Sabbath Torah Nugget Extra The Journey from the Wilderness to the Promised Land The Feasts: Whose are they? We are overjoyed each week as we discover new golden nuggets from the Torah ~ the teachings and instructions from our Heavenly Father ~. As we approach the Fall Feasts, we see more and more people starting to realize their importance and future fulfillments that havent happened yet. So whatever time frame you observe these feasts, we commend you for beginning the rehearsal for Yshuas (Jesus) return! In several verses found in our study, the essential concept of sanctifying YHWH’s (LORD’s) name is mentioned. “You shall faithfully observe my commandments: I am YHWH. You shall not profane My holy name, that I may be sanctified in the midst of the Israelite people, I, YHWH who sanctifies you, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your Elohim, I am YHWH,” Leviticus 22:31-33. Another verse reads, “And to the Israelite people speak these words: If anyone curses his Elohim, he will be held responsible; anyone who blasphemes the name of YHWH must be put to death. The entire assembly must stone him. Whether an alien or native-born, when a person blasphemes YHWH (the Name), he must be put to death,” Lev. 24:15-16. What is really interesting about the above sections is not just what they say, but also what happens to be found between them. Rules on setting apart the blessed name of YHWH are bookends to the specific instructions given about the Scriptural feast days of Leviticus 23. Directives on living a worship-filled life are found all around the commandments of glorifying the Divine Name. This teaches the reader that YHWH’s name is praised and exalted when believers obey YHWH’s commands. Yes, YHWH’s name is sanctified when people fulfill YHWH’s will as revealed in the Torah. His name is cursed when people disobey the Torah. Now let’s look closer at these Feasts by sharing our own testimony. Back in 1998, we were approached with the question, “Would you like to join us for the Feast of Tabernacles?” When we were asked this question we thought, “That is Jewish.” “It was done away with at the cross. It’s not for us today!” We were both raised in Seventh Day Adventist homes, but we had recently stepped away from ALL denominations to do as the Bereans did in Acts 17:10,11: “And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming [thither] went into the synagogue of the Jews. These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so” KJV. What Scriptures were the Bereans studying? The books Matthew, Mark, Luke, & John… didn’t exist yet, so they had to be studying the Torah, Prophets, & Writings (Old Testament). So, I, (Kevin) was reading through the Minor Prophets when I came to Zechariah Ch.14. When reading this chapter, I realized that it applied to a future event that hasn’t happened yet! Then I read verses 16-19: “And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles. And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain. And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there shall be the plague, wherewith the Lord will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles. This shall be the punishment of Egypt , and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.” KJV Notice that vs.19 says ALL nations including Egypt, not just the Jews!? I was reading this (by no accident) during the Feast of Tabernacles! This startled me! I had never seen these verses before! But, I wasn’t going to be duped or fooled. I was raised keeping the 7th day Sabbath and I knew how to show the validity of it in our modern times. The Sabbath was created before sin entered the Earth. So, if you wanted to take away the Law or 10 Commandments, you still couldn’t take away the Sabbath, because it was established before and apart from the Law! So, if there was anything to these Feasts, I would be able to go through the same process to show the Feasts. I didn’t think I would find ANYTHING in the Creation account about the Feasts, so, I thought I was safe! But, guess what? Genesis 1:14, “And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for “seasons”, and for days, and years:” Look at the word “seasons”. This word in the Hebrew is “moedim” which means “appointed times or feasts”. We were shocked! Not only did we see it in the Creation, but found them being kept throughout the Scriptures, including our Messiah Y’shua (Jesus) and the disciples after Y’shua’s resurrection! When we were members of the SDA church we had a letter from Bishop T. Enright that offered $1,000.00 to anyone that could prove from the Bible alone that he was bound, under grievous sin to keep Sunday holy. After learning about the Feasts, we discovered that the Sunday/Sabbath issue was only part of that letter! It goes on to say...“The Cath. Church abolished not only the Sabbath, but all the other Jewish festivals.” The letter we had seen only said... “The Cath. Church abolished the Sabbath”... We have attached an entire copy of the original letter from T. Enright for those who want to see it! Getting back to Lev.23, notice in verse 2 that it says “Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, concerning the feasts of the Lord, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my feasts.” and verse 4, “These are the feasts of the Lord, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their seasons” KJV. Also, verses 37 and 44 state the same thing. So, these aren’t just Jewish feasts as many people think, but they are YHWH’s feasts! Notice in verse 3 that the very first Feast mentioned is the weekly Shabbat! (the Hebrew word for the Sabbath) Shabbat is a memorial to Creation. After six days of work, we rest in Him! Verse 5 tells us when to keep Pesach. (the Hebrew word for Passover) This is a picture of our Saviours’ shed blood to redeem us from the penalty of sin! Verses 6-8 tell us about Chag HaMatzot. (Hebrew for Feast of Unleavened Bread) Leaven is a symbolic picture of sin. Being unleavened shows us that our Messiah lived a sinless life, setting the example for us to follow! Verses 10-15 inform us about Tenufah. (Hebrew for the Wave Offering) The day after the Sabbath, during the week of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Priest would wave 2 barley loaves of bread, taken from the first harvest of barley. (also known as First Fruits)This is a picture of Y’shua’s resurrection!!! Verses 16-21 instruct us about Shavuot. (Hebrew word for Pentecost) Agriculturally speaking, this was the time of the first fruits of the wheat harvest! Spiritually, it is the outpouring of the Ruach HaKodesh, (Holy Spirit), such as took place in Acts 2 when the tongues of fire fell on the disciples head. Today, we are having His Torah written on our hearts (Jer. 31: 31-34) and are looking forward to the Shavuot that will bring the latter rain, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit! Verses 24 & 25 tell us when to keep Yom Teruah. (Hebrew for Feast of Trumpets) This Feast has not been fulfilled yet. When we think of trumpets in a Hebraic thought, we would be referring to a shofar (rams horn). Scripturally it was used to do 3 specific things; 1)To assemble the nation (Num. 10:1-4), 2) To move people forward into position (Num. 10: 5-10), and 3) To call the nation to war (Jer.4:19). On this feast we are instructed to rest from our work and to keep it as you would the weekly Sabbath. The way this feast will be fulfilled is when our Messiah Yshua returns and the sound of the trumpet is sounded! Rev. 1:7 and Zech. 8:12. We are still waiting for the final trump and the resurrection of the dead in Messiah! Verses 27-32 tell us when to keep Yom Kippur. (Hebrew for Day of Atonement) This is the highest Holy Day of the year. This is when the entire nation would fast and pray for the forgiveness of their sins. This is also when the High Priest would go into the Most Holy Place to make atonement for the entire nation of Israel for the past year. HalleluYAH, Y’shua is now our High Priest now and forever more! He has and continues to make atonement for everyone that truly accepts Him into their heart! But, even this Feast hasn’t had its ultimate fulfillment! We are looking forward to the day that we will truly be “at one” (at-one-ment) with our Heavenly Father for an eternity!!! Verses 34-43 conclude the Feasts with Sukkot. (Hebrew for Feast of Tabernacles) This time of the year is the fall harvest. Deuteronomy 16:13 says, Perform the Festival of Booths for seven days after the ingathering from your threshing-floor and from your wine press, TS98 This is a week long party of praising YHWH for His blessings! The first day and the eighth day are days of rest. The eighth day is referred to as Shemini Atzeret (eighth day of assembly). Traditionally, the eighth day is also called Simchat Torah (rejoicing in the Torah). The eighth day marks the end of the feast cycle and the beginning of the Torah portion cycle in Bereshith (Genesis)! Spiritually, we are still looking forward to the ingathering of His Saints, the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, & the week long festival that follows! This is a very brief overview of the Feasts of YHWH! We have been very blessed in more than one way, since we have been keeping the Feasts! We see deeper and more powerful pictures of our Messiah throughout ALL of the Feasts! Now, we invite you: “Would you like to join us for the Feast of Tabernacles?” Blessings In Messiah, Kevin & Michelle
Posted on: Thu, 25 Sep 2014 22:30:00 +0000
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