The Feasts of Israel Christians today are fascinated with the feasts of Israel like perhaps no other generation has been. The question is asked repeatedly Are the feasts for the church or for Israel? Or are they for both? Well, they are rooted in the story and history of Israel so they clearly apply to the Jewish people. But, before we decide if they have application to the church today we need to understand a little more about them. The feasts are tied to the calendar of the nation of Israel, to the pulse of the seasons, and to the passing of their history. These are all woven together like a beautiful tapestry. Our modern calendar simply marks time, but the Jewish calendar was a testimony to God s work in their history and to the expectation of His work in their future. The feasts point to Jesus Christ, to the founding of the church, and to the future of His people. In the celebration of the feasts, community is extremely important; it keeps the memory of that specific occasion alive over years and generations. This shared memory generates a cohesive effect on that people group and establishes traditions by which the group lives. If the feast commemorates a particular event, that becomes firmly embedded in the minds of the participants by the annual repetition of the rites and ceremonies performed. With this in mind the feasts of Israel are actually the feasts of the Lord: He is the focus. Within each feast is a trail that leads to Jesus. The first four feasts point to the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ. Passover When: Nisan 14 (first month of the religious calendar end of March) What: A Lamb was slain for deliverance of the household from death and from Egyptian slavery. Why: To remember and celebrate the Lord s deliverance of Israel through the exodus from Egypt. Old Testament: Exodus 12 13, Leviticus 23:5, Deuteronomy 16:1 7 New Testament: John 1:29, 36; 1 Corinthians 5:7, 1 Peter 1:18 19 Christ Died for our Sins Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God, our Passover who takes away the sins of the world. We are redeemed with the precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ. The first of the feasts is Passover and it is the foundation for all the other feasts. Without Passover there could be no feasts it is the way into freedom and the relationship God desires for His people. Passover celebrates one of the most momentous acts of divine intervention in Israel s history, God s deliverance of the Jews from bondage in Egypt. In the final plague, God destroyed the firstborn of the Egyptians but spared those Israelites whose homes had blood smeared on the doorposts. God had 1 2013 PRECEPT MINISTRIES INTERNATIONAL WWW.PRECEPT.ORG WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/PRECEPT.ORG
declared that the smearing blood on doorframes was the sign of faith he would accept in order to avoid death in a household; God told the Israelites in Exodus 12:14 to celebrate this as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations as a permanent ordinance. This reminder of Israel s deliverance from Egypt, by God s mighty arm, assured them God would act on behalf of a faithful and obedient covenant people. It also reminded them they had once been slaves (Deuteronomy 16:12). The focus of the Passover is remembering the Lord s deliverance of Israel out of Egypt. They must not forget where they had come from. Remember who you are and where you were. Remember who God is and what He did. Remember your redemption for all the days of your life. This is one of the three feasts God wanted celebrated in the central place of worship, the Tabernacle and later the Temple. Together they would worship and remember what God had done. This would continually unify them as God s chosen people, redeemed out of Egypt. In the New Testament, it was at a Passover sedar or celebration when Jesus said the same thing about the New Covenant. In His body given and the blood poured out, eat this bread and drink this cup in remembrance of me... proclaiming the Lord s death until He comes and your full redemption is seen. Today we celebrate communion as a body of believers with that same purpose in mind. Remember who you are and where you were. Remember who God is and what He did. Remember your redemption for all the days of your life. Passover was the beginning of the Jewish religious year and when sinners trust Christ, it is the new beginning of a new life. Israel was not only delivered from judgment; the nation was also delivered from Egypt and set free to go to their promised inheritance. Believers are delivered from judgment and set free to go to their promised inheritance. Unleavened Bread When: Nisan 15 21 (around April) What: No leaven or yeast was to be eaten. It was a remembrance of their hasty departure from Egypt and a symbol of cleansing from corruption. Why: The celebration of Passover was to remember when the Israelites had to leave in such a hurry that there was no time for bread to rise; and their deliverance from Egypt. Old Testament Exodus 12:14 20, Leviticus 23:6 8, Deuteronomy 16:8 New Testament 1 Corinthians 5:8, 1 Peter 1:13 18; 3:22 24; 2 Corinthians 5:21; 6:14 7:1; Philippians 1:21; 2:3 5; 3:8; 4:13 Separation from Sin Jesus knew no sin, nor was any deceit found in Him. He was unblemished and spotless. He was made sin for us that we could be made the righteousness of God in Him. We are to live a life of total surrender to Him, reflected in our lives words, thoughts, actions and attitudes. 2 2013 PRECEPT MINISTRIES INTERNATIONAL WWW.PRECEPT.ORG WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/PRECEPT.ORG
God s instructions for the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Exodus 12:14 20): For seven days you are to eat bread made without yeast. On the first day remove the yeast from your houses, for whoever eats anything with yeast in it from the first day through the seventh must be cut off from Israel. On the first and seventh day of the feast the people were to hold a sacred assembly. No work was to be done on these days, except to prepare food for everyone to eat. For seven days following Passover, the Jews ate only unleavened bread with their meals, and they carefully cleansed all the yeast out of their homes. In many places in Scripture, leaven is a picture sin. Thus getting rid of all leaven illustrates the cleansing of one s life or the removal of sin. The instructions were given twice in this passage possibly to emphasize there was to be absolutely no yeasted bread eaten for the seven full days of the Passover festival. God wanted His people to remember the Exodus because it was the greatest demonstration of God s deliverance in the Old Testament. God wanted His people to know and trust Him as the God who delivers. It was very important that each generation rehearse the events of the original Passover and its meaning. It was a festival to the Lord, therefore a special and solemn celebration which focused on the memorable event year after year. Without an intentional remembrance by the community, even this greatest act of God s deliverance, runs the risk of being forgotten as soon as the oldest members of the group, who had experienced the event, die. The exodus of the Old Testament served as an illustration of God s salvation. The New Testament crucifixion was the ultimate exodus because it delivers not merely from bondage of a controlling Pharaoh, but from bondage to sin itself. It provides for eternal life, not merely life in an earthly promised land. God declared that eating the Passover with its special, unleavened bread was the sign of faith that indicated you were a true member of the covenant community of Israel. First Fruits When: Sunday morning after the 1 st Sabbath after Passover, which of course occurred during the Week of Unleavened Bread. What: A sheaf of the first grain of barley is offered as a Wave Offering. Why: To celebrate the beginning of the harvest and by offering God the first of the harvest, it declared their dependence on Him for the rest. It is a reminder to worship God as the giver of all. Old Testament Leviticus 23:9 14, 2:14 16, Deuteronomy 26:1 11; Numbers 28:26 New Testament 1 Corinthians 15:23; 1 Peter 1:1 11 Christ raised from the Dead A living hope. Christ is the first fruits of the resurrection or the promise of more to come. after that those who are in Christ at His coming. 3 2013 PRECEPT MINISTRIES INTERNATIONAL WWW.PRECEPT.ORG WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/PRECEPT.ORG
The best of a crop was harvested first and dedicated to God, which they brought to the house of the Lord. The first sheaf of the crop of barley was presented as a wave offering before the Lord. This took place on the day after the Passover Sabbath. It was a public acknowledgment that all came from God and belonged to Him. The Israelites were not only to remember that the land was the Lord s and they were only tenants, they were to be aware that the fertility of the soil was not due to one of the foreign gods but rather the Lord s gift to them. The Israelites also presented sacrifices on this day: a burnt offering, a grain offering of 2/10 of an ephah ( an ephah = bushel) of fine flour mixed with oil, and a drink offering of wine. The Jews weren t allowed to eat of the harvest until the first fruits had been given to the Lord. In Proverbs 3:9 10 God promises prosperity to those who honor Him with the first fruits. First fruits facts: Israel was described as God s first fruits (Jer. 2:3). Christ in His resurrection is described as the first fruits of them that sleep. (1 Cor. 15:20, 23). The Holy Spirit is spoken of as a first fruits (Rom. 8:23). Believers are also spoken of as a kind of first fruits (James 1:18). God accepted the sheaf for the whole harvest, and because the Father accepted Jesus Christ, we are accepted in Him. Pentecost/Feast of Weeks When: 50 Days after First fruits (Seven Weeks/Sabbaths after the Day of First fruits). This means it was also on a Sunday. What: Offer a Wave Offering of two leavened loaves of wheat before the Lord, a Burnt Offering of 7 lambs,one bull, 2 rams, grain, oil, wine, a Sin Offering of a male goat, a Peace Offering of 2 male lambs. Why: Celebrate the ingathering of the Spring Harvest. Moses and the people also received the Law at Mt Sinai on this day. Old Testament Leviticus 23:15 21, 22; Deuteronomy 16:9 12 New Testament Ephesians 1:13 14, 4:30; 5:18 27; 1 Corinthians 12:12 13; Galatians 5:22 23; Acts 2 Birth of the Church The Holy Spirit came and united the believers into the church, symbolized by the two leavened loaves (Jews and Gentiles). Pentecost only lasted one day and was observed on the 50 th day after the barley sheaf was waved before the Lord at the end of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Pentecost was also called the Feast of Weeks, because it was celebrated seven weeks after first fruits. Instead of the priest waving sheaves before the Lord, he waved two loaves of bread baked with leaven. They also make sacrifices of seven male lambs, one bull and two rams were to be presented as a burnt 4 2013 PRECEPT MINISTRIES INTERNATIONAL WWW.PRECEPT.ORG WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/PRECEPT.ORG
offering to the Lord. A male goat was to be sacrificed as a sin offering, and two male lambs were given for a fellowship offering. No work was to be done on this day. This event would have marked the end of the wheat harvest, and the Jews were commanded to remember the poor as they harvested the grain God had generously given them. They were reminded to leave the corners of the field for the poor and alien to glean. Pentecost is the day the Holy Spirit came in flaming tongues of fire to the disciples (Acts 2). Unless Jesus Christ had died, been raised from the dead, and then returned to heaven, the Holy Spirit could not have come to earth to minister. God s people can only function in this world by the empowering of the Holy Spirit for service and witness. It also enables them to endure persecution and suffering for the glory of the Lord. It is the Spirit who baptizes the believers into the body of Christ (Acts 1:5, 1 Corinthians 12:13). These feasts all pointed toward and were fulfilled in Christ and in the coming of the Holy Spirit. They, like all the Old Testament sacrifices pointed to Him. All of these sacrifices were fulfilled in His one offering on the cross (Heb. 10:1 18). Christ: is our Passover (1 Corinthians 5:7). is the first fruits of those who have died (1 Corinthians 15:20 23). inaugurated the birth of the church on The Day of Pentecost (Acts 2). In addition to the coming of Messiah, the last three feasts also depict the future Kingdom of God. Feast of Trumpets When: Tishri 1 (seventh month, around mid September) What: Trumpets were sounded to call Israel to assembly and therefore, accountability. It was an ingathering of the people. Why: To gather to the Lord, to prepare to meet with Him. Old Testament Leviticus 23:23 25, 26:27 33; Numbers 10:1 10; Deuteronomy 28:58 67; Isaiah 11:1 12, 27:12 13 New Testament Matthew 24:29 31; 2 Corinthians 5:20; 1 Corinthians 3:10 15; 15:52; 1 Thessalonians 4:13 18; Revelation 19:6 9 Calling of God s People Because of their unbelief and rejection of Christ, Israel became a scattered people but God will gather them again to their land in the last days. Following the Feast of Pentecost, it is four months before the next feast. Some believe this gap represents the period we re in now, in which we should be totally involved in the harvest and eagerly waiting for the sound of the trumpet (1 Thessalonians 4:13 18). The priests blew the silver trumpets for three occasions: to call the people together, to announce war, and to announce special times, such as the new moon. 5 2013 PRECEPT MINISTRIES INTERNATIONAL WWW.PRECEPT.ORG WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/PRECEPT.ORG
The one day celebration of the Feast of Trumpets was to occur on the first day of the seventh month in which no work was to be done and an offering was made to the Lord. The day was accompanied by trumpet blasts. The Feast of Trumpets marked the end of one agricultural year and the beginning of another one. (Rosh Hashanah, the head of the year ). There s also a prophetic message to this feast. We see in Deuteronomy 28:58 67 that because of their unbelief and rejection of Him, God scattered Israel. But God will gather them again to their land in the last days. Although this feast relates to Israel, we can make an application to the church. Some of the saints are in heaven and some are on earth, and those on earth are scattered all over the globe. But according to 2 Thessalonians 2:1, we should all be waiting expectantly for the sound of the trumpet and our gathering together unto Him. Day of Atonement Yom Kippur A Day of Fasting When: Tishri 10, (seventh month, around late September) What: The day the high priest went into the Holy of Holies to present the offering of blood of bull and goat on the Mercy Seat to cover sins. Why: God called for the yearly Day of Atonement for the covering of the people s sins for the past year. Old Testament Leviticus 16:29 34; 23:26 32; Numbers 29:7 11 New Testament Hebrews 2:17 18; 3:1; 7 8, 9 10 Forgiveness The scattered nation will be gathered and the sinful nation will be cleansed. The most important day of the year for the Old Testament Jew was the Day of Atonement Yom Kippur. The Day of Atonement was proclaimed a fast, reminding the Israelites of Yahweh s holiness and their own sinfulness (including the high priest). It included a purification ceremony in the tabernacle, and temple as well. Fifteen sacrifices were offered, (sixteen counting the goat of Azazel): thirteen burnt offerings and four sin offerings. Two goats were placed at the entrance of the tent of meeting where a the high priest cast a lot, assigning one goat for Yahweh and one for Azazel. The goat assigned to Yahweh was to be sacrificed for a sin offering, the other was placed before the Lord to be dedicated as a scapegoat and driven into the desert, bearing the guilt of Israel s sins. Aaron confessed all the iniquity of the Israelites as well as their transgressions, symbolically placing them on the head of the goat. The appointed person then took the animal to the wilderness outside of the camp where he was to free it. The high priest had to repeat the ritual of the Day of Atonement year after year because the sacrifices only covered the sins of the people, it did not do away with them.but Jesus Christ came at the right time (Galatians 4:4 5) and did what the blood of bulls and goats could not do. His sacrifice, His death on the cross, was the payment of sins and removal of guilt for mankind. The Day of Atonement teaches us there can be no salvation from sin apart from the shedding of blood. 6 2013 PRECEPT MINISTRIES INTERNATIONAL WWW.PRECEPT.ORG WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/PRECEPT.ORG
The sacrifices offered on the Day of Atonement brought a covering for another year, but Jesus Christ s sacrifice brought the removal of sin. There is also a prophetic message to the Day of Atonement. The scattered nation of Israel will be gathered to her land, the Jews will see their rejected Messiah, repent of their sins (Zechariah 12:10 13:1), and be cleansed. The Old Testament sacrifices were a foreshadowing of the sacrifice of Christ. Feast of Booths or Tabernacles When: Tishri 15 21, plus Tishri 22 (the 8 th day as a holy assembly) (early October) What: For one week, the people lived in makeshift Booths of leafy branches symbolizing their journey through the wilderness after leaving Egypt. Why: Celebration of God s provision and protection in the Wilderness. Old Testament Leviticus 23:33 44, Deuteronomy 16:13 17 New Testament 2 Corinthians 6:14 18; Matthew 25:21; 2 Timothy 4:1, 8; 2 Peter 3:3 13; Revelation 20:4 6 The Joy of the Lord Rejoicing and thanking God for His abundant gifts and all that He has done. Five days after the Day of Atonement, or the fifteenth day of the seventh month, the Feast of Tabernacles was celebrated. During this seven day celebration no work was to be done on the first day or on the eighth day. In between these days of complete rest offerings were to be presented to the Lord on each day of the seven day period. The Feast of Tabernacles (Booths) reminded Israel of God s blessings in the past. He had led them out of Egyptian bondage, cared for them in the wilderness, and brought them into their promised inheritance. Once they had lived in booths and tents, but in the Promised land they would live in houses! Rough shelters or booths were to be built in which the people lived for the week of the feast to remind them of their departure from Egypt and their long journey to Sinai. They were to rejoice in the Lord, during the entire celebration of the feast, giving thanks to God for His abundant gifts. This was the only festival where rejoicing is commanded by God. Every seven years there was a public reading of the covenant that the Israelites committed to under Moses. This was designed to keep their obligations as well as the blessings of the covenant fresh in their minds. No nation in history has suffered as the Jews have suffered, but one day their suffering will be turned into glory and joy. A great principle to remember from this is that joy always follows cleansing and that the Day of Atonement came before the Feast of Tabernacles. 7 2013 PRECEPT MINISTRIES INTERNATIONAL WWW.PRECEPT.ORG WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/PRECEPT.ORG
The prophetic message in The Feast of Tabernacles, which is often associated with the reign of God in the Old Testament, awaits its fulfillment in the second coming of Christ, where a final ingathering will take place in the judgment of the world (Revelation 14:18; 19:15). For Israel, the best is yet to come! The scattered people will be gathered; the sinful people will be cleansed; the sorrowing people will rejoice. And for Christians, the best is yet to come; for we shall be together with the Lord and His people, cleansed and rejoicing in His presence. Wrapping it up Should the church celebrate the feasts? No, we are part of the new covenant. The feasts have all been fulfilled in our relationship with Christ. They pointed toward Him, and we are now in Him. We are living out the fulfillment of the feasts of the Lord. Should we remember the feasts? Of course, they remind us of everything God has done for us. Remembering them and studying them should focus our hearts and minds on the amazing things that God has done for us. They should cause us to draw near to Him in worship, and they should remind us that it is He who drew us to Himself. The feasts point to our Savior, our Deliverer, our Messiah. We don t celebrate them so God will approve of us or love us more. We study and remember them because He already approves of us and loves us unconditionally. 8 2013 PRECEPT MINISTRIES INTERNATIONAL WWW.PRECEPT.ORG WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/PRECEPT.ORG