The Promised Lamb, a Passover seder guide and teaching booklet (Simplified)

https://www.restorembi.com/Promised-Lamb-seder-simplified.htm
https://www.restorembi.com/Promised-Lamb-seder-simplified.pdf

More resources here: https://www.incpu.org/Hebrew.htm

This is the abbreviated version. Some Passovers can be over an hour long or a bit longer, but this should be 30 minutes to an hour. We do not do this to “keep the law” and “earn salvation”. We do this to let God use His Word to remind us of holiness, His pure character, and how we can be more like Him and follow His ways – our thoughts, words, attitudes and actions. Two words you will want to know: Haggadah = “the telling”, and Seder (or Siddur) = “order”, meaning the telling of the story and teachings, and the order of the festival and meal.

This is the shortened version, but it is also forward looking. It looks not only on God’s establishment of sacrifices to cover our sins, but also on His promises of sending a Messiah and Deliverer. In it, we briefly quote many passages from the Tanakh that we have not seen in any other Passover Seder booklet.

Let’s start with prayer. God we thank You for using Your Word to help us understand You, Your Word and the world around us. Teach us as we use this Passover seder to remember the important things. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. Amen.

So, there are 6 things on your seder plate. Each of them has a meaning and a reminder from Scripture. There are many Scripture verses for each, but this will give you a short few verses to remember and explain in brief. Let’s begin.

>> Options: You could include 2 glasses of grape juice, one to start, and one to end (like Yeshua/Jesus did at the Lord’s Supper). We also suggest singing at least 2 or 3 songs, or more if it’s longer.

Charoset (sweet dark paste reminding of mortar for bricks, typically made of vinegar, apples, and pecans or other nuts)

- [sounds like “care-oh-set”], חַרוֹסֶת

This is a reminder of the hard work of slavery in Egypt, before God rescued the people of Israel and took them to the Promised Land, Israel. Jacob/Israel, by God’s leading, went down to Egypt to dwell during a famine, stayed with the blessing and provision of Pharaoh and God’s leading through Joseph. 400 years later, there was no Pharaoh who knew of Joseph, and they started to oppress the people of Israel, forcing them to do very hard slave labor, making bricks, baking them, and then building buildings and possibly the smaller pyramids made of stacked bricks and mortar. The Charoset reminds us of the bricks and mortar and the bitterness of slavery.

God said to Abraham when He was making the unconditional covenant with him: “¹³ Then He said to Abram: "Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. ¹⁴ And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions.” (Genesis 15:13)

>> Let’s eat a little of the Charoset as we remember the 400+ years the people of Israel were slaves in Egypt. (eat a taste or spoonful of Charoset)

***~~***

Maror (bitter herbs, often horseradish)

- [sounds like “mah-roar”], םָרוֹר

This is a reminder of the bitterness of trials and slavery. Bitter herbs are healing, but not easy to eat. Same with trials. Trials and hardships are not fun at first but they do help us find God and gain wisdom and understanding. So, they have a bitter start, but healthy conclusion.

“⁸ Then they shall eat the flesh of the lamb on that night; roasted in fire, with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs they shall eat it.” (Exodus 12:8)

“⁹ Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? ¹⁰ For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. ¹¹ Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” (Hebrews 12:9-11)

>> Let’s eat just a nibble of horse-radish. Be careful, if you’re not used to it - it’s spicy.

>>> the suggestion of potato in the middle in case someone needs to cool off their tongue.

***~~***

Matza/Matzoh (baked flat unsalted unleavened bread)

- [sounds like “mah-tzah”], מַצָה

God told the people of Israel to make crackers without yeast, so they would be quick to bake so they could be ready to leave in the morning. In teaching this, God also taught them to remove all “leaven” from their house, as a reminder to grow in removing sin from our lives and hearts and homes. This is an important reminder once a year, and more.

“¹⁵ Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses. For whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel.” (Exodus 12:15)

“¹⁷ So you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this same day I will have brought your armies out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day throughout your generations as an everlasting ordinance.” (Exodus 12:17)

>> Let’s all break off and eat a piece of the matza.

***~~***

Karpas, Parsley (bitter herb, reminder of cleansing and purifying), כַּרְפַס

- [sounds like: “kar-pass”] (parlsey is a normal replacement for hyssop)

Hyssop is an herb that is still known for cleansing and purifying. It is not as easy to find, so many Jews will replace it with parsley. Its purpose on the seder plate is to remind us that God wants to purify us from sin, so we can walk pure and upright before Him.

“⁸ This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” (Joshua 1:8)

“⁷ Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.” (Psalm 51:7)

“⁵ I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD," And You forgave the iniquity of my sin.” (Psalm 32:5)

“⁹ How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your Word. ¹⁰ With my whole heart I have sought You; Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments! ¹¹ Your Word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You!” (Psalm 119:9-11)

>> Let’s eat a little parsley (or hyssop) while we think on those verses.

***~~***

Zeroa (pieces of lamb)

- [sounds like: “zeh-roh-ah”], זְרוֹעַ

This is one of the most important parts, the piece of lamb. This is, I believe, the key part of the whole Passover service. Why? Because of the meaning of a sacrificed lamb. Let us first look at what God said to Moses about the lamb.

“⁵  Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats. ⁶  Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight. ⁷  And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it. ⁸  Then they shall eat the flesh on that night; roasted in fire, with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs they shall eat it.” (Exodus 12:3-25)

One brief note on the shank bone – it needs to be unbroken, as God commanded Israel through the Prophet Moses in Exodus 12. Cut clean at the joint is fine, but it needs to be unbroken, as in not broken.

“⁴⁶ In one house it shall be eaten; you shall not carry any of the flesh outside the house, nor shall you break one of its bones. ⁴⁷ All the congregation of Israel shall keep it.” (Exodus 12:46-47)

(See also 2 Chronicles 35:10-19)

So, quick review. God started the sacrifices on the same day that Adam and his wife Chava/ “Eve” sinned. In an act of kindness and grace, God killed a sheep or two and made comfortable and modest clothing for both of them, and He also showed them how to do animal sacrifices, which was a temporary covering for their sins. This was also a way to help them remember to draw close to God often so that they cleanse their hearts and God could speak to them. Also, God gave a promise and prophecy that one day, Jesus would come to earth to take our place, so we could be saved and live with God again. (Genesis 3)

Abel continued raising sheep and doing sacrifices along with his Dad and Mom, by faith in God and in the promises of God. But satan inspired Cain to murder/kill Abel to try to stop this. But, those who loved God continued this. We see Noah and his family did. And then again Abraham did too. And God even spoke through Abraham that He would provide a lamb. We’ll look at that more for the last part.

God told His prophets promises and prophecies about the coming Messiah. Let’s look at some of them.

“¹ Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? ² For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him. ³ He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. ⁴ Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. ⁵ But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. ⁶ All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. ⁷ He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth. ⁸ He was taken from prison and from judgment, And who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; For the transgressions of My people He was stricken. ⁹ And they made His grave with the wicked-- But with the rich at His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was any deceit in His mouth.” (Isaiah 53)

(See also Daniel 9:20-27)

(See also Daniel 2:31-45)

>> Let’s eat a bite of lamb.

***~~***

Rotev (sauce, tomato or beet, reminder of the covering blood of the Passover lamb) [replace the egg with this] רוֹטֵב

- [sounds like: “roh-tev”]

So, this is the last part of the Passover seder. It is tomato or beet sauce to remind us of the blood that was shed to cover our sins.

Some of you may notice that I have slightly modified tradition here. This is new. Please let me explain why I have added it. Having studied God’s Word since I was young (Old and New Testament), I want to be more accurate to the heart of God as explained in His Word, the Torah/Tanakh. Anyone may eat eggs of any sort at the Passover meal, but it does deserve to be and should not be on the Passover Seder plate. You will find that the egg does not get explained much, because it simply doesn’t belong – it was supposedly added during or after the Babylonian captivity. I strongly believe that it also doesn’t belong because I’m convince that the egg has been included by Roman-Catholic agents within the teaching hierarchy of Jewish rabbinical schools to coincide with the mystic and pagan practices and traditions from ancient demonic mythologies, including Ishtar and fertility cult customs (often spelled “Easter”). I believe where tradition contradicts what God established and sanctified, then that is a tradition that needs to removed and replaced or fixed/repaired to go back to God’s arrangement, so that we are obeying and fearing and serving God and not man.

So, we believe according to the Torah/Tanakh, that instead of the egg, we should replace it with plain (or mildly seasoned) tomato sauce or beet sauce, as part of the ceremony remembering the blood on the doorposts, the reason the Angel of the Lord passed-over (Passover) the homes of our Jewish brethren who had applied the blood of the lamb on their doorposts with the brushes made of hyssop (Exodus 12:22). Which is directly referencing God’s Word thru the Prophet David, the King.

“⁷ Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.” (Psalm 51:7)

But there is a deeper meaning here, one taught by Moses, and found through the Tanakh (Old Testament), one that lying rabbis refuse to read or teach. The same Messiah promised by God to Adam and his wife Chava, is the same Messiah spoken of throughout Scripture, dozens of times, and the one we see fulfill over 300 prophecies in the Tanakh in the New Testament, specifically found in the Books and records of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Let’s look briefly at 2 of the Messianic passages within the Book of Genesis.

As God Himself said to Adam and Chava/”Eve”,

“⁹ Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, "Where are you?" ¹⁰  So he said, "I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was unclothed; and I hid myself." ¹¹  And He said, "Who told you that you were unclothed? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?" ¹²  Then the man said, "The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate." ¹³  And the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."

“¹⁴  So the LORD God said to the serpent: "Because you have done this, You are cursed more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you shall go, And you shall eat dust All the days of your life. ¹⁵  And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel." ¹⁶  To the woman He said: "I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; In pain you shall bring forth children; Your desire shall be for your husband, And he shall rule over you."

“¹⁷  Then to Adam He said, "Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, 'You shall not eat of it': "Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life. ¹⁸  Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, And you shall eat the herb of the field. ¹⁹  In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you shall return." ” (Genesis 3:13-19)

-- Note, God said He Himself would provide a coming Deliverer. But who?

Abraham, a prophet and servant of God, spoke by God’s direction of God providing a lamb for the sacrifice, which God did. God was testing Abraham’s faith, but also showing a pattern of prophecy of a coming Messiah and Deliverer. Abraham was the first and only person whom God made an unconditional covenant with, including a large section of the Middle East as part of that covenant, which was then passed on directly by God to Isaac and Jacob/Israel.

“⁷ But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, "My father!" And he said, "Here I am, my son." Then he said, "Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?" ⁸  And Abraham said, "My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering." So the two of them went together.” (Genesis 22:7-8)

Then Moses said: “¹⁵ The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear, ¹⁶ according to all you desired of the Lord… ¹⁸ I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him. ¹⁹ And it shall be that whoever will not hear My words, which He speaks in My name, I will require it of him.” (Deuteronomy 18:15-19)

But then God is 100% clear here, when He speaks through His prophet Isaiah. Let us review this again:
“¹ Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? ² For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him. ³ He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. ⁴ Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. ⁵ But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. ⁶ All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. ⁷ He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth. ⁸ He was taken from prison and from judgment, And who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; For the transgressions of My people He was stricken. ⁹ And they made His grave with the wicked-- But with the rich at His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was any deceit in His mouth.” (Isaiah 53)

That is Jesus – not the white European Catholic cult version of Jesus, but the real one, Yeshua HaMashiach, Jesus the Jewish rabbi, and the Messiah/Christ for Jews and Gentiles. Jesus came, to earth, added a body to Himself, walked among us, as He did in the days of Melchizedek (King of Salem). Yet, this time, He came to take away the sins of the world. God did not die, but Jesus’ human body died in our place – taking our punishment for our sin.

And again through Isaiah, God speaks:
“¹ "Comfort, yes, comfort My people!" Says your God. ² "Speak comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her, That her warfare is ended, That her iniquity is pardoned; For she has received from the LORD'S hand Double for all her sins." ³ The voice of one crying in the wilderness: "Prepare the way of the LORD; Make straight in the desert A highway for our God. ⁴ Every valley shall be exalted And every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight And the rough places smooth; ⁵ The glory of the LORD shall be revealed, And all flesh shall see it together; For the mouth of the LORD has spoken."” (Isaiah 40:1-5)

That prophet whom God through Isaiah spoke of, was a man named John the Baptizer, who was the forerunner of Jesus. John the Baptizer said this of Jesus:
“²⁹ The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! ³⁰ This is He of whom I said, 'After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.' ³¹ I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water." ³² And John bore witness, saying, "I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. ³³ I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, 'Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.' ³⁴ And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God."” ()

As God said through the prophet/writer of Proverbs:
“⁴ Who has ascended into heaven, or descended? Who has gathered the wind in His fists? Who has bound the waters in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name, and what is His Son's name, If you know?” (Proverbs 30:4)

And God through Daniel said the Messiah would be cut off. There is only One person who fits all of these descriptions:
“²⁴ "Seventy weeks of years are determined by God for your people and for your holy city, To finish the transgression, To make an end of sins, To make reconciliation for iniquity, To bring in everlasting righteousness, To seal up vision and prophecy, And to anoint the Most Holy. ²⁵ Know therefore and understand, That from the going forth of the command To restore and build Jerusalem Until Messiah the Prince, There shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; The street shall be built again, and the wall, Even in troublesome times. ²⁶ And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself…” (Daniel 9:24-27)

Messiah will be here and cut off. When He came, He split time – BC and “AD”. Jesus will come back after that final week of years to destroy the antichrist, satan, and their kingdom. But He has come. That is why the veil of the Temple was torn from top to bottom, torn in two. Jesus fulfills all of the prophecies of the Messiah, including this one: “²¹  I will praise You, For You have answered me, And have become my salvation. ²²  The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone. ²³  This was the LORD'S doing; It is marvelous in our eyes. ²⁴  This is the day the LORD has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalm 118:21-24)

The hypocrites among the Jewish religious leaders hated Him because they couldn’t control Him, and that He then exposed their sins, which they continued to try to hide. So they falsely accused Jesus to Rome and Rome crucified Him. But He died in *OUR* place. As God said through one of Jesus’ closest disciples, the apostle John:

“¹ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was in the beginning with God. ³ All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. ⁴ In Him is life, and the life is the light of men. ⁵ And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it… ¹⁰ He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. ¹¹ He came to His own people, and His own did not receive Him. ¹² But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: ¹³ who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. ¹⁴ And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:1-14)

For more Messianic promises from God see these passages:

> Isaiah 1:18

> Isaiah 9:6-7

> Isaiah 7:10-17

> Psalm 22:6-27

> Daniel 2:31-45

> Micah 5:2

> Jeremiah 31:15

> Hosea 11:1

>> With these passages in mind, let’s do the last or reviewing the actual Passover passages in Exodus. As we review, I want you to take the larger of the two sprigs of parsley (or celery, or lettuce) that you have, and dip it into the tomato or beet sauce. Now on the middle of the plate, I want you to paint the doorposts. It will look like an exaggerated Hebrew letter chet (ח), some ways like a simple sukkot. The corners are to overlap. See picture below for a visual.

Let’s pray.

God, we thank You for Your love for us. We are sorry we have sinned and violated Your law. Please teach us to understand and love Your Law. Thank You for sending Jesus as our Messiah and Savior. Help us to learn what it means to start a covenant with You and to build on it. Teach us how to walk more in Your ways, and how to leave behind the sins that hurt us and those we love. Teach us also how to share Your Word and teachings with others. Please grow us in hunger for Your Word. We love You and thank You and Praise you, in the Name of our Messiah, Jesus, amen.

See you next year!