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Passover “The Four I Will’s” By Rev. Mike Murphy
The traditional Jewish Passover seder contains four cups of wine that are drunk during the dinner ceremony. These cups are named after the Four “I Will’s” of God outlined in Exodus chapter 6 verses 6-7. As the LORD was speaking to Moses He says: “Say, therefore, to the sons 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 their bondage. I will also redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. Then I will take you for My people, and I will be your God; and you shall know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.” What is really interesting is that the traditional seder contains four “I Will’s,” but if you read on, there is even a fifth I will where the LORD says “I will be your God.” Even so the traditional four cups of the Passover seder are as follows: 1) The cup of Sanctification – I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians 2) The cup of Judgment – I will rid you out of their bondage 3) The cup of Redemption – I will redeem you with an outstretched arm 4) The cup of Praise – I will take you to Me for a people
Santification – just as God delivered the children of Israel from the burdens of the Egyptians, so God has also delivered us from the world and its burden. We as believers in Yeshua have been sanctified or “set apart.” Judgment – the ten plagues of Egypt were judgments from God directed towards each of the gods of Egypt. We know that the god of this world has been judged. The death and resurrection of Yeshua were a condemnation of Satan. Redemption – just as God redeemed Israel from Egypt with an outstretched arm, so Messiah Yeshua delivered us with “an outstretched arm” on the tree and has redeemed us from the dominion of darkness. It is said that the cup of redemption, or the third cup of the seder, was the cup that represented the inauguration of the New Covenant that Yeshua shared with His disciples during the Passover seder the night before His death. The Scripture says in Matthew 26:27-28: And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them saying, “Drink from it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.” Praise – just as the children of Israel praise God for their deliverance and making them His people, so we as believers in Messiah Yeshua need to praise God because He has made us His people who were not His people.
We have great reason to thank God this Passover season. For we know that the Passover Lamb of God has been slain. By this our beloved Messiah has given us eternal life.
The Rev.
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