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| Volume 24 Number 1 January 2022 |
Page 15 |
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| Volume 24 Number 1 January 2022 |
Page 15 |
Terry Wheeler
The Passover Supper was the beginning of the week-long Feast of Unleavened Bread for the Jews. It marked the beginning of the year for them, and it was a time of rejoicing for deliverance from Egyptian slavery and from the Death Angel that destroyed the firstborn of all who were not protected by the blood of the Passover Lamb (Exodus 12:1-42).
Now what does any of this have to do with us? As Paul might say, much in every way (Romans 3:2a)! The Lamb is the Lord Jesus (John 1:29; Revelation 5:6). Jesus is our Passover Lamb, sacrificed for us, whose blood covers our guilt before God and saves us from His wrath. “…For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (1 Corinthians 5:7-8 NKJV).
Therefore, we are to keep the Feast! For how long? Well, how long are we to be unleavened in sincerity and truth? Remember, the Old Testament feast lasted a week, beginning with the slaughter of the Passover lamb.
What do we commemorate now on the first day of every week? The death for us of Jesus (Acts 20:7)! We should hold that commemoration in our heart for the rest of the week, right? Then what? Then, we do it all again! Every Sunday is our Passover celebration, and every week is our feast of unleavened bread seen in our behavior. As the Old Testament Passover is a type of Christ’s sacrifice and thus fulfilled on Calvary so long ago, so today, our celebration of freedom from sin and death is every week, until He returns (1 Corinthians 11:26). Our Passover Feast is perpetual – in Christ!
Loving Wives
Denny Petrillo
As with the husbands, wives are commanded to love their husbands (Titus 2:4). The word in this passage is not the usual word agapao but rather is phileo. The wife needs to learn to like her husband; to like who he is and what he does (as long as it is in harmony with the Word of God).
The wife in the Song of Solomon is a loving wife. Notice the positive qualities of the loving wife.
First, the loving wife provides positive support for her husband. She realizes that the home is the one place her man can go to find rest, encouragement and acceptance. Her husband knows that his wife is for him, even when it may seem that everyone else is against him. This will provide him a level of peace (8:10).
Second, the loving wife verbalizes her love. The wife in the Song says that her husband is “outstanding among ten thousand” (5:10). She then proceeds to describe some qualities about him that she loves (5:11-16).
Third, the loving wife is committed. She does not have eyes for others but is faithful and loyal. The wife boldly affirms, “I am my beloved’s and his desire is for me” (7:10).
Fourth, the loving wife is sensitive to his physical needs. After taking his bride on their honeymoon, and expressing his desire for her, the Shulammite invites her husband to make love to her (4:16).