2014-07-25
Good Morning Dear Ones,
Last week I concluded the “Richer Than Imagined” segment of “Our Covenant” with the description of a ceremony from another culture similar to the “white stone with a new name” seen by John in REV 2:17 symbolizing that true believers are indeed over-comers. A ceremonial meal of some kind often accompanies the sealing of a covenant. As I was being reared in the Jewish faith, my family had a special dinner on Friday nights after sundown. To Jewish people, the Sabbath is from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday. Saturday meant attending services at the synagogue, and even the name, Saturday, in Hebrew is “Yom Shabbat” יוֹם שַׁבָּת . That night, the very best dishes, glasses, and silverware were used. The table was set with a pair of candles, a challah [egg twist bread], and wine. My mother would offer the blessing over the lights, and my father would offer the blessings over the bread and the wine. I learned all these prayers in Hebrew and English. This Sabbath meal was the reminder to us all of the Covenant of the Law, which we were under. Little did I realize that much later in my life, I would be a party to the Covenant of Grace. At that time I had no idea that this Friday night dinner is an archetype of the Communion table, and shares with it a person’s desire to remember God’s loving presence.
The sharing of a meal often commemorates a blood covenant. Certainly, Communion (or what Catholics call Eucharist) fits that description. 1 COR 11: 23-25 are familiar words which every pastor and many of us have memorized long ago. “The Lord Jesus on the night He was betrayed, took bread and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, ‘This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’ In the same way, after supper He took the cup saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood, do this whenever you drink it, in remembrance of Me.’” This ritual began with the Last Supper [MT 26: 17-30]. Of course, the new covenant is the Covenant of Grace, just as the old covenant was the Covenant of the Law. In perfect hindsight, we can see that both covenants were necessary to mankind’s history. Learning the Law allowed us to know what behaviors are right in God’s sight and what were not. The sad part is that traditional Judaism became so enmeshed with the format that it lost connection with the spirit of God’s teaching. This was the subject of Christ’s arguments with the Pharisees in the temple during the last week of His earthly life [LK 20: 1-47, for example]. The Father wasn’t about to let people have no way out of spiritual death due to sin. Those under the Law had no way to escape spiritual death. Thus, He sent Christ to serve His three year ministry on earth and then go to the cross in the ultimate act of sacrificial giving, His Atonement, so that those who listen to the truth and believe in Him can have everlasting life [JN 3: 16; RO 3: 24-25]. Those who are true believers don’t have to concern themselves with spiritual death, even though all must endure physical death [1 COR 15: 54-56].
The connections between OT events or rituals and those in the NT are real and strong. While the Sabbath also commemorates the seventh day when God rested from his work of creation the rest of the week [GN 2: 2-3], the strongest covenant connection is between the Passover seder (ritual meal remembering the story of the exodus of the Jews from Egyptian bondage) and Easter (which commemorates Christ’s resurrection—His rescue of believers from sin and certain spiritual death). The symbolism of the lamb is germane to both Passover [EX 12: 1-42; LV 23: 4-14]; and Easter [MT 28: 1-10; MK 16: 1-8; LK 24: 1-10]. At the Passover seder, four cups of wine are drunk: 1) the cup of blessing; 2) the cup of Haggadah [referring to the book of ritual order for the meal]; 3) the cup of thanksgiving, and 4) the cup of Melchizedek (referring to the priest of Salem who first received a tithe of 10% of the spoils of war from Abraham—GN14: 18-20). This ritual meal recalls the painting of the blood of a sacrificed lamb on the lintels and doorposts of each Jewish home, signaling God to pass over this home during the imposition of the tenth plague—the killing of firstborn sons of the Egyptians (including the Pharaoh’s). Before leaving the subject of the Passover seder, I would be remiss in not mentioning the elements symbolized by a special platter at the head of the table containing: a roasted egg (new life); parsley and salt water (symbolizing the spring and tears shed by Jewish slaves in Egypt), the charoset (a mixture of chopped apple, red wine, honey, and chopped walnuts, symbolizing the mortar used to build the pyramids), the bitter herb (spicy-hot, fresh horse radish symbolizing the bitterness of slavery), a board of matzoh (symbolizing the unleavened bread baked for the Passover by the Jews who didn’t have time to wait for it to rise), and a lamb shankbone (symbolizing the offering of a lamb which is young and without defect).
There was nothing accidental about God’s instructions for the ancient Jews as to what they should do and eat on that important day when they would leave Egyptian slavery forever. And there is nothing accidental about what we are to do to come to the Communion table or partake there.
PRAYER: O Lord, You teach us so many things, often things which are hard for Your youngest children to understand. And yet, You never give up on us. PS 9: 7-10, “The Lord reigns forever; He has established His throne for judgment. He will judge the world in righteousness; He will govern His peoples with justice. The Lord is a Refuge for the oppressed, a Stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know our name will trust in You, for You, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek You.” Your motivation for this patience with us is seen in 2 PET 3: 9, “The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” You have a canny wisdom for perfect timing, giving us who covenant with You, the Law (Ten Commandments), so that we might know what pleases You and what doesn’t. Then, in Your perfect time, You bring us the Covenant of Grace, so that those who believe in Jesus and truly appreciate what a great sacrifice His Atonement on the cross was, might have everlasting life. RO 7: 6, “But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.” The old Jewish oral Torah [human-crafted writings which still continue] is not our way; we are not left confused by their contradictions with each other. Instead, Your “God-breathed” teaching is what directs us [2 TIM 3: 16-17]. We offer You eternal thanks and praise for bringing us Your Holy Spirit to dwell in us and guide us along the path to eternal life, in the holy/mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: This week, I shared the meaning of a Passover seder and it’s elements. Next week, I will share some memories from my own experience and changes that God forged in my understanding of covenant meals. Then, we’ll look at some key verses that make the connection between the Shabbat dinner, Passover seder, Communion, and Easter. We are enormously blessed in being given access to these ritual meals. As a Messianic Jew, I have the pleasure of enjoying both the seder and Communion. Along with that pleasure is my own responsibility of passing along my understanding of the heart of our loving God. Belonging to a Lutheran church, which offers an annual seder and Communion delights me, because those who attend both also get to know the consistency of God’s teaching and the beauty of these rituals. HE 13: 8 takes on greater meaning than ever. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” His love for His human creation certainly hasn’t wavered. It’s real and palpable to genuine believers. Even in our worst of bad times, He doesn’t abandon us. Through faith in Christ, He has given us the power to fend off the adversary and send him packing [EPH 1: 18-20]. His warnings to us [1 PET 5: 8, for example] are not to be taken lightly. It’s up to us to remember that we have this power. He has given us His word, prayer, and Christ-led congregations which base their lives on prayer and the truth. He has urged us to serve and worship Him in the latter, pray, and to study His word often. He allows our trials to mature us spiritually, reminding us to trust and rely on Him. We can always trust Him to tell us the truth and to give us wise advice [PS 62: 5-8]. He forges faith-strengthening friendships [ECCL 4: 9- 10]. And most of all, He gives us the hope of the resurrection [RO 8: 29] and Communion—the most intimate and important regular contact we on earth can have with Him. Our God deserves and is more than worthy of our love! Eternal praise and thanks be to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2014. All Rights Reserved.