“But as God hath distributed to every man, as the Lord hath called everyone, so let him walk.” I Corinthians 7:17 The Message reads “And don’t be wishing you were someplace else or with someone else. Where you are right now is God’s place for you. Live and obey, love, and believe right there. God, not your marital status, defines your life.” Have you ever asked yourself the question: “Why am I here?” Perhaps you look at your circumstances and think that you would be better off somewhere else. Maybe you have thought that if you had a different family,…
“You are to celebrate the Lord’s festival for seven days… so that your generations may know that I made the Israelites live in shelters when I brought them out of the land of Egypt.” Leviticus 23:41- 43. The Feast Of Tabernacles (Sukkot) The Feast of Tabernacles was a joyous weeklong celebration of God’s provision and presence. It commemorates the Israelites living in temporary shelters for forty years while they wandered in the wilderness. Sukkot is a harvest festival, marking the end of the agricultural year in Israel when the final crops are gathered. Once the Hebrews entered the Promised Land, families would celebrate by living in temporary shelters. These shelters served as a reminder of how God cared for Israel in the wilderness. It was a time to rejoice and to remember God’s faithfulness. Sukkot is rich in prophetic significance, pointing to the Messianic Kingdom when God will dwell with His people (Zechariah 14:16-19). God Had A Plan From The Beginning God is a relational God. From the beginning, He communicated with His creation. He walked with Adam in the cool of the day (Gen. 3:8), and manifested Himself to Moses in a burning bush, revealing His power and sovereignty…
“Because on this day atonement will be made for you, to cleanse you. Then, before the Lord, you will be clean from all your sins.” Leviticus 16:30, NIV. The Day of Atonement was the most solemn and sacred day in Israel. On this day, the high priest would cleanse himself before entering the Most Holy Place. He would enter into the Holiest of Holies with the blood of an innocent lamb who was sacrificed, to make atonement for the sins of all of the people. This was a day of fasting, repentance, and humility. The entire Nation of Israel would rededicate themselves on this day to face their sin and allow the blood of an innocent animal to atone for them for one more year. The book of Hebrews tells us that Jesus, who is now our high priest, became the lamb who was slain before the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8). Hebrews 9:11-12 states, “But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands, that is to say, is not a part of this creation. He did not enter…
“The Lord said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites: ‘On the first day of the seventh month you are to have a day of sabbath rest, a sacred assembly commemorated with trumpet blasts.” Leviticus 23:23-24, NIV. The Feast of Trumpets today is commonly celebrated as Rosh Hashanah. It is a time for personal and communal renewal. The Jewish civil New Year begins with the sound of the shofar (a ram’s horn) which has a loud, piercing noise that breaks through the ordinary and calls God’s people to attention. It is not a feast of celebration, like some of the other feasts, but a…
“From the day after the Sabbath… Count off fifty days up to the day after the seventh Sabbath, and then present an offering of new grain to the Lord.” Leviticus 23:15-16. The Feast of Weeks, Shavuot in Hebrew, and later known as Pentecost in the Greek language, is 50 days after the Passover. This Feast is to celebrate the bounty of the harvest. It was a time to gather the first grain offering of your field and present it to the Lord. This act of a grain offering was to give God praise and thank Him for His constant provision in their lives. God continued to show His people that He was Lord of the harvest. Like always, God has more in mind. Today, There’s A New Kind Of Harvest In the New Testament, Jesus says in John 4:35, “Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!” Jesus is telling His disciples that there was a new kind of harvest to gather, men and women of all ages, nations, and tongues. Jesus is preparing…
“Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When you enter the land I am giving you and reap its harvest, you are to bring the first sheaf of your harvest to the priest.” Leviticus 23:10 (CSB) A Little Feast INTRODUCTION I want to give a little introduction of the first three feasts in the Jewish calendar. The first feast the children of Israel celebrated is the Feast of Passover is on the 14th day of the Hebrew month of Nisan. The Feast of Unleavened Bread begins on the 15th of Nisan and lasts for seven days. Then the third feast in this cluster is the Feast of Firstfruits which happened the day after the Sabbath following the Passover Feast and lasted for one day. We ARE TO Give God Our Best The Feast of Firstfruits was a bold act of trust. Remember, the children of Israel are living in freedom from Egypt and are now required to work for their personal needs. They remember hearing stories of their ancestors wandering through the wilderness, hungry and thirsty, and God miraculously feeding them with manna and causing water to flow from a rock. They learned about God’s provision and knew that He…