The Feasts of the L-rd

[M45510G1C]

I am starting this thread is response to a coment Artsylady made in the chrismas thread located in Apologetics.

My intent is not to debate the present application of the Feasts/who they are for/whether or not we should celebrate them.

It came to my attention, thanks to Artsylady, that many Christians may not have a good understanding of these beautiful Feasts and what they mean.

I hope that this thread will be edifying for all, these Feasts are really awesome!

Artsylady, since you inquired about Unleavened Bread, we will start there.

This feast is given to us in Exodus 12, starting at v 15.

For seven days, you may eat only bread made without yeast. On the very first day you must remove every trace of yeast from your homes. Anyone who eats bread made with yeast at any time during the seven days of the festival will be cut off from the community of Israel. On the first day of the festival, and again on the seventh day, all the people must gather for a time of special worship. No work of any kind may be done on these days except in the preparation of food. "Celebrate this Festival of Unleavened Bread, for it will remind you that I brought your forces out of the land of Egypt on this very day. This festival will be a permanent regulation for you, to be kept from generation to generation. Only bread without yeast may be eaten from the evening of the fourteenth day of the month until the evening of the twenty-first day of the month. During those seven days, there must be no trace of yeast in your homes. Anyone who eats anything made with yeast during this week will be cut off from the community of Israel. These same regulations apply to the foreigners living with you, as if they had been born among you. I repeat, during those days you must not eat anything made with yeast. Wherever you live, eat only bread that has no yeast in it. (NLT)

Hag HaMatzot or the Feast of Unleavened Bread is a week spent without leaven. This feast is often confused with Passover, or Pesach, but it is actually a Feast unto itself. It begins the day after Passover Eve, and due to their close proximity the names are often interchangeable. This feast is a commemoration of the Israelites redemption from slavery in Egypt as well as our redemption from sin in Yeshua the Messiah.

The theme of this festival could be said to be freedom. Freedom from bondage, sin and death. The unleavened bread eaten during this week is called Matzah, which is where the festival gets its name. It is also known as the bread of affliction. It contains no yeast or anything that will make it rise. The Orthodox Jews have very specific guidelines for how Matzah is to be prepared for this Feast, but I am only addressing the guidlines laid down by G-d in Scripture.

The Hebrew word for leavening used here is Chametz, it literally means sour, a fermentation process. As we see in Scripture, leaven is used as an analogy for sin.

Mat. 16:6 Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.

1 Cor 5:6

Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?

1 Cor 5:7-8

Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

Gal. 5:9

A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.

The Matzoh is also a graphical analogy for Yeshua. It is pierced, as He was pierced, and it is also striped, or bruised, reminding us of Isaiah's words:

53:5But he was wounded and crushed for our sins. He was beaten that we might have peace. He was whipped, and we were healed!

The days leading up to this Feast are a time of cleansing. A sort of spring cleaning takes place as we remove every speck of Chametz from our home. At the same time we look inwards, to seek the spiritual Chametz, or sin, in order to rid ourselves of such.

There is a lot of powerful imagery present in each and every Feast. I will leave off here, feel free to ask questions or to add any insight you may have to this Feast.

[nebula]

Thanks M!

I know Shiloh and maybe some others have written about the feasts in other forums, but it's always good to read about them again from other people.

looking forward to the rest!

Edited August 31, 2005 by nebula

[nebula]

Yeh I know Shiloh has written about them, but I had a direct inquiry in the Christmas thread.  I felt that the Feasts desrved their own thread, squeezing them into a nothero ne really doesn't do em justice.  I believe the threads regarding the Feasts also tend to be in the Hebrew Roots section whcih not many people read.  Whether or not people choose to keep them, I think they should understand what they are and what they mean.  It can be embarrising to witness to a Jew and be caught totally off guard by one's lack of knowledge of these important events. 

I'm right with you!

Just wanted to acknowledge the input that's been put in before on this.

Like I said, I'm more than happy to hear more and again!

[Guest yod]

It's too bad that this thread has already turned into jokes.

This is one area where christians who will listen find the most blessing. There is a richness and depth to the Feasts that have not been taught in the church since the jews were kicked out over 1700 years ago.

If you don't know the prophetic meanings of the Feast Days, then you have been robbed.

[M45510G1C]

Yeh, I'd like it if a Mod could delete all of the off-topic posts please.

[traveller]

I agree, yod.

I split off the jokes and the posts that de-railed this thread. Please, stick to the OP.

Nice thread

[M45510G1C]

Cool, thanks for the editing

Moving along, gonna backtrack just a bit and go over Pesach (Passover).

This Festival really is foundational in the Redemption plan. I feel that if you are gonna study just one Feast, study Pesach. This Feast begins the Festival year in the beginning of spring. We find a single sentence about it in Leviticus 25 v 5

"First comes the L-rd's Passover, which begins at twilight on its appointed day in early spring.

The dates of the Feasts are determined by the phases of the moon, not by the Earth;s revolution around the sun. Passover is always on the first full moon of spring, starting at sunset, not sunrise.

This Feast, directly preceeding Unleavened Bread, could be said to be about salvation. or redemption. Most of us are probably familiar with the Passover story found in Exodus:

So Moses announced to Pharaoh, "This is what the LORD says: About midnight I will pass through Egypt.  All the firstborn sons will die in every family in Egypt, from the oldest son of Pharaoh, who sits on the throne, to the oldest son of his lowliest slave. Even the firstborn of the animals will die.  Then a loud wail will be heard throughout the land of Egypt; there has never been such wailing before, and there never will be again.  But among the Israelites it will be so peaceful that not even a dog will bark. Then you will know that the LORD makes a distinction between the Egyptians and the Israelites.  All the officials of Egypt will come running to me, bowing low. 'Please leave!' they will beg. 'Hurry! And take all your followers with you.' Only then will I go!" Then, burning with anger, Moses left Pharaoh's presence.  Now the LORD had told Moses, "Pharaoh will not listen to you. But this will give me the opportunity to do even more mighty miracles in the land of Egypt."  Although Moses and Aaron did these miracles in Pharaoh's presence, the LORD hardened his heart so he wouldn't let the Israelites leave the country.

Now the LORD gave the following instructions to Moses and Aaron while they were still in the land of Egypt:  "From now on, this month will be the first month of the year for you.  Announce to the whole community that on the tenth day of this month each family must choose a lamb or a young goat for a sacrifice.  If a family is too small to eat an entire lamb, let them share the lamb with another family in the neighborhood. Whether or not they share in this way depends on the size of each family and how much they can eat.  This animal must be a one-year-old male, either a sheep or a goat, with no physical defects.  "Take special care of these lambs until the evening of the fourteenth day of this first month. Then each family in the community must slaughter its lamb.  They are to take some of the lamb's blood and smear it on the top and sides of the doorframe of the house where the lamb will be eaten.  That evening everyone must eat roast lamb with bitter herbs and bread made without yeast.  The meat must never be eaten raw or boiled; roast it all, including the head, legs, and internal organs. Do not leave any of it until the next day. Whatever is not eaten that night must be burned before morning.  "Wear your traveling clothes as you eat this meal, as though prepared for a long journey. Wear your sandals, and carry your walking sticks in your hands. Eat the food quickly, for this is the LORD's Passover.  On that night I will pass through the land of Egypt and kill all the firstborn sons and firstborn male animals in the land of Egypt. I will execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt, for I am the LORD!  The blood you have smeared on your doorposts will serve as a sign. When I see the blood, I will pass over you. This plague of death will not touch you when I strike the land of Egypt.  "You must remember this day forever. Each year you will celebrate it as a special festival to the LORD.

It continues here, regarding Unleavened Bread, then picks up again with Passover in v. 21

Then Moses called for the leaders of Israel and said, "Tell each of your families to slaughter the lamb they have set apart for the Passover. Drain each lamb's blood into a basin. Then take a cluster of hyssop branches and dip it into the lamb's blood. Strike the hyssop against the top and sides of the doorframe, staining it with the blood. And remember, no one is allowed to leave the house until morning. For the LORD will pass through the land and strike down the Egyptians. But when he sees the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe, the LORD will pass over your home. He will not permit the Destroyer to enter and strike down your firstborn. "Remember, these instructions are permanent and must be observed by you and your descendants forever. When you arrive in the land the LORD has promised to give you, you will continue to celebrate this festival. Then your children will ask, 'What does all this mean? What is this ceremony about?' And you will reply, 'It is the celebration of the LORD's Passover, for he passed over the homes of the Israelites in Egypt. And though he killed the Egyptians, he spared our families and did not destroy us.'" Then all the people bowed their heads and worshiped. So the people of Israel did just as the LORD had commanded through Moses and Aaron.

And at midnight the LORD killed all the firstborn sons in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn son of Pharaoh, who sat on the throne, to the firstborn son of the captive in the dungeon. Even the firstborn of their livestock were killed. Pharaoh and his officials and all the people of Egypt woke up during the night, and loud wailing was heard throughout the land of Egypt. There was not a single house where someone had not died.

There is some real signifigance in the plagues leading up to this, and they are an excellent study unto themselves. However, I am only going to concern myself with Passover for the sake of brevity.

On this day the Israelites were delivered from bondage, and saved from the penalty of sin, by the blood of the lamb. An obvious forshadowing of the Blood of the Lamb (Yeshua) freeing from the bondage of sin.

John 1:29

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look! There is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

This was quite a profound statement to the Jews, who had been celebrating Passover for ~1,500 years.

Traditionally a lamb would be chosen outside of Jerusalem on the 10th of Nisan by the High Priest. The Priest would then lead the lamb into the city while crowds lined the streets waving palm branches and singing "Baruch Haba B'Shem Adonai" (Blessed is he who comes in the name of the L-rd). Yeshua entered Jerusalem on a donkey this very same day. The same people who praised the entry of the sacrificial lamb were likely the same ones praising the entry of the Sacrificial Lamb! This was a fulfillment of prophecy, the Jews knew their Messiah would be enthroned as King at Jerusalem.

Now the lamb would be taken to the Temple, tied up and inspected for blemish. Yeshua went and taught in the Temple for four days, the religious officials performed a sort of spiritual inspection on Him, attempting to trip Him up, but they were unable to as He was pure. Furthermore he is inspected by Pilate and Herod who can find no fault with him. Yeshua fulfilled this Feast to the day, it is no coincidence that His cricifixion (sacrifice) happpened at this time.

When we as believers observe Passover today we do not do it in remembrance of our bondage in Egypt, which was a shadow of our greater redemption through Yeshua's sacrifice, THE Passover Lamb.

There is a lot more to this Feast, and hopefully we will see some good, edifying comments in this thread .