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Lev. 23:2
In Leviticus 23, G-d gives a calendar to His people. The Biblical calendar is
Lunar: it is based on the phrases of the moon. The tiny sliver of the new
moon always appears on the first day of the month; The full moon indicates
the middle of the month; The disappearance of the moon indicates the end
of the month. G-d declares certain days to be modeim which means
appointed times. Lev. 23 is like G-d's day planner. He has made
appointments on which to meet with His people. These include the weekly
Sabbath, the Feast of Passover, Pentecost, the Feast of Trumpets, The Day
of Atonement and the Feast of Booths. To study the festivals is to study the
future. To study the festivals is to study the Messiah.
Lev. 23:3 Gives us G-d's first calendar appointment. It is the Sabbath,
which commemorates two things. First it is a remembrance of the creation
of the world (Exodus 20:11). Second it commemorates the exodus from
Egypt (Deut 5:15). To Yeshua, the Sabbath was His Father's day. Sabbath
is a picture of the eternal life we posses through faith in Yeshua. We can
rest in our salvation because the work of messiah is finished. We rest from
striving to earn salvation.
The Sabbath is also a foreshadowing of things to come. The book of
Revelations speaks of a coming millennium of peace. This will be a
thousand-year reign of Messiah during which satan is bound. The
celebration of the weekly Sabbath is a celebration of the coming of
Messiah. It offers a weekly taste of the era of peace and rest when Messiah
will rule the earth. By keeping the Sabbath, we participation the Kingdom of
heaven on earth now.
Passover is the first annual appointment in G-d's day timer. It is the day in
which all the Passover lambs were slaughtered. On that first Passover while
the Israelites were still slaves in Egypt G-d told His people to slaughter a
lamb and apply its blood to the doorpost of their homes. They were to eat
the lamb with bitter herbs and unleavened bread. This was to be a
remembrance of their salvation from bondage and slavery. The blood
markings upon the door post foreshadowed Messiah's death. Messiah died
on the day of Passover as our Passover lamb. The passover lambs were
slaughtered in the Temple at mid-afternoon, during the ninth hour
(2:30-3pm). According to the gospel of Mark, Yeshua died during the ninth
hour of the day.
Lev. 23:6 the fifteenth day of the first month (Nisan) begins just a few hours
after the Passover sacrifice. This is the appointed time of Unleavened
Bread. In the evening the sedar meal is eaten. Seder means "set order"
because there is a prescribed for for the meals rituals. This appointed feast
last seven days. The first and last days are special high Sabbath days.
They are days of rest, focus on prayer and scripture set apart from the
weekly sabbath. The first day of Unleavened Bread commemorates the
exodus from Egypt. The seventh day commemorates the crossing of the
Red Sea. Prior to the beginning of this feast the Torah (Old Testament
Scriptures) commands that all leaven and things leavened must be removed
from one's home. For the entire seven days we are to abstain from eating
things leavened. Leaven is likened to sin in our lives. This is a good time to
repent and remove the sin from our lives. Unleavened bread, free from the
fermentation process represents incorruptible flesh during the festival.
Lev. 23:10 is a command to bring the Sheaf of the first fruits to the Temple.
This is called the First Fruits of the Barley Harvest. It begins the counting of
the Omer. An omer is a biblical unit of measure that indicates about one
Sheaf's worth of grain. This ritual of gathering this barley omer was a
special first fruits offering to the L-rd G-d. The Torah prohibited using or
eating any grain or produce from the new year's crops until the first omer of
grain to ripen was harvested and brought to the Temple. On the same day
that Yeshua was tried before Caiaphas, the Sanhedrin went out to the barley
field and bound the standing barley into bundles so it would be easier to
reap. After sunset on the day after the high sabbath of Unleavened Bread
they reaped a single Sheaf. The priest in the Temple threshed, roasted and
ground the barley omer into flour, sifting it through 13 sieves. The flour would
be mixed with oil and frankincense to make it into a bread offering. A single
male lamb as a burnt offering is unique to the day of the barley offering. All
other sacrifices occur in multiples. This lamb symbolizes the Messiah who,
on that day, rose up from the grave. Just as the first omer of barley was
brought as a first fruits of the whole harvest, Messiah's resurrection was a
first fruits of the resurrection of the dead. Just as the barley made all the rest
of the harvest Kosher (clean) for harvest, the resurrection of Yeshua makes
the resurrection of the dead possible.
Lev 23:16 With the cutting of the first omer of barley begins the countdown to
the next biblical festival. We count off forty nine days and then celebrate the
festival of Shavuot (Pentecost) on the fiftieth day. During these forty nine
days the wheat crop ripens. The first fruits of the wheat crop can be brought
to the Temple for Shavuot. For forty days after the resurrection of Messiah
He appeared to His disciples. On the forty-first day of the omer Yeshua on a
hill near Bethany ascended into Heaven in the presence of over 500
witnesses. He commanded the disciples to stay in Jerusalem and to wait for
the promise of the Father.
Lev. 23:21 The feast of Pentecost (Shavuot) occurred on the fifteenth day.
Pentecost means fifty. This was the anniversary of the day G-d spoke the
Torah at Mt. Sinai. In Judaism, it is called the festival of the giving of the
Torah. It is the anniversary of G-d giving the Ten Commandments. When
G-d spoke, His voice spoke in all the languages of mankind, and it took the
shape of fiery sparks that encircled the camp of Israel and rested on each
individual Jew according to Jewish Tradition. Therefore the signs and
wonders of this Pentecost carried deep significances as tongues of fire and
the speaking in every tongue occurred. It is as if G-d drew a line of
connection between the giving of the Ten Commandments and the giving of
His spirit.
After the festival of Shavuot, the appointed times cease for the summer. A
reminder to us that we are without Messiah's physical presence. They
resume in the fall. The month prior to the beginning of the fall festivals is Elul.
It is the month of preparation. It is a month of giving and asking for
forgiveness. It is a month of blowing the shofar to tell the people to prepare
for the coming of the King. In history we are here, sounding the alarm of the
shofar. We are to preach the gospel: "Repent for the Kingdom of G-d is
near." We are awaiting the return of King Messiah.
Lev. 23:24 On the first day of the seventh month (Tishri) is the festival of the
Feast of Trumpets. We are to celebrate by blowing a ram's horn. It is a
feast to prepare us for the holy Day of Atonement. The Scriptures tell us to
blow the shofar (ram's horn) as a memorial but doesn't tell us what it
memorializes. The annual blowing of the shofar foreshadows the day when
the heavens will be rent by the blast of Messiah's trumpet. Matt 24:31 tells
us Messiah will send His angels forth to gather His elect. It is a day on which
we anticipate. It is relevant for everyone who believes in Messiah's return.
Lev. 23:28 The next appointed time occurs ten days later after the Feast of
Trumpets. It is the day of atonement (Yom Kippur). The Day of Atonement is
the holiest day of the year. Every year on the day of Atonement, the high
priest would enter the Holy of Holies and apply the atoning blood of the sin
offering. He would offer sin offerings for himself, the priesthood and all of
Israel. Today, Yom Kippur is celebrated with a day long service of prayer,
confession, study and reflection. It is a day of fasting. For us today, it is a
day to concern ourselves with the cleansing, atoning work of Messiah that
gives us forgiveness, pardon and right standing with G-d. Yeshua as our
high priest carried His own blood into the heavenly Holy of Holies and
poured it out upon the mercy seat. He was the perfect sacrifice and the
perfect high priest. This day also speaks to the second coming. Just as the
priest cleansed the tabernacle, Messiah will cleanse the earth, Jerusalem,
and His people through a mighty act of deliverance. He will come in
Judgement and preside over the earth in judgement.
Lev 16:34 The last appointment is the Feast of Booths known as Sukkot.
Sukkot means "shelters, stables or huts." They are often translated as
tabernacles in our English Bibles. Israel is commanded to annually build
temporary booths as dwelling places to remember how they lived in the
wilderness following G-d. Sukkot is a time of joy and celebration, a time to
celebrate the harvest and revel in G-d's goodness. Zech 14:15 tells us the
Feast of Booths celebrates a time when all the nations will ascend to
Jerusalem bearing tribute to King Messiah. The feast celebrates the
messiah who once tabernacled among us, now tabernacles within us, and in
the future will again tabernacle among us. It is a foreshadowing of that great
celebration when the entire world will live in peace under the reign and rule of
Messiah. Sukkot last for seven days. On the eight day is a celebration
called Simchat Torah, the day the Torah reading cycle is concluded and
begun again. Perhaps this foreshadows the new heaven, new earth and the
new Jerusalem spoken of in Rev. 21-22.
All of the feasts, the appointed times of G-d, are like the annual rehearsals
for the appointed times of redemption. The spring festivals point toward the
messianic fulfillment of the Master's first advent. The fall festivals point
toward Messiah's second coming. Col. 2:17 tell us they are a "Shadow of
what is to come."
In Leviticus 23, G-d gives a calendar to His people. The Biblical calendar is
Lunar: it is based on the phrases of the moon. The tiny sliver of the new
moon always appears on the first day of the month; The full moon indicates
the middle of the month; The disappearance of the moon indicates the end
of the month. G-d declares certain days to be modeim which means
appointed times. Lev. 23 is like G-d's day planner. He has made
appointments on which to meet with His people. These include the weekly
Sabbath, the Feast of Passover, Pentecost, the Feast of Trumpets, The Day
of Atonement and the Feast of Booths. To study the festivals is to study the
future. To study the festivals is to study the Messiah.
Lev. 23:3 Gives us G-d's first calendar appointment. It is the Sabbath,
which commemorates two things. First it is a remembrance of the creation
of the world (Exodus 20:11). Second it commemorates the exodus from
Egypt (Deut 5:15). To Yeshua, the Sabbath was His Father's day. Sabbath
is a picture of the eternal life we posses through faith in Yeshua. We can
rest in our salvation because the work of messiah is finished. We rest from
striving to earn salvation.
The Sabbath is also a foreshadowing of things to come. The book of
Revelations speaks of a coming millennium of peace. This will be a
thousand-year reign of Messiah during which satan is bound. The
celebration of the weekly Sabbath is a celebration of the coming of
Messiah. It offers a weekly taste of the era of peace and rest when Messiah
will rule the earth. By keeping the Sabbath, we participation the Kingdom of
heaven on earth now.
Passover is the first annual appointment in G-d's day timer. It is the day in
which all the Passover lambs were slaughtered. On that first Passover while
the Israelites were still slaves in Egypt G-d told His people to slaughter a
lamb and apply its blood to the doorpost of their homes. They were to eat
the lamb with bitter herbs and unleavened bread. This was to be a
remembrance of their salvation from bondage and slavery. The blood
markings upon the door post foreshadowed Messiah's death. Messiah died
on the day of Passover as our Passover lamb. The passover lambs were
slaughtered in the Temple at mid-afternoon, during the ninth hour
(2:30-3pm). According to the gospel of Mark, Yeshua died during the ninth
hour of the day.
Lev. 23:6 the fifteenth day of the first month (Nisan) begins just a few hours
after the Passover sacrifice. This is the appointed time of Unleavened
Bread. In the evening the sedar meal is eaten. Seder means "set order"
because there is a prescribed for for the meals rituals. This appointed feast
last seven days. The first and last days are special high Sabbath days.
They are days of rest, focus on prayer and scripture set apart from the
weekly sabbath. The first day of Unleavened Bread commemorates the
exodus from Egypt. The seventh day commemorates the crossing of the
Red Sea. Prior to the beginning of this feast the Torah (Old Testament
Scriptures) commands that all leaven and things leavened must be removed
from one's home. For the entire seven days we are to abstain from eating
things leavened. Leaven is likened to sin in our lives. This is a good time to
repent and remove the sin from our lives. Unleavened bread, free from the
fermentation process represents incorruptible flesh during the festival.
Lev. 23:10 is a command to bring the Sheaf of the first fruits to the Temple.
This is called the First Fruits of the Barley Harvest. It begins the counting of
the Omer. An omer is a biblical unit of measure that indicates about one
Sheaf's worth of grain. This ritual of gathering this barley omer was a
special first fruits offering to the L-rd G-d. The Torah prohibited using or
eating any grain or produce from the new year's crops until the first omer of
grain to ripen was harvested and brought to the Temple. On the same day
that Yeshua was tried before Caiaphas, the Sanhedrin went out to the barley
field and bound the standing barley into bundles so it would be easier to
reap. After sunset on the day after the high sabbath of Unleavened Bread
they reaped a single Sheaf. The priest in the Temple threshed, roasted and
ground the barley omer into flour, sifting it through 13 sieves. The flour would
be mixed with oil and frankincense to make it into a bread offering. A single
male lamb as a burnt offering is unique to the day of the barley offering. All
other sacrifices occur in multiples. This lamb symbolizes the Messiah who,
on that day, rose up from the grave. Just as the first omer of barley was
brought as a first fruits of the whole harvest, Messiah's resurrection was a
first fruits of the resurrection of the dead. Just as the barley made all the rest
of the harvest Kosher (clean) for harvest, the resurrection of Yeshua makes
the resurrection of the dead possible.
Lev 23:16 With the cutting of the first omer of barley begins the countdown to
the next biblical festival. We count off forty nine days and then celebrate the
festival of Shavuot (Pentecost) on the fiftieth day. During these forty nine
days the wheat crop ripens. The first fruits of the wheat crop can be brought
to the Temple for Shavuot. For forty days after the resurrection of Messiah
He appeared to His disciples. On the forty-first day of the omer Yeshua on a
hill near Bethany ascended into Heaven in the presence of over 500
witnesses. He commanded the disciples to stay in Jerusalem and to wait for
the promise of the Father.
Lev. 23:21 The feast of Pentecost (Shavuot) occurred on the fifteenth day.
Pentecost means fifty. This was the anniversary of the day G-d spoke the
Torah at Mt. Sinai. In Judaism, it is called the festival of the giving of the
Torah. It is the anniversary of G-d giving the Ten Commandments. When
G-d spoke, His voice spoke in all the languages of mankind, and it took the
shape of fiery sparks that encircled the camp of Israel and rested on each
individual Jew according to Jewish Tradition. Therefore the signs and
wonders of this Pentecost carried deep significances as tongues of fire and
the speaking in every tongue occurred. It is as if G-d drew a line of
connection between the giving of the Ten Commandments and the giving of
His spirit.
After the festival of Shavuot, the appointed times cease for the summer. A
reminder to us that we are without Messiah's physical presence. They
resume in the fall. The month prior to the beginning of the fall festivals is Elul.
It is the month of preparation. It is a month of giving and asking for
forgiveness. It is a month of blowing the shofar to tell the people to prepare
for the coming of the King. In history we are here, sounding the alarm of the
shofar. We are to preach the gospel: "Repent for the Kingdom of G-d is
near." We are awaiting the return of King Messiah.
Lev. 23:24 On the first day of the seventh month (Tishri) is the festival of the
Feast of Trumpets. We are to celebrate by blowing a ram's horn. It is a
feast to prepare us for the holy Day of Atonement. The Scriptures tell us to
blow the shofar (ram's horn) as a memorial but doesn't tell us what it
memorializes. The annual blowing of the shofar foreshadows the day when
the heavens will be rent by the blast of Messiah's trumpet. Matt 24:31 tells
us Messiah will send His angels forth to gather His elect. It is a day on which
we anticipate. It is relevant for everyone who believes in Messiah's return.
Lev. 23:28 The next appointed time occurs ten days later after the Feast of
Trumpets. It is the day of atonement (Yom Kippur). The Day of Atonement is
the holiest day of the year. Every year on the day of Atonement, the high
priest would enter the Holy of Holies and apply the atoning blood of the sin
offering. He would offer sin offerings for himself, the priesthood and all of
Israel. Today, Yom Kippur is celebrated with a day long service of prayer,
confession, study and reflection. It is a day of fasting. For us today, it is a
day to concern ourselves with the cleansing, atoning work of Messiah that
gives us forgiveness, pardon and right standing with G-d. Yeshua as our
high priest carried His own blood into the heavenly Holy of Holies and
poured it out upon the mercy seat. He was the perfect sacrifice and the
perfect high priest. This day also speaks to the second coming. Just as the
priest cleansed the tabernacle, Messiah will cleanse the earth, Jerusalem,
and His people through a mighty act of deliverance. He will come in
Judgement and preside over the earth in judgement.
Lev 16:34 The last appointment is the Feast of Booths known as Sukkot.
Sukkot means "shelters, stables or huts." They are often translated as
tabernacles in our English Bibles. Israel is commanded to annually build
temporary booths as dwelling places to remember how they lived in the
wilderness following G-d. Sukkot is a time of joy and celebration, a time to
celebrate the harvest and revel in G-d's goodness. Zech 14:15 tells us the
Feast of Booths celebrates a time when all the nations will ascend to
Jerusalem bearing tribute to King Messiah. The feast celebrates the
messiah who once tabernacled among us, now tabernacles within us, and in
the future will again tabernacle among us. It is a foreshadowing of that great
celebration when the entire world will live in peace under the reign and rule of
Messiah. Sukkot last for seven days. On the eight day is a celebration
called Simchat Torah, the day the Torah reading cycle is concluded and
begun again. Perhaps this foreshadows the new heaven, new earth and the
new Jerusalem spoken of in Rev. 21-22.
All of the feasts, the appointed times of G-d, are like the annual rehearsals
for the appointed times of redemption. The spring festivals point toward the
messianic fulfillment of the Master's first advent. The fall festivals point
toward Messiah's second coming. Col. 2:17 tell us they are a "Shadow of
what is to come."
G-D'S APPOINTED TIMES BY RABBI ESTHER BOUCHER |
Ministry of Gates of Praise Ministries, Inc. Copyright Gates of Praise Ministries 2007