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The Scarlet Thread – Blood in Egypt

The Scarlet Thread – Blood in Egypt

The Scarlet Thread – Blood in Egypt.

“Glory be to Jesus, Who in bitter pains, poured for me the life-blood, from His sacred veins.

Grace and life eternal, in that blood I find, blest be His compassion, infinitely kind.

Blest through endless ages, be the precious steam, which from endless torments, did the world redeem.

Lift ye then your voices, swell the mighty flood; louder still and louder, praise the precious blood.” (Friedrich Filitz).

Glory Be to Jesus – Christian Song with Lyrics (youtube.com)

The scarlet thread that is sewn into Holy Scripture from beginning to end is unmistakable. There is no doubt whatsoever that the Bible is blood-centric, that there is an overriding theme of blood wherever we look. We don’t need to be super-detectives to discover blood patterns in the Word. The Scripture seems practically preoccupied with blood, and one could be excused for observing that God seems to be out for blood. We find out why this is the case in Leviticus 17:11 and 13… “The life of all flesh is in its blood. The life is in the blood.” The Word of God seems preoccupied with blood only because God is preoccupied with life. God is out for blood only in the sense that He is out for Life. The Bible is blood-centric only because God is life-centric. In fact, the term “scarlet thread” is not strong enough. Instead, the Bible has a powerful crimson tsunami flowing through its pages from Genesis through Revelation, from before creation to the New Creation.

In this Bible study we will take a good look at the blood-stories in Scripture, from the divine sacrifice before the foundation of the world, to the animal sacrifice in the Garden of Eden; from the bloodshed in the first family, to the blood-themed covenant between God and Noah; from the Nile River, to the Passover in Egypt; from the bloody mess in the Tabernacle, to the Scarlet Worm that hinted at Jesus. Yes, there seem to be blood-splatters all over the floors and walls of Scripture. Through it all, the precious blood of Jesus is the centerpiece.

“This is what the Lord Yahweh says: ‘By this you will know that I am the Lord: With the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water of the Nile, and it will be changed into blood!” (Exodus 7:17).

It’s no wonder that the Nile River was one the first target of God when He started plaguing the Egyptians. The Nile was considered the bloodstream of their god Osiris, and the Egyptians worshipped the river god Hopi. The almighty God wanted to repudiate the gods of Egypt and to reveal the only God worthy to be worshipped. When Moses struck the Nile, the water turned to blood, and overnight the agricultural and economic systems of Egypt collapsed. The waters became foul-smelling and undrinkable. The fish all died. Even the waters of the streams, the canals, the ponds and the lakes were unusable, turned to blood. Egypt was completely dependent on the Nile for everything from food to commerce to farming, and the mighty empire was brought down to its knees by a simple movement of the staff of God. Jewish scholar Dennis Prager suggested that the plague of blood in the Nile should be considered “a fitting retribution for Pharaoh’s earlier decree that all newborn Hebrew males had to be cast into the Nile. And since so much blood was shed in this river, God would now turn it to blood.” (The Rational Bible).

21 Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go at once and select the animals for your families and slaughter the Passover lamb. 22 Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it into the blood in the basin and put some of the blood on the top and on both sides of the doorframe. None of you shall go out of the door of your house until morning. 23 When the Lord goes through the land to strike down the Egyptians, he will see the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe and will pass over that doorway, and he will not permit the destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down. 24 “Obey these instructions as a lasting ordinance for you and your descendants. 25 When you enter the land that the Lord will give you as he promised, observe this ceremony. 26 And when your children ask you, ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’ 27 then tell them, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.’” Then the people bowed down and worshiped.” (Exodus 12:21-27).

Passover.  After many dramatic fair warnings given to Pharaoh by Moses, the Pharaoh’s heart remained hardened. He would not release God’s Chosen people from slavery, and the final, heart-breaking plague of the death of the firstborn was put into play. The Israelites were instructed to sacrifice a lamb and brush its blood over the doorposts of each Jewish home. In this way, the angel of death would pass over that home and rescue its residents from judgment. It was the lamb’s slain blood that delivered the Israelites from the plague of death. The Lord instituted a ritual meal, the Passover meal, to permanently fix this monumental event in the experiential memories of all the Jewish people. This Seder meal has remained central to Judaism and to its biblical identity, and is celebrated to this day in the homes of observant Jews. The Seder is also celebrated in many Christian homes as well, since the Passover event in Hebrew history anticipated the blood of the Christian Cross. The Lord’s Supper in the gospels is in fact in the context of the traditional Jewish Passover meal

Remembrance. A core responsibility of every Jewish parent is to celebrate the Passover as a sacred event every year in their home. Rabbinic teaching includes the instruction that, “In every generation, a person must regard himself as though he personally had gone out of Egypt.” In order to understand what Jesus meant when He said to “do this in remembrance of Me,” we need to understand the roots of what the Jewish believers mean by “remembrance.”

Rabbi Gideon Weitzman explains this biblical idea of remembrance in wonderful detail. “Remembering signifies an historical recollection of vital events that have happened in our past. But when we tell the story at our Passover feast, it is not simply an historical recollection. By participating in the seder we are acting out the Exodus. By telling the story, we identify with everyone who lived through the events. Much more than that, we actually act as though we ourselves are coming out of Egypt. Every single year on the night of Pesach (Passover), we go through the same redemptive process as the Jews did all those years ago. A detached relating of the events will not suffice; it will only remain in the past, a chapter of history. Only by reliving the episodes of the Exodus will we convey the right message… This is not something that happened to another people thousands of years ago. This is relevant to our lives in the here and now. The Haggadah states that each person is obligated to show himself as though he himself came out of Egypt. We recite the words in the first person, so each person has to feel as though he took part in the slavery and he was personally freed. The elaborate ceremony of the Seder is a visual and physical aid, not merely to memory, but as a means to identify personally with coming out of Egypt. Every day of the year, we have to remember that we came out of Egypt, and that our relationship with God was forged through it. But once a year we have actually to come out of Egypt ourselves. We have to go through the process of slavery and redemption. We have to free ourselves from those internal and external forces that enslave us. Then we will truly be able to forge a personal relationship with God.”

Deliverance. The gospel idea of a savior started with Moses. He delivered the Jewish nation from slavery in Egypt, and he brought them to the Promised Land forty years later. Moses freed his people from bondage. God gave Moses the mission of delivering his people, and Moses succeeded. The Exodus has been used ever since in Christian thought as an historical picture of a spiritual truth. God appointed Moses to be a savior. God appointed Jesus to be the Savior. Jesus’ mission spiritually fulfilled Moses’ mission. Moses brought the Jews salvation from slavery in Egypt. Jesus brought all people salvation from slavery to sin. Moses brought to the world the physical reality of deliverance, and Jesus brought the spiritual reality of deliverance. Moses illustrated the gospel story, while Jesus embodied it. Moses led the old Exodus. Jesus led the new Exodus, the exodus of the soul, freeing humanity from the bondage of, not Egypt, but sin. Through blood, Moses was the mediator of the First Covenant and Jesus was the mediator of the New Covenant. The blood of the old Passover lamb enabled the salvation of the Chosen People in Egypt, and the blood of the new Passover Lamb has brought the salvation of the world. Moses’ actions in the Exodus story points directly to Jesus’ actions in the gospel story. Because of the Passover, the world was prepared for the gospel story of Christ. As has been said many times, “The Lord Yahweh did not check who inside the house was worthy. He checked for the BLOOD on the doorposts. None of us is worthy. Only the blood of Jesus can cover us.”

THE  PASSOVER  HAGGADAH:

  1. Candle Lighting and Blessing. The mother of the house lights the candles and recites this Hebrew blessing: Blessed art thou, O Lord God, King of the Universe, who has sanctified us by thy commandments and hast commanded us to kindle the festival lights. Blessed art thou, O Lord God, King of the Universe, who has kept us alive and sustained us and brought us to this season. May our home be consecrated, O God, by the light of thy countenance, shining upon us in the Blessing and bringing us peace.
  2. The First Cup: Sanctification. The leader pours the cup of wine, while others pour their cups. All say: Blessed art thou, O Lord our God, King of the Universe, who creates the fruit of the vine. The leader raises the cup and says the prayer, Kiddush: Blessed art thou, O Lord our God, King of the Universe, who has chosen us out of all the people of the world and made us holy through your Word. With love You have given us commandments to follow, festivals for rejoicing, holidays for gladness, and this feast of Passover, an anniversary and a holy assembly to remember the Exodus from Egypt. Blessed art thou, O Lord our God, King of the Universe, who has kept us alive, sustained us, and enabled us to reach this season. Blessed art thou, O Lord, who sanctifies Israel and the Festival Seasons. All take big sips from their cup of wine.
  3. The Washing of the Hands. One of the children goes to each person at the table with a bowl of water and a towel. Each person rinses hands in the bowl and dries them as an act of purification before handling the foods. While this is being done, all recite: Blessed art thou, O Lord our God, King of the Universe, who sanctifies us by His commandments and commands us concerning the washing of hands.
  4. The Green Vegetable. Each person takes a sprig of parsley and dips it into the cup of salt water and then eats it. All say: Blessed art thou, O Lord our God, King of the Universe, who creates the produce of the earth.
  5. The Matzah: Bread of Affliction. The leader takes 3 squares of matzah and wraps them in a linen napkin. All say: Blessed art thou, O Lord our God, King of the Universe, who brings forth bread from the earth. Then the leader takes the middle piece, breaks it in half, replaces one half back into the napkin, and takes the other half and wraps it into another napkin. Someone then hides that half of matzah somewhere in the house for later.
  6. The Four Questions. All the younger persons at the table take turns asking the traditional Passover questions. The older persons take turns responding to each question after it is asked. This question sets the context for the four following it:Q: Why is this night different from all the other nights? A: It is a Passover sacrifice to the Lord who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians but spared our homes.  (Exodus 12:27)     Q1: On other nights we eat either leavened or unleavened bread. Why on this night do we eat only unleavened bread? A1: It is because there was not enough time for the dough to rise when the King of Kings appeared to them, when the Lord, Blessed be He, redeemed them. As it is said, ‘And they baked the dough which they had brought out of Egypt into cakes of unleavened bread. For it had not become leavened, since they were driven out of Egypt and could not delay, nor had they prepared provisions for themselves.’  (Exodus 12:39).     Q2: On all other nights we eat any kind of vegetables. Why on this night must it be a bitter one? A2: It is because the Egyptians made the lives of our people in Egypt so bitter and miserable. As it is said, ‘And they made their lives bitter with hard labor in mortar and bricks and at all kinds of labor in the fields, forcing them to toil long and hard.’  (Exodus 1:14).     Q3: On all other nights, we don’t dip the vegetables in salt water. Why on this night do we dip them? A3:We dip the parsley in the salt water because it reminds us of tears shed in bondage and the crossing of the salty Red Sea.     Q4: On all other nights we eat either sitting or reclining. Why on this night do we sit with pillows? A4: We use pillows this night to remind us that reclining was a luxury for free people, not for those in slavery. These pillows symbolize our freedom to recline at leisure.
  7. The Second Cup: Instruction. All pour the second cup of wine and say together: Blessed are thou, O Lord our God, King of the Universe, who creates the fruit of the vine. Then a person at the table recounts the basic Passover story by reading Exodus 12:1-14. Then the ten plagues are recalled which brought judgment on all the gods of Egypt. All repeat in unison the plagues, one plague at a time. After each plague is recited, dip a finger into the wine and make a drop onto your plate. This signifies the sorrow felt for the suffering of the Egyptians. The finger dipped in wine reminds us that the plagues were from the hand of God. Recite these plagues: BLOOD!   FROGS!   LICE!   WILD BEASTS!   PESTILENCE!   BOILS!   HAIL!   LOCUSTS!   DARKNESS!   DEATH OF THE FIRST BORN!   Finally, read responsively Psalms 113 and 114.
  8. The Washing of the Hands. Each person is once again asked to wash/dry their hands.
  9. The Dipping of the Matzah. The matzah is distributed and broken into pieces. Each person dips the matzah into the horseradish and the haroset. Then each person puts a filling of horseradish between two pieces of matzah and eats it.
  10. The Seder Meal and Blessing. Enjoy the food, discussion and fellowship. After the dessert, the leader begins the Blessing: Let us bless our God of whose gifts we have eaten. As it is written, ‘You shall eat and be satisfied, and give blessings to the Lord your God, for the good land he has given you.’ And then all at the table say: Blessed are you, O Lord our God, for the land and for its produce. Blessed are you, of whose bounty we have eaten and through whose goodness we live. You have sustained us for the sake of your great Name. Amen.
  11. The Afikomen. After the meal, the children are sent out to find the broken and hidden half of matzah. After it is found and brought to the table, it is distributed, each person taking a piece.
  12. The Third Cup: Redemption. After the cup is poured, all say: Blessed are thou, O Lord our God, King of the Universe, who creates the fruit of the vine. Pour Elijah’s cup as well. While the wine is being sipped by each person, a person at the table goes to the front door and looks outside, to hopefully welcome the prophet Elijah announcing the coming of the Messiah.
  13. The Fourth Cup: Praise. After pouring into each cup, all say: Blessed are thou, O Lord our God, King of the Universe, who creates the fruit of the vine. Then read responsively Psalm 118.
  14. All say together this traditional Passover prayer: Therefore we are duty-bound to thank, praise, glorify, honor, exalt, extol and bless Him who did for our forefathers and for us all these miracles. He brought us forth from slavery to freedom, anguish to joy, mourning to festival, darkness to great light, subjugation to redemption, so we should say before Him, Hallelujah! After completing the prayer, all say together the final words of the seder meal: Speedily lead the children of thy people, redeemed, to Zion in joyful song! Next year in Jerusalem!
  15. Triumphant Song. Follow the lead of Miriam, Aaron’s sister, when she took a tambourine in her hand, while all the women went out after her with tambourines, dancing, for the Lord had opened the Red Sea for them and closed it over the pursuing Egyptians, their horses and chariots. And Miriam led them in the refrain, ‘Sing to the Lord, for He is gloriously triumphant; horse and chariot he has cast into the sea!’ This is the time to sing and dance in celebration of what God has done.
  16. Keeping the Watch. Rabbinic tradition has maintained the time after the seder meal as a time to “Keep the Watch.” It is a time to drink more wine, pray, talk theology, read and argue over scriptures, discuss topics pertinent to the occasion. The Watch often lasts through the night.

CHRIST  AND  THE  PASSOVER. “Christ our Passover has been sacrificed for us. Therefore, let us keep the Feast.” (1 Corinthians 5:7).

  1. The sacrifice must be a lamb (Exodus 12:3); Jesus was the Lamb of God (1 Corinthians 5:7; John 1:29)
  2. The lamb must be without spot or blemish (Ex. 12:5); As was Christ (1 Peter 1:18-19).
  3. The lamb was to dwell with them (Ex. 12:3,6); Christ dwelt among us (John 1).
  4. The lamb’s blood is shed that they might have life (Ex. 12:6-7); The blood of Jesus was shed that all might have life (John 3:16; 1 Peter 2:24).
  5. No bone was to be broken (Ex. 12:46); None of Christ’s bones were broken (John 19:33).
  6. Blood must be applied to the door (Ex. 12:7, 22); Christ’s blood must be applied to our hearts by faith (Romans 3:25-26, and 10:9).
  7. Safety only behind the blood-crossed doorways (Ex. 12:23);Spiritual safety only beneath Christ’s cross (Revelation12:11).
  8. They must eat the lamb (Ex. 12:8); We must feed on Christ (John 6).

Christ Fulfilling the Passover Feast. Each number below corresponds to the numbers in the Passover ceremony. Consider the many ways that Jesus fulfilled the Feast and its elements at the table. Keep in mind that the Last Supper inaugurated the Communion ceremony, the time-honored Eucharist.

  1. Lighting the Candles. During creation, God said “Let there be light!” And He said it once again when He sent His Son to be the light of the world, the Redeemer. As the candles are lit by the honored woman of the house, so Jesus came into the world as the promised seed of an honored woman. The candles are lit at sunset to make a separation between a workday and a feast day. As is traditional, a circular motion is done with the hands of the woman to welcome in the presence of God’s Spirit. “God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.” (2 Corinthians 9:6).
  2. The First Cup: Sanctification. As He began His final Passover seder, Jesus shared a cup of wine with His disciples, saying to them, “Take this and distribute it among yourselves. For I tell you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine again until the kingdom of God comes.” (Luke 22:17) It was probably during this first cup when Jesus said this.
  3. Washing the Hands. At this point in the Passover ceremony, Jesus poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciple’s feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. Purification is not merely a matter of the hands, but of one’s whole being. “Who may stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart.” (Psalm 24:3-4). Also, washing the feet of guests was a servant’s job. Jesus said at this point, “Do you understand what I have done for you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. For I have given you this as an example, so that you should do what I have done to you.” (John 13:5, 12-15)
  4. The Green Vegetable. Among other things, the sprig of parsley represents the hyssop that the Israelites were to use when they marked doorposts with the lamb’s blood. This also reminds us of Jesus on the cross, the Lamb’s blood being shed, and how Jesus was given vinegar on a branch of hyssop. (John 19:29). Also, as Christians we have followed the Lord through the salty Red Sea of baptism, and have been redeemed into a personal relationship with God.
  5. The Middle Matzah. The unleavened bread is a picture of Christ. It is made with pure flour and water without yeast, which is a symbol of sin and pride (1 Corinthians 5:7). After the dough is flattened, before it is baked, it is pierced and striped with a pointed tool to keep it from bubbling under the flame. During the Passion of Christ, He was pierced and flogged before He died. “He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5). Also, the three squares of matzah sharing one napkin is called a Unity by the rabbis. This may represent for us the unique unity of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The middle piece of the matzah is broken in two, representing Christ, the second Person of the Trinity, broken unto death. The broken middle piece is hidden, much as Christ was buried and hidden after His death.
  6. The Four Questions. These questions are answered in the seder.
  7. The Second Cup: Instruction. The Scriptures from this section tell the story. Discuss where Jesus can be found in Psalms 113 and 114.
  8. The Washing of the Hands. Already discussed in #3. Also, don’t forget that the waters of baptism are also represented in this purification.
  9. The Dipping of the Matzah. By dipping both the bitter herbs and the sweet haroset, we are reminded that even the most bitter of experiences can be sweetened by the presence of Christ and our hope in His love. Also, it was at this point that Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me – one who is eating with me. They were saddened and one by one they said to him, ‘Surely not I?’ ‘It is one of the twelve,’ he replied, ‘he who dips his bread into the bowl with me.’” (Mark 14:18-20).
  10. The Dinner. May this feast remind us that Jesus is the Bread of Life and our Source for Everlasting, Everliving Water.
  11. The Afikomen. The hidden matzah that was hidden and buried is now found, resurrected, as it were, and given to the leader. The leader distributes broken pieces of the afikomen to all present. It was probably at this point that Jesus said, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” (Luke 22:19)
  12. The Third Cup: Redemption. It was during this moment in the ceremony that Luke 22:20happened: “He took the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.” Also, the front door is opened for Elijah, hoping he would come to announce the coming of the Messiah. Before the birth of John the Baptist, an angel of the Lord said, “And he will go before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” (Luke 1:17). Later, Jesus spoke of John, “And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come.” (Matthew 11:14). Finally, it was this same John in the spirit of Elijah who saw Jesus and announced, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29).
  13. The Fourth Cup: Praise. It was at this point that Jesus and his disciples sang a psalm, most probably Psalm 118. “And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.” (Mark 14:26). Keep Jesus in mind as you read together Psalm 118. Many Biblical scholars believer that there is evidence in the Last Supper retelling that Jesus didn’t drink the 4th Cup, that He basically created a new Passover to be enacted from that time forward. They feel that He immediately went to Gethsemane to ask the Father that this cup pass by Him. It is believed by many that Jesus finally finished the new Passover on the Cross by drinking from the sour wine offered to Him at the moment of His death. He intended to drink the cup of Praise when the Passion was completed, when the Passover lamb was slain and the Messiah had been sacrificed. He finally drank the 4th Cup as He gave up His Spirit unto death, and the new Passover was finally completed.
  14. Conclusion. Christians can freely and without reservation pray this traditional Hebrew Passover prayer. You might want to conclude with something like: “Maranatha! Come, Lord Jesus!”
  15. Celebrate in Song and Dance. There are many, many Passover songs. Sing songs of lament because of the death of many of the firstborn, and of triumph that will lead you to join Miriam, dancing and singing to celebrate God’s redemption story. Use any instruments you may have around the house… tambourines, piano, etc.
  16. The Watch. Observant Jews have traditionally “Kept the Watch” following the Passover ceremony, which meant drinking more wine, praying, talking theology, reading scripture, discussing ideas and topics pertinent to the occasion. Here’s a question one could ask, “Why did Jesus choose the Passover meal to celebrate in the last meal of his life on earth? The Watch typically went on till late in the night.

Charles Jenkins & Fellowship Chicago – War (Live) (youtube.com)

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