Last week we were reminded that just as Yahweh skipped (Heb “pasach”) the homes of those who put the blood of a slaughtered lamb on the lintels of their doors in Egypt, we should also skip certain patterns in our lives that may have gradually drawn us away from our heavenly Father. We saw throughout Scriptures that what we need to skip, most of all, are thoughts about ourselves and our fellow believers, and about Yahweh, that are NOT based upon truth and NOT helpful within the body of Messiah. Thoughts like “I have nothing to rejoice about”; “Yahweh does not care about the desires of my heart” or “There is no need for me to share the details of my life with others”. We rejoiced about the fact that Yahweh not only SKIPPED his own people in the matter of the death of the firstborn, but that He also EMBRACED them in the matter of opening up a new door for them and promising them provision, guidance, protection and a great inheritance. So, as a follow-up, let us take a good look today at some of the things that we may also EMBRACE, as a result of what is symbolized by Pesach and Unleavened Bread. Let us begin with a number of verses in Deuteronomy (Devarim – “words”) where the word “give” is an indication of something we may embrace …
We should embrace the promise that Yahweh will give us rest from our enemies. Deut 25:19 “Yahweh your Elohim will give you rest from your enemies all around … therefore be sure to blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under the heavens.” Embrace this promise – don’t spend more time than what is necessary, chasing after enemies and fighting the obstacles along the way.
We should embrace the privilege of bringing our first fruits to Yahweh. Deut 26:10-11 “I have brought the first-fruits of the land which You, O Yahweh, have given me – then you shall place it before Yahweh your Elohim, and bow down before Him and rejoice in all the good which Yahweh your Elohim has given to you and your house.” Just like all other offerings, bringing our first fruits is just giving back some of what Yahweh has given us. It sounds crazy but it is an act of embracing the supremacy of Yahweh, and our dependence upon Him. Not to embrace this, may very well be an act of fear and unbelief: If I don’t give now, I may not have enough later! Let us embrace an attitude that is the complete opposite of living in fear and unbelief!
We should embrace the gift of possessing hearts to know, eyes to see and ears to hear. Deut 29:4 “But Yahweh has not given you a heart to know and eyes to see and ears to hear, till this day.” In Luk 10 Y’shua told the people that there were many prophets and kings who wished to see and hear what they had seen and heard. Think of all the things that we have seen and heard and come to understand. Let us embrace each one of those things. The richness of the feasts. The rest of the Shabbat. The ringing of the Father’s Name in our ears. The recognition of Y’shua as the promised Messiah. The repercussions of his resurrection. The restoration of all things that lies ahead.
We should embrace the fact that the heavens and the earth listen when Yahweh speaks. This means that we are out of sync with all of creation when we do not listen to Yahweh or when we act half-heartedly, having learned what He desires from us. Deut 32:1 “Give ear, O heavens, and let me speak; And hear, O earth, The words of my mouth.” Let us embrace the fact that we truly belong to Yahweh. Not only as being part of his creation but also as being adopted into his family.
We should embrace the blessing inherent to each one of the feasts. Deut 16:16-17 “Three times a year all your males appear before Yahweh your Elohim in the place which He chooses: at the Festival of Matzot, and at the Festival of Shavuot, and at the Festival of Sukkot. And none should appear before Yahweh empty-handed, but each one with the gift of his hand, according to the BLESSING of Yahweh your Elohim which He has given you (the word “blessing / berachah” refers to the act of kneeling and receiving the gift of Yahweh your Elohim.) Notice that we should come with a GIFT (involving our hands) because of what He has GIVEN us (involving our knees). Someone once said that to kneel is to go down on one’s knees, in such a way that the knees support the entire body. We are all experts in using our hands (doing our own thing) and our feet (going our own way), but it is so refreshing, every now and then, to use our KNEES, to receive (and embrace) a blessing from Yahweh’s hand, and thereby confessing before Yahweh and his people that as our entire body is supported by our knees when we kneel down, so our entire life is supported by Yahweh and will always remain dependent upon Him. It is of no use if we know how to use our hands and our feet, but we never use our knees!
And lastly, on this day of the First Fruit Wave Offering we may truly embrace the far-reaching significance of the resurrection of Y’shua, the Messiah:
1 Cor 15:20 But now Messiah has been raised from the dead, and has become the first-fruit of those having fallen asleep.
Ps 16:8-10 I have set Yahweh always before me; because He is at my right hand I am not shaken. Therefore my heart was glad, and my esteem rejoices; my flesh also dwells in safety. For You do not leave my being in She’ol, neither let your favoured one see corruption.
Ps 17:15 As for me, let Me see Your face in righteousness; I am satisfied to see Your appearance when I awake.
Ezek 37:14 And I shall put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I shall settle you in your own land. And you shall know that I Yahweh have spoken, and I have done it, declares Yahweh.
Dan 12:2 (There shall be a time when) many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall wake up, some to everlasting life, and some to reproaches, everlasting abhorrence.
Dan 12:13 Go your way till the end. And rest, and arise to your inheritance at the end of the days.
Hos 13:14 “From the power of She’ol I ransom them, from death I redeem them. Where is your plague, O Death? Where is your destruction, O She’ol?
Mat 22:31-32 “And concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by Elohim, saying, ‘I am the Elohim of Avraham, and the Elohim of Yitschaq, and the Elohim of Ya‛aqov’? Elohim is not the Elohim of the dead, but of the living.”
Mat 24:31 And He shall send His messengers with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His chosen ones from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.
Joh 5:28-29 The hour is coming in which all those in the tombs shall hear His voice, and shall come forth – those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have
practised evil matters, to a resurrection of judgment.
Act 24:14-15 I worship the Elohim of my fathers, believing all that has been written in the Torah and in the Prophets, having an expectation in Elohim … that there is to be a resurrection of the dead, both of the righteous and the unrighteous.
Rom 8:11 And if the Spirit of Him who raised Y’shua from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Messiah … shall also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit dwelling in you.
1 Cor 6:14 And Elohim, who raised up the Master, shall also raise us up through His power.
2 Cor 4:14 He who raised up the Master Y’shua shall also raise us up through Y’shua.
1 Thes 4:14 For if we believe that Y’shua died and rose again, so also Elohim shall bring with Him those who sleep in Y’shua.
1 Thes 4:16 The Master Himself shall come down from heaven with a shout, with the voice of a chief messenger, and with the trumpet of Elohim, and the dead in Messiah shall rise first.
Rev 20:6 Blessed and set-apart is the one having part in the first resurrection. The second death possesses no authority over these, but they shall be priests of Elohim and of Messiah, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.
Joh 11:25 I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he dies, he shall live.
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