A Second Chance

We have a remarkable Father in Yahweh. He has filled His Word and His actions with so much grace and love for us to experience, trust, and live in.  Here we are, in the midst of these precious days between Pesach (Passover) and Shavu’ot (Pentecost).  We are remembering and celebrating the multiple deliverances our Father has accomplished for us, even when we did nothing to deserve them.  Now we are faced with an interesting day in Father’s yearly cycle of His times and seasons. Sheni Pesach – Second Passover.

Until I stepped into pursuing my Father as He reveals himself in the richness of the Hebrew roots of my faith in Messiah, I had no idea there was such a thing as Second Passover.  Yet, here it is, exactly one month from the Passover of Nisan 14.  How odd. What is it? Simply put, it is God’s grace in action! He is not one to leave anyone behind or without hope – unless they choose to be left there.

As most of us are well aware, Passover marks one of the most significant days in the history of those who He has chosen to be called by His Name.  It is a day Father fulfilled so many of His promises.  The promise to be the Deliverer of His people. The promise to be the Redeemer of our inheritance and return us to the Land He promised Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The promise that One would come and crush the head of our enemy, Lucifer, and forever deliver us from every bondage and condemnation. The promise that His great desire would be fulfilled: He will be our God, and we His people, and He will dwell with us on the earth forever. That was His intention in creating mankind in the first place. He has never let go of that intent and purpose. Passover is the one day on the Hebrew calendar every child of God, Jew and Gentile as one, should wholeheartedly celebrate!

But what if you missed that special, sacred day? What if you were traveling on business or dealing with the death of a loved one? What if a sudden crisis came up and it was not possible to remember and celebrate with our Messiah this great day when life changed for all whose freedom had come at such a great price? What if you simply didn’t understand the importance of Passover, but in these 49 days to Pentecost have discovered just how important this should be to you as His child? Not to worry, Father has this covered!  In His extreme grace and love, He gave us Sheni Pesach – the Second Passover!

Numbers 9:6-12

But there were certain people who had become unclean because of someone’s corpse, so that they could not observe Pesach on that day. So they came before Moshe and Aharon that day and said to him [Moshe], “We are unclean because of someone’s corpse; but why must we be kept from bringing the offering for Adonai at the time designated for the people of Isra’el?”

     Moshe answered them, “Wait, so that I can hear what Adonai will order concerning you.”

     Adonai said to Moshe, “Tell the people of Isra’el, ‘If any of you now or in future generations is unclean because of a corpse, or if he is on a trip abroad, nevertheless he is to observe Pesach.  But he will observe it in the second month [Iyar] on the fourteenth day at dusk. They are to eat it with matzah and maror, they are to leave none of it until morning, and they are not to break any of its bones — they are to observe it according to all the regulations of Pesach.’ ”

I love our Father so very much.  Consider this. He delivers a people broken by the weight of their bondage in a horrid world system called Egypt. To accomplish their deliverance, it had taken the blood of a perfect, unblemished lamb to spare tens of thousands of them from a certain death.  Our ancestors had to leave this life of slavery suddenly; letting go of everything they had known for over 400 years – a way of life and even a faith in God that had become polluted with the beliefs and practices of Egypt. They had cried out in great anguish, and Father had heard them.  Now two years later, the celebration of Pesach had come and gone. A handful of His children approach Moshe with a special concern. Due to the death of a loved one they had been unable to celebrate. Their hearts were heavy, not only with the loss of a family member, but also with the loss of being able to honor this remarkable day. They had lived through that very first Pesach night in Egypt. They remembered what it took to gain their freedom. They had walked on dry ground through the parted waters of the Red Sea.  They knew how important Pesach was not only to God but to them. Was there anything they could do to make up for missing that special day?  Moshe heard their hearts – and so did Father. Father responded, not only for them but for any of His children that had not been able to celebrate the Pesach that year and forevermore. Wow.  I indeed love my Father!  No one ever has to miss Pesach. No one ever has to miss the deliverance of the Lamb.  Father provides another chance.

I am always amazed at those who proclaim that the Old Testament is filled with law and condemnation while the New Testament is filled with grace and liberty.  I seriously wonder how blind we can be. Our Father’s grace drips from every page of both.  Sheni Pesach is one of so many examples. My heart aches for those who ignore God’s Word from Genesis to Malachi. They are missing so much that can be learned about the heart of the Father towards us and His love-filled desires for us.

My heart cringes in grief for those who declare that “the Torah” is obsolete and no longer needed.  What a tragic perspective. Without the Torah we have no idea how far we have drifted away from the life of abundance and peace the Father wants us to live in and enjoy. We have no idea how badly we heed to return to Him. Without the Torah we have no Light to guide us back to Him. We become blind. Worse yet, we become the blind leading the blind.

Yes, it is true that the Torah spells out a very specific way of life the King of the Universe desires us to fulfill.  However, the Torah was never intended to condemn anyone. Rather it is given to us so that we can see where we fall short of His glory (His character and lifestyle). Without seeing our failures we would not know to seek forgiveness and make corrections. That indeed would be tragic. Father gave His Ways – the Torah – to us to help us relearn everything Adam had known as Kingdom reality on earth as it is in heaven.

In those first five books of the Bible, Yahweh reveals everything about himself (and the Messiah) to those who will take the time and effort to study and learn.  He spoke every word to Moses and Moses recorded all the He said. That is why these books are called “God’s Word”. They are! The Five Books of Moses – the Torah – is a remarkable gift from One who gave the breath of life to every person who has ever lived – including you and me. It is no wonder that Yeshua said, “Don’t think that I will be your accuser before the Father. Do you know who will accuse you? Moshe, the very one you have counted on! For if you really believed Moshe, you would believe me; because it was about me that he wrote. But if you don’t believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?”  (John 5:45-47)

If we don’t believe what Moses wrote about Messiah in Genesis through Deuteronomy, how are we going to believe what Yeshua said? That is a sobering thought. Friend, do you know what Moses wrote that reveals so much about who Yeshua is and gives us understanding of  what He taught while on earth?  I know that I certainly didn’t. But that one moment…that one marvelous moment when Father told me to remove that man-made page that separates Old from New…opened a stunning ray of His Light into my life that I had never known before.  By the enriching guidance of His Spirit I realized that this man-made wall of separation that keeps all of His people, Jew and Christian, from seeing the full picture of the Gospel of His Kingdom.  When this truth hit me, I was filled with remorse – and yes, even a holy anger.

The apostles teach us that Yeshua died to remove the very wall in the Father’s House that prevented us from being one new man in His Kingdom. All were to be welcome in His household, His Kingdom, to approach Him freely. No longer was His Kingdom on earth to belong only to the Jews. Any man, woman or child,  could now be delivered from a twisted word system and to learn to walk in His ways, His blessings and His favor.  Since the death of the last of the apostles, the power hungry among us – both religious and political –  have put that wall of separation back up. They have made a mockery of Messiah’s great work and, over the centuries of Western philosophies, have convinced so many to unwittingly do the same. Sadly it is only that thin piece of paper that has literally destroyed the lives of so many.

Beloved of God, do yourself, your family, and God’s Kingdom on earth a huge favor. Pick up your Bible and tear that page out! Go back to The Beginnings (Genesis) and ask the Father to help you see His Truth for what it truly is…the perfect law of liberty (James 1:23-25). The Torah only condemns those who do not receive His forgiveness and grace. Without the Torah they have no measure by which to know God and allow Him to reshape (redeem) their broken lives. God becomes whoever they want to make Him out to be –or they can do away with Him entirely.

For those who see the rebellion and sin (lawlessness) that the Torah reveals is in them and quickly turn to Him for His love-filled mercy, the Torah becomes what is was to David.  (See Psalm 119). David embraced God’s Word as the Light on his path, the Rod and Staff that comforted his soul, the Rock in which he took refuge, the Way of wisdom and truth, the Righteousness of God that filled his mind and shaped his life, the Will of God for his daily existence.  David delighted in the Torah (God’s Word), studying and meditating on it day and night.  It is no wonder that Father called him, “A man after My own heart.” David wholeheartedly sought Him out and lived by what he learned from Him. As a result, he experienced an abundant and prosperous life…and under his leadership, his people prospered and flourished too.

The Good News? We can do and experience the same. As with our forefathers from Adam to now, upon true repentance our Father’s  grace gives each of us forgiveness and with that also multiple new opportunities to learn from our mistakes. Free from  condemnation and with life-giving gratefulness and enthusiasm, we can correct our thoughts and actions by returning to His Ways. We can get up and step up to become someone stronger and better in His Kingdom on this earth. That is indeed Good News!

Iyar 14 is here. It is time for Sheni Pesach… a second chance, filled with God’s grace and deliverance.  If for some reason you missed the Pesach of Nisan 14, no worries. You have this second chance to remember and celebrate. Receive the blessings of the Passover Lamb.  You have not been left out!

[In 2019,  the Sheni Pesach of Iyar 14 starts at sunset on Saturday, May 18 and concludes at sunset on May 19.]