Spotless. Sinless. He is the one in whom the Pharisees and Pilate could find no fault, the one whom the Father promised through Abraham, whose blood was prophesied on the doorposts in Egypt… the one who would become the ultimate sacrifice — for you. The Feasts (Moedim = appointed times of gratefullness) The Torah teaches eight feasts that we are called to observe. They are, The Sabbath (day of rest) can generally refer to ANY God-established and sanctified cycle consisting of 7’s…..7 days, 7 weeks, 7 years, 7 years of years (Jubilee), 7 weeks of weeks. Sabbath years (meaning every 7th year) is when the land is suppose to rest in order to let it get its nutrients restored. A Jubilee year also allows for all debts to be forgiven. Shabbat is used to refer to that unique once per week 7th day of rest. 1. Peasch/ Passover (day of preparation) Crucifixion in Spring FULFILLED 2. Chag HaMatzah/Feast of Unleavened Bread (Matzah) Death to Sin in Spring FULFILLED 3. Yom HaBirkkurim/Day of First Fruits (Birkkurim) Resurrection in Spring FULFILLED 4. Shavout/ Pentecost/Feast of Weeks (Shavout) Re-gathering of Israel in Summer BEING FULFILLED 5. Yom Teruah/Day of Blowing (Trumpets) Self examination and repentance in Fall NOT FULFILLED 6. Yom Kippur/Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) Oneness with the Righteousness of Yahweh in Fall NOT FULFILLED 7. Sukkot/Feast of Tabernacles (Booths) Remembrance of 40 years in Wilderness in Fall NOT FULFILLED 8. Last Great Day when all is revealed (John 7:37) WEDDING FEAST NOT FULFILLED They are listed here in Leviticus 23:1-44 6 MAIN POINTS ABOUT THESE FEASTS. 1 The Torah calls these feasts, the feasts of YAHWEH. This is very important! These are not Jewish feast or Israelite feasts but they are YAHWEH’s feasts. Many have made the graven mistake of calling these feast Jewish or Israeli feasts. “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: The feasts of the LORD, (YAHWEH) which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My feasts.” Leviticus 23:2 2 The Torah commands ALL Israelites to observe these feasts. They are appointed by YAHWEH! “These are the feasts of the LORD (YAHWEH), holy convocations which you shall proclaim at their appointed times.” Leviticus 23:4 The Messiah clearly observed these feasts. See Mathew 27:17, Luke 2:41-2, John 5:1 The Apostles and early believers observed these feasts. Saul instructed in 1 Corinthians 5:7-8 to celebrate the festivals “with sincerity and truth.” Saul himself clearly observed these feasts. See 1 Corinthians 16:8 and Acts 20:16 Therefore, we too are required to celebrate these feasts. 3 The Torah commands that these feasts are to be observed FOREVER. YAHWEH places the observance of the feast in Leviticus 23 along side the weekly Sabbath. In fact these feasts are a Sabbath as the word Sabbath is plural in the Scripture. “Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work on it; it is the Sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings.” Leviticus 23:3 During the millennium these feasts will be kept as a memorial or a reminder of what our Master Yahushua has done for us. 4 The Torah commands that these feasts are to be kept HOLY (qodesh). The feasts are called Holy (set apart) convocations. The Prophet Isaiah spoke against Israel because they had profaned YAHWEH’s feasts by not keeping them set apart. “Bring no more futile sacrifices; Incense is an abomination to Me. The New Moons, the Sabbaths, and the calling of assemblies; I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting. Your New Moons and your appointed feasts My soul hates; They are a trouble to Me, I am weary of bearing them.” Isaiah 1:13-14 That is why Saul said that we are to keep the feasts with sincerity and truth. 5 The Torah calls that these feasts CELEBRATIONS. The word “moedim” actually means a celebration or a festival because they are associated with the agricultural harvest of Israel. In other words these feasts are tied to the land. They unfold YAHWEH’s plan for His creation. They all involve sacrifices and offerings, which come from the land. They are meant to be holidays for His people. 6 The Torah calls these feasts REHERSALS. The word convocation comes from the Hebrew word “miqra” which also means rehearsals. Exodus 12:16 When we celebrate them we rehearse or depict our entire walk with YAHWEH. The Passover (Pesach) speaks about personal redemption, Pentecost (Shavout) infilling of the Spirit and Tabernacles (Sukkot) restoration of the Kingdom. What these Feasts (Moedim) were DESIGNED OR CREATED TO DO. 1 They convey spiritual truths. The Scripture teaches first the natural then the spiritual. 1 Corinthians 15:46-50. These feast are rich with spiritual truths that are conveyed to us in natural settings. They convey principles and laws of sowing and harvest. 2 They create the identity of YAHWEH’s people. These feasts become the culture and traditions of His people, they were designed to make Israel a special people. In Number 23:9 Moses said this of Israel “For from the top of the rocks I see him, And from the hills I behold him; There! A people dwelling alone, Not reckoning itself among the nations.” 3 They are sacred signs marking out YAHWEH’s true people. The words “appointed season” in Leviticus 23 also conveys the picture of an assembly of people who are set apart. When we observe these feasts we become signs to the world that we belong to YAHWEH because He has marked us out. 4 They are designed to be road marks. The Scripture speaks of ancient road marks that the remnant will come to see as there way back into Israel. See Ezekiel 37:16, Jeremiah 6:16; 31:20-21 These feasts were created to be road marks to point the remnant back to our identity as true Israelites. Countless non-Jews are returning to keep the feasts because they see the ancient road marks. 5 They are designed to heal and restore. The Passover was designed to heal us (Israelites) spiritually and physically, Pentecost was designed to empower us and Tabernacles was designed to restore to us the authority of the Kingdom. This also applies to healing the divide between the house of Yahudah and Ephraim. 6 They are designed to point us to the Messiah. All of the feasts speak about Yahushua and His life. They foreshowed our Messiah and what He would do for us. These feast were all fulfilled in His life, death and resurrection but they were not abolished. Something I will explain next. The SHABBAT is the first feast listed in Leviticus 23 because its principles and truths are foundation of all the other feasts. The Shabbat thus depicts eight powerful truths of the Scripture that sets it above the other feasts: 1 First it depicts the FATHERS joy of the finished creation. When the Father had finished creating everything including man He said on the last day of creation, “then God (YAHWEH) saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.” Genesis 1:31 On the last day of creation YAHWEH rejoiced and said that everything was “1very good.” When we honor the Shabbat we directly partake of the Fathers Sabbath joy. 2 It depicts the eternal rest that is in the FATHER. When YAHWEH had finished creating He rested on the Shabbat. “And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.” Genesis 2:2 This predates the rest of the execution stake of our Messiah, which tells us that true rest is in the Father. That is why Yahushua teachings always pointed us back to the Father. However, the stake (cross) points sinners to redemption sacrifice of Yahushua where they find rest from their sin. When we honor the Shabbat we enter into the Sabbath rest of the Father. 3 It depicts the firstborn blessing of the FATHER. “The double portion.” When YAHWEH finished creation in six days, He blessed the Shabbat day above the rest of the days of the week. “Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.” Genesis 2:3 The principle of the first born blessing, the double portion comes from this verse. All the other days were called good but after the last day of creation YAHWEH declared it as a very good day. When we keep the Shabbat we enter into the double portion that is unlocked by keeping the Shabbat. 4 It depicts the apartness of the FATHER. In that same verse Genesis 2:3 the Shabbat was set apart as a day removed from the rest of the days. Meaning it was installed as the higher day of the week. It was elevated as special or divine because it was “sanctified.” This is a picture of who YAHWEH is; He is set apart or Holy. When we esteem the Shabbat we partake of His divineness and we become like Him set apart from the rest of His creation or what we call the world. The Seventh day becomes our eternal sign. Exodus 31:13 5 It depicts the perfection of the FATHER. The word Shabbat in Hebrew does not mean rest but it means seven or the seventh days. The number seven means perfection and completeness. It appears 600 times in the Scripture. The meaning of perfection here is not being sinless or spotless as we commonly understand it to be but it means becoming like our FATHER YAHWEH. YAHWEH kept the Shabbat, we therefore become like Him when we too observe the Shabbat. Yahushua said ‘that we are to be perfect just as our FATHER in heaven is perfect.’ Mathew 5:48 Being perfect means observing the commandments and it begins by observing the Sabbath. 6 It depicts the FATHERS eternal seal of creation. The seal of creation is the number seven. YAHWEH has stamped His creation with the number seven depicting His mark of ownership. There are many cycles in nature that run on the calendar of seven days and many biological facts of nature are stamped with the number seven. When we honor the Shabbat we acknowledge the sovereignty of YAHWEH over His creation. We affirm His ownership over our bodies, soul and spirit and what we have in our possessions when we keep the Shabbat. It is also the mark of an obedient and humble person. Humility scripturally speaking is tested by the observance of His commandments. Deuteronomy 8:2 Moses became the most humble person on earth because he kept the commandments If you want to be humble then keep the Shabbat. 7 It depicts the millennial reign of the FATHER. We know from the teaching on the name of YAHWEH that when the Yahushua returns after the tribulation He will come as the FATHER and He will reign as YAHWEH. We know from Scripture that the seven thousand year is also a picture of the seventh day, as one day to YAHWEH is as one thousand years. 2 Peter 3:8 Church scholars agree that that we have entered or are about to enter into the seventh day, the millennial Shabbat when Yahushua returns. When we keep the Shabbat we keep alive this promise that He will come to reign with us. I personally believe that Messiah will return during the seventh feast, which is Tabernacles on the Shabbat. It is a Jewish practice that a seat is left blank at the table during the Shabbat incase the Messiah returns. 8 It depicts the seven blood sufferings of the Messiah. The Messiah spilt His blood seven times for us. The first time the sacred blood of Yahushua was shed was in the garden of Gethsemane, where our Saviors sweated blood. This represents provision for our mental and emotional healing. The second time was when Yahushua was beaten and struck and his beard plucked by the temple guards. This represents provision for peace and joy at all times including times of mistreatment and persecution. The third time was when He was crowned with thorns. This represents a provision for the fruits of our labor. The fourth time was when He was scourged on His back. This represents a provision for our physical healing and well being. The fifth and sixth time when Yahushua shed his blood was when His hands and feet were nailed to His execution stake. The nailing of the hands represents a provision for our worship and the nailing of the feet represent a provision for our service to YAHWEH. The final time when the sacred blood of Yahushua was spilt was when the spear was plunged into His side. This represents a provision for the sanctification of our inner being. When we honor the Shabbat we come under the blood. The Shabbat is not legalism. Observing the Shabbat should not be regarded as a work of law or as a burdensome command that YAHWEH has dealt out on our lives. It is instead the FATHERS gift to His people and it is the blessed gift that most Christians have missed. But to be fair some have missed opening this delightful gift because the package was wrapped up in legalism, tied with the ribbons of bondage and presented as Jewish package. The Shabbat predates the Law of Moses by three thousand years. It began as we saw from the time of Genesis and was observed by the Patriarch’s and prophets prior to Moses day. The Shabbat is a covenant commandment upon all of Adams descendants. When Moses came on the scene he merely received a codified version of the Shabbat (made into a law) as part of the Ten Commandments but prior to this it has always been part of the FATHERS requirements for ALL mankind and later His set apart people. Most Christians believe in keeping the Ten Commandments but however they find it most difficult to reconcile the 4th commandment. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD (YAHWEH) your God (el). In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the LORD (YAHWEH) made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD (YAHWEH) blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.” Exodus 20:8-11 We know from History that the Shabbat was moved from the seventh day of the week to the first day of the week (Sunday) by a decree of Rome in the year 321 A.D during the reign of emperor Constantine who himself was not a Christian but was supposively converted on his death bed. This decree made it illegal to worship or pray on Saturday and if you were caught breaking this law you were killed. It is not the purpose of our study to investigate the reasons why this was done but it is suffice to say that there is no commandment in both the Old and New Covenant that Sunday be kept as the Shabbat. This is where the controversy remains unsolved with the Church. The keeping of the Shabbat does have its “lawful boundaries” but they are there for the purpose of making this day special and joyful rather than to restrict your movements or your freedoms. It is the traditions and customs that come from the Talmud, the Jewish interpretation of these laws that has created the bondage. YAHWEH said that we are to keep the Shabbat as a “delight.” Listen to these solemn words from the prophet Isaiah, If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, From doing your pleasure on My holy day, And call the Sabbath a delight, The holy day of the LORD (YAHWEH) honorable, And shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, Nor finding your own pleasure, Nor speaking your own words, Then you shall delight yourself in the LORD (YAHWEH); And I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth, And feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. The mouth of the LORD (YAHWEH) has spoken. Isaiah 58:13-14 Twice in these passages Isaiah gives us the message that we are to keep the Shabbat as a delight. This attitude of keeping YAHWEH’s commandments as a delight is beautifully reflected in these words of King David. In Psalm 119:24 David said “Your testimonies also are my delight And my counselors.” In Psalm 119:35 he says, “ Make me walk in the path of Your commandments, For I delight in it.” Again in Psalm 119:77 “Let Your tender mercies come to me, that I may live; For Your law is my delight.” In all of these passages the keeping of the law was not a burden to king David but a GREAT DELIGHT.
Posted on: Mon, 26 Jan 2015 01:03:54 +0000
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