What are the Nine Blessings of Passover?
Passover has nine blessings that are given in Exodus 23; each having a unique importance as we go through our year and enter into higher levels…
Picture, if you will, a janitor for a high level company. While promotion in such a company would usually be slow, let us imagine God stepped in. Instantly the janitor is given the position of CEO!
With this new position, there are different expectations for behavior and work. However, if certain things do or do not happen as they enter into this new position, the new CEO may have difficulty with—or not be able to do—their job.
For instance, if they are constantly under attack because they do not have the level of security or protection that their new position requires, then their ability to function—to work, to be productive, etc.—would be compromised…
Alternatively, if they were not given a proper office, were still wearing the same uniform, and no one in the company was told of their new position, then no one would respect them. They would lack the authority needed to do their work because everyone above the level of janitor would have no reason to listen to a “lowly” janitor—even if their behavior were that of a CEO…
These two simple examples show how we require Passover blessings to answer the higher call we each find ourselves entering into. Accepting these blessings with joy puts us into alignment, allowing us to do things that, in our own strength, would be impossible.
The Blessings in Exodus:
Divine Protection:
“Behold, I send an Angel before you to keep you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared.”—Exodus 23:20
God, through the observance of Passover, not only brings us into the place He has prepared for us—aligning us for His purposes for the year, EVERY year—He sends an Angel before us. He gives us divine protection, allowing us to follow Him wholly.
We need to be blessed with HIGHER levels of protection—higher levels to match our increased call.
Without this protection, our call, the place God leads us, cannot increase… because a higher calling means greater resistance from the enemy.
Protection from Enemies through Positioning and Alignment:
While similar to the first, this blessing has a unique importance. It speaks of allowing the lessons and teaching of Passover to transform us. To bring our hearts and minds into alignment with Him. Positioning us for the year. Protecting us from the wiles of the enemy; from the legal right to say to God, “Look at their disobedience.”
“But if you indeed obey His voice and do all that I speak, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries.”—Exodus 23:22
Commissioning of Divine Authority:
Just as we require increased protection, positioning, and alignment to answer the higher calling God has for us, we also require increased levels of authority!
“You shall not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do according to their works; but you shall utterly overthrow them and completely break down their sacred pillars.”—Exodus 23:24
With the commissioning and authority of God we can break down the sacred pillars of false gods. In the workplace… at home… setting the stage for us to answer our call.
The authority breaks the yoke that would otherwise hold us back from doing what we are meant to.
Supernatural Health and Kingdom Prosperity:
We require the physical ability to do all God calls us to, and as our calling goes to higher levels this need only increases.
If we are laying on our couch, sick, when God asks us to travel—or in the example of the janitor turned CEO, if we are stumbling into the office pale, gaunt, and barely strong enough to hold a pen—we cannot do all we are called to do.
The same is true for finances. If we do not have enough money to even buy food when God is asking us to go out into the world, give, travel, and be His light… then we cannot do all He asks.
Begging for money every time we are supposed to do something is not what God ordained. It would not work for the janitor turned CEO, and it does not work for anyone stepping into a position of authority.
“So you shall serve the Lord your God, and He will bless your bread and your water. And I will take sickness away from the midst of you.” —Exodus 23:25
Covenant Protection for Multiplication and Longevity:
“No one shall suffer miscarriage or be barren in your land; I will fulfill the number of your days.”—Exodus 23:26
Setting our feet under God’s Passover table prepares us for our next season and increase in calling…
If we live suffering barrenness—of body or heart—we can be distracted from what we were born to do. We can become depressed and fail to leave a legacy; an inheritance.
While for many of us barrenness may not be physical, barrenness of the heart can bring just as much sorrow and desperation. If we feel our talents and call are unattainable, that we are living in a dry, barren season, then answering a higher call is almost impossible. Our hearts cannot take the sorrow…
This is why God brings multiplication—removing the barrenness of body and heart. This is why God brings us the blessing of full days… so we can answer our call!
A Godly Release of Fear and Respect from Enemies:
We have to have the right tools to thrive in the midst of our enemies…
God, in other Passover blessings, offers to us protection from our enemies, even health and long life, yet, if our enemies do not fear and respect our relationship with God we will be attacked needlessly. Yes, attacks come no matter what, but with Godly fear and respect, the attacks lack the impact they would otherwise have. As the enemy learns your relationship with God—fears and respects it—he turns away…
“I will send My fear before you, I will cause confusion among all the people to whom you come, and will make all your enemies turn their backs to you.” —Exodus 23:27
Relief from the Threat of Enemies:
If we are too busy thinking about where the next attack from the enemy may come—fearing it—we cannot answer our call…
How can we rise to a new level if we are jumping at every noise? Every possible evil thing that could come? We can scarcely maintain the level we are at without knowing we will be safe; without relief.
Worry, fear, and even ungodly anticipation wear us out, but God desires for us to rise above—to thrive as we answer our call. This is why sitting at His Passover table brings Exodus 23:28, “And I will send hornets before you, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite from before you.”
The Gift of Dominion and an Increased Inheritance:
Exodus 23:30 promises, “Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased, and you inherit the land.”
When God drives out the enemy before us and subsequently gives us relief from our enemies, He does not stop there. He also seeks to bless us; turning what was meant for evil to good…
He transfers the dominion and inheritance that once belonged to the enemy to us so we can have all the physical and financial tools required to succeed in the higher call of the season!
Freedom from Corrupt Covenants:
“They shall not dwell in your land, lest they make you sin against Me. For if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you.”—Exodus 23:33
In our lives we each make connections and relationships with people and things. Covenants. Yet, sometimes we make poor choices—often accidently—or the good choices of past seasons fulfill their purposes.
While change often seems intimidating, God prepares our hearts and minds over the course of time. It may feel unsettling or even scary, but if we fix our eyes on God, He eases our hearts.
Changes that sting usually stem from our trying to cling to past things not meant to make their way into our future. Things corrupted or fulfilled…
We require God ordained covenants and relationships to grow; to alter our habits and patterns and set us in place for our new season. And God answers. He prepares our way. He fulfills His promises!
God’s promises and blessings were designed with purpose. They are meant to give us everything we require to live our best lives; to follow Him wholly and continually rise higher to meet every new level. Every God ordained thing.
We simply have to be willing to do the small thing; He answers with blessings beyond our imagining!