The Festivals of the Lord

[Guest shiloh357]

This thread will begin a discussion of the Festivals of the Lord as outlined for us in the Torah, or the first five books of the Bible. They serve as a prophetic timetable and also as a means of a more deeper understanding of Messiah.

The Festivals are important, because the New Testament is written in the language of the Festivals. A lack of familarity with the Festivals of the Lord causes certain things in the New Testament to read over and significant amounts of illumination are missed.

Many refer to them as the "Feasts of Israel or the "Jewish Feasts." These are misnomers because the Festivals have their origin with God, not with the Jews.

This thread will begin with the Passover. My intention is start concurrently running threads, seven altogether, each dealing with a different Festival.

Let us begin with our core passage in Leviticus 23

Leviticus 23:1-5

The Lord spoke again to Moses, saying, [2] "Speak to the sons of Israel, and say to them, 'The Lord's appointed times which you shall proclaim as holy convocations-- My appointed times are these: [3] 'For six days work may be done; but on the seventh day there is a sabbath of complete rest, a holy convocation. You shall not do any work; it is a sabbath to the Lord in all your dwellings.

[4] 'These are the appointed times of the Lord, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at the times appointed for them. [5] 'In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight is the Lord's Passover.

We see here that the Festivals are called "Appointed Times." The word in Hebrew is "Moedim (Moe-eh-deem). It is the same word used in Genesis 1:14 for the word "Seasons." Genesis 1:14 Then God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years;

We can see that God had his appointed times in mind when he created the sun, stars and moon. The world was created to operate around his Festivals, His appointed times. The ages were already planned, and God has allowed us to see his plans through His Festivals. He has not left us in the dark.

Now for Passover.

Leviticus 23:4,5:

[4] 'These are the appointed times of the Lord, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at the times appointed for them. [5] 'In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight is the Lord's Passover.

We can see great things about our Messiah in this great Festival. I will be using Exodus 12 as the main passage discussing Passover.

Exodus 12:1-14

Now the Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, [2] "This month shall be the beginning of months for you; it is to be the first month of the year to you. [3] "Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, 'On the tenth of this month they are each one to take a lamb for themselves, according to their fathers' households, a lamb for each household.

Nisan is a new beginning. It is the month of redemption and salvation. This is the starting point. Repenting of our sins and accepting the blood of Yeshua is the first step in our walk with God.

Each household was to select a lamb on the tenth day of the month. This was to a personal thing. Each of us must choose the Messiah. Each of us must choose salvation.

The children of Israel chose their Messiah. John 12:1

Jesus, therefore, six days before the Passover, came to Bethany where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.

Yeshua had come to Bethany 6 days before Passover. This is when Mary, Lazarus' sister anointed Yeshua's feet with perfume. Now we read in John the following event that occured the next day:

John 12:12-15

On the next day the great multitude who had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, [13] took the branches of the palm trees, and went out to meet Him, and began to cry out, "Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel." [14] And Jesus, finding a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written, [15] "Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your King is coming, seated on a donkey's colt."

The children of Israel chose Yeshua as the Lamb of God on the tenth day of the month as He came riding through Jerusalem while riding on the colt of a donkey.

Exodus 12:5-6

'Your lamb shall be an unblemished male a year old; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats. [6] 'And you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month, then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel is to kill it at twilight.

For four days the lamb was to be inspected for four days. It was after Yeshua's triumphal entry into Jerusalem that He recieved the greatest degree of scrutiny from the religous leaders. It was then they tested Him and tried to discredit Him through trick questions and seemingly impossible dilemmas, but He overcame each, and was proven to be spotless. They could not legitimately find fault with Him, nor could they trick him into making a mistake.

Why did the lamb have to be a male? Because, sin came into the world through a man, Adam, according to Romans 5. Yeshua is the "second Adam" through whom redemption was made and the curse of sin was reversed.

More tomorrow...

[ginakay]

I'll be reading, thanks for the study on this subject.

[Guest shiloh357]

[6] 'And you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month, then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel is to kill it at twilight. Exodus 12:6

Why was the lamb killed at twilight? Actually the word for twilight here in Hebrew means "between the evenings." In anicent Israel the day was divided up into 8 three hour blocks of time.

6a.m. to 9a.m. was the greater morning.

9a.m. to 12:00p.m. was the lesser morning.

12p.m. to 3p.m. was the greater evening.

3p.m. to 6p.m. was the lesser evening.

6p.m. to 9p.m. was the first watch.

9p.m. to 12a.m. was the second watch.

12a.m. to 3 a.m was the third watch.

3a.m. to 6a.m. was the fourth watch.

Yeshua died at the ninth hour, when the lamb was killed in the Temple. He died between the greater and lesser evenings at exactly 3p.m. in accordance with God's rules for Passover.

Now I want to hit on something else here. The Passover in Exodus 12 was unique. This was the only one of its type. After the Children of Israel were in the promised land, It was the priest who would do sacrificing. It was the priest who would select the lambs suitable for Passover. People would then purchase the lamb for the sacrifices.

Just as a side note, and I will get into this in more detail when we look at Tabernacles, but the shephards who were guarding their flocks the night Yeshua was born, were no ordinary shephards. They were Levitical shephards. Their purpose was to keep these flocks pure. These sheep were set aside to be used later for Passover and for other sacrifices as well. They were guarding the sheep in a field in between Jerusalem and Bethlehem.

Now when Yeshua went to baptised at the Jordan, John the immerser saw him and cried "Behold The Lamb of God which takes away the sins of the world!" John was of the priestly lineage. He was qualified to choose the Lamb. Yeshua was a Levitical Passover sacrifice.

In Exodus twelve, it was the head of each home who would kill the lamb. You know, God knew what he was doing here. He knows human nature. Can you imagine, you have this little lamb in your care for a few days, you feed it, you pet it, you give it a name, you play with it. It learns to trust you and to love you. It has no idea what is about to happen. There is an emotional connection you are going to make with that little animal. Now, you have to kill it. It will not cry out because it trusts you with all of its little heart. That would not be an easy thing to do, would it? God intends to make this a personal thing. It is not easy for anyone to do this. God wanted to make this a difficult and emotional experience.

More tomorrow!!

[Guest shiloh357]

[6] 'And you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month, then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel is to kill it at twilight. Exodus 12:6

The whole assembly was to kill the lamb. Every household was responsible for killing the lamb. It was everyone's responsibility. Even if you did not actually hold the knife, your HOUSEHOLD killed it. All of you. We are all responsible.

The Jews are blamed for the death of Yeshua when they should be thanked. Yeshua's death was a Levitical sacrifice, and therefore only Jews could have selected the lamb to be sacrificed. Only Jews could have inspected him for blemish. Only a Levite (John the Baptist) could have declared "Behold the Lamb of God which takes away the sins of the world!!" One other thing. It was the Father of the house which actually did the killing. Likewise it was our heavenly Father who ultimately offered His Lamb, our Messiah as a sacrifice for our sin.

Now on to something else...

Exodus 12:7

'Moreover, they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses in which they eat it.

Exodus 12:13

'And the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live; and when I see the blood I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.

Exodus 12:22-23

"And you shall take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood which is in the basin, and apply some of the blood that is in the basin to the lintel and the two doorposts; and none of you shall go outside the door of his house until morning. [23] "For the Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to come in to your houses to smite you.

Here we get to what it's all about. The blood of the lamb. The blood of the lamb served as a covering for the children of Israel. It would have worked for the Egyptians. All God was looking at was the blood.

God's judgement will fall upon those without the blood of Messiah covering their hearts. Those of us who are under grace are under the blood. Those who are sinners are under the Law, and thus under God's judgement.

Why was the blood applied to the door? The door was symbolic of the whole house. God told the children of Israel at Sinai that they were to write the words of the Torah upon their doorposts. Many Jewish people today put a mezzuzah upon their doorposts which represents the Torah. The spiritual significance of that tradtion amounts to saying "The Word of God takes top priority in my home." IN the same way, placing the blood of the lamb upon the door, declared that this was the "household of God." The only way for any of us to belong to the household of God, is by the blood of Yeshua our Messiah.

To be continued...

[Guest shiloh357]

Exodus 12:8-11

'And they shall eat the flesh that same night, roasted with fire, and they shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. [9] 'Do not eat any of it raw or boiled at all with water, but rather roasted with fire, both its head and its legs along with its entrails. [10] 'And you shall not leave any of it over until morning, but whatever is left of it until morning, you shall burn with fire. [11]'Now you shall eat it in this manner: with your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste-- it is the Lord's Passover.

They had to eat the body of the lamb roasted in fire. I believe that we eat spritually of Messiah was we partake of his Word every day. Man does not live by physical food, but by the spiritual nourishment of the Word of God.

Fire represents judgement. All of God's judgement against sin fell on Yeshua. All of His wrath and hatred of sin was placed upon Messiah as He hung on the crosss. This is important because 2Corinthians 5 tells us that God was in Messiah reconciling the world unto Himself. Man, the offending party, could not reconcile himself to God; that was hopeless. God had no need to reconcile Himself to man, because God had not sinned against man, and God was the offended party. Soooo, God's solution was to become man and pay for man's sin Himself. God therefore took on the part of the offender as well as the offended, and reconciled man to Himself on man's behalf. This required God to literally judge HIMSELF for man's sin. It is so incredible what He was willing to do for us.

We see that they were to eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. Leaven represents sin. Yeshua said that the unleavened bread represented His body. He was a perfect and sinless sacrifice. So when partaking of the lamb the children of Israel were partaking of His death. Eating the unleavened bread testifys of His sinlessness as the perfect lamb of God.

The bitter herbs represent the trials and bondages of our sinful past. They also speak of of the bitterness of what Messiah went through on the cross. This is something that should never be forgotten. We should never allow ourselves to become glib when talking about our Messiah's death and sacrifice for us. It should always be something we speak of reverently. The bitter herbs are to remind us that the price for our redemption was great, and was payed for at a great, and agonizingly painful price.

Why was it eaten with their loins girded, a staff in their hand and shoes on thier feet? Their deliverance was at hand and God was expecting them to act on that deliverance immediately. They were leaving Egypt (sin) that night.

The idea of having our loins girded, shoes on and a staff in our hand speaks to having our hearts ready to serve God today. We need to be ever ready to do our Father's bidding. We are to immediately leave this world's sinful system behind in order to serve God. This is reasonable given the price that He had to pay for salvation.

More tomorrow...

[nebula]

Interesting stuff!

I never made the connection between John the Baptist being a Levite and pointing out the Lamb before. Though I did make the connection about the need of the High Priest to offer up the sacrifice.

I have one question though - if there might be an answer to it.

Why did Jesus/Yeshua have to be scourged by the Romans? Was there any prophetic significance to that you know of?

(Sorry to bust in the middle of your explanation like this with the question, but I might forget later.)

[Guest shiloh357]

Nebula,

I never made the connection between John the Baptist being a Levite and pointing out the Lamb before. Though I did make the connection about the need of the High Priest to offer up the sacrifice.

I have one question though - if there might be an answer to it.

Why did Jesus/Yeshua have to be scourged by the Romans? Was there any prophetic significance to that you know of?

(Sorry to bust in the middle of your explanation like this with the question, but I might forget later.)

Excellent question. You can "bust in" anytime you want.

I believe the scourging or at least the results of the scourging are prophesied. For example:

Psalm 22:16-17

For dogs have surrounded me;

A band of evildoers has encompassed me;

They pierced my hands and my feet.

[17] I can count all my bones. They look, they stare at me;

I believe that the scourging may very well have exposed his bones in places, due to its severity. Not to mention that that the blood lost would have caused a great deal of dehydration which is mentioned in that Psalm. Also the following from Isaiah 53:

Isaiah 53:2

For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot,

And like a root out of parched ground;

He has no stately form or majesty

That we should look upon Him,

Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him.

Some have seen this a passage telling us that Yeshua was not a physically attractive man. I don't believe that is what it is saying at all. I believe it is describing Yeshua during his flogging and crucifixion. He was not a pretty sight to behold. My guess is that he did not even look human after they finished with him.

Furthermore,

Isaiah 53:5

But He was pierced through for our transgressions,

He was crushed for our iniquities;

The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,

And by His scourging we are healed.

Did I answer your question? If not, let me know and I will take another crack at it.

[nebula]

Sord-of. I was just thinking that with all the things that transpired that the feasts were reflections of - if the scourging was included in this.

Watching The Passion, I wondered why did it have to be so severe?

The only answer I could get was that because our sin was so severe.

I was just wondering if there was some tie-in with everything else that was "required."

[Guest shiloh357]

Sord-of. I was just thinking that with all the things that transpired that the feasts were reflections of - if the scourging was included in this.

Watching The Passion, I wondered why did it have to be so severe?

The only answer I could get was that because our sin was so severe.

I was just wondering if there was some tie-in with everything else that was "required."

Ah, I see what you are saying. Is there a festival connection to the scourging?

I will do some searching but off hand I do not believe that there is a specific connection.

I believe that the scourging could be included in the bitter herbs representing the pain and agony he suffered.

[Guest yod]

The Suffering and Glory of the Servant

isaiah 52

13 See, my servant will act wisely ;

he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted.

14 Just as there were many who were appalled at him -

his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man

and his form marred beyond human likeness- 15 so will he sprinkle many nations,

and kings will shut their mouths because of him.

For what they were not told, they will see,

and what they have not heard, they will understand.