The feasts and festivals of Israel are nothing more that pictures, types and symbols point to Jesus and God's plan of redemption. Everything foreshadows Jesus and God's redemptive plan. We see this over and over in God's Word. Remember the testimony concerning Jesus in Matt 4:16? "The people who live in darkness have seen a great light, and for those living in the shadowland of death, light has dawned. Praise God, you and I were dead in our sins, dead people walking in SHADOWLAND and HE made us alive together with Christ. We were in darkness, SHADOWLAND, and HE called us into HIS marvelous light.
We will see in Colossians 2:17 that "These are a shadow of what was to come; the substance is the Messiah. " The author of Hebrews teaches us that, Heb 8:5, "These serve as a copy and shadow of the heavenly things, as Moses was warned when he was about to complete the tabernacle. For He said, Be careful that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown to you on the mountain."
Now you might say Mark, if all this stuff in Leviticus and the OT are shadows why spend any time here? Let's go after the "real thing" in the NT, JESUS! I don't want to live in shadowland, I want to walk in the light as HE is in the light. I believe that is a fair question. I don't know if this is a perfect answer, but give it a try. Have you ever observed and painting where all of the shadows, textures, shadings etc., have been left out? Or maybe it is a painting that is not finished...and then you see it with the shadows, textures, and shadings...it seems to come alive...doesn't it? Before there was a feeling of sterility and now it feels real! I have often thought how awesome it must be to be a completed Jew. Someone raised with a full understanding of every little shadow, texture and shading of the OT and then BAM! JESUS! When the fire of God falls and ignites the wood as it were, the wood of fully understanding the shadows...then it just all makes sense. I don't know about you, I have to work at understanding the shadows, shadings and textures. But it is incredibly sweet when God the Holy Spirit allows me to see and new facet, to understand another shadow.
It is worth the work, it is worth the labor to cry out to God and seek to see Jesus throughout the OT. Remember “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’ ” Matt 4:4 EVERY WORD!
ISRAEL’S RELIGIOUS CALENDAR
| Festival | Date | Meaning |
| Passover | 14 Nisan (Mar/Apr) | A memorial festival, celebrated in the home. Each family ate a Passover meal symbolizing their solidarity with the Exodus generation the night God struck the Egyptians and passed over Jewish homes (see Ex. 12). This was the first day of the religious year, for it marked God’s redemption of His people from slavery in Egypt. For us it marks Jesus victory over sin, death and Satan. |
| Unleavened Bread | 15–21 Nisan (Mar/Apr) | A week–long period marked by sacrifices, during which the people ate bread made without yeast, as a reminder of their forefather’s hasty departure from Egypt (see Ex. 12:34). |
| Firstfruits | 16 Nisan (Mar/Apr) | A celebration of thanksgiving, held at harvesttime, during which the first newly ripened barley was presented to the Lord. The symbolism foreshadows the resurrection of Jesus, called a firstfruit in 1 Cor. 15:20–23. |
| Pentecost (Weeks) | 5 Sivan (May/Jun) | New grain is offered in thanksgiving to the Lord, and special sacrifices are offered. It is significant the Holy Spirit came on the Day of Pentecost, and 3,000 were converted. These first Christians were representative of the millions God will harvest from our lost race as His own. |
| Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah) | 1 Tishri (Sept/Oct) | This day of rest was the first day in Israel’s civil year. “Rosh Ha–SHA–nah” means “head of the year,” i.e., new year. |
| Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) | 15–21 Tishri (Sept/Oct) | On this solemn day of fasting and prayer the high priest entered the innermost room of the sanctuary and made atonement for “all the sins” of the people of Israel (see Lev. 16). “Yom Kippur” means “Day of Atonement.” Jesus did this once and for all granting God's children constant access to the throne of grace |
| Tabernacles (Succoth) | 15–21 Tishri (Sept/Oct) | During this week the people of Israel lived outside in shelters made of branches. No work was done during this time, and the family was to relive the days of ancient Israel’s travel through the wilderness. Following the solemn Day of Atonement, this relaxing week symbolized the rest and joy that follows our salvation. “Succoth” means “shelters,” or “lean–tos.” This festival was concluded with a solemn assembly and sacrifice on 22 Tishri. |
Richards, L. O. (1991; Published in electronic form by Logos Research Systems, 1996). The Bible readers companion (electronic ed.) (89). Wheaton: Victor Books.
The Passover as a type.—The Passover was not only commemorative but also typical. “The deliverance which it commemorated was a type of the great salvation it foretold.” No other shadow of good things to come contained in the law can vie with the festival of the Passover in expressiveness and completeness. (1) The paschal lamb must of course be regarded as the leading feature in the ceremonial of the festival. The lamb slain typified Christ the “Lamb of God,” slain for the sins of the world. Christ “our Passover is sacrificed for us.” 1 Cor. 5:7. According to the divine purpose, the true Lamb of God was slain at nearly the same time as “the Lord’s Passover,” at the same season of the year, and at the same time of the day, as the daily sacrifice at the temple, the crucifixion beginning at the hour of the morning sacrifice and ending at the hour of the evening sacrifice. That the lamb was to be roasted and not boiled has been supposed to commemorate the haste of the departure of the Israelites. It is not difficult to determine the reason of the command, “not a bone of him shall be broken.” The lamb was to be a symbol of unity—the unity of the family, the unity of the nation, the unity of God with his people whom he had taken into covenant with himself. (2) The unleavened bread ranks next in importance to the paschal lamb. We are warranted in concluding that unleavened bread had a peculiar sacrificial character, according to the law. It seems more reasonable to accept St. Paul’s reference to the subject, 1 Cor. 5:6-8, as furnishing the true meaning of the symbol. Fermentation is decomposition, a dissolution of unity. The pure dry biscuit would be an apt emblem of unchanged duration, and, in its freedom from foreign mixture, of purity also. (3) The offering of the omer or first sheaf of the harvest, Lev. 23:10-14, signified deliverance from winter, the bondage of Egypt being well considered as a winter in the history of the nation. (4) The consecration of the first-fruits, the first-born of the soil, is an easy type of the consecration of the first-born of the Israelites, and of our own best selves, to God. (Further than this (1) the Passover is a type of deliverance from the slavery of sin. (2) It is the passing over of the doom we deserve for our sins, because the blood of Christ has been applied to us by faith. (3) The sprinkling of the blood upon the door-posts was a symbol of open confession of our allegiance and love. (4) The Passover was useless unless eaten; so we live upon the Lord Jesus Christ. (5) It was eaten with bitter herbs, as we must eat our passover with the bitter herbs of repentance and confession, which yet, like the bitter herbs of the Passover, are a fitting and natural accompaniment. (6) As the Israelites ate the Passover all prepared for the journey, so do we with a readiness and desire to enter the active service of Christ, and to go on the journey toward heaven.—Ed.)
Smith, W. (1997). Smith's Bible dictionary. Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
Mk 9:37 “Whoever welcomes one little child such as this in My name welcomes Me. And whoever welcomes Me does not welcome Me, but Him who sent Me.”
Interesting...as I entered the above verse Alexis began to cry:) I need to go welcome her!
Father in heaven,
We praise, bless, and worship YOU! Thank YOU for YOUR precious Son, YOUR only begotton, the Lamb of God who takes away my sin and the sins of the whole world. Thank YOU for YOUR glory revealed in nature, the heavens declare the glory of God, and thank YOU for YOUR glory revealed in YOUR precious Word.
Love,
m