals be completely burned before morning. It is interesting to note that the selection of animals and birds for this sacrifice cover many of the flesh sacrifices that would later be instituted by God as a part of the Levitical system. The heifer can stand for both the red heifer sacrifice (Num. 16) and the burnt offering (Lev. 1). The female goat is a satisfactory ‘peace offering’ and ‘trespass offering,’ the ‘peace offering’ being the exact same type of sacrifice as the Passover lamb except it had to be a male. (Lev. 3 and 5).
      The birds were also legal for ‘trespass offerings.’ (Lev. 5), while the ram was often used for special offerings on Festivals.
      One last comment, the ‘...smoking oven and ... burning torch...” are also reminders of the Exodus when God led and protected the children of Israel:

      “And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so as to go by day and night.”
(Ex. 13:21)

      The parallels between this first recorded ‘Passover’ type and the Passover of Exodus are quite phenomenal.

• Both events occurred on the very same night of the year.

• The animals were slaughtered in the afternoon and were consumed at night.

• The Covenant Between the Parts prophesied the length of time the persecution would last, while the Passover/Exodus brought that persecution to a close.

• In both cases, it was the power of God which brought the event to pass. The sole responsibility of Avram, and the children of Israel, was to step out in faith.

• The vultures tried to devour the sacrifice in Canaan while the ‘vultures,’ in the form of Pharaoh and his army, tried to devour the children of Israel.

~ The Egyptian Passover ~

      The story now shifts to the land of Egypt. Almost three hundred and fifty years have elapsed since the Covenant was initiated by God in the land of Canaan. During that time Yitzchak (Isaac) suffered the persecutions of his half-brother Ishmael, Ya’akov (Jacob) endured the deceptions of Laban and the hatred of Esau, and Yoseif (Joseph) was sold into slavery by his own brothers and spent ten years in an Egyptian prison. Exactly what took place after the children of Israel moved to Egypt, and all of the twelve sons of Ya’akov died, is unclear. However, a few facts are known from scripture and some additional things can be pieced together from secular historical records and speculation.
      It is known that sometime during the second millennium BCE, (Before the Common Era) Egypt was conquered by a Semitic tribe from Asia called the Hyksos. Exact dates are difficult to determine in Egyptian history, but this change in government is believed to have taken place about 1720 BCE. It is probable that the Hyksos were already in power when Yoseif (Joseph) was taken there as a slave. The high regard Pharaoh had for Yoseif, and why he was so readily put into the position of second in command (right below the Pharaoh himself) over the entire nation of Egypt, can be partially explained by the fact that they both came from the same racial stock. The Hyksos rulers may have known the ancestral family of Yoseif, by reputation if not in actual fact. Of course, the primary reason Yoseif was vaulted into that position of power was because God wanted him placed there.
      But times change. Sometime after the death of Yoseif, the Egyptians rose up in rebellion against the Semitic Hyksos and took back control of their government, placing one of their own people into the office of Pharaoh. According to historians, the Hyksos then left Egypt and returned to their homeland in the east. However, the children of Israel remained as sheep herders in the land of Goshen.
      At some point the new government decided to do something about the ‘Israeli problem’ which was being perceived as a growing threat within their country. (Sound familiar?) For one thing, the Israelites were speedily growing in number, as a result of the blessings of fertility given them by Almighty God.
      Race was another factor. The children of Israel were descended from one of Noah’s preferred sons, Shem, while the Egyptians are descended from Mitzraim (Meetz-rye-eem’) the son of Ham, who had seen “...the nakedness of his father (Noah)...” (Gen. 9:23). (In the scriptures the Hebrew name for Egypt is Mitzraim.) Since the Israelites were also distant relatives of the Hyksos’ it would be natural for the Egyptians to fear that they might rise up in rebellion against the Egyptians should the Hyksos decide to return.

      “And Joseph died, all his broth-en, and all that generation.
      “But the children of Israel were fruitful and increased abundantly, multiplied and grew exceedingly mighty; and the land was filled with them.
      “Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. And he said to his people, ‘Look, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we; come, let us deal wisely with them, lest they multiply, and it happen, in the event of war, that they also join our enemies and fight against us, and so go up out of the land.’”
(Ex. 1:6-10)

      The solution was to bring the children of Israel into a system of slavery and have them perform all of the undesirable work so the Egyptians could enjoy a higher standard of living. (There really is nothing new under the sun.)

      “Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh supply cities, Pithom and Raamses.”
(Ex. 1:11)

      Many have wondered how the Egyptians could enslave a vigorous people who were greater in number than their oppressors. According to the Midrash (a collection of stories and legends of the Jews) it was done in a very subtle way.
      First the Pharaoh announced his intention to begin an extensive building program. He offered the children of Israel high wages to become a part of the construction team. He sold the idea as a patriotic thing to do. Pharaoh even participated personally for a short time as a public relations gesture. Initially, native Egyptians labored right along side of the Israelite workers, both of whom were paid handsomely. In addition, there was a ‘mixed multitude’ of people; workers from many countries and several different ethnic groups, both Semitic and non-Semitic. However, as time went on the Egyptian workers began to disappear, a few each day, until only the Israelites and the ‘mixed multitude’ were left on the job site. It was already too late when the children of Israel discovered that the missing Egyptians had become armed and trained into an army of taskmasters. To make matters even worse, the Israelites were required to give back all of the money they had ‘earned’ during the first sixteen months of the project. But God was still with them, even if they did not realize it at that time.

      “But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were in dread of the children of Israel So the Egyptians made the children of Israel serve with rigor.”
(Ex. 1:12-13)

      In order to stop the Israelite population explosion, the Pharaoh instituted the first recorded practice of genocide. He decreed that the midwives kill all of the male babies born to Hebrew women. To their everlasting credit, the midwives refused to obey this harsh command.

      “Therefore God dealt well with the midwives, and the people multiplied and grew very mighty. And so it was, because the midwives feared God, that He provided households for them.”
(Ex. 1:20-21)

* Abuse of Total Slavery *

      It is difficult for us today to be able to imagine the horrible conditions faced by the children of Israel after they became enslaved in Egypt. Yet, if we are to fully understand the magnitude of God’s redemptive act through the Passover, we must try and place ourselves into ‘their shoes.’ This has all been recorded for us so that we might understand the even greater magnitude of God’s redemptive power in our own lives. Theirs was a redemption from physical slavery and idolatry bringing them into religious freedom; yet they all went on to die. Ours is a redemption from a different kind of idolatry (which leads to the slavery of sin and death) and moves us on into the freedom of eternal life.

      “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
(II Tim. 3:16-17)

      Now then, let us try and step back in time and enter the land of Egypt as Hebrews in the era of the birth of Moses.
      Only the older people could remember what it was like to be free. They spoke to their children of those ancient times in the dark of night, because during the daylight hours they were under the ever watchful eye of their taskmasters. The younger men and woman knew only the life of slavery for that is what they were born into. They had to rise well before dawn, eat a hasty meal and then go off to the construction site. Work went on until sunset, then they went home to do what ever chores needed to be accomplished before partaking of another simple meal and falling into bed. In all likelihood the women and children had to pick up the responsibilities for care of the flocks and herds, and the tilling of the gardens as well as all of their household chores. To top this off, the routine went on seven days a week without a break. Day in--day out, week in--week out, month in--month out, year in--year out.
      To make matters worse, when a day off was allowed, the children of Israel were required to participate in the idolatrous worship of one of the many false gods held in reverence by the Egyptians. The God of their fathers, Avraham, Yitzchak, and Ya’akov could not be worshipped on the Sabbath day, because they had to work on the Sabbath. Yet the old traditional stories about the Patriarchs, and all that God had done for them, were passed down from generation to generation.

      God, in the midst of this, blessed the children of Israel because of the promise that He had made to their fathers, and the Israelites grew strong and healthy and increased in number. The Egyptians lived in fear of the day when the Hebrews would rise up in rebellion against them and overwhelm them by their great numbers.
      Next came the harsh decrees. All male babies were to be killed so the population explosion of the Hebrews could be thwarted and future potential Hebrew soldiers could be eliminated. They wanted to keep the girls around so they could give birth to more girls. Those girls could then become the slaves of the future, or serve as concubines to the Egyptian men. However, the midwives refused to cooperate, and made up stories about the vigor of the Hebrew women, saying they did not need the assistance of a midwife in order to bear children.

      “And the midwives said to Pharaoh, ‘Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women; for they are lively and give birth before the midwives come to them.’
      “So Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying, ‘Every son who is born you shall cast into the river, and every daughter you shall save alive.’”
(Ex. 1:19,22)

      The river Nile was considered by the Egyptians to be one of their many gods. In effect, the Pharaoh decreed that all of the male Hebrew children be sacrificed to the god of the Nile.

* Enter Moses *

      This was the world into which Moses (Heb. Moshe = Moh-shay’) was born. A tiny baby, brought into the world, entirely dependent upon his parents to provide for his every need, not knowing anything about the world into which he is being born or the great task that God had prepared for him to do.
      Moshe’s father was named Amram (Ahm-rahm’) and his mother was named Jochebed (Heb. Yocheved = Yoh-kheh-vehd’) (Num. 26:59). Am-ram was the son of Kohath, and the grandson of Levi (Ex. 6:16,18). They already had two other children. Miriam (Meer-ee-ahm’) and Aaron (Ah-rohn).
      According to tradition, when Amram heard about the Pharaoh’s decree he decided it was best not to have any more children, so he publicly divorced his wife. But his daughter Miriam protested Amram’s action and convinced him that his decision was even harsher than Pharaoh’s. Under the Pharaoh’s decree only the boy babies would be destroyed. Under Amram’s decision, there would be no babies at all, whether boy or girl. Amram recanted and took Yocheved back as his wife.

      “And a man of the house of Levi went and took as wife a daughter of Levi. So the woman conceived and bore a son. And when she saw that he was a beautiful child, she hid him three months.
      “But when she could no longer hide him, she took an ark of bulrushes for him, daubed it with asphalt and pitch, put the child in it, and laid it in the reeds by the river’s bank. And his sister stood afar off, to know what would be done to him.”
      “Then the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself at the river. And her maidens walked along the river’s side; and when she saw the ark among the reeds, she sent her maid to get it. And when she had opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby wept. So she had compassion on him, and said, ‘This is one of the Hebrews’ children.’”
(Ex. 2:1-6)

      Tradition states that the parents named the baby Yekusiel (Yeh-koosee-ehl), but Pharaoh’s daughter called hint Moshe which means “to draw out” since she drew him out of the Nile river. This name was to have great significance, since Moshe was destined to be the one whom God would use to ‘draw’ the children of Israel out of Egypt and lead them through the Reed Sea into freedom.
      There are other interesting traditions related to this event. The name of Pharaoh’s daughter is said to be Basya. It is said that she had given up the idolatry of the Egyptians and converted to the religion of the Hebrews, worshipping only the one true God, and that when she saw Moshe she knew immediately that he was a Hebrew because he was circumcised.
      It is also claimed that Basya suffered from leprosy and the reason she was walking by the river was because she wished to wash herself in hopes of relieving the symptoms of the disease. Egyptians were not known for their cleanliness, and bathing was not the ‘in thing’ in their society. It is said that Cleopatra (many centuries later) never took a bath in her entire life, but just smothered the odor with expensive perfumes.
      The leprosy of the Bible is not the same disease that we know as leprosy today. In fact, the leprosy of the Bible was considered to always be sent from God as a result of some grievous sin in the particular individual’s life, or as a means for God to give some kind of instruction to the sufferer. When a person was healed of leprosy it meant they had either stopped the sin that was causing it or had been forgiven. It is said that as soon as Basya touched Moshe’s basket her leprosy was healed. This was considered to be a miraculous sign from God that He wanted Basya to save the baby and raise him as a Hebrew.
      An Egyptian wet nurse was brought but the baby would not take milk from her. It was at this point that Miriam came forward.

      “Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, ‘Shall I go and call a nurse for you from the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for you?’
      “And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, ‘Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages.’ So the woman took the child and nursed him.
      “And the child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. So she called his name Moses, saying, ‘Because I drew him out of the water.’”
(Ex. 2:7-10)

      It must be remembered that the above non-scriptural portions of the narration are considered to be Midrash, that is, stories and legends that are not necessarily true in detail but are always considered to be true in what they teach. This is a Hebrew concept that every student of the Bible needs to understand, for even some portions of scripture are, in fact, Midrash. The truth of the above Midrash is that God was with Moshe from before conception and watched over him and took care of his needs throughout his entire life. Whether it occurred exactly as the Midrash states cannot be known at this time. When we meet Moshe in the resurrection we can ask him. The truth of the matter is that God had a great mission for Moshe to accomplish during his lifetime. Be it also known that God has a mission for each of us to accomplish, and that He takes care of our every need as well.

* The Beginning of Freedom *

      Passover and the Exodus, taken together, are symbols of redemption from slavery and the gaining of freedom. But the freedom of the children of Israel did not begin with the slaying of the firstborn of Egypt, the removal of the Israelites from the land or the crossing of the Reed Sea. Their freedom really had it’s birth when the women of Israel refused to give up their male babies to the demands of Pharaoh. This is where God’s plan of redemption started, in the minds and hearts of His people when they refused to do what was wrong just because it was expedient. Even though the people of God were not to see the fruition of their just cause for another eighty years, nevertheless, this is where it all began. Let us thank God for their rich example and commit to follow that example in our own lives.

* The Life of Moshe *

      The Scriptures give no specific details about the first forty years of Moshe’s life. Tradition tells us that Moshe was reared in the court of Pharaoh and thereby obtained a worldly education. Although his early years may have been spent in the rich world of the Court, eventually, at age forty, Moshe remembered who he was and desired to see at first hand the plight of his native people.

      “Now it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out to his brethren and looked at their burdens. And he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his brethren.
      “So he looked this way and that way, and when he saw no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.
      “And when he went out the second day, behold, two Hebrew men were fighting, and he-said to the one who did the wrong, ‘Why are you striking your companion?’
      “Then he said, ‘Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?’ So Moses feared and said, ‘Surely this thing is known!’”
(Ex. 2:11-14)

      Why did Moshe want to get involved with the Israelites? After all, he had it made, he was a member of the royal family.

      “By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward.”
(Heb. 11:24-26)

      Moshe, like all true Believers of every age, had caught the vision of the need for redemption. His vision was one of freedom from all types of oppression; whether physical, mental or spiritual. Later on, this vision of freedom would be written into the very constitution of Israel in the form of the Jubilee.

      “And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a Jubilee for you; and each of you shall return to his possession, and each of you shall return to his family.”
(Lev. 25:10)

      What a different world we would live in if all the people’s of the earth followed the Torah of God. Everyone would have true freedom, and everyone would dwell in peace within their own families, and those who, because of circumstances, had sold themselves into servitude would be set free and their family possessions returned to them every fiftieth year. The day of freedom is coming, when Messiah will return to establish the Kingdom of God, under the righteous rule of Torah, on this earth. May He come speedily and in our time.

      Moshe made the common mistake of trying to bring redemption to his people by his own power, through his own hand, by killing the Egyptian who was oppressing one of his brethren. However, redemption through human resources just does not work. Moshe learned this lesson the hard way.

      “When Pharaoh heard of this matter, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh and dwelt in the land of Midian...”
(Ex. 2:15)

      Proper training can sometimes take a very long time. In Moshe’s case it took another forty years before both he and the children of Israel were sufficiently prepared for redemption. Moshe needed all that time in order to learn the ways of humility and contentment as a simple shepherd in a foreign land. Meanwhile, the children of Israel had to experience so heavy an oppression that they, as a people, began to cry out to God for relief.

      “Then Moses was content to live with the man, and he gave Zipporah his daughter to Moses.”
Ex. 2:21)

      “Now it happened in the process of time that the king of Egypt died. Then the children of Israel groaned because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry came up to God because of the bondage.
      “So God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God acknowledged them”
(Ex. 2:23-25)

~ The Redemption Process ~

* The Slide Into Slavery *

      There are a number of steps which God used to prepare both Moshe and the children of Israel for their redemption into freedom. A number of those steps have already been covered, others need to be mentioned at this point.

• Before a people can be redeemed they must have previously belonged to someone. In this case, God had taken the children of Israel as His own when He cut the covenant with Avram. In fact, they would not even exist if God had not caused the miraculous birth of Yitzchak.

• As long as the children of Israel were attached to God there was no need for redemption. This status existed during the lifetimes of Avraham, Yitzchak and Ya’akov (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob).

• At some point the children of Israel needed to become separated from God so that redemption would be necessary. This occurred after the death of Ya’akov, for he was the last of the Patriarchs to have spoken directly with God.

• The children of Israel were only supposed to be sojourning in the land of Egypt as guests. However, because of their lust for the ‘good life’ in Egypt, they allowed themselves to stay on after the famine had ceased. This common human mistake led to their eventually being sold into slavery.

* Realizing the Need for Redemption *

      The next phase in the redemption process was for the children of Israel to recognize their need for release from slavery, and to identify from where that release must come. Since God was dealing with a group of people, and not with an object that had been pawned (like a gold watch), it was necessary for those people to come to an understanding that redemption was needed. It took many years of slavery but finally the children of Israel understood their need for God’s deliverance. (See Ex. 2 :23-25).

* The Redeemer Reveals Himself *

      Redemption cannot take place without both a Redeemer and something (in this case someone) that needs to be liberated. In scripture the function of redeemer was required to be performed by someone who was a kinsman to the person needing release. This gave rise to the term “kinsman redeemer,” and it was this principle that was used by Boaz when he redeemed Ruth. (See the book of Ruth.)

      “Now if a sojourner or stranger close to you becomes rich, and one of your brethren who dwells by him becomes poor, and sells himself to the stranger or sojourner close to you, or to a member of the stranger’s family, after he is sold he may be redeemed again. One ... in his family may redeem him; or if he is able he may redeem himself”
(Lev. 25:47,49)

      The intended redeemer must come forward and reveal himself so that all will know who intends to perform this righteous act. If someone else, closer of kin, hears about the proposed redemption, and wishes to perform the redemption himself, then he must act to replace the one who first stated his intention.
      Thus, God must now reveal Himself and state His intention to be the ‘kinsman redeemer’ for His people, the children of Israel. Not only are the children of Israel chosen by God to be His people, they are also in the position of being the Betrothed Bride of God. Thus, God’s relationship to Israel is even closer than might first be suspected. (For more information on the marriage of God to Israel please write Hebrew Roots and request the tape series: The Wedding of the Messiah.)
      God chose to first reveal His ‘kinsman redeemer’ intention to His servant Moshe, who was still dwelling in the land of Midian. At the mountain called Horeb (also known as Mt. Sinai) God appeared to Moshe in the form of a burning bush that was not consumed. God identified Himself and stated His intentions:

      “...‘I am the God of your father--the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’...
      “And the LORD said: ‘I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmaster, for I know their sorrows. So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites...’
      “‘Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.’”
(Ex. 3:6-8,10)

      After protestations by Moshe, who apparently had no personal desire to return to the land of Egypt, he asked God to reveal His name so that Moshe could identify Him to the children of Israel.

      “And God said to Moses, ‘Ehyeh-Asher-Ehyeh.’ He continued, ‘Thus shall you say to the Israelites, ‘Ehyeh sent me to you.’
      “And God further said to Moses, ‘Thus shall you speak to the Israelites: YHVH (the LORD), the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you:
      “‘This shall be My name forever,
      “‘This My appellation for all eternity.’”
(Ex. 3:14-15, JPS Tanakh)

      The phrase Ehyeh-Asher-Ehyeh has been translated into English in a variety of ways. Most Christians are familiar with the King James Version which renders it; “I Am That I Am.” Others prefer; “I Am Who I Am.” Most scholars today believe it might be better translated; “I Will Be What I Will Be.” In any case it is meant to convey the message that God is supreme and He is not bound by man s ideas or conventions. That is the important concept of the verse. In verse 15 the tetragrammaton (YHVH) is introduced as God’s official name for the children of Israel. According to the footnote in the Tanakh, p. 88; “The name YHVH is here associated with the root hayah ‘to be.’”
      As Believers, we have been given the profound privilege of addressing God as “Our Father,” and His Son by His given name “Yeshua.”
      (We realize this is a touchy subject for many people who adhere to the belief that we must address God in terms of the correct sacred names.’ It is not our intention to judge anyone in this matter and we sincerely hope you will extend us the same courtesy. However, it must be said that we have received several different opinions from our readers, as to the exact pronunciation of YHVH and the Messiah’s name. We prefer to use “Our Father” and “Yeshua” at this time. Perhaps our view will change as time goes on. Please do not be offended if we do not conform to your particular view in this matter. Rather, let us all continue to “...study to show ourselves approved...”).

* Negotiations *

      At this point, a series of negotiations begin between YHVH and Moshe. Moshe does not really want the job and tries to duck out of it. This obviously irritates YHVH and He agrees to let Aaron, Moshe’s older brother, become the spokesman and assist him with the task at hand. So, Moshe becomes the mediator between the ‘kinsman redeemer,’ YHVH and those who are crying for redemption, the children of Israel.

* Circumcision Revisited *

      Moshe has spent forty years in the land of Midian where he married the daughter of Jethro, a Midianite priest. Since circumcision was not a custom in that country, Moshe had not inflicted the covenant mark of Brit Mila, (Breet Mee-lah = circumcision) on his oldest son, Gershom. There is no record that the children of Israel had forsaken Brit Mila, in fact the scriptures seem to indicate they had continued in the practice since it is not recorded that mass circumcising took place prior to the Passover. This would agree with the fact that God still considered them to be the ‘children of promise’ and that they had accepted that status through Brit Mila.
      But how would it look if Moshe were to come into the camp of Israel, claiming to be the one that God had commissioned to lead them to freedom, and have it discovered that his own son did not carry the covenant mark? Would the children of Israel have believed him? No way! So God halted the trip to Egypt so that some very important business could be completed.

      “And it came to pass on the way, at the encampment, that the LORD met him and sought to kill him.
      “Then Zipporah took a sharp stone and cut off the foreskin of her son and cast it at Moses’ feet, and said, ‘Surely you are a husband of blood to me!’
      “So He let him go. Then she said, ‘You are a husband of blood!’ -- because of the circumcision.”
(Ex. 4:24-26)

      At this point Zipporah, Gershom, and their other child, returned to Midian. They rejoined Moshe after the Israelites had left Egypt, when Zipporah’s father came to visit.

      “And Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, took Zipporah, Moses’ wife, after he had sent her back, with her two sons, ...”
(Ex. 18:1-3)

      According to tradition, the other son, Eliezer, had been circumcised at birth. It is thought that Moshe and Jethro had agreed to a compromise where the oldest son would remain uncircumcised while the younger would carry the covenant mark.

* God Judges Egypt *

      It is not necessary to recount all of the details pertaining to the experiences Moshe and Aaron had dealing with Pharaoh and his court. However, it is necessary to make some comments about the plagues that God inflicted upon the people and land of the Egyptians.
      Tradition teaches that it was about one year from the time that God spoke to Moshe through the burning bush, until the Exodus took place. Tradition also teaches that the ten plagues were spaced approximately one month apart. This could have been one of the reasons Pharaoh kept hardening his heart, for God allowed sufficient time between each plague for a certain amount of relief to be felt by the Egyptians. This would have given Pharaoh time to think that maybe the trouble was all over, and that Moshe and Aaron would stop plaguing him with their demands.
      In order to understand why God chose to perform the plagues that He did, one needs to understand some background about the religious scene in Egypt. Egypt was one of the most idolatrous societies on the face of the earth at that time. They had a vast array of gods, including the Pharaoh himself, which demanded worship in various repulsive ways. All of the plagues involved the impotence of the gods of Egypt in some way.
      The first set of three plagues, listed below, were visited upon the children of Israel as well as the Egyptians.

• The Plague of Blood. - The people of Egypt worshipped the Nile River because it was the source of water for the growing of their crops. Also, each spring the river flooded, bringing fertile topsoil down from upstream, making for rich crops.

• The Plague of Frogs - The frog was connected with one of the most ancient of Egyptian religious practices.

• The Plague of Lice - This plague involved the dust of the earth. The soil, because of its fertility, was also an object of worship.

      From this point on the plagues were inflicted only upon the Egyptians, the Israelites having now come under the divine protection of YHVH, the God of Avraham, Yitzchak, and Ya’akov. The second set of three plagues were:

• The Plague of Flies - Again, an object of worship in the idolatrous system of Egyptian religion has become the source of their misery.

• The Plague on the Cattle -Some of the primary gods worshipped by the Egyptians were represented by cattle. The cow represented Hathor while the bull stood for both Mnevis and Apis.

• The Plague of Boils - When the boils broke out on both man and beast it was not only a direct attack on all of the animal gods of Egypt, but also upon the chief god of the land, Pharaoh himself, who also suffered right along with everyone else.

      As time drew near to the scheduled date of the Passover/Exodus, the plagues became progressively more severe:

• The Plague of Hail - God sent down a plague on all of the gods of Egypt, whether they were in the form of men, animals, or the earth.

• The Plague of Locusts - Winged creatures were also an object of worship in ancient Egypt. Once again, God used a symbol of their idolatry as a source of punishment for the severity of the slavery which they had inflicted upon the children of Israel.

• The Plague of Darkness - One of the main objects of worship in all ancient societies that were not tied to the Creator God, was worship of the sun. What better way to show the impotence of the sungod than to have it completely obliterated from view for three full days.

continued....