The weekly Sabbath looked back to creation when God saw that
things were good and rested and refreshed Himself. In the garden
people and God dwelt together and all was provided.
Hebrews 4:1-9 tells Israel that the weekly Sabbath also looked
forward to another time of rest and great restoration. When
Israel is �in their dwellings� (that is, regathered into their
land promised) and safely under the rule of their greater Joshua
(Hebs.4:8), then the whole world will be at rest as well.
How does the weekly Sabbath fit in with the annual Feasts? It
looked on to Paradise restored. The Earth will be at rest when
Israel is at rest, see Ps.2:8 and Rev.11:15. The Annual Feasts
showed in stages how Israel would be brought towards that goal.
Every week Israel was reminded of the day when all the promises
the Lord had made to them would be fulfilled.
Passover.
Please read Exodus 12.
At Passover the Lord struck decisively at the heart of Israel�s
enemies and executed judgment against all their gods. Because of
Passover, deliverance was immediate and complete for Israel.
They had to eat quickly and fully dressed for travel, see
Ex.12:11.
Lev 23:5
In the
fourteenth day of the first month, between the evenings,
is Jehovah's Passover
Exo 12:12
For I will pass
through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the
first-born in the land of Egypt, both man and beast. And I will
execute judgments against all the gods of Egypt. I am
Jehovah.
Exo 12:51
And it happened
the very same day, that Jehovah brought the sons of
Israel out of the land of Egypt by their armies.
There must have been many lambs slaughtered that night but they
all pointed to the One Lamb of God;
Exo 12:6
And you shall
keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month. And the
whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in
the evening.
The Lord Christ died as Israel�s Passover Lamb and this brought
about glorious deliverances for them. Remember, we are not
talking about ourselves or the church which is His body at this
time. Many of the following things may be true of us today, but
let us never forget that God�s purposes for Israel on the earth
will be accomplished in and through Christ who in all things has
the pre-eminence.
There was deliverance from the bondage of sin and death, see
Romans 5. Deliverance for those in the grave see Matt.27:50-53,
1 Cor.15: 22-23, 2 Cor.1:9-10, and Rev.1:18. Deliverance from
Gentile dominion when Christ crushes the feet and toes of
Nebuchadnezzar�s image, see Lk.21:24 and Roms.11:25-26. There
was deliverance for the natural creation as well; Israel�s crops
will be bountiful, see Romans 8:18-23. And as in Egypt, there
will be deliverance from the wrath to come, see 1 Thess.1:10.
The gods of Egypt were judged and the enemy was judged when the
true Passover was offered, see John 16:11.
Where does Passover fit in relation to the other Feasts? It was
the beginning for Israel. Liberty to begin the journey into that
place God had appointed. Passover is the first step in a
glorious change from bondage to liberty in the righteous Kingdom
of God.
The Feast of Unleavened Bread.
Lev 23:6
and on the
fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of
Unleavened Bread to Jehovah. You must eat unleavened
bread seven days.
Exo 12:15
You shall eat
unleavened bread seven days; even the first day you shall
put away leaven out of your houses. For whoever eats leavened
bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall
be cut off from Israel.
Exo 12:17
And you shall
keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread. For in this
same day I have brought your armies out of the land of Egypt.
Therefore you shall keep this day in your generations by a law
forever.
From the evening of the 14th, Israel was to remove
leaven and eat unleavened bread for 7 days. This showed in type
that the Passover brought separation. Separation for Israel from
the power & bondage of the enemy and from the rest of the world
(Ex.33:16). Israel was separated by God and to God for service
and God�s glory. When Israel arrived in their land there was to
be a first fruit offered during Unleavened Bread;
Lev 23:10
Speak to the
sons of Israel and say to them, When you have come into the land
which I give to you, and shall reap the harvest of it, then you
shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the
priest.
This first fruit is unleavened (sinless) and anticipates
Christ�s resurrection; He is the first fruits from the dead and
alone has immortality, see 1Cor.15:20-23 and 1 Tim.6:16. The
harvest will be those that are Christ�s at His coming which will
be realised when the Feast of Trumpets is fulfilled. Death and
the grave will not prevent God�s purposes for Israel coming to
pass. Abraham and many other OT saints will be resurrected to
enjoy the land promised to them.
Israel were to learn from Unleavened Bread that they were
separated and were to separate themselves from sin and the
world. Paul brings this out in 1 Cor.5.
The Feast of Weeks.
Lev
23:15
And you shall count to you from the
next day after the sabbath, from the day that you brought the
sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be complete.
Lev
23:16
To the next day after the seventh
sabbath you shall number fifty days. And you shall offer a new
food offering to Jehovah.
Lev
23:17
You shall bring out of your homes two
wave loaves of two-tenth parts. They shall be of fine flour.
They shall be baked with leaven, firstfruits to Jehovah
Pentecost was a Feast with a first fruit as well and therefore
anticipated something; it looked forward to a greater harvest.
The First Pentecost or Weeks was at Mt. Sinai and was a time of
promise, preparation and anticipation. Israel was being prepared
for their Kingdom, the joy of serving God in their land. God
would dwell among them, provide for and protect them; this is
the harvest Pentecost anticipated.
Passover and Unleavened Bread brought deliverance and separation
for Israel; they were set free to serve God in that place He had
prepared for them but Israel was a rough group of slaves who had
to learn of God�s holiness and their own sinful nature. At Mt.
Sinai, Israel�s first Pentecost, preparations were made for
service and education inside the land God had promised them.
Pentecost prepared Israel for, and was a foretaste of, the
Kingdom of God.
Once those preparations were complete Israel could have entered
into their inheritance immediately instead of wandering in the
wilderness for 40 years. See Deut.1:1-2, 19-26.
Here are some of the things we shall be looking at next lesson
as we more deeply examine this Feast remembering Pentecost
anticipated or was a first fruit of the Kingdom of God.
We shall see that the Lord descended in the sight of His people,
there were trumpets and clouds and angels. We shall see that
Israel were gathered together unto the Lord, that Moses went up
to meet Him, that the Law was given on tables of stone, that
certain individuals were given gifts to help in the construction
of the tabernacle, that other individuals who failed to obey the
Lord were struck dead, others were separated for service, and we
shall also see Moses earnestly desiring that all Israel would be
prophets.
We shall also see The Lord working among His people for
provision, protection and enlightenment.
In preparation for next lesson, we should read Exodus 19.
Lesson 6
Revision and the Feast of Trumpets.
The annual Feasts of Israel are outlined in Leviticus 23
which also includes the weekly Feast held every Saturday,
called the Sabbath. Here is a link to the Feasts� chart if
you don�t already have a copy:
http://www.bibleunderstanding.com/feasts.htm
The annual feasts were set into two groups, the first
celebrated in the early months of Israel�s festive year
approximating around our March through May, and the later
group occurring around our September/October. The first
group included Passover, Unleavened Bread and Weeks
(Pentecost), and the final set of feasts was Trumpets,
Atonement and Tabernacles/Booths. If you would like the
previous lessons please email me.
It is essential we understand these feasts in their original
settings or we will be hard pressed to understand them in
their prophetic or final fulfilment settings. Too many
expositors forget this clear and unambiguous statement;
Lev 23:2
Speak to the sons of
Israel and say to them, The feasts of Jehovah, which you
shall proclaim, holy convocations, even these are My
appointed feasts.
These are the feasts of Jehovah given by Him to Israel not
to �The Church�. �The Church� does not replace Israel and we
should not try and read �The Church� into these feasts.
Israel�s national beginnings gave them and us some
incredible pictures of their future greater deliverance by
Jehovah their Saviour and Lord, Christ Jesus. Here is a very
brief revision.
Israel was delivered from bondage at PASSOVER when all the
firstborn sons of Egypt died and the gods of their world
judged. But in Israel�s houses there was also one dead, the
Passover Lamb (Ex.12:3-11) as Moses writes;
Exo 12:30
And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he and all his servants,
and all the Egyptians. And there was a great cry in Egypt,
for there was not a house where there was not one dead.
Israel had to remove leaven from their houses and eat
UNLEAVENED BREAD for seven days beginning the night they
were delivered (Gen.12:14-17). Israel were set free and
marched out of Egypt; separated to serve God and they had to
separate sin from their lives. In the future Kingdom on the
earth, sin will not be tolerated (Psalm 5:4-6 cp Acts 5).
Approximately 50-60 days later they arrived at Mt Sinai
where they experienced their First PENTECOST or Feast of
Weeks, here the Law was given on tables of stone and
supernatural gifts were given, but we are yet to fully
examine this event and we will return to Mount Sinai soon.
Last lesson we saw Israel fail at a test of faith. They were
marched straight from Mt Sinai to the southern border of
their land where the very next feast, TRUMPETS, could have
unfolded bringing the final set of feasts when all God�s
promises to them will be fulfilled. But instead of believing
that God who had brought them out could also bring them in,
they were afraid and were turned back into the wilderness.
To read the fuller accounts of this failure of faith, see
Numbers 13 and 14, also Deut.1:2, 21, 26, 27, and this
verse:
Deu 1:32
�.in this thing you did not believe Jehovah your God,
Israel wandered in the wilderness for nearly 40 years to
learn reliance on the Word of the Lord;
Deu 8:2
And
you shall remember all the way which Jehovah your God led
you these forty years in the wilderness in order to humble
you, to prove you, to know what is in your heart, whether
you would keep His commandments or not.
Deu 8:3
And He
humbled you and allowed you to hunger, and then He fed you
with manna, which you did not know, neither did your fathers
know it, so that He might make you know that man
shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that
comes out of the mouth of Jehovah man shall live.
Israel was given the Law at Mt Sinai and they carried it
with them, they also had God�s visible presence
(Ex.13:21-22) but for all this, they were short on faith
when it was sorely needed. We must take a lesson from this,
holding the Word of God in our hand as we sit in church once
a week does not build our faith. See Romans 10:17,
Phils.1:9-10 and 2 Timothy 2:15.
The forty years wandering was a period of chastisement and
learning; a preparation for the Kingdom,
Deu
8:11
Beware that you do not forget
Jehovah your God, in not keeping His commandments, and His
judgments, and His statutes, which I command you today,
Deu
8:12
lest when you have eaten
and are full and have built good houses and lived in
them,
Deu
8:13
and when your herds and
your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold is
multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied,
Deu
8:14
then your heart might be lifted
up, and you might forget Jehovah your God who brought you
forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of slaves.
Eventually the Lord brought Israel around the east side of
the Promised Land so they could enter from the east, across
the river Jordan towards Jericho. They had a few battles on
the way. There, Moses died and was buried by the Lord, see
Deut. 34:1-6.
Joshua was then commanded to lead the people into their
promised land. You can read how they crossed the river in
Joshua 3 & 4. Those readers who note interesting times and
dates will read Josh.1:11, and compare Joshua 4:19 with
Ex.12:3. The Feast of Trumpets originally occurred in Joshua
chapter 6.
Israel�s feasts were divided into two parts and they
coincided with Israel�s deliverance from Egypt which was
also in two parts. The first part was the �exodus� or the
way out, and the second part, which followed their
wilderness wanderings, was the �eisodus� or the way in. Many
of us are beginning to realise that the Lord, who declares
the end from the beginning (Is.46:9-10), has shown in these
types Israel�s future two part deliverance.
Passover, Unleavened Bread and Weeks were fulfilled in the
Gospels and the Acts, and like Kadesh-barnea, Israel could
have enjoyed their kingdom then and there, see Acts 3:12-21.
However Israel failed another test of faith. They were
called upon to repent and believe in their Messiah by John
the Baptist, The Lord Himself and again, after they
crucified Him, by the twelve and Paul during the Acts
period. But they refused to accept Him and were eventually
set aside again. The Kingdom of Heaven was postponed once
more and Israel are wandering in another wilderness, still
waiting for the fulfilment of Trumpets, Atonement
Tabernacles/Booths, the second set of feasts.
In the next Lesson we examine Israel�s crossing of the
Jordan and their triumphant entry into the Promised Land,
you might like to read Joshua chapters 3-6 and consider this
very important fact. The Feast of Trumpets heralds Israel�s
entry into the promised Kingdom. When Trumpets is fulfilled
in a yet future day, the Captain of the Lord�s hosts,
Israel�s greater Joshua, will destroy their enemies and
gather them into their inheritance
