Dear Doves,
      Nisan 10 was Lamb Selection Day in days of old, when there was a Temple in Jerusalem. Some lambs were inspected and disqualified on that day because of obvious defect or blemish. They were then inspected for several days, for acceptance or disqualification. Only lambs without defect or blemish could be slain as Passover lambs. A lamb was a sacred animal to the Egyptians. The definition for the Passover animal was a male kid, one year old. That could have meant either a lamb or a goat! This was news to me, since I had always associated Passover with lambs and Yom Kippur with bulls and goats. It links the two events in ways I had never known before. Messiah/ Christ was the perfect offering or sacrifice to Abba Father, far above the blood "covering" and lives of lambs, or goats, or bulls, or turtledoves. The Torah repeats many times that "the life is in the blood." Messiah/ Christ is the last and perfect atoning sacrifice in blood and life onto death. He is the Great At-one-ment with Abba Father and the Spirit of Truth, THE PASSOVER LAMB of all lambs.
      Nisan 10 is significant in many ways. It was the day the members of the 12 tribes crossed the Yardan(Jordan) River into the Promised Land. This day and passage were a momentous TRANSITION. It was THE SEPARATION from what had happened in the years of lessons in the Wilderness. Who will call His lambs forth on the Day of the Blessed Hope? It will be the Good Shepherd, calling home His lambs of the many generations. He knows His sheep, they will answer to His voice, not that of the idol or hireling shepherd. His body are His lambs and He will call them home on Resurrection Day. The rest of the year, the lambs would be out on the open landscape or in secure sheepfolds. When were they called home? It was on Nisan 10 that they were selected, chosen, and set apart. Each was part of THE SEPARATION on that fateful day. Each and all, they were SENT HOME! Each of the lambs for Passover lived in homes with the families. They became beloved to the children and members of the families. Each death was more traumatic to the families than we understand. The DEATH of each lamb was very PERSONAL to each family. Each lamb and the family caring for it SUFFERED and experienced LOSS. In the times of Messiah/ Christ there were 2 days when the lambs were slain. Those from out of town, like the Master and special friends from the Galilee, had Passover as Nisan 13 went to the darkness of the evening of Nisan 14. The locals, like the High Priest and Pharisees, Sadducees, and Scribes from Judea had Passover as Nisan 14 went to Nisan 15. Which group was Scripturally correct, according to the interpretation of the ruling class, the Sadducees? The Master was. He could not have celebrated Passover on the wrong day because that would have been sinful.
      From the date of Nisan 10 until the lambs were slain was the completion of the Third Day as Nisan 13 went to Nisan 14. It can be seen as the complete day 3 looking forward or backward. When might The Good Shepherd call His lambs HOME in 2012? Might it be the day the lambs were selected, set apart, and off with the members of family, when they were sent HOME? THE SEPARATION DAY would be Nisan 10. Another choice of day is when the lambs ended their lives on Earth, as Nisan 13 goes to twilight and darkness on Nisan 14. This was the other date for THE SEPARATION of those symbolically covered by the blood of lambs or goats on the doorposts and lintels of their HOMES, or those without the necessary blood "covering" like kippur, those for whom Death did not pass over. This is the Most Important Midnight Hour and Watch of the Year for Israel and elsewhere. For the obedient, Death passed over at midnight. There are cups of grape juice or wine consumed during the seder. Would wine, a form of alcoholic beverage, lead to borderline drunkenness and sleepiness approaching THE HOUR OF WATCHFULNESS, THE MIDNIGHT HOUR? The spiritual themes of Separation, Family, Home, Lambs, Good Shepherd, Passover, Death or Redemption are highlighted in the days from Nisan 10 to 14. The Day of Homecoming  may be very near. Come quickly, Lord...
 
With Love and Shalom,
Jean