9/24/06:
What follows is a list of the 3 feasts discussed in Exodus 23, plus several others discussed in the Feast Chapter, Leviticus 23. After the lesson, I'll post some information on each of these.
1. Passover/ Unleavened Bread/ Firsfruits:
Dates: Nisan 14-21, March or April
Bible Passages: Leviticus 23:4-14, Exodus 12:1-20, Exodus 23:15
Brief Descriptions:
Passover: Slaying and eating a lamb (before AD 70 only), together with bitter herbs and unleavened bread, in every household to commemorate Israel's deliverance from Egypt.
Unleavened Bread: eating unleavened bread for a week after Passover, holding several assemblies, making various offerings
Firstfruits: on the second day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, presenting the first sheaf of the barley harest to the Lord, making a burnt offering and a grain offering- recognizing God's provision and the bounty that was coming
Foreshadowing of Christ:
For a discussion of the significance of Passover specifically, take this link:
www.aletheiacf.com/site/cpage.asp?sec_id=2432&cpage_id=5925Passover Foreshadowings of Christ
In regard to Firstfruits, we find outside of the Bible that the firstfruits sheaf was bound and cut on Passover and left until the Firstfruits feast (3 days later), to be offered to the Lord. This powerfully symbolizes Christ's resurrection (Christ was killed on Passover and rose from the dead on the day of Firstfruits). Thus, Firstfruits is equivalent to Easter.
Paul picked up on the link between firstfruits and Christ's resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15:
20But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 23But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him.
2. Feast of Harvest or Weeks, aka Shavuot or Pentecost:
Dates: 6 Sivan, May or June
Bible Passages: Leviticus 23:15-22, Exodus 23: 16
Brief Description: 50 days after the Sabbath on Passover week, it was the time to present the first of the wheat harvest- a festival of joy. This date is traditionally considered the date of Moses' giving of God's law to the Israelites, inaugurating the Mosaic covenant.
Foreshadowing of Christ: After His resurrection, Jesus told his disicples to wait in Jerusalem for the gift of the Holy Spirit. On Pentecost Sunday, the Holy Spirit came on them mightily- Peter preached to a large crowd and 3,000 were baptized. Pentecost, then, marked the beginning of the Church, inaugurating the New Covenant, which replaced the Mosaic Covenant- a covenant marked not by external laws, but the indwelling of the Lawgiver Himself.
3. Feast of Trumpets, aka Rosh Hashanah (New Year):
Date: 1 Tishri, September or October
Bible Passage: Leviticus 23:23-25
Brief Description: An assembly of trumpets, starting the 10 High Holy Days leading up to the Day of Atonement. A day of rest and sacrifices. During these ten high holy days, Jewish tradition said that God examines the Book of Life to see if your good deeds outweigh your sinful ones, determining whether your name will remain in the Book of Life.
Foreshadowing of Christ: God does indeed have a book of life (Rev. 21:27, 20:15), but one's name is inscribed in it through faith in Christ. Some see this festival, with it's trumpet announcements, as symbolic of the Day of Judgment.
4. Day of Atonement, aka Yom Kippur:
Date: 10 Tishri, September or October
Bible Passage: Leviticus 23:26-32
Brief Description: The most solemn holy day of the Jewish people, in which God is said to judge the deeds of the entire year. The High Priest was only allowed to enter the Holy of Holies (the inner-most sanctuarity of the Tabernacle/ Temple) on this day, to offer a special sacrifice on behalf of all the sins of the people for the last year. After the sacrifice, a "scapegoat" was released into the wilderness as a symbol of God carrying away Israel's sins, never to return.
Foreshadowing of Christ: The Holy of Holies (representing the place where God resides) was separated from the people by a veil. When Christ died, the 'veil was torn in two' (Luke 22:44-46), representing the fact that Christ's atoning, once-for-all sacrifice (Hebrews 9:11-28) had ushered in the New Covenant, when God would dwell with men.
5. Feast of Tabernacles (Booths), aka Sukkot:
Date: 15-21 Tishri, September of October
Bible Passages: Leviticus 23:33-43, Exodus 23: 16
Brief Description: A week of celeberation of the harvest, in which the Israelites were to live in temporary shelters (booths), commemorating what it was like to flee Egypt and live as nomads.
Torches were lit, indicating the the Messiah would be a light to the Gentiles (Isaiah 49:6), and water was carried to the Temple, symbolizing that the whole earth would one day know God as the "waters cover the sea" (Isaiah 11:9).
Foreshadowing of Christ: When he attended this feast, Jesus used these symbols to show how he was, in fact, the "light of the world" and the "water of life" (John 7:37-38 and 8:12).
Other Feasts:
There are other feasts to look into. These also have amazing signficance. Homework project for anyone?:
Rejoicing in the Law (Simchat Torah):
Leviticus 23:36
Non-Mosaic Feasts:
Feast of Dedication (Hanukkah): The Book of Maccabees (Apochrypha) and John 10:22
Feast of Lots (Purim): the Book of Esther
For more discussion on feasts, see Hume's post on the subject:
www.aletheia.proboards76.com/index.cgi?board=exodus&action=display&thread=1171128877&page=2