In about two months we will be celebrating my favorite holiday, Passover. I love the foods of Passover but this is not the reason that it is my favorite holiday. I was almost born on the day of Passover but this also is not the reason that Passover is my favorite holiday.
Passover is a story of redemption that is almost beyond belief unless one saw it with his or her own eyes. The plagues leading up to the Passover are often the standard of a major catastrophe in the world today. After a great catastrophe in our world we wonder how could this happen. We stand in awe of a power that is beyond our imagination. The power and presence of God shine through the story of the Passover. This is why Passover is my favorite holiday. It is a story like no other. One must read it with faith in God, otherwise it will seem like a fairytale. We will be looking at the Passover more towards the end or this article but first let’s begin with the name of this week’s Torah Portion.
Bo – בא
The title of this week’s Torah Portion (Ex. 10:1 – 13:16) is “Bo” which is a Hebrew word which is a simple command meaning “Come.” As in most Torah Portions, the title is generally taken from the first few words of the text. This one is no different as the word “Bo” is the first word spoken and it is literally the fifth word in the text (Ex. 10:1). So the name of this week’s Torah reading is “Bo” – “Come.”
Something perplexing about the translation of this word “Bo” (“Come”) is that most Bibles use the word “Go” in its place. Why do translators choose to translate this word as “Go” instead of “Come?” The most obvious reason is because it makes the most sense as we understand the context. God was sending Moses to go and return to Pharaoh in order to speak to him. Naturally if someone is sending someone else to go to a third party the natural command is to say “go to so and so,” however the word used here is clearly “Bo,” which means “Come.”
The Invitation of God
Why does God tell Moses to “come to Pharaoh” rather than simply “go to Pharaoh?” There is no clear explanation of why this is so, however, I believe that God was reminding Moses of a very important principle. When God originally commanded Moses to go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt Moses didn’t want to go. At one point Moses said to God, “who am I to go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?” (Ex. 3:11). In response to this excuse, the LORD said to Moses, “Certainly I will be with you…” (Ex. 3:12). God promised to be with Moses all the way until the end. God promised that He would not leave Moses alone to fulfill this task and to go before the ruler of Egypt to make this request. In light of this promise that God had made to Moses and in recognizing the relationship between God and Moses we can understand that when God commanded Moses again to “Come to Pharaoh” in this week’s text (Ex. 10:1) it is if God were inviting Moses to come with Him to Pharaoh. Moses was not going alone. God was inviting Moses to come and join Him on this journey to speak to Pharaoh and set the sons of Israel free.
God is With Us!
As we live our lives day to day it is easy to feel alone and overwhelmed by all of the tasks before us. There are some tasks that we don’t want to even think about. There are certain people that we don’t really want to go to or talk with. As a believer in God, with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit through faith in Yeshua the Messiah, it is good to know that God is always with us (John 14:16-18). He will never leave or abandon us but rather He will be with us until the end and enable us to do all that He has commanded us to do (Matt. 28:18-20). We see this same principle at work in the life of Paul when God sent Paul to speak His Word to others and promised to be with him (Acts 18:9-11). Just as God invited Moses to “Come” and promised to be with him, so God will be with us today in all that He gives us to do on this earth. One of the names of God is Imanu-el – “God with us” (Is. 7:14. 8:8,10)
Passover
In this week’s Torah Portion we read of the last three plagues on the land and people of Egypt; the plague of locusts, the plague of darkness, and the death of the first-born. The final plague was the greatest of all and would be “the final straw that broke the camel’s back” so to speak as Pharaoh would send Moses and the Israelites out of his land as a result of the death of the first-born. God also vowed that this final plague would not touch His people, the sons of Israel, as God’s power was revealed on earth (Ex. 11:1-7).
The Passover together with the Exodus from Egypt are one of the strongest illustrations in the Old Testament of God’s plan to redeem and bring salvation to His people. It is the ultimate foreshadowing of God’s plan of salvation not only for the Jewish people but for all of humankind. God Himself would come to earth, as prophesied in the Scriptures (Isaiah 7:14. 9:6-7), and would ultimately become the sacrifice for sin through the final Passover lamb (Isaiah 53:4-12. John 1:29). There are numerous details written in the chapters of this week’s Torah Reading that confirm and relate to Yeshua being the final Passover Lamb. Time and space do not permit me to go into all of the details here but I would like to highlight a couple of key thoughts.
Pesach
The Hebrew word for Passover is “Pesach” (פסח) which means “to passover,” hence the English word, “Passover.” In this week’s text the word “pesach” or “passover” appears numerous times generally speaking of how the LORD will passover each home which has the blood of the lamb on the top of the door frame as well as on the two side posts (Ex. 12:13). So the word “passover” is literally the action of the LORD; “When I see the blood, I will pass over you” (Ex.12:13). The action of the LORD was to “pass over” His people.
When Moses later instructed the children of Israel to take a lamb and slaughter it at a certain time he told them to literally take and slaughter the “pesach” (פסח), “the passover” (Ex. 12:21). Many translations of the Bible add the term “lamb” after the word passover to make it clear but the word lamb is not in the original text. Moses commanded them to slaughter “the passover.”
From these few verses in Exodus 12 we see a connection between the action of God “to pass over” the homes with the mark of blood on the doorposts and the lamb itself being called “the passover.” We also read in verse 11 that this event is called ״פסח הוא ליהוה״ – – “a Passover to the LORD” (Ex. 12:11). The Passover is a unique event to the LORD that is characterized by a sacrificial lamb, His own action of pardoning sin, and redeeming a people to Himself. The act of God and the sacrificial lamb were described and unified in one word, passover.
The Revelation of God
Another interesting detail that I found in this week’s Torah Portion was from Onkelos, a targum (translation) on the Torah which is highly used and respected by religious Jews. Onkelos is considered a translation of the Torah but it also acts as a sort of commentary in the way that certain words are translated.
In Exodus 12:12 the plain text reading of the first part of this verse states, “And I will pass through the land of Egypt…” speaking of how the LORD will pass through the land of Egypt. The word used for “pass” in this verse is a completely different word from “passover.” In verse 12 the word for “pass” is ״עבר״ “avar” and it simply means to pass. Rather than translating this word in a normal fashion, Onkelos translated this phrase as follows: “I will be revealed in the land of Egypt” (Onkelos on the Torah, p. 67).
Why does Onkelos change the meaning of the word from “pass through” to “be revealed” in his translation? Onkelos seems to be communicating something of how the context of the Passover was understood. Onkelos translated this word in the same way a few verses later (Ex. 12:23) in the context of Passover; “The LORD will be revealed to smite the Egyptians” (Onkelos on the Torah, p. 69). Onkelos was translating the heart of God through the Passover event. God Himself would passover the people and there would be life if the blood of the lamb was found on the door posts of the home but death if it was not. God Himself is the author of life and death and He would reveal Himself through the Passover.
The Passover is a clear picture of Almighty God and His action to redeem the people of this world through the sacrifice that He demands. God demanded a blood sacrifice to redeem His people 3,500 years ago and He still demands a blood sacrifice today. Yeshua became that sacrificial lamb as He Himself was sacrificed on Passover nearly 2000 years ago. It was no coincidence that Yeshua was crucified on the day of Passover. He fulfilled the Law at every turn and allowed Himself to become the final sacrifice that would suffice for all the world since He was a sinless and perfect sacrifice.
“For Messiah our Passover also has been sacrificed” – 1 Cor. 5:7
“Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” – John 1:29
Through faith in God we can enter into His rest (Heb. 4:1-3). Today we have been reminded that God invites us to “come” and join Him on this journey of life. We must hold on to the truth that He is with us and that He has provided a way of salvation through the Passover sacrifice of His very own Son. He is our Passover!
Shabbat Shalom!
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Torah Portion: Ex. 10:1 – Ex. 13:16
Hafatara: Jer. 46:13 – 28
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