The Cups of Passover

The Passover Seder includes drinking four cups of wine throughout the Seder. The four cups reflect the four "I will" promises that the LORD made to the Israelites in Ex. 6:6-7:
"Therefore say to the children of Israel: "I am the LORD; I will bring you our from under the burdens of the Egyptians, I will rescue you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. I will take you as My people, and I will be your God. Then you shall know that I am the LORD your God who brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians."

God identified Himself to Moses in Ex. 3 as Jehovah, LORD, "I AM WHO I AM". Again, in the verses above, God ties His promises to this same Name and identity: "I am the LORD." In Hebrew, this name is represented by four letters: Yod, He, Vaw, He. After the yod and the vaw, He gives the he. He means to look, to see, to be revealed, to behold. It is a pictograph of a man holding his hands up. See he below:

 So it is: yod, BEHOLD!, vaw, BEHOLD!. He gives emphasis after each of those two letters. Yod is the arm and hand. It is about power and strength, work and creation, a finished work, a leader. See yod below:
 Vaw is a tent peg, to secure, to nail, to join. It is about completion, redemption, and transformation. So, according to the meanings of the four letters, His Name can also mean "Creator Behold! Redeemer Behold!" See vaw below:


The four cups of Passover also memorialize the four-lettered Name of the LORD revealed at that time to His people, who were in bondage.

In the Seder, the first cup is the Cup of Sanctification, or Kiddush. This reflects the promise of the LORD to bring His people out from among the Egyptians, out from under their burdens. Sanctification means to be apart from, or separated from, in order to be holy. This same call is to us today:
"Such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God."   1 Cor. 6:11 and
"Therefore
"Come out from among them
And be separate says the Lord.
Do not touch what is unclean,
And I will receive you."                             2 Cor. 6:17, Isa. 52:11
The first Hebrew letter of His Name, Yod, is the hand and arm by which He brings us out, and creates the sanctification of His people.
The second cup of the Seder, is the Cup of Judgment, Makkot. The LORD promised "I will rescue you from their bondage." The LORD did this through the ten plagues, and through the drowning of the Egyptian army in the Red Sea. Jesus said to us,
"Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out."    Jn. 12:31
"...fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water."      Rev. 14:7
The second letter of the LORD's name, He, is revealed in Ex. 14:13, when the Israelites are physically and permanently separated from the Egyptians at the Red Sea:
"And Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand still and see (behold) the salvation of the LORD, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever."
That is a hands in the air (He) "BEHOLD", statement! Hallelujah!
The third cup of the Seder is the Cup of Redemption. It celebrates the promise of the LORD,
"I will redeem you with an outstretched arm...". To us, Jesus is the work of the LORD, who redeemed us from the bondage of sin and death, even as the LORD redeemed Israel from bondage of slavery:
"And they sang a new song saying:
You  are worthy to take the scroll,
And to open its seals;
For You were slain,
And have redeemed us to God by Your blood
Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,
And have made us kings and priests to our God;
And we shall reign on the earth."            Rev. 5:9-10
The third letter of His Name, Vaw, is a peg, or a nail, as Jesus was nailed to the cross. Jesus referred to this cup that He would be drinking (Mt. 20:22). The vaw also means, completion, redemption, and transformation. That nail of His Name, joined us together again with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
The fourth cup of the Seder meal is the Cup of Praise, Hallel. It represents the promise of the LORD, "I will take you as My own people." We also have the promise that Jesus made to us to "take us" to  be with Him:
"For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout with the voice of an archangel with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord."     1 Thess. 4:16-17
The fourth letter of the LORD's Name, the last He, is the BEHOLD! of praise that is revealed as God tabernacles with His people:
"And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God."        Rev. 21:3
This BEHOLD, or He, is a fulfillment of that fourth cup and promise of God, "I will take you as My people, and I will be Your God."

The four cups of wine that we share in the Passover Seder, reminds us of the LORD's four promises to the Israelites and to us. They were promised in the Old Covenant, and fulfilled in the New Covenant in Jesus's blood (Lk. 22:20, Mt. 26:28). At the same time, as we take the cups, we lift up the four letters of His great Name!