The Day the Dead & Living Are Brought Out

But God led the people around by the way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea.
And the people of Israel went up out of the land of Egypt equipped for battle.
Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for Joseph had made the sons of Israel solemnly swear,
saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones with you from here. (Exo 13:18-19)

The Word of יהוה communicates through parables. To the crowds, the Righteous Branch spoke in parables. Privately to His branches, He explained everything. When asked the reason why He spoke in parables, He responded:

To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. (Mat 13:10-13)

On a certain level, the story of the exodus account serves as a parable… and reveals the end from the beginning. The day the children of Israel were brought out of Egypt was a momentous occasion. For with a strong hand, יהוה brought them out. It was a day to be remembered throughout the generations at the appointed time from year to year. A day that was considered so important that observing it was as “a sign [mark] on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes, that the law of יהוה may be in your mouth.”

This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD; throughout your generations, as a statute forever, you shall keep it as a feast. Seven days you shall eat matza [sweetness - H4682]. On the first day you shall remove leaven out of your houses, for if anyone eats what is leavened, from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel. On the first day you shall hold a holy assembly, and on the seventh day a holy assembly. No work shall be done on those days. But what everyone needs to eat, that alone may be prepared by you. And you shall observe the Feast of Matza [Sweetness - H4682], for on this very day I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day, throughout your generations, as a statute forever. (Exo 12:14-17)
 
Then Moses said to the people, "Remember this day in which you came out from Egypt, out of the house of slavery, for by a strong hand the LORD brought you out from this place. No leavened bread shall be eaten. Today, in the month of Abib, you are going out. And when the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which he swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, you shall keep this service in this month. Seven days you shall eat matza [sweetness - H4682], and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the LORD. Matza [sweetness - H4682] shall be eaten for seven days; no leavened bread shall be seen with you, and no leaven shall be seen with you in all your territory. You shall tell your son on that day, 'It is because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.' And it shall be to you as a sign on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes, that the law of the LORD may be in your mouth. For with a strong hand the LORD has brought you out of Egypt. You shall therefore keep this statute at its appointed time from year to year. (Exo 13:3-10)

Indeed on the 1st Day of Matza (Sweetness), the children of Israel were brought out of Egypt by a strong hand. An extremely significant detail that many fail to recognize is that on this momentous day both the dead and the living came out of Egypt… referring to the dead bones of Joseph and the living children of Israel.

But God led the people around by the way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea. And the people of Israel went up out of the land of Egypt equipped for battle. Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for Joseph had made the sons of Israel solemnly swear, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones with you from here. (Exo 13:18-19)

Even hidden within the translation exists this significant detail regarding the 1st Day of Matza (Sweetness). This day is actually referred to as the “bone” (H6106) day… an extremely important parable for us to learn from; however, the translators covered over the significance by  referring to this day as the “selfsame” day (KJV) or “very” day (various translations).
 
Consider that Strong’s H6106 means the following:

H6106: a bone (as strong); by extension the body; figuratively the substance, that is, (as a pronoun) selfsame

In the following two verses, the translators accurately translated the word H6106 as “bone”:

It shall be eaten in one house; you shall not take any of the flesh outside the house, and you shall not break any of its bones [H6106]. (Exo 12:46)
 
Moses took the bones [H6106] of Joseph with him, for Joseph had made the sons of Israel solemnly swear, saying, "God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones with you from here. (Exo 13:19)

However, in these following verses the translators translated the same word as “selfsame” or “very” instead of as bone. Note the significant imagery that is conveyed when the following passages are accurately translated with this important detail:

And you shall observe the Feast of Matza (Sweetness), for on this BONE [H6106] day I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day, throughout your generations, as a statute forever. (Exo 12:17)
 
At the end of 430 years, on that BONE [H6106] day, all the hosts of יהוה went out from the land of Egypt. (Exo 12:41)
 
And on that BONE [H6106] day יהוה brought the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their hosts. (Exo 12:51) 

The bone day. Not the “selfsame” day nor the “very” day… but the bone day… the momentous day that was to be remembered throughout the generations at the appointed time from year to year… the day when the dead bones of Joseph and the living bones of the children of Israel were brought out by a strong hand.
 
These passages serve as a parable of what is to come. Ezekiel also refers to a “bone” day… when יהוה will bring the whole house of Israel up out of the graves:

Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts. Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves, And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the LORD have spoken it, and performed it, saith the LORD. (Eze 37:11-14)

Furthermore, Paul also describes a day when dead and living will be brought up: 

For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. (1Th 4:14-17)

Hopefully now the parable of the “bone” day is coming to life. Hopefully you can see the connection between the “bone” day – the 1st Day of Matza (Sweetness) – and what both Ezekiel and Paul were referring to. For both Ezekiel and Paul seemed to understand the significance of the 1st Day of Matza (Sweetness). They knew the significance of the “bone” day. They understood that on this day the dead bones of Joseph and the living children of Israel were brought out of Egypt with a strong hand. They understood that the "bone" day served as a parable for what is yet to come… the “greater” exodus… the resurrection of the dead and the living. They knew to be watchful and alert during this season. In fact, Paul tells the believers in Thessalonica that concerning the times and the seasons when the dead and living are brought out, they had no need to have anything written to them. For they were fully aware that the day of יהוה comes like a thief in the night. And he tells them to be watchful and sober.
 
The account of the Passover on the evening of the 14th and the account of the 1st Day of Matza (Sweetness) at the dawn of the 15th are intricately woven together. The Passover involved sparing the firstborn from death… the firstborn in the homes with blood on the doorposts. This was the manner they were to eat the Passover meal: with their belts fastened, their sandals on their feet, and their branch in their hands. And they were to eat it in haste. This describes an alert and watchful and ready people. (And did you catch what they were clinging to? A branch!) Then during the night, Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and told them to leave. And on the 1st Day of Matza (Sweetness)… on the “bone” day… the dead bones of Joseph and the living children of Israel left Egypt in haste… all the hosts of יהוה which included the firstborn that had been spared from death during the night.

Even the account of the day when Lot and his family were brought out of Sodom and Gomorrah includes descriptions similar to the events and instructions concerning Passover and 1st Day of Matza (Sweetness). Notice in the account, Lot serves the messengers matza (sweetness) (Gen 19:3); the events of the evening center around a door (Gen 19:4-11); and the messengers reached out their hands and brought Lot into the house with them and shut the door (Gen 19:10). Interestingly, these descriptions are included in the instructions for commemorating the Passover. The Passover instructions include eating matza (sweetness) (Exo 12:8); the Passover instructions center around a door; it is stated that none were to go out the door of the house until dawn (Exo 12:22). Just as the children of Israel were brought out of Egypt at dawn immediately following Passover... so too were Lot and his family brought out at dawn immediately following events that are descriptive of a Passover commemoration (Gen 19:15). Thus, according to the account of the events of Lot and the messengers, the day that Lot and his family were brought out was very likely the 1st Day of Matza (Sweetness).

Please note the season when the dead and living were brought out of Egypt: the month abib (Exo 13:3-4, 10, 23:15, 34:18, Deu 16:1, Son 6:11-[H3 same as H24]). They encamped between Migdol and the sea; the word “migdol” means almonds in Romanian, Polish, Lithuanian. They were brought to Mt. Sinai in Midian… which is being revealed as Mountain of Almonds (Jabal al Lawz). The branch in Moses and Aaron’s hands (through which power and authority were transferred from above) budded, blossomed and ripened almonds. In His mercy, our heavenly Father left two reminders for the month abib when the children of Israel were brought out by a strong hand… so that we would not forget: (1) the budding and blossoming (abib) almond branches of the lamp (menorah); (2) and Aaron’s branch which budded, blossomed (abib) and ripened almonds. The month abib… the month when the “watchful” almond trees awaken and abound with blossoms… is the season of awakening... the season of resurrection. The Creator purposely designed the almond trees to awaken at such an appointed time and to accurately testify of the season of resurrection. The menorah serves as a parable of the Righteous Branch and His branches which abide in Him. For the Lamb is the Lamp (Rev 21:23). Remember, the Righteous Branch is the center branch (translated as “vine”), and we are His branches. He produces the “fruit” of light for He said He is the Light of the world. If we are His branches that abide in Him then we will also produce the “fruit” of light. The parable of the menorah communicates the message that a budding and blossoming almond tree represents the Righteous Branch and His branches… not an olive tree… and not barley. Through the parable that men are as trees, the Word of יהוה communicates a secret of the kingdom of heaven to those who have eyes to see and ears to hear. If men are as trees, then the Righteous Branch is as the trunk (center branch) of an almond tree. If we are as branches which abide in Him – an almond tree – then we should awaken during the season when the almond tree awakens.

As Paul explained, many remain in darkness. The day when the dead and living are brought out will surprise many like a thief in the night. Many will be like the beloved in Song of Solomon who was sleeping at the time her lover came knocking at her door; she was sleeping instead of remaining watchful and alert. She was not expecting her lover at the time or season when he came. When she finally awoke and opened the door, her lover was gone and she could not find him (Son Sol 5). The parable of the ten virgins echoes this story as well (Mat 25:1-13).
 
Like the beloved in Song of Solomon and like the five foolish virgins, many today are not being watchful and alert in the proper season. Many look to barley as the sign of abib and continue to walk in darkness instead of beholding the blossoming (abib) almond branch and walking in the light. As a result, many will be like the beloved in Song of Solomon and like the five foolish virgins. Instead of being watchful and alert and awakening during the season when the almond trees blossom (abib), many will be sleeping and remain in darkness.
 
Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake and watching when he comes. 

Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately. Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them. And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants. And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through. Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not. (Luk 12:35-40)
 
Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a cry, 'Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.' Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.' But the wise answered, saying, 'Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.' And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, 'Lord, lord, open to us.' But he answered, 'Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.' Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour. (Mat 25:1-13)
 
Behold, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on, that he may not go about naked and be seen exposed! (Rev 16:15)

  May we cling to the Branch and walk in the light. May we remain watchful and alert.

~ Followers of the Righteous Branch