As we are quickly approaching the season of
the last 3 of the annual Appointed Times of the Lord –
His Moedim – according to
Leviticus 23 –
one question that often arises is..
Why study them at all?
Ephesians 2:14: For He is our peace, the One Who has made both things into one and Who has loosed the dividing wall of the fence, cause of the enmity to His flesh, 15. by His nullifying the tradition of the commandments by decrees, so that He could create the two, Jewish and non-Jewish, into One New Man, establishing peace 16. so He could reconcile both in one body to God through the cross, as God killed their enmity by means of Y’shua. 17. And when He came He proclaimed the Good News of peace to you, to those far away, and peace to those near: 18. because through Him we both have the introduction to the Father by means of one Spirit. 19. Therefore then, you are no longer aliens and strangers, but you are fellow citizens of the saints and members of the household of God, 20. building upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Messiah Y’shua being His cornerstone, 21. in Whom the whole building being constructed is being fit together into a holy sanctuary in the Lord, 22. and in Whom you are built together into a habitation of God by the Spirit.
We need to understand what we are grafted into.
The above passage, originally written to Gentiles and former heathens, tells us that all are to worship the Living God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, The King of the Universe, the God Who became flesh and walked among us.
The 7 individual Appointed Times or Moedim, have been covered in multiple earlier posts however, not altogether. Several requests have been received to do so and to explain the Seasons of the Lord as given in Leviticus 23; and especially for new visitors to the site.
An overview follows:
The traditions of the Jewish people are described so we can see spiritual meanings in these God Appointed Holy days; and as believers and followers of Jesus the Messiah/ Yeshua HaMashiach, we are encouraged to return to His Word and to obey the Lord’s commands to observe His Seasons. The rhythm of life/chaim, is cyclical and exhorts believers to seek our Heavenly Fathers’ wisdom in following Scripture and in celebrating the same Holy Days that Jesus/Yeshua did.
The ecclesia/body of Messiah, has a responsibility to understand and appreciate its’ Hebraic Heritage; which are the true roots of our christianity. (Israelite/Hebrew/Jewish Roots), and to finally recognize that Yeshua/Jesus was born Jewish, that He grew up Jewish, and that He is the same today as He was then. (Hebrews 13:8) Readers will understand that ALL the Scriptures in the Bible are alive and relevant for believers today. They were embraced and quoted by Jesus/Yeshua, and every writer of the New Testament/Brit Chadashah.
Today it is important for us to understand what a word, an expression, the idioms, cultural concepts and definitions meant to those who wrote the passages.
His Appointed Times/God’s Moedim, showing His rhythm of chaim/life reveals the Hebraic Heritage of our Bible and of Jesus/Yeshua. Isaiah prophesied about Messiah’s followers coming into their heritage.
Moedim מועדים
Mo-ahd also has a root meaning, to repeat,
and can mean
a signal as appointed beforehand.
There are things that are to be repeated each time the preset appointed time has come. Today when children have birthdays or couples have anniversaries, the signals or signs are cards, cakes and gifts, and is an annual event. It is the same with our Heavenly Fathers’ appointed times.
These Moedim/feasts are signals and signs
to help us know what is on His heart.
This one will say: ‘I am the Lord God’s,’ and the other one will call [himself] by the name of Jacob; this one will sign his allegiance to the Lord God, and adopt the name of Israel. Isaiah 44:5
Remember the Torah of Moses my servant, which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments. Malachi 3:2
Jesus/Yeshua Himself said:“Do not think that I came to annul, to bring an incorrect interpretation to, the Torah or the Prophets: I did not come to annul but to bring spiritual abundance, for the Torah to be obeyed as it should be and God’s promises to receive fulfillment.
For truly I say to you: until the sky and the Earth would pass away, not one yod or one vav could ever pass away from the Torah, until everything would come to pass. Matthew 5:17,18
As we read of the many Israelite/Hebrew/Jewish customs, it will bring Christians into a deeper appreciation of our grafted in heritage and what all the authors of the New Testament believed.
Paul tells us we are grafted in to the Jewish, domestic, olive tree Romans 11:17.
As in the natural, when a branch is grafted in it does not produce the domestic olive, but the wild olive of its nature. The advantage of the graft is that the strength of the root is added to the grafted branch, to produce stronger fruit.
Christians are to produce new fruit of Torah-believing, Scripture-based worshippers of the Most High God.
The separation from our Jewish roots was a deliberate act by the early Church to erase the Israelite/Hebrew/Jewish heritage, which included God’s appointed times/seasons. Any separation hinders our relationship with our Heavenly Father.
Jesus said, I AM the Good Shepherd and I know My sheep and My sheep know Me, 15. just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father, and I lay down My life on behalf of the sheep. 16. But I also have sheep that are not from this sheepfold: and it is necessary for Me to lead those and they will hear My voice, and they will become one flock, one Shepherd. John 10:14-16. See Ezekiel 34:23, 37:24.
We are to study the Jewish traditions and glean the spiritual meanings, because many of those traditions are anointed and give beautiful insight. Then we are to focus on the Scriptural basis for each Jewish tradition, and be led by His Word to bring change in the way we worship and celebrate the Seasons of the Lord. Paul admonished the Corinthians in his first letter to them,
4:6. And these things, brothers, by what I have said of myself and Apollos I have shown you what applies to all Christian teachers, so that you would learn through us ‘Not to go beyond what has been written, Scripture,’ so that you would not be proud on behalf of the one against another.
We are to go to what, Christians call Old Testament, which Paul called Scripture, which is the Jewish Tanakh.
Understanding the Jewishness of Jesus/Yeshua and the Jewish customs brings light to many hidden truths in the New Testament and brings us closer to God’s truth. These posts will hopefully draw Christians into a desire to study about their Jewish roots/heritage and to begin to follow the Biblical call to do the things presented in Scripture. Jesus/Yeshua honored His Fathers Appointed Seasons…
Should we do less?
There are two terms we need to understand, Torah and Tanakh. The Torah refers specifically to the first five books of the Bible. Tanakh is the inclusion of Torah, Prophets and Writings:
Prophets includes the books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, and Isaiah through Malachi except for Daniel.
When used in the New Testament the term Torah and Prophets often refers to the entire Hebrew Scriptures (Tanakh), known as the Old Testament/Covenant. In most of our translations the word Torah is translated as Law, because of our western concept of what law is, it has caused Christians to think that the Old Testament is a rigid, authoritarian book that no longer has application to our lives.
Torah is the correct word because its Hebrew meaning is teaching or instruction. What we are given is our Heavenly Fathers’ instruction and teaching on relationships with Him and with other human beings.
With this in mind whenever we read the word law, we should change it to say Torah /teaching or instruction. However when Paul was writing about legalism in Romans, Galatians, and Colossians here the word law is appropriate; these being the only exceptions.
Again it is good to remind ourselves that Jesus/Yeshua was born to Israelite/Hebrew/Jewish parents and was brought up keeping the commandments of the Tanakh/Old Testament. His Jewishness is obvious because, after His birth, Mary and Joseph immediately followed all the commandments regarding circumcision, purification, and dedication. He was circumcised at eight days old as recorded in Luke2:21.
And when the eight days were completed to circumcise Him His name was called Jesus, being called that by the angel to the one who conceived Him in her womb.
At thirty-three days He was dedicated; that is, offered and redeemed at the temple.
This was ordered in Exodus 13:2, 12, 13, & 15.
13:2. Sanctify to me all the firstborn, whatever opens the womb among the people of Israel, both of man and of beast; it is mine.
13:12. That you shall set apart to the Lord all that opens the matrix, and every firstling that comes of a beast which you have; the males shall be the Lord’s.
13:13. .. and all the firstborn of man among your children shall you redeem.
13:15. And it came to pass, when Pharaoh would hardly let us go, that the Lord slew all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man, and the firstborn of beast; therefore I sacrifice to the Lord all that opens the matrix, being males; but all the firstborn of my children I redeem. For the mother’s purification we have ; Speak to the people of Israel, saying, If a woman conceives, and bears a male child; then she shall be unclean seven days; as in the days of her menstruation, shall she be unclean. 3. And in the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. 4. And she shall then continue in the blood of her purifying for thirty-three days; she shall touch no consecrated thing, nor come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purifying be fulfilled. (Leviticus 12:2-4)
Mary’s purification was recorded in Luke 2:22. And when the days of their purification were completed according to the Torah of Moses, they brought Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord, 23. just as it has been written in the Torah of the Lord that every male opening the womb will be called holy to the Lord.
Mary’s purification and Yeshua/Jesus’ dedication, that is His offering and redemption, were made simultaneously as ordered in those verses.
Joseph and Mary regularly attended the feasts in Jerusalem and as Yeshua/Jesus matured He went through a ceremony similar to today’s Bar Mitzvah to give evidence of His knowledge and that He was now to be considered an adult, reported in:
Luke 2:41-47. 41. And His parents were going to Jerusalem from year to year to the Feast of Passover. 42. And when He was twelve years old, they went up for the feast according to their custom and for His Bar Mitzvah (coming of age) 43. and when the days were completed, on their return the child Jesus remained in Jerusalem, but His parents did not know that. 44. And thinking He was in the caravan they came a day on the way and they were searching for Him among their relatives and acquaintances, 45. but when they did not find Him they returned to Jerusalem looking for Him. 46. Then it happened after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the middle of the teachers and listening to them and questioning them: 47. and all those who heard Him were amazed over His understanding and answers.
At the beginning of His ministry Yeshua/Jesus was baptized, immersed, in the Jordan River. The Greek word Baptisma means Immersion and the Jewish people had been immersing themselves for purification for many generations before the birth of Messiah. Baptism/Immersion for purification was made after someone became unclean and was considered defiled, such as by contact with a corpse or blood, or when someone who had not been worshipping repented and returned/made teshuvah to the Lord.
Those repenting were the ones that were called by John and later by Yeshua/Jesus, Who said in Matthew 4:17. You must continually repent: for the kingdom of the heavens has come near.
Yeshua/Jesus continued to go to Jerusalem/Yerushalayim to celebratethe Appointed Times of the Lord during His ministry,
John recorded His attendance at more feasts than any other Gospel which gives us the chronology, so we can determine that He ministered for three and a half years.
Passover/Pesach is mentioned at three distinctly different times, Sukkot (Tabernacles) and Hanukkah are both mentioned and a further unnamed feast in John 5:1 could possibly be Shavuot/Pentecost however some believe John 5:1 to be another Passover/Pesach.
In John the Appointed times are:
2:13 And the Passover of the Jewish people was drawing near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
(Attendance at Pesach/Passovers is also recorded in Chapters. 12 & 13.)
5:1. After these things there was a feast of the Jewish people and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
7:2 & 14. 2. And the Feast of Booths of the Jewish people was near. 14. And now, in the middle of the feast, Jesus went up to the temple and He was teaching.
10:22. At that time it was the Feast of Dedication for those in Jerusalem. It was winter, 23. and Jesus was walking in the temple, on Solomon’s Porch.
The Hebrew name for this feast is Hanukkah/Chanukkah. Messiah Jesus taught that every letter of the Hebrew Scriptures was important, and throughout the Gospels there are many other references to indicate He attended the Appointed Times/feasts Matthew 5:17. Do not think that I came to abolish the Torah or the Prophets: I did not come to abolish but to bring spiritual abundance. 18. For truly I say to you: until the sky and the earth would pass away, not one yod or one vav could ever pass away from the Torah, until everything would come to pass.
The word translated yod is iota, the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew letter yod, the smallest letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The word translated vav is more involved because there is no “v” sound in the Greek language. To express the letter “v” in Greek, both Matthew and Luke in 16:17, used the word keraia, which means small horn or hook. The word vav in Hebrew is more than just the name of a letter. It is a word that means hook, so Matthew and Luke used keraia to indicate that Messiah was referring to the vav, which is the 2nd smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet. Not only are the yod and vav the two smallest letters in Hebrew, but they are also called soft letters because they can at times be left out of a word and the word would not be misspelled. Here Yeshua/Jesus was saying that even the letters that can legitimately be left out of a word would not be left out of the Torah or the Prophets. He criticized the Pharisees for certain interpretations of Scripture in Matthew 23:23, because even though they were tithing herbs often grown in very small gardens, even just flower pots, they were missing the higher things on which we are to focus. This attention to minor details is called legalism, and sadly is still alive today in churches, with rules/requirements of various kinds, whether hairstyles/coverings, dress codes, rules on divorce, dancing, praise and worship, etc.
Remember Paul’s reference in Galatians 2:4 to the freedom we have, speaking of the freedom from legalism through grace and focus on the spirit of the Scriptures. We are to look to the Lord and not at what other congregations are doing, either to copy or criticize. We’re to be led by Scripture and His Holy Spirit, not by the letter, as we return to the Hebrew Scriptures to honor the Appointed times/Seasons of the Lord.
Times and Seasons
While preparing for the return of its Jewish Messiah, the Ecclesia/Church, is being encouraged to understand its Israelite/hebrew heritage by Honoring the Appointed Times/Seasons of the Lord because they bring a cycle of thanksgiving to our Heavenly Father, an annual celebration through humble repentance to a joyful passion for life. They are sometimes referred to as the Feasts of Israel, but when they are listed in Leviticus 23 they are called the Seasons of the Lord; and focus on the seasons in which we are to honor Him each year. These appointed times form the framework of Godly living that is to become a pattern for us as we see our Messiah Jesus prophetically revealed in each one.
Leviticus 23:1.And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2. Speak to the people of Israel, and say to them, ‘The seasons of the Lord, which you shall proclaim to be holy gatherings, these are My seasons.’
The first one is probably the one we are most familiar with in English called Passover and in Hebrew: celebrated on Nisan 14, which falls between mid-March and mid- April. In Scripture this month is called Aviv, meaning Spring.
It is symbolized by a meal called a Seder with a special plate, which has spaces for each traditional food item.
Its purpose is to remember God delivering the Hebrew children/Israelites from their Egyptian bondage.
Leviticus 23:4. These are the appointed seasons of the Lord, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their appointed season. 5. In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at dusk, is the Lord’s Passover.
פָּ֫סַח pesach
Passover is the time when the blood of a lamb protected each home from the death of the firstborn. Itis anniversary is the day when the Lamb of God, His Firstborn, gave Himself to protect and deliver us from spiritual bondage, to give us total freedom and salvation. The lamb is killed immediately after the sun sets which begins the 14th of Nisan.
Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year; you shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats; And you shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month; and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. (Exodus 12:5 & 6)
The Seder meal is eaten according to the command in Exodus: In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread, until the twenty first day of the month at dusk. (Exodus 12:18)
Passover is celebrated with readings of the wilderness travels, remembering the bondage from which they were delivered and includes the story of the Exodus based on Exodus 13:8. Psalms and other songs are sung, making this a very festive evening with the Lord.
And you shall tell your son in that day, saying, This is done because of that which the Lord did to me when I came forth out of Egypt. 9. And it shall be for a sign to you upon your hand, and for a memorial between your eyes, that the Lord’s Torah may be in your mouth; for with a strong hand has the Lord brought you out of Egypt.
You shall therefore keep this ordinance in his season from year to year. Verse 14 reinforces this, And it shall be when your son asks you in time to come, saying, What is this? that you shall say to him, By strength of hand the Lord brought us out from Egypt, from the house of slavery;
For us we are reminded of the deliverance from the world systems and its bondages and of the call of God upon our lives. The reason for the Exodus was the future Promised Land; And the purpose and goal of the Exodus was the creation of a Kingdom of Priests.
Exodus 19:6. And you shall be to me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation… Verse 10 says And the Lord said to Moses, Go to the people, and sanctify them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their clothes.
Isaiah 61:6. But you shall be named the Priests of the Lord; men shall call you the Ministers of our God; you shall eat the wealth of the nations, and in their riches you shall glory. Israel is the Holy People,
Leviticus 20:24, But I have said to you, You shall inherit their land, and I will give it to you to possess it, a land that flows with milk and honey; I am the Lord your God, which have separated you from other people.
Leviticus 26:12, And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and you shall be my people.
Deuteronomy 7:6. For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a special people to himself, above all peoples that are upon the face of the earth.
Deuteronomy 14:2. For you are a holy people to the Lord your God, and the Lord has chosen you to be a special people to himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth.
Deuteronomy 28:9. The Lord shall establish you as a holy people to himself, as he has sworn to you, if you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God, and walk in his ways.
Paul tells us that we have been grafted in to this Holy People in Romans 11:17. But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, since you are a wild olive, were yourself grafted in them, then you would be a participant for yourself of the richness of the root of the olive tree. 18. You must stop boasting of the branches: but, if you do boast, you do not support the root, but the root supports you.
The Sabbath that falls immediately before Passover helps people to prepare as this day is called The Great Sabbath, Shabbat HaGadol in Hebrew, probably because in the synagogue on this day the book of Malachi is read:
Lo, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before the arrival of the Messiah.
The Messiah is expected during the coming feast. The rabbis have determined that Messiah’s arrival will bring about the resurrection of the dead, expecting resurrection during this feast.
This seems to have been fulfilled and recorded in the gospels:
Matthew 27:52-53 KJV. 52 And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, 53 And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the city.
Passover/Pesach, is the 1st feast of the Hebrew/Israelite/Jewish year.
While Scripture specifies one night, the 14th of the month Aviv, outside of Israel Passover is celebrated for two nights.
As mentioned the meal is called Seder, which is a Hebrew word meaning Order, the first Seder is eaten on Nisan 14 in the synagogue, the 2nd Seder on Nisan 15 in the home. In the modern calendar the month of Aviv is now called Nisan.
The Exodus story is written in a booklet called Haggadah, which is a Hebrew word meaning Telling. The whole family is involved in the preparation, which includes spring cleaning making sure that all leaven, (symbolic of sin), is removed from the home.
In the west, these days have been renamed easter and in our traditions we also have shrove tuesday, in which any fat is used up and the days of fasting which are called lent etc.and include ash Wednesday.
Everyone attending each Seder meal is involved in the telling/Haggadah.
Traditions using certain symbols that add to the Passover telling include:
Reclining, though few actually recline these days, it represents freedom, luxury, and release from Egyptian slavery. The furnished room mentioned in Mark 14:15 would have had a low table with cushions around the table for the diners to recline while eating.
The elements of the meal:
Lamb shank bone, roasted, represents the paschal sacrifice.
Bitter herbs, called Maror, represent the bitterness of their lives as slaves. Horseradish is normally used for this.
Haroset, a blend of fruit, nuts, and wine, represents the mortar they used when as slaves they put up buildings for Pharaoh.
Karpas, a vegetable, usually parsley or celery, to be dipped in salt water, represents the tears shed by the slaves.
Salt water or vinegar for the Karpas.
Red wine represents the blood of the lamb
For more link below:
https://www.minimannamoments.com/midweek-mannabite-secrets-of-the-seder-plate/
Matsah, the bread made without leaven/yeast, represents the haste in leaving Egypt and also the absence of sin, since leaven represents sin.
Matsah resembles large crackers:
Three are taken to be used as symbols. The middle one of these is broken in half, with half, called afikoman, being wrapped in a napkin and hidden until the end of the meal. The afikoman is to be found by the children at dessert time, who bargain with the adults for its return. Afikoman is a Greek word meaning “I have come.”
For more link below:
https://www.minimannamoments.com/afikomen-mysterious-and-hidden/
Four questions are asked by children because Exodus 13:14 says And it shall be when your son asks you in time to come, saying, What is this? The answers must be given so that the child can understand.
The questions are:
Why is this night different from all other nights, why on all other nights, do we eat leavened bread and Matsah; on this night we eat only Matsah?
Why, on all other nights, do we eat all kinds of herbs: on this night, we eat mainly bitters?
Why, on all other nights, do we not dip even once; on this night, we dip twice?
Why on all other nights, do we eat either sitting straight or reclining; on this night, we all recline?
Four cups of wine are served.
The ancient rabbis used wine to signify covenant and the wine at the Seder is a reminder of these promises from
Exodus 6:6. Therefore say to the children of Yisrael, I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of Mitzraim (Egypt), and I will deliver you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm, and with great judgments: 7. and I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God: and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who brings you out from under the burdens of Mitzraim (Egypt).
Each cup represents a promise that was fulfilled in the Exodus:
and I will bring (v’hotseti) you out from under the burdens of Egypt.
and I will deliver (v’hitsalti) you out of their bondage
and I will redeem (v’galti) you with an outstretched arm
and I will take (v’lakachti) you to me for a people
Each “you” in these verses is plural, meaning these promises are for the whole body.
What we call communion is a very shortened form of the Seder, the Passover feast.
The rabbis teach that all the promises to Abraham apply to:
the wilderness,
to Israel, and
to the age to come.
These promises to take us out from under the burdens of Egypt also apply to the wilderness, to Israel, and to the age to come.
The first cup is the promise to take us out of Egypt, which today represents the world system.
In the Synagogue Seder, and in the home to welcome the Sabbath, this cup is called the Kiddush, the Sanctification, to sanctify the table in the home for the evening’s service.
In the Church today this is salvation as those who are born again leave the world system for the things of God.
The second cup is the deliverance from bondage, when the slavery ended, called the cup of Deliverance.
Every member of the body is to be delivered from
rejection, lust, low self-esteem, anger, jealously, depression, unforgiveness, and all the other ploys of the enemy. The vast majority of the Church has not understood this and does not accept deliverance, but deliverance is real and is for all who want it – and take it.
The third cup, the cup of Redemption, took place when the Red Sea opened for the Israelites, then closed to claim the Egyptian army. This is the first miracle to defy the laws of nature. It commemorates the physical departure from Egypt and speaks of the miracle of our redemption.
Why does redemption follow deliverance?
Many look at redemption as simply another word for salvation, but it is much more than that. His cry is for us to know Him, which means intimacy. God put deliverance first so we will be free to have true intimacy with Him.
The fourth cup, “I shall take you” reminds us of His carrying the children of Israel through the desert for 40 years and finally into the Promised Land. It also speaks of our walk with Him in the earth and taking us into eternal life to be with HIm.
This fourth cup is called the Cup of Elijah, and is poured for Elijah to drink. The youngest child who is able goes to the door to see if Elijah is coming to herald the Messiah. Eevry time we take communion we are to remember that we are drinking the cup as spoken by Messiah in Luke 22:20. Then likewise the cup after they ate, saying “This is the cup of the New Covenant in My blood which is being poured out on your behalf.”
For more link below:
https://www.minimannamoments.com/13-for-supper-and-only-4-cups/
Both in the synagogue Seder and the home meal, along with other appropriate songs, they close with the singing of Psalms 113 through 118
Which are called “The Hallel,” meaning Praise. This was what they sang before going out to gethsemane
Matt 26:30 And when they had sung a hymn, they went out unto the mount of Olives.
A Seder Haggadah is much more detailed than this brief outline.
As most of us always sit at a table, the position of reclining is not understood by modern standards, in John 13: 23. One of His disciples, whom Jesus loved, was next to Jesus. 24. Then Simon Peter beckoned to him to ask whoever might be the one about whom He was speaking. 25. So that one, in front of Jesus, said to Him, “Lord, who is it?”
These are often translated “leaning on Jesus’ bosom” (verse 23) and “lying on Jesus’ breast” (verse 25), but these are idioms referring to the person next to or in front of someone. The couches or cushions were placed at an angle to the table so each person would not take up more than one space at the table. Each would lie on one side, which meant that the next person would be in front, spoken of as being or lying on the bosom of that person. See mmm
Luke 16 has another reference to this: 23. And in Hades, as he was in torment, when he lifted up his eyes he saw Abraham from afar and Lazarus in his bosom.
There are two meanings for being in the bosom of Abraham.
For people on earth it means to be in the place of honor at a banquet.
For those in heaven it means to share the bliss that Abraham enjoys, as the saint reclines in front of Abraham at the heavenly banquet table.
Now, however, I am on my way to Jerusalem in the service of the saints there. For Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem. They were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in the Jews’ spiritual blessings, they owe it to the Jews to share with them their material blessings. (Romans 15:25-27)
It is an indisputable fact that everything pertaining to salvation has come to us through the Jewish people: the patriarchs, the prophets, the Bible, our Savior, the apostles, the gospel and the church.
Nothing connects the church more clearly to Israel and her Jewish roots than the Feast of Passover. This first of the feasts of the Lord is celebrated in memory of the great exodus out of Egypt through the blood of the Lamb. But it was also during the last Passover meal together with His Jewish disciples, in celebration of this exodus out from Egypt, that Jesus instituted the new covenant in His own blood, a celebration we now call communion.
When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. And He said to them, ‘I have greatly desired with a longing to eat this Seder with you before I suffer: 16. for I say to you that I would not eat it again until this would be fulfilled in the kingdom of God.’ 17. Then having taken a cup, after He gave thanks, He said, ‘You must take this and you must immediately share it among yourselves: 18. for I say to you, that from now on I am not drinking from this product of the vine until the kingdom of God would come.’ 19. Then having taken bread, after He gave thanks, He broke it and gave it to them saying, ‘This is My body which is being given on your behalf: you must continually do this in My remembrance.’ 20. Then likewise the cup after they ate, saying, ‘This is the cup of the New Covenant (Jer 31:31-34) in My blood which is being poured out on your behalf.’ Luke 22:14-20
It is tragic how the “Church” has paid back the debt we owe to the Israeite/Jewish people. It is a debt without measurable price for without them there would be no Messiah! In 196 AD, where not one Jewish believer was present, a council meeting in Caesarea determined that the resurrection of Jesus/Yeshua should be celebrated on a Sunday during the Feast of Eishtar/Ishtar, a pagan goddess, instead of during the third day of Passover on the Feast of First Fruits,
Leviticus 23:9-11 and 1 Corinthians 15:4,20-23.
Later in 325 AD at the universal Council of Nicea I, this practice became official dogma. The decision was based on the argument that: ‘it is not fitting for the Church in her celebration of the Lord’s death and resurrection to be connected with the cursed Jewish nation that crucified Him.’ (Please note this is a quote NOT the writers’ words or beliefs!)
This has remained so ever since and most of us have grown up not knowing any difference or the origin of what we believe! How sad it is to realize that the Church/ecclesia, that God called to provoke Israel to jealousy, abandoned her Hebrew/Israelite/Jewish roots/heritage and identity; and because of this attitude we have robbed our Savior /Messiah of His Jewishness, yet scripture records that He lived His whole life as an observant Jew!
Just as Israel gave birth to the ‘Church’ in the 1st century, surely it would honor the Lord, if during Passover, His grafted-in children would gather together around a Passover Seder meal and communion, to remember our Israelite heritage and roots and the enormous debt we have towards the children of Israel for our eternal salvation.
Messiah spent that night with His disciples in prayer. We, too, could and maybe should, spend that night in prayer for other peoples salvation, It is because the LORD kept vigil that Passover night to bring them out of Egypt, on this night all the Israelites are to keep vigil to honor the LORD for the generations to come, which includes us.
Exodus 12:42 Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. Romans 10:1 For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? Romans 11:15
The Seder meal illustrates so clearly that our salvation is through Messiah/Jesus’ death and resurrection. We should remember that during the same night basically every Jewish person in the world, whether religious or not, is also gathered around a Seder meal, just like they have done every year, for almost 3,500 years and in fact is the oldest continuously observed religious feast in existence today.
UNLEAVENED BREAD in Hebrew is
Hag Hamatsot or Chag HaMatzot
Its’ purpose is to tell the children of God’s mighty hand in bringing deliverance to Israel. It is celebrated on Nisan 15, which occurs in March or April, and begins the day after Passover lasting for the next 7 days. As already noted this month is called Aviv, which is the Hebrew word for Spring.
This feast is symbolized by matzah bread, which is eaten not only on Passover, but also throughout the entire 7 days of Unleavened Bread.
Today, Passover and Unleavened Bread are combined and are usually just called Passover. The focus is on freedom from bondage, expressly for the purpose of worshipping God.
Leviticus 23:6. And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the Lord; seven days you must eat unleavened bread. 7. In the first day you shall have a holy gathering; you shall do no labor in it. 8. But you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord seven days; in the seventh day is a holy gathering; you shall do no labor in it.
This command to do no labor is different from the command in Exodus 20:8-10. The feast begins at sundown Nisan 15 with the 2nd Seder, this one celebrated in the home. This 2nd Seder is not a Scriptural mandate, but a traditional one.
The Rabbis teach that during the Feast of Unleavened Bread resurrection for judgment takes place.
Although Messiah Jesus was resurrected during Unleavened Bread, on First Fruits; the Appointed Time or Feast of the Lord called Judgment Day, takes place several months later, on what is called Rosh Hashanah, or the Day of Memorial.
The 7th/last day of the week of Unleavened Bread is to remind us of how the Red Sea was parted. The events of the 1st week of the exodus are:
Nisan 15, they traveled from Ramses to Sukkot
Nisan 16, they traveled from Sukkot to Eitam (Exodus 13:20)
Nisan 17, they retreated toward Egypt, and camped at Pihakhirot (Exodus 14:2)
Nisan 18, Pharaoh’s agents reported that three days had gone by and the Israelites were not returning (Exodus 14:5)
Nisan 19, 20, Pharaoh organized his forces & chased after the Israelites (Exodus 14:6-10)
Nisan 21, Red Sea splits open and the Israelites escaped. (Exodus 14:13-16)
The next of the 7 annual Moedim is called
FIRST FRUITS in Hebrew it is
Resheet K’tsirchem, meaning
Beginning of Your Harvest, or Your First Harvest.
Its purpose was to bring the Offering of First Fruits.
This occurred on Nisan 16, still in March or April, on the 2nd day of the week of Unleavened Bread.
It was symbolized by a basket of fruit simply because this offering was brought in a basket, however, the basket would normally have held barley because that is the crop harvested just before First Fruits.
As described in scripture, there are
3 First Fruits celebrations each year.
Leviticus 23:9. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 10. Speak to the people of Israel, and say to them, When you come to the land which I give to you, and shall reap its harvest, then you shall bring a sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest; 11. And he shall wave the sheaf before the Lord, to be accepted for you; on the next day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it. 12. And you shall offer that day when you wave the sheaf a male lamb without blemish of the first year for a burnt offering to the Lord. 13. And the meal offering of it shall be two tenth deals of fine flour mixed with oil, an offering made by fire to the Lord for a sweet savor; and the drink offering of it shall be of wine, the fourth part of a hin. 14. And you shall eat nor bread, nor parched grain, nor green ears, until the same day that you have brought an offering to your God; it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.
Each First Fruits of the 3 harvest festivals is, filled with joyful thanksgiving. The quantities brought to the temple were unspecified and never a great quantity; one basket carried a family’s offering, however a king brought a basket that required two people to carry it.
Deuteronomy 26:1. And it shall be, when you come in to the land which the Lord your God gives you for an inheritance, and possess it, and live in it; 2. That you shall take of the first of all the fruit of the earth, which you shall bring of your land that the Lord your God gives you, and shall put it in a basket, and shall go to the place which the Lord your God shall choose to place his name there. 3. And you shall go to the priest who shall be in those days, and say to him, I declare this day to the Lord your God, that I have come to the country which the Lord swore to our fathers to give us. 4. And the priest shall take the basket from your hand, and set it down before the altar of the Lord your God.
The offering was presented as described in Deuteronomy 26:2, then the one presenting would say from Deuteronomy 26:5. And you shall speak and say before the Lord your God, ‘A wandering Aramean was my father, and he went down into Egypt, and sojourned there with a few, and became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous; 6. And the Egyptians dealt ill with us, and afflicted us, and laid upon us hard slavery; 7. And when we cried to the Lord God of our fathers, the Lord heard our voice, and looked on our affliction, and our labor, and our oppression; 8. And the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great awesomeness, and with signs, and with wonders; 9. And he has brought us to this place, and has given us this land, a land that flows with milk and honey. 10. And now, behold, I have brought the first fruits of the land, which you, O Lord, have given me.’ And you shall set it before the Lord your God, and worship before the Lord your God; 11. And you shall rejoice in every good thing which the Lord your God has given to you, and to your house, you, and the Levite, and the stranger who is among you.
This portion in verses 5-10, was repeated by each one bringing a First Fruits offering to the temple and the First Fruits offered are defined in Deuteronomy 8:8. A land of wheat, barley, vines (grapes), fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of olive oil, and date-honey.
These were the only crops offered for First Fruits.
As noted, during the Feast of Unleavened Bread, barley was the crop that was being harvested and offered, although someone who had not been able to come to the previous First Fruits could bring that offering at the next First Fruits. This was a modest offering coming from just a few crops but it expresses commitment to God and thanksgiving to Him for His provision.
The Feast of Unleavened Bread ends with the reading of Psalm 93: 3. The floods have lifted up, O Lord, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their roaring. 4. The Lord on high is mightier than the noise of many waters, than the mighty waves of the sea.
This is no doubt because in Exodus 14:13-16 the text shows that the Israelites crossed the Red Sea on their way out of Egypt on the 7th day.
Next is the Counting FROM the Omer, which is the
counting of the next
50 days from the First Fruits of Unleavened Bread to the First Fruits of Shavuot
and connects the first Fruits of Unleavened Bread to the next Season.
Omer means sheaf and these first two of the First Fruits were offerings for the harvesting of barley, then of wheat at the Feast of Shavuot/Pentecost at the end of counting the 50 days.
Messiah was resurrected on the First Fruits of Unleavened Bread, then, 40 days later He ascended, and 10 days after that, on Shavuot/Pentecost, His Holy Spirit was given. Thus the 50 days of Counting from the Omer tie His resurrection, ascension, and the giving of the baptism/outpouring of His Holy Spirit.
The term Pentecost comes from the
Greek Πεντηκοστή Pentēkostē
meaning: fiftieth.
It refers to the Jewish festival celebrated on the
fiftieth day after First Fruits,
also known as the Feast of Weeks
and the Feast of 50 days.
Shavuot שָׁבוּעוֹת
PART 2 will conclude the 7 appointed times.
Can we say with the children of Israel?
-
כֹּל אֲשֶׁר-דִּבֶּר יְהוָה נַעֲשֶׂה וְנִשְׁמָע.