Three Important Feasts January 30, 2014 Pesach, Shavuot and Sukkot Deuteronomy 16 Page 1 We are in the second sermon of Moses to the nation on the east side of the Jordan Across from them is the Promised Land This is not the generation that left Egypt That generation has died due to This is the next generation and Moses is doing for them that which their parents did not do Training them We are about to reminded of only three feasts These are the ones which call on the nation to go to wherever God establishes His name and celebrate there All the men are required to Deuteronomy 16:5 6 You are not permitted to slaughter () the passover sacrifice in any of the settlements that the LORD your God is giving you; but at the place where the LORD your God will choose to establish His name, there alone shall you slaughter ()the passover sacrifice, in the evening, at sundown, the time of day when you departed from Egypt. (Tanakh) In both places where () appear is an untranslated term It is the first and last letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Passover also known as Weeks also known as Booths also known All three carry significance for the Jew and for us as believers Pesach Pesach - the Lord s Passover, means such sheltering and protection as is found under the outstretched wings of the Almighty. Ceil Rosen and Moishe Rosen, Christ in the Passover: Why Is This Night Different? (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2006), 27. And this term pesach is applied (1) to the ceremony and (2) to the lamb the slain lamb, the sheltering behind its blood and eating of its flesh, constituted the pesach, the protection of God s chosen people beneath the sheltering wings of the Almighty It was not merely that the Lord passed by the houses of Israelites, but that He stood on guard protecting each bloodsprinkled door!
Page 2 Ceil Rosen and Moishe Rosen, Christ in the Passover: Why Is This Night Different? (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2006), 27 28. This was a serious historic event, was affected Everything changed as a result God does that for us as believers He changes our and gives us a All who had been in the land of Egypt who were firstborn were under a sentence of death God makes provision to save those under this sentence This is the grace of God and the mercy of God The difference lay in the blood of the lamb put upon the doorpost. Each home protected by the blood would not be touched by the death angel. J. Vernon McGee, Thru the Bible Commentary, electronic ed., Ex 11:10 (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1997). Progression Genesis 4 a lamb offered for a man Exodus 12 a lamb offered for a family Exodus 29 a lamb for a nation John 1 The Lamb for the world Every detail about the Passover points to The tenth of the month is when the lamb is to be selected The month is Nisan For four days the lamb is examined to ensure it is without blemish Jesus presented Himself on the 10 th of Nisan on what we call Palm Sunday John 12:12 13 On the next day the large crowd who had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took the branches of the palm trees and went out to meet Him, and began to shout, Hosanna! BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD, even the King of Israel. Luke 23:4 Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, I find no guilt in this man. Matthew 27:3 4 Then when Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that He had been condemned, he felt remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, I have sinned by betraying innocent blood. But they said, What is that to us? See to that yourself!
Page 3 The lamb is to be killed between the two evenings Then the blood of the lamb is to be applied to the doorposts and the lintel of the house in which it is being eaten in In Exodus 12, note the progression: Verse 3 a lamb Verse 4 the lamb Verse 5 your lamb For the lamb to be effective in your life, He must become lamb Notice the priest cannot do this for you Mark 14:22 25 While they were eating, He took some bread, and after a blessing He broke it, and gave it to them, and said, Take it; this is My body. And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. And He said to them, This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. Truly I say to you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God. Nothing left over, burn what is left When Jesus completed His work on the cross, there was nothing left over to do, it was a To be eaten with the eater ready to travel Speaks to Our walk (Ephesians 4:1) The fact we are only passing through this world (1 John 2:15) We are not to be of the world (John 17:14) The Covenant with Abraham is regarded as occurring on the Passover, Gen 15; Abraham is regarded as having entertained his heavenly guests by the oaks of Mamre on Passover; Sodom is regarded as being destroyed following Passover; Jericho is regarded to have fallen on Passover; the handwriting on the wall in Daniel 5 is regarded to have been on Passover. These are just traditions, but it is curious that Passover surfaces historically as a significant date. Chuck Missler, Notes on Exodus Why God is Doing This
Exodus 12:12 Page 4 For I will go through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments I am the LORD. The only thing that matters, the only way the firstborn is saved and not killed, is the Once the blood is applied, it is time to leave Egypt, once we as believers have the blood of THE LAMB applied, it is time to the world and Him The only thing that saves you and me is the shed blood of Jesus Christ Passover was to be celebrated on the 14 th day of the month and then followed with a week long celebration Passover Feast of Unleavened Bread Firstfruits Leaven a type of It doesn t take a lot of leaven to do the job It doesn t take a lot of sin either Jesus rose from the dead on the Feast of Firstfruits The book of Jubilees written in the second century BC gives us background Jubilees 49:15 19 And do thou command the children of Israel to observe the passover throughout their days, every year, once a year on the day of its fixed time, and it shall come for a memorial well pleasing before the Lord, and no plague shall come upon them to slay or to smite in that year in which they celebrate the passover in its season in every respect according to His command. 16 And they shall not eat it outside the sanctuary of the Lord, but before the sanctuary of the Lord, and all the people of the congregation of Israel shall celebrate it in its appointed season. 17 And every man who has come upon its day shall eat it in the sanctuary of your God before the Lord from twenty years old and upward; for thus is it written and ordained that they should eat it in the sanctuary of the Lord. 18 And when the children of Israel come into the land which they are to possess, into the land of Canaan, and set up the tabernacle of the Lord in the midst of the land in one of their tribes until the sanctuary of the Lord has been built in the land, let them come and celebrate the passover in the midst of the tabernacle of the Lord, and let them slay it before the Lord from year to year. Robert Henry Charles, ed., Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament, vol. 2 (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2004), 80 81.
Page 5 Shavuot (Weeks) Pentecost A festival Seven weeks after the day after Passover There is no counting down of the days prior to Passover There is for this festival There came to be a sense of anticipation of this festival The famous rabbi Maimonides likened this exercise to someone who is waiting for their closest friend, counting the days and yes, even the hours. David Brickner and Rich Robinson, Christ in the Feast of Pentecost (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2008), 24. During this feast, it is tradition to read the book of Ruth Acts 1:6 8 So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel? He said to them, It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth. Acts 2:1 4 When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit into every believer as well as the birth of the church Just as the Festival of Passover, with all its historic meaning, also pointed forward to the death and resurrection of Jesus, so the Feast of Pentecost pointed forward to another pivotal event in the history of the church. David Brickner and Rich Robinson, Christ in the Feast of Pentecost (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2008), 31. Shavuot is not tied to a historical event such as Passover or Tabernacles It is tied to the
The first harvest or first fruits belonged to God Shavuot occurred later during the Page 6 The linkage from Passover to Pentecost was to help the nation be believers This same God who brought them out of the land would also provide for them Imagine being in Jerusalem that day And so that day, the Feast of Pentecost was fulfilled as God empowered His people to follow their destiny to bless all the nations of the world. And this was the historic day on which the power of God began to undo an ancient tragedy the day God reversed the curse of Babel. David Brickner and Rich Robinson, Christ in the Feast of Pentecost (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2008), 115. Jesus was crucified on He rose from the dead on the of the Barley Harvest He hung around for 40 days providing additional instruction Then he left His disciples in Jerusalem so they could finish the countdown there 9 days later, to celebrate the Firstfruits of the Wheat Harvest, Pentecost Acts 2:41 So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls. Firstfruits indeed Sukkot (Booths) Ingathering or Tabernacles Exodus 23:14 17 Three times a year you shall celebrate a feast to Me. You shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread; for seven days you are to eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the appointed time in the month Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt. And none shall appear before Me empty-handed. Also you shall observe the Feast of the Harvest of the first fruits of your labors from what you sow in the field; also the Feast of the Ingathering at the end of the year when you gather in the fruit of your labors from the field. Three times a year all your males shall appear before the Lord GOD. The Feast as it is also know was the best attended of the three feasts as it was at the end of the year is required before one could participate and worship
For us today, we also have to make a journey to worship Page 7 John 4:23 24 But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. The major theme of this feast Deuteronomy 16:15 Seven days you shall celebrate a feast to the LORD your God in the place which the LORD chooses, because the LORD your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that you will be altogether joyful. Are we altogether joyful as we worship? They were to remember their dependence on God, humble themselves, and thank Him for abundant provision. In so doing the people would be reminded of the source of the prosperity they enjoyed. God knew that comfort would tempt His people to forget their need for Him David Brickner, Christ in the Feast of Tabernacles (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2006), 34. The Feast of Tabernacles occurs during the month of Tishri according to the Jewish calendar, around our months of September October. It falls two weeks after the Feast of Trumpets and five days after the Day of Atonement. The ten days following the Feast of Trumpets are known as the Days of Awe. After all of this celebration for seven days in the future Zechariah 14:16 19 Then it will come about that any who are left of all the nations that went against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to celebrate the Feast of Booths. And it will be that whichever of the families of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, there will be no rain on them. If the family of Egypt does not go up or enter, then no rain will fall on them; it will be the plague with which the LORD smites the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths. This will be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths. During the first six days of the festival, the priests brought the water back to the Temple with three blasts of the trumpet. They proceded one time around the altar and then the water was poured out. But on the seventh day there were seven circuits around the altar and three times seven blasts of the trumpets. As the seven circuits around the altar were made, the people would cry out each time, Ana hoshia na, ana El na, hoshana ve-hoshia na Please bring salvation now. Please, God, please, save and bring salvation now! With each circuit the chant would grow louder and more intense
Page 8 David Brickner, Christ in the Feast of Tabernacles (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2006), 85. Imagine the sound of thousands of people singing together and shouting, LORD, SAVE US! Imagine the sound of hundreds shaking their willow branches until the leaves fell off. Trumpets blowing louder and louder, musicians, choirs raising their voices. And finally as the last of this sevenfold circuit was made around the altar, the water was poured out in a climax of jubilation. Nothing but joy! David Brickner, Christ in the Feast of Tabernacles (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2006), 86. Then Jesus steps up and John 7:37 38 Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water. Sukkoth is the It comes at the end of the harvest Revelation 7:9 17 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands; and they cry out with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb. And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures; and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen. Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, These who are clothed in the white robes, who are they, and where have they come from? I said to him, My lord, you know. And he said to me, These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. For this reason, they are before the throne of God; and they serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne will spread His tabernacle over them. They will hunger no longer, nor thirst anymore; nor will the sun beat down on them, nor any heat; for the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and will guide them to springs of the water of life; and God will wipe every tear from their eyes.
Page 9 Revelation 21:3 6 And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away. And He who sits on the throne said, Behold, I am making all things new. And He said, Write, for these words are faithful and true. Then He said to me, It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. Passover Unleavened bread Firstfruits (barley) Weeks Summer - labor Feast of Trumpets Day of Atonement Booths Past teachings, study notes and slides of Through the Bible with Pastor Ken Brown are available at: www.calvaryword.com/bible