Gathering of one Accord ~ Menorah ~ Part Two ~ Passover

"These I will bring to My holy mountain

and give them joy in My house of prayer.

Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will

be accepted on my altar; for My house will

be called a house of prayer for all nations."

The Sovereign LORD declares--

he who gathers the exiles of Israel:

"I will gather still others to them

besides those already gathered."

Isaiah 56:7-8

Whether the gathering is of Jews, non-Jews, or a combination, the Lord performs significant events when He gathers His flock. Here I examine specific gatherings in the scriptures which are followed by a movement of the Lord. Three are original events represented by the menorah lamps on the left of center and are from the Old Testament, or Tenack. The three on the right represent feasts which the Lord ordained in the early days of Moses. The middle lamp, the menorah center, represents the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, our salvation.

I believe the second half of this menorah reveals a beautiful blessed message of God's redemptive plan for His people. The ordained feasts of Passover, Pentecost, and the Feast of the Tabernacles are commandments to assemble before the Lord. When His people come to His altar in one accord and receive His redemption, when they accept His covenant, He will dwell amongst them as Jehovah-Shammah, "The Lord is There".

The Feast of Passover was celebrated to remember what the Lord had done when He brought His people out of bondage in Egypt. The Israelites were commanded to observe this feast yearly. The men were required to come to the temple and present an offering to the Lord. It was at the time of the gathering of the people in Jerusalem for Passover Feast that the perfect lamb was presented on the Cross at Calvary.

The night before the crucifixion Christ made the connection when He shared the Passover meal with His disciples. "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." (1 Corinthians 11:23-25) The third cup of Passover, the one Christ took and blessed, corresponds in the Passover Ceremony to the text in the Torah, "I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment." (Exodus 6:6)

Jesus, the Passover Lamb was presented unblemished and of perfection. His shed blood fulfilled prophesy. The Lord sent His only begotten son at Passover, a time of gathering for the Jewish nation. 1 Peter 1:18-19 reads, "For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect." These, the people of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, knew what the blood represented. The Law handed down by Moses had taught them that, "For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one's life." (Leviticus 17:11)

There was disaccord among the people regarding the coming of the Messiah. We see it in Christ's own words as he grieves over Jerusalem, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing. Look, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'" (Matthew 23:37-39)

They were not of one accord at that time. Our assurance that there will one day be accord is in Yeshua's statement that one day Jerusalem will say, "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord". One accord will happen, but in future times. The Lord's gathering at Passover will be celebrated one day with all of His peoples, the twelve Tribes of Israel, Jew and Gentile, the two sticks, the olive branch, united and of one accord, worshipping and praising with Hallelujah to His name!

Other text on the Feasts and Passover: