The Four Cups of Passover

Audio Message

Notes

Exodus 6:6-8 ESV “Say therefore to the people of Israel, ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment.7 I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.8 I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. I will give it to you for a possession. I am the Lord.'”

The Hebrew Year and the Four Levels of Study

• 80 – PEY – Pesach (Passover)
  • Speech
  • Border
  • A decade of war
• 5784 – PEY/DALET (4)
  • door
  • entrance

Matthew 7:7 (Wuest Translation) “Keep on asking for something to be given and it shall be given you. Keep on seeking, and you shall find. Keep on reverently knocking, and it shall be opened to you. For everyone who keeps on asking for something to be given, keeps on recieving. And he who keeps on seeking, keeps on finding. And to him who keeps on reverently knocking it shall be opened.”

• P’shat: Simple, plain meaning, literal sense of the text.
• Remez: Hint – word, phrase, or other element that hints at an earlier text, understanding, thought, or idea. These are only sometimes readily seen in the simple or literal explanation.
• Drash (Midrash): Search is an expository way of explaining and applying the text.
• Sod: The hidden meaning (concealed in the numerical value of the Hebrew letter). Think of “the mystery of the kingdom.”

The First Cup: Sanctification

“I will bring you out.”

• Notice we are brought out before we are delivered.
• The first cup is the first step in our redemption/freedom.
• Slavery ended in the month of Tishrei, but they didn’t leave until six months later.
• Israel grew in their understanding of God as they watched the plagues unfold.
• We must free ourselves from the mindsets contrary to God’s Word. 
• We must choose to leave before we leave.

The Second Cup: Plagues 

“I will deliver you.”

• There are times when Pharoh hardened his heart (7:13, 22; 8:15; 9:34), and at other times, God hardened Pharoh’s heart due to disobedience (7:3; 9:12; 10:20, 27; 11:10).
• Each plague was a judgment on an Egyptian God, the last being a judgment against Pharoh himself.
• God watched over His people, at times distinguishing their land from the rest of Egypt.
• We must come out from under the power and influence of Egypt.
• We are redeemed from the curse but can choose to associate with it (creating a Golden calf).

The Third Cup: Redemption

“I will redeem you.”

• The purpose of freedom and redemption is found in immersing ourselves in the Torah. – we see it repeatedly, “let My people go so that they may serve Me.”
• They were brought out to go to Sinai to receive God’s instruction.
• Psa. 119:41-48; Prov. 4:10-13, 20-27; Isa. 40:8
• This alludes to the splitting of the sea.
  • Immersion
  • The cup Yeshua blessed and gave to His disciples.

The Fourth Cup: Praise

“I will take you.”

• Each Passover, we recall all the miracles and the ultimate promise of God to Israel and our redemption.
• We are delivered from the burden of temptation.
• We are delivered from the draw to idolatry (but we must keep it away).
• We are delivered from the power of sin.