A Vegan Passover in the Promised Land (Joshua 5: 10-12). By Dr. Chapman Chen & Sister Sy
- Chapman Chen
- Apr 24
- 2 min read
Joshua 5:10–12 describes a significant moment in Israelite history when the people celebrated Passover after crossing the Jordan River and entering the land of Canaan. The meal mentioned—unleavened bread and roasted grain—was a vegan meal without lamb flesh, and it marked the end of God’s provision of manna from heaven, which was also vegan (Exodus 16:31; Numbers 11:7). The lamb-eating tradition during Passover, as described in Exodus 12:3–11 and Deut. 16:2–7, was instituted by those high priests, ostensibly as a commemoration of the Israelites' liberation from slavery in Egypt. The departure in Joshua 5:11 from the lamb-eating tradition during Passover is no accident. It is prophetic.
Freshly circumcised and renewed in covenant, the Israelites now share a sacred meal that mirrors Eden, where God ordained a vegan diet (Genesis 1:29). The bloody Passover meal ceases, and the people feast on what springs from the earth itself. In this moment, they become not conquerors, but caretakers.
This event prefigures the Vegan Christ, who later calls out the Temple's violent sacrificial system, and offers a vegan communal Eucharist as a preview of the happy reunion feast in Heaven (Tabor 2012; Chilton 2011), replacing bloodshed with mercy, violence with vulnerability.
In all four Gospel accounts of the Last Supper, no lamb is present. In Matt., Mark, Luke, & John, we see bread & wine, not a single slaughtered animal. This profound shift aligns perfectly with Joshua 5: the true Passover is not about killing but about becoming.
We are now invited into that same becoming: a resurrection not just of the soul, but of appetite, ethic, and practice. As Joshua's people crossed into a new land, so we too must cross into a new consciousness—one that spares God's innocent creatures & honours the spirit of the risen Christ.
Joshua 5 is not just a historical note. It is a sacred signal: that dominion means serving the animals, that worship demands compassion, and that the Kingdom of God begins when we choose peace over sacrifice.
Let the lamb live. Let the land provide. Let the Vegan Christ be our Guide.
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