Deuteronomy 16
1. Observe the month of Abib, and keep the passover unto the Lord thy God: for in the month of Abib the Lord thy God brought thee forth out of Egypt by night.
2. Thou shalt therefore sacrifice the passover unto the Lord thy God, of the flock and the herd, in the place which the Lord shall choose to place his name there.
3. Thou shalt eat no leavened bread with it; seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread therewith, even the bread of affliction; for thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt in haste: that thou mayest remember the day when thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt all the days of thy life.
4. And there shall be no leavened bread seen with thee in all thy coast seven days; neither shall there any thing of the flesh, which thou sacrificedst the first day at even, remain all night until the morning.
5. Thou mayest not sacrifice the passover within any of thy gates, which the Lord thy God giveth thee:
6. But at the place which the Lord thy God shall choose to place his name in, there thou shalt sacrifice the passover at even, at the going down of the sun, at the season that thou camest forth out of Egypt.
7. And thou shalt roast and eat it in the place which the Lord thy God shall choose: and thou shalt turn in the morning, and go unto thy tents.
8. Six days thou shalt eat unleavened bread: and on the seventh day shall be a solemn assembly to the Lord thy God: thou shalt do no work therein.
9. Seven weeks shalt thou number unto thee: begin to number the seven weeks from such time as thou beginnest to put the sickle to the corn.
10. And thou shalt keep the feast of weeks unto the Lord thy God with a tribute of a freewill offering of thine hand, which thou shalt give unto the Lord thy God, according as the Lord thy God hath blessed thee:
11. And thou shalt rejoice before the Lord thy God, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite that is within thy gates, and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are among you, in the place which the Lord thy God hath chosen to place his name there.
12. And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in Egypt: and thou shalt observe and do these statutes.
13. Thou shalt observe the feast of tabernacles seven days, after that thou hast gathered in thy corn and thy wine:
14. And thou shalt rejoice in thy feast, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite, the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are within thy gates.
15. Seven days shalt thou keep a solemn feast unto the Lord thy God in the place which the Lord shall choose: because the Lord thy God shall bless thee in all thine increase, and in all the works of thine hands, therefore thou shalt surely rejoice.
16. Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the Lord thy God in the place which he shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the Lord empty:
17. Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord thy God which he hath given thee.
18. Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates, which the Lord thy God giveth thee, throughout thy tribes: and they shall judge the people with just judgment.
19. Thou shalt not wrest judgment; thou shalt not respect persons, neither take a gift: for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous.
20. That which is altogether just shalt thou follow, that thou mayest live, and inherit the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.
21. Thou shalt not plant thee a grove of any trees near unto the altar of the Lord thy God, which thou shalt make thee.
22. Neither shalt thou set thee up any image; which the Lord thy God hateth.
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could the commandment of the Lord be any more clear? Moses delivered the commandment of the Lord quite explicitly, saying, "Thou mayest not sacrifice the passover within any of thy gates, which the Lord thy God giveth thee: But at the place which the Lord thy God shall choose to place his name in, there thou shalt sacrifice the passover"
let's search the sacred scriptures to see where the Lord chose to place his name in.
And unto his son will I give one tribe, that David my servant may have a light alway before me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen me to put my name there. (1 Kings 11:36)
And Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the Lord did choose out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there. And his mother's name was Naamah an Ammonitess. (1 Kings 14:21)
And he built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord said, In Jerusalem will I put my name. (2 Kings 21:4)
And he set a graven image of the grove that he had made in the house, of which the Lord said to David, and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all tribes of Israel, will I put my name for ever: (2 Kings 21:7)
And the Lord said, I will remove Judah also out of my sight, as I have removed Israel, and will cast off this city Jerusalem which I have chosen, and the house of which I said, My name shall be there. (2 Kings 23:27)
But I have chosen Jerusalem, that my name might be there; and have chosen David to be over my people Israel. (2 Chronicles 6:6)
Also he built altars in the house of the Lord, whereof the Lord had said, In Jerusalem shall my name be for ever. (2 Chronicles 33:4)
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so we have established two things beyond a shadow of a doubt, by using the old testament scriptures which the jews claim to observe:
1) the passover could not be sacrificed outside the place where the Lord chose to place his name
2) the place where the Lord chose to place his name forever is Jerusalem.
therefore, according to the commandment delivered to Israel by Moses, the passover could not be sacrificed outside Jerusalem.
now, to prove to you that the place where the passover sacrifice was to take place was paramount...
Numbers 17
4. And Moses spake unto the children of Israel, that they should keep the passover.
5. 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.
6. And there were certain men, who were defiled by the dead body of a man, that they could not keep the passover on that day: and they came before Moses and before Aaron on that day:
7. And those men said unto him, We are defiled by the dead body of a man: wherefore are we kept back, that we may not offer an offering of the Lord in his appointed season among the children of Israel?
8. And Moses said unto them, Stand still, and I will hear what the Lord will command concerning you.
9. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
10. Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If any man of you or of your posterity shall be unclean by reason of a dead body, or be in a journey afar off, yet he shall keep the passover unto the Lord.
11. The fourteenth day of the second month at even they shall keep it, and eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.
once again the scriptures are explicitly clear. "If any man of you or of your posterity shall be unclean by reason of a dead body, or be in a journey afar off yet he shall keep the passover unto the Lord."
notice the instruction that if one was afar off on a journey they were still enjoined to keep the passover in the following month, the second month rather than the first. whereby this we know that the LOCATION was of chief import, rather than the TIME. the Lord could have decreed to those afar off in a journey to sacrifice the passover wherever they may be, but He did not do this. the Lord rather told Moses to enjoin them that they were still obliged to keep the passover, only they were allowed to keep it in the following month. by this it is demonstrated that the place where the passover was sacrificed was of paramount concern, not the time.
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let's supply an example of one of the holy prophets of God to justify our assertion, the holy and beloved prophet of God, Daniel.
In those days I Daniel was mourning three full weeks. I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled. And in the four and twentieth day of the first month, as I was by the side of the great river, which is Hiddekel; (Daniel 10:2-4)
now how is it that holy Daniel was fasting these three weeks??? was he disobeying the commandment of the Lord as delivered by Moses? notice he says, "neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth". notice his fast of three weeks ended with a vision on the four and twentieth day of the first month.
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.
the children of Israel are commanded to keep the passover on the fourteenth day of the first month. Daniel was fasting during this period! no flesh came into his mouth! therefore he obviously did not sacrifice a passover lamb and eat it as was appointed by the Lord in the law of Moses.
was the holy prophet of God disobeying the Lord and the law of Moses by fasting when he should have been feasting? God forbid! he was upholding the law perfectly, not daring to blaspheme the law by observing the passover while a captive in babylon, as i will demonstrate below...
Daniel 1
1. In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon unto Jerusalem, and besieged it.
2. And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with part of the vessels of the house of God: which he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his god; and he brought the vessels into the treasure house of his god.
3. And the king spake unto Ashpenaz the master of his eunuchs, that he should bring certain of the children of Israel, and of the king's seed, and of the princes;
4. Children in whom was no blemish, but well favoured, and skilful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science, and such as had ability in them to stand in the king's palace, and whom they might teach the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans.
5. And the king appointed them a daily provision of the king's meat, and of the wine which he drank: so nourishing them three years, that at the end thereof they might stand before the king.
6. Now among these were of the children of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah:
so we have proof from the testimony of scripture that daniel was among the captives of judah, removed from jerusalem and taken to babylon.
we have further confirmation of this in chapter 6:
Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime. (Daniel 6:10)
so it is quite evident that blessed Daniel was not in Jerusalem if he was praying toward Jerusalem, but in truth was a captive taken to babylon, as even the jews will affirm. |
