Keeping The Passover unto The Covenant-Keeping God, Pastor W. F. Kumuyi
Numbers 9:1-5; 10:33; 2 Kings 23:21
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“And the LORD spake unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the first month of the second year after they were come out of the land of Egypt, saying, Let the children of Israel also keep the Passover at his appointed season. In the fourteenth day of this month, at even, ye shall keep it in his appointed season: according to all the rites of it, and according to all the ceremonies thereof, shall ye keep it. And Moses spake unto the children of Israel, that they should keep the Passover. And they kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month at even in the wilderness of Sinai: according to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so did the children of Israel.” (Numbers 9:1-5). We come to the commemoration of the Lord’s Passover for the children of Israel. The Lord brought them out of the captivity of Egypt through His Mighty Arm and Acts. On that final day of their deliverance, the first son of the Egyptians was killed, but the children of Israel were delivered through the blood of the lamb upon the lintel of their houses. And they were to remember this deliverance through the mighty act of God by His angel. “And they departed from the mount of the LORD three days’ journey: and the ark of the covenant of the LORD went before them in the three days’ journey, to search out a resting place for them.” (Numbers 10:33). It was not just the Passover, but the Ark of the Covenant that went before them to search out a resting place for them as they journey through the wilderness. This is the same the Lord does for us as we come to Him for salvation, that He leads us to our place of rest here on earth and as we get to heaven our final abode of eternal rest. “And the king commanded all the people, saying, Keep the Passover unto the LORD your God, as it is written in the book of this covenant.” (2 Kings 23:21). As they came to the promised land, the King told them to keep the Passover as they were commanded. As we come to our land of Promise, we must keep the word of God as He has commanded us.
1. DIVINE PRECEPT AND PROVISION IN THE PASSOVER Numbers 9:2-5
In the Passover, the Lord gave some precepts and provisions that they will keep in that Passover ceremony. Precept means a commandment that we will keep. He does that because a relationship with the Lord is a serious thing, so He gives us precepts that we must keep in that relationship.
- The Precept from the Lord of the Covenant – Exodus 12:21-23,50*; Deuteronomy 4:5-8; Matthew 28:20; Acts 10:33. He is the Lord of the Covenant, and we are not the lords. The final say and terms of the covenant are not in our hands but in His hands. “Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said unto them, Draw out and take you a lamb according to your families, and kill the Passover. And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the bason and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the bason; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning. For the LORD will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the LORD will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you. Thus did all the children of Israel; as the LORD commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they.” (Exodus 12:21-23,50). We need to understand the principle behind this. All have sinned against God, and the soul that sins shall die. So all the Israelites and the Egyptians deserved to die because all of them have sinned against God. But GOD provided a lamb for them, and as a substitute, that blood of the lamb has been provided for them, so that the angel of death will pass over the houses where the blood had been applied. The Israelites were to stay inside the houses where the blood of the lamb had been applied on the lintel of the houses. The same for us, that as we stay under the coverage of the Blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ, we are saved from the eternal judgement of God. The children of Israel did not argue with Moses, but they did as they were commanded. You must personally apply the blood of the Lamb, that you repent from your sins, and believe that Jesus was slain for you. It is only then; that you can be saved from sins and eternal judgement of God. “Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” (Matthew 28:20). We are to teach the people all that the Lord has commanded us. We teach them repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ for their salvation. “Immediately therefore I sent to thee; and thou hast well done that thou art come. Now therefore are we all here present before God, to hear all things that are commanded thee of God.”(Acts 10:33). Cornelius brought all the people together to hear all things commanded by God through Peter. And Peter taught them about salvation through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. And this is what the Lord wants us to tell the people that it is only the Blood of the Lord that can save us from sins, and we need repentance and faith in Jesus Christ to be saved.
- The Purging of the Leaven of Corruption – Numbers 9:11; Exodus 12:15,1920; Luke 12:1; 1 Corinthians 5:6-8,11. He wants us to keep the Passover feast so that there will be no corruption, so He says that we need to take all leaven, evil and corruption from our hearts and houses. “The fourteenth day of the second month at even they shall keep it, and eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.” (Numbers 9:11). Leaven symbolizes evil, sin and corruption. As we come to the Lord, we do not cover up our sins and corruption. We are to purge ourselves from all the leaven of sin, evil and corruption. “Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us: Therefore, let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such a one no not to eat.” (1 Corinthians 5:6-8,11). Paul told the Corinthians that their glorying and boasting were not good because of the corruption in them. Likewise, if you are boasting, and yet there is evil and corruption in us, we need to purge ourselves from all these. This is a New year; we need to purge the old habits of corruption and evil. The Old Testament escaped destruction because of the lamb that was sacrificed, but today in the New Testament, Christ has been sacrificed for us, so we must purge ourselves from all the old leaven of corruption, evil, malice and dishonesty.
- The Provision for Lives under His Covering – Exodus 12:28-30; Psalms 91:14,16; Hebrews 6:17-18; 1 John 2:24,28-29. The provision He makes for us, and for all our needs. He makes provision for our normal, earthly, spiritual, and eternal lives. In this New Year, the Lord has made provision for our lives. “And the children of Israel went away, and did as the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they. And it came to pass, that at midnight the LORD smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle. And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one dead.” (Exodus 12:28-30). The children of Israel heard, and did as they were commanded. It will be wonderful that we do all that we are commanded through the word of God in this new year. It is in obedience to the word of God that we get saved and sanctified and the protection of the Lord abides in us. The Egyptians died because they did not have the blood of the lamb. And all the people who do not have the blood of Jesus upon their lives and hearts through repentance and faith, if they die, they will not see the Lord, and will not dwell with Him eternally. “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.” (Psalms 91:14,16). Only the people who abide under the coverage of the Blood of the Lamb Jesus will be saved in His Refuge. And you will saved from all the noisome pestilences, diseases, and sicknesses out there. Only the Truth will keep us covered from all the things happening in the world. Errors, falsehoods, opinions, and ideas of men cannot cover us. The Truth will prevent the arrow of the world from getting to you. The Lord will shield and protect you in this new year, and no power of darkness will bring you down. But you must abide under His cover. And the Lord will satisfy you with a long life.
2. DIVINE PRESENCE AND PROTECTION THROUGH TO THE PROMISED LAND
Numbers 9:15-23
Until we get to the promised land and Heaven, there will be the presence and protection of the Lord for us. Until we get there, He will never leave or forsake us. He will be with us till the very end in Jesus Name. “And on the day that the tabernacle was reared up the cloud covered the tabernacle, namely, the tent of the testimony: and at even there was upon the tabernacle as it were the appearance of fire, until the morning. So it was alway: the cloud covered it by day, and the appearance of fire by night. And when the cloud was taken up from the tabernacle, then after that the children of Israel journeyed: and in the place where the cloud abode, there the children of Israel pitched their tents. At the commandment of the LORD the children of Israel journeyed, and at the commandment of the LORD they pitched: as long as the cloud abode upon the tabernacle they rested in their tents. And when the cloud tarried long upon the tabernacle many days, then the children of Israel kept the charge of the LORD, and journeyed not. And so it was, when the cloud was a few days upon the tabernacle; according to the commandment of the LORD they abode in their tents, and according to the commandment of the LORD they journeyed. And so it was, when the cloud abode from even unto the morning, and that the cloud was taken up in the morning, then they journeyed: whether it was by day or by night that the cloud was taken up, they journeyed. Or whether it were two days, or a month, or a year, that the cloud tarried upon the tabernacle, remaining thereon, the children of Israel abode in their tents, and journeyed not: but when it was taken up, they journeyed. At the commandment of the LORD they rested in the tents, and at the commandment of the LORD they journeyed: they kept the charge of the LORD, at the commandment of the LORD by the hand of Moses.” (Numbers 9:15-23). During the day, the Lord gave them the Pillar of Cloud to protect them from the heat of the Sun, and at night He gave them the Pillar of fire to burn all the dangerous animals that will want to threaten them as they journey through the wilderness. The same thing that the Lord wants to do for us in this new year. He will protect and shield you from all the evils in the world.
- The Pillar of Cloud and the Pillar of Fire – Exodus 13:21-22; Numbers 14:14; Deuteronomy 31:15; Nehemiah 9:19-21. “And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night: He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.” (Exodus 13:21-22). During the day, the Pillar of Cloud, and at night, the Pillar of Fire. And He never took them away until they got to the Promised Land. “And they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land: for they have heard that thou LORD art among this people, that thou LORD art seen face to face, and that thy cloud standeth over them, and that thou goest before them, by day time in a pillar of a cloud, and in a pillar of fire by night.” (Numbers 14:14). Pray that the Pillars guiding them will never leave you as well. “And the LORD appeared in the tabernacle in a pillar of a cloud: and the pillar of the cloud stood over the door of the tabernacle.” (Deuteronomy 31:15). “Yet thou in thy manifold mercies forsookest them not in the wilderness: the pillar of the cloud departed not from them by day, to lead them in the way; neither the pillar of fire by night, to shew them light, and the way wherein they should go. Thou gavest also thy good spirit to instruct them, and withheldest not thy manna from their mouth, and gavest them water for their thirst. Yea, forty years didst thou sustain them in the wilderness, so that they lacked nothing; their clothes waxed not old, and their feet swelled not.” (Nehemiah 9:19-21). It was the Pillars that led, and then they did not miss their ways. In this world, the Lord will lead us because we do not know tomorrow, and the hearts of men. The
Lord will direct your steps, and you will not go astray because of His presence and guidance in our lives. This year, you will lack nothing. Everything for yourselves, spiritual lives, families, and the Church of God, you will lack nothing. Every swollen in your bodies and lives taken away in Jesus Name.
- The Presence of Christ and the Purging by Fire – Matthew 28:20; Hebrews 13:5-6; Malachi 3:2-3; Matthew 3:11-12. “Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” (Matthew 28:20). The Lord will be with you everywhere and anywhere you go, and even when you are before your foes. The Lord is with us always even until the end of the world. The power of God did not end with the last Apostle. Jesus remains alive, and He will never leave you. “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.” (Hebrews 13:5-6). This year you will see the provision of the Lord by the presence of Christ abiding with you. The Lord is our Helper even when men forget us. The Lord will protect you from Pharaoh, Nebuchadnezzar, Herod, and all men. And you will not fear what men will do unto you. “But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap: And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness.” (Malachi 3:2-3). His fire will purge all the chaff away from our lives and hearts. “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” (Matthew 3:11-12). The Lord will baptise you with the Holy Ghost and with fire, passion, and zeal. Whatever the chaff in our lives and hearts, no poisonous but useless, the fire of the Lord will burn out of your heart and life.
- The Purity of Christians and their Protection by Fire – Acts 11:26; 15:9; 1 Peter 4:12-16; Zechariah 2:5,7-8. “And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.” (Acts 15:9). This year, your heart will be purified by faith. “For I, saith the LORD, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her. Deliver thyself, O Zion, that dwellest with the daughter of Babylon. For thus saith the LORD of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye.” (Zechariah 2:5,7-8). As the property of the Lord, the Lord will be a Wall of fire around you, and no evil will be able to touch you. As you go to the offices and places with the daughters of Babylon, don’t be like them, because the wall of fire is not around them, so keep your distance, don’t be like the world, and the wall of fire will be around you. This year, you will not run away from the threats of anyone, you will not run away from your house and family, for nobody will touch you with evil, but you will go stronger and stronger, higher, and higher, and soar higher in Jesus Name. When you believe the word of God and His promises, you will be free, and nothing will make you afraid. Show that you believe by taking your minds from all those enemies, and they will not touch your life in Jesus Name.
3. DIVINE PLAN AND THE PRESERVATION OF HIS PECULIAR PEOPLE
Numbers 10:29-36
The plan He has for you and His Church is to protect and preserve the Church until we get to our Final Place. “And Moses said unto Hobab, the son of Raguel the Midianite, Moses’ father in law, We are journeying unto the place of which the LORD said, I will give it you: come thou with us, and we will do thee good: for the LORD hath spoken good concerning Israel. And he said unto him, I will not go; but I will depart to mine own land, and to my kindred. And he said, Leave us not, I pray thee; forasmuch as thou knowest how we are to encamp in the wilderness, and thou mayest be to us instead of eyes. And it shall be, if thou go with us, yea, it shall be, that what goodness the LORD shall do unto us, the same will we do unto thee. And they departed from the mount of the LORD three days’ journey: and the ark of the covenant of the LORD went before them in the three days’ journey, to search out a resting place for them. And the cloud of the LORD was upon them by day, when they went out of the camp. And it came to pass, when the ark set forward, that Moses said, Rise up, LORD, and let thine enemies be scattered; and let them that hate thee flee before thee. And when it rested, he said, Return, O LORD, unto the many thousands of Israel.” (Numbers 10:29-36). For anyone who comes along with our GS, the joy and the blessing of the Lord will come upon your life and family. The Lord will do us good as we follow the Lord and our GS as he follows the Lord. Provision, protection, power, healing, and deliverance in your life. You will be stronger and stronger as the Lord is making our GS stronger and stronger. The Lord has not spoken evil against our church Deeper Life, come along, and you will be part of the goodness of the Lord in Jesus Name.
- Replenishing for the journey to the Pleasant Land – Numbers 10:29,32; Deuteronomy 8:3-10; Nehemiah 9:11-15,19-25; Jeremiah 3:19,22. “And Moses said unto Hobab, the son of Raguel the Midianite, Moses’ father in law, We are journeying unto the place of which the LORD said, I will give it you: come thou with us, and we will do thee good: for the LORD hath spoken good concerning Israel. And it shall be, if thou go with us, yea, it shall be, that what goodness the LORD shall do unto us, the same will we do unto thee.” (Numbers 10:29,32). As we go together, all that the Lord has promised us, He will give unto us. We must seek for all those who have gone astray and bring them back to the fold, and the promise of God will begin in their lives.
- Repentance for the journey to the Promised Land – Numbers 10:29-31; Judges 1:16; 1 Chronicles 2:55; Jeremiah 35:1-8,14,16,18-19. “And Moses said unto Hobab, the son of Raguel the Midianite, Moses’ father in law, We are journeying unto the place of which the LORD said, I will give it you: come thou with us, and we will do thee good: for the LORD hath spoken good concerning Israel. And he said unto him, I will not go; but I will depart to mine own land, and to my kindred. And he said, Leave us not, I pray thee; forasmuch as thou knowest how we are to encamp in the wilderness, and thou mayest be to us instead of eyes.” (Numbers 10:29-31). “And the children of the Kenite, Moses’ father in law, went up out of the city of palm trees with the children of Judah into the wilderness of Judah, which lieth in the south of Arad; and they went and dwelt among the people.” (Judges 1:16). The children of Kenite, Moses’ father-in-law, came back and went with the children of Israel. “And the families of the scribes which dwelt at Jabez; the Tirathites, the Shimeathites, and Suchathites. These are the Kenites that came of Hemath, the father of the house of Rechab.” (1 Chronicles 2:55). “The word which came unto Jeremiah from the LORD in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, saying, Go unto the house of the Rechabites, and speak unto them, and bring them into the house of the LORD, into one of the chambers, and give them wine to drink. Then I took Jaazaniah the son of Jeremiah, the son of Habaziniah, and his brethren, and all his sons, and the whole house of the Rechabites; And I brought them into the house of the LORD, into the chamber of the sons of Hanan, the son of Igdaliah, a man of God, which was by the chamber of the princes, which was above the chamber of Maaseiah the son of Shallum, the keeper of the door: And I set before the sons of the house of the Rechabites pots full of wine, and cups, and I said unto them, Drink ye wine. But they said, We will drink no wine: for Jonadab the son of Rechab our father commanded us, saying, Ye shall drink no wine, neither ye, nor your sons for ever: Neither shall ye build house, nor sow seed, nor plant vineyard, nor have any: but all your days ye shall dwell in tents; that ye may live many days in the land where ye be strangers. Thus have we obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab our father in all that he hath charged us, to drink no wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, nor our daughters; And Jeremiah said unto the house of the Rechabites, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Because ye have obeyed the commandment of Jonadab your father, and kept all his precepts, and done according unto all that he hath commanded you: Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not want a man to stand before me for ever.” (Jeremiah 35:1-8,18-19). You can see the descendants of Rechab, the father-in-law of Moses became an example of obedience to the Israelites. And they had the everlasting blessing of standing before God.
- Recommitment for our journey to Paradise, the Perfect Land – Luke 23:4243; Romans 14:17-19; 1 Thessalonians 2:10-12; Revelations 2:7,25-29. We are recommitting ourselves, and you will not die by the wayside. “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. But that which ye have already hold fast till I come. And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father. And I will give him the morning star. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.” (Revelations 2:7,25-29). Every day, you will be an overcomer, and the joy with the peace of God will abide with you. Nobody will rule over you with the rod of Iron, but you will rule and reign over them and will overpower them.