Meaning
of the Biblical Feasts
“Three
times a year, you are to observe (tachog) תחג a
festival for me.
Keep
the festival of matzah (Pesach): for seven days, as
I ordered you, you are to eat matzah at the time determined
in the month of Aviv; for it was in that month that you left
Egypt. No one is to appear before me empty–handed.
Next,
the festival of harvest, the first fruits (Shavuot) of
your efforts sowing in the field; and last, the festival
of ingathering (Sukkoth), at the end of the year,
when you gather in from the fields the results of your efforts.
Three
times a year all your men are to appear before the Lord,
ADONAI.” Exodus 23:14-17
“Tell
the people of Isra’el: ‘The designated times of
ADONAI (moadei Adonai) מעדי יהוה which
you are to proclaim as holy convocations are my designated
times.
“‘Work
is to be done on six days; but the seventh day is a Shabbat
of complete rest, a holy convocation; you are not to do any
kind of work; it is a Shabbat for ADONAI, even in your homes.
“‘These
are the designated times of ADONAI, the holy convocations
you are to proclaim at their designated times.
“‘In
the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, between
sundown and complete darkness, comes Pesach for ADONAI.
On
the fifteenth day of the same month is the festival of matzah;
for seven days you are to eat matzah.
On
the first day you are to have a holy convocation; don’t
do any kind of ordinary work. Bring an offering made by fire
to ADONAI for seven days. On the seventh day is a holy convocation;
do not do any kind of ordinary work.’”Leviticus
23 :2-8
Two
words are important for us in this study: the words observe
or celebrate and the designated times.
The
word chagag means: to celebrate, to feast, and to
dance until being drunk.
The
word mo’ed speaks of a special time, an appointed
time, a signal or a season, a meeting place or the tent of
meeting as in I Kings 8:4.
G-d
is calling us to celebrate with all our strength certain
times that He has sealed in His divine calendar.
Here
is an example of the kind of joy and celebration that pleases
the L-rd:
Then
David danced and spun around with abandon before ADONAI,
wearing a linen ritual vest. So David and all the house of Isra’el brought
up the ark of ADONAI with shouting and the sound of the shofar.2 Sam.6 :14-15
We
can see here a real strong manifestation of joy, close to
the joy we can experiment sometimes in the Spirit. This joy
which David expresses is directly linked to a special
event:
The
arrival of the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem.
The
Ark of the Covenant was this wooden box in which were kept
the two stones tablets, one of the most sacred thing that
disappeared since the destruction of the First Temple.
This
Ark was also the symbol of the divine presence, it has been
carried on the Temple Mount, Moryah, the place where Yitz’chaq had
been offered in sacrifice, an image of the Son (see our Parasha
Va-Yeira). This Ark was also a source of miracle and
the waters from the Jordan River separated at its passage (Joshua 4:7).
It was holy and to desecrate it would lead to death (2 Samuel
6:7). And it also holds the Word of G-d and is the symbol
of G-d’s Covenant with His chosen people:
And
there I have placed the ark containing the covenant of ADONAI,
which he made with the people of Isra’el. 2
Chronicles 6:11
When Shlomo inaugurated the
First Temple, joy and anointing were
so strong that nobody could possibly enter the Temple:
When Shlomo had
finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed
the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of ADONAI
filled the house, so that the cohanim could not enter
the house of ADONAI; because the glory of ADONAI filled יהוה כבוד ADONAI‘ s
house.
All
the people of Isra’el saw when the fire came
down, and the glory of ADONAI was on the house; they bowed
down with their faces to the ground on the flooring; prostrating
themselves, they gave thanks to ADONAI, “for he is
good, for his grace continues forever.”
2 Chronicles
7:1-3
We
need to realize that this joy that experimented both David
and Shlomo was directly linked with the Covenant made
with the children of Yisra-El. When Shlomo, the spiritual
heir of David inaugurated the First Temple at the seventh
month, the feast lasted for seven days and on the height
they had a holy convocation. This inauguration was nothing
else that the rejoicing over the presence of G-d among His
people and joy and anointing were present. This special day
was this “moed” day, this special time
sealed in G-d’s divine calendar, like a signal for
us:
The
Feast of Sukkoth!
Then,
on the twenty–third day of the seventh month, he sent
the people away to their tents full of joy and glad of heart
for all the goodness ADONAI had shown to David, to Shlomo and
to Isra’el his people 2 Chronicles 7 :10
As
we can see, G-d’s Feasts are special convocations that
He set up to show His glory. And those times of joy and anointing
are deeply linked to the Covenant with the House of Yisra-El.
It
is sad to see that today, the Church has forgotten about
those G-d’s given times or replaced them with other
celebration where Yisra-El is not invited any more.
How sad when we realized that each one of those feasts speaks
of the mission fulfilled by Yeshua and His coming:
Pesach and
the sacrifice
of the Lamb…
- Shavuot and
the gift of the Torah Who came in flesh …
- The
Feast of the Trumpets and the celebration of the Great King,
the calling to blow the shofar of Redemption …Rapture
- Yom
Kippur and
repentance, a condition for His return …
- Sukkoth and
the coming back of Yeshua when the full divine plan
will be accomplished, joining both Yisra-El with the
Gentiles in the knowledge of the One G-d…
When
we read the Tanach , we can see that for each feast
, joy and anointing were present as well as G-d presence
and it is our job today, as the descendants of Avraham to
invite Him and His glory to come back among His people through
His Ruach Hakodesh, His Spirit and transform Yaakov into Yisra-el!
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