Happy Passover!

Shalom this is Kobi Ferguson, President and CEO of my Maoz Israel, and I have some thoughts I want to share with you regarding Passover (aka Pesach in Hebrew). As we celebrate Passover, we always “Remember” these 5 things.

We take time to remember even though we know how the story goes. My children used to love watching a remake of the old movies about “Lassie” the dog. After seeing it so many times, they knew that the wonder dog would find a way out of impossible situations to save the day. Yet they had always had great anticipation every time to watch the entire movie. In the same way, with childlike eagerness, let’s enjoy the journey even though we know how the story ends, shall we?

1. Passover and Shabbat are ancient friends. We remember Shabbat during our reciting and rehearsing the events and prayers/blessings during Passover and likewise we remember Passover and the coming out of Egypt every Shabbat. There’s so much to be said about this, but one thought that comes to mind is that with every great deliverance in our lives, it is good for us to look back to remember our origin story and that our Creator has given us rest and ultimate peace despite the battles in life.
2. We remember that death passes over life. The life is in the blood. As believers in Yeshua it is a wonderful opportunity for us to remember His sacrifice as the Passover lamb and every time in the blessing and breaking of bread, we do so in remembrance of Him. We can easily make this a part of our weekly Shabbat routine, as we remember coming out of Egypt physically and spiritually.
3. Dayenu- This Passover reading and song traditionally means “it is enough for us” but there is an alternative understanding which many believe is as valid, that “we would be done for!” So while I love singing this song giving thanks and expressing gratitude for every step the Lord has given along our journey, it would NOT be enough for us until the Lord completes all that He has promised. It is not enough to be delivered from Egypt and brought into the Promised Land, not until Elijah comes, it’s not enough to be brought back into the land of Israel after nearly two thousand years, not until all Israel is saved and then Yeshua returns! Only when Messiah comes and fulfills all things that’s when it will truly be “dayenu.”
4. We remember the desert. Although many difficult things happened in the desert, scripture tells us the Lord looks back fondly on His time with His people in the desert. And yes, there are bad memories as well. Like a parent, raising children requires us to remember good years as well in the middle of extreme difficult years. We look back upon our children’s formative years when they relied upon us so closely and even though there were times of rebellion there is a tender love through it all. Israel got to know their God in the desert and they became His people.
5. Remembering the reason for the Passover – WORSHIP!
   The entire reason the Lord called the children of Israel out of Egypt and into the desert was to worship Him! Exodus 7:15- “let my people go so they may worship me in the desert.” All things will fade away, but the worship of the one true God will continue forever. Remembering worship is an important aspect of Passover!