בס”ד
Parashah for Chol HaMoed Passover
Exodus 33:12-34:26
Maftir: Numbers 28:19-25
Haftarah: Ezekiel 37:1-14
There are special readings on this Shabbat because we are still in the midst of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. We return to the book of Exodus and encounter Moses requesting from HaShem that He would send one who would bring the people into the land. From Moses’ perspective, entering into the land of Israel completes the promise that he received from HaShem. However we know that the Passover that occurred in Egypt, and the Exodus which followed, only foreshadowed the future redemption that Yeshua will bring.
Moses correctly understood that for G-d to fulfill His promise of redemption, He would have to send another,
“And Moses said to HaShem, ‘See You say to me bring up this people, but You do not make known to me whom You will send with me…” Exodus 33:12
Many scholars understand this request as referring to Messiah. Moses felt that if entrance into the land of Israel completes the work of redemption, then obviously HaShem would have to send Messiah at this time, in order to lead the people in conquering the land and taking possession of it. Although Moses was right that ultimately G-d’s plan of redemption cannot be fulfilled without Messiah, entrance into the land did not complete the work of redemption, but only represents a pattern of the final redemption, which is entering into the Kingdom.
In this section Moses also correctly understood that the only basis for HaShem sending Messiah was grace. Twice, Moses uses the expression; “found grace in Your Eyes” (See verses 12 and 13). Not only in the New Covenant is grace foundational, but one finds grace as a major theme of the Hebrew Bible as well. It is also important for the reader to understand that one of the outcomes of grace in this passage is knowledge of G-d. In fact the rest of the chapter focuses in upon Moses coming to a greater understand of HaShem. What can one learn from this?
Even though one can know that G-d exists without knowing Messiah Yeshua, one can only have a personal knowledge of the G-d of Israel by means of Messiah Yeshua. Why did the sages of old establish this section of Scripture to be read during Passover week? They too knew that Passover, the festival of redemption, was a necessary part of knowing HaShem. Messiah died on the fourteenth day of Nisan, the exact time that the lambs were being sacrificed, to become the means of grace necessary for redemption. For it is only redemption that provides for man the means to come into a personal relationship with HaShem, knowing Him and not just knowing about Him.
Shabbat Shalom and Chag S’meach