LEV.CHAPTER 23:1-44 The 7 Feast

VERSES1-3

 

CHAPTER 23 begins a great section that deals with the FEASTS OF THE LORD

A)In Leviticus there are 2 major divisions-  SACRIFICES and FEASTS

      The SACRIFICES teach us the WAY TO GOD

 

B) But The FEASTS teach us something entirely different

     1) Not APPROACHING God but ABIDING with God...

 

C) Not the WAY to God but WALKING w/ Him.... Staying CLOSE to Him  1) They speak of maintaining our Walk w/ Him     

 

D) The Lord has ALWAYS been into eating... Jesus was always inviting Himself to peoples houses to FEAST with them

 

Rev. 3:20   Behold, I stand at the door, & knock: if any man hear my voice, & open the door, I will come in to him, & will sup w/ him, and he with me.

 

E) Speaks to us of Fellowship & Friendship

     1) So These FEASTS speak of ABIDING with Jesus

 

 

TWO THINGS TO NOTE:

     1.) Each feasts deals with COMMEMORATION

   Meaning They are REMINDERS to the people of things that God has done

 

     2.) They deal with EXPECTATIONS

             There is a PROPHETIC significance in each one of these feasts

                  Looking to the future

 

 

 

 

In CHAPTER 23 we see the entire future of man portrayed

A)COMMEMORATION of what God HAS done and EXPECTATION of what God is GOING to do

 

B) He begins with the SABBATH day- The Sabbath is NOT technically one of the 7 FEASTS listed here

1) But It is listed because it is to be a WEEKLY CELEBRATION with God

 

C) NOTE: The Sabbath was NOT a holiday.... It was a HOLY day

     1) It is NOT to be used for WORK... It is to be used for WORSHIP

 

D) We have seen already  that God declares the NECESSITY of the Sabbath in Ex. 20 – given the Law

 1) The Importance of setting a day aside for the Lord

 

Now Colossians declares that the issue is NOT the day that you chose to           have your Sabbath

 

Col. 2:16   Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink,              or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:

 

A)The point is that ONE day out of 7 needs to be set aside

      NOT just to watch football... Do the yard work

 

B) A day to set your heart on the Lord- be revitalized / refreshed / renewed in the Lord

1)   We seek the Lord daily – but the idea of one day – given to Him I believe is really important

 

C) F we did this there would be a lot fewer cases of stress.... fatigue....      burnout

 

AFTER dealing w the Sabbath day that was to be a weekly celebration... God begins to deal w/ specific times that were to be set aside  RD. v.4,5

 

 Feast #1 Passover  

A)April 14th. Commemorating the deliverance ……..from Egypt

 

B) After 430 years of slavery, while Pharaoh was determined to keep      them in slavery, God sent Moses to Egypt

     1) After 9 plagues came the final plague

 

C) The angel of death passed through the land- The ONLY way to escape was to kill a lamb sprinkle the blood of a lamb above the door

1)   and on the door posts and in the basin at the bottom... forming a perfect

     cross

 

D)When the angel saw the blood in the form of a cross that house              was spared

 

SO The Passover Feast -Looked back in Commemoration of the blood of the Passover Lamb

A)It Looks forward in Expectation to the coming JESUS -

     1Cor. 5:7   Jesus is our Passover

 

John 1:29   John the B. Behold the Lamb of God …….. World

 

B) Interesting to note that Jesus Himself was killed during the feast Passover on the 14th day of Nisan

     1) So the First feast was Passover

 

 

2nd Feast -VERSE 6-8

A)The day AFTER Passover was the feast of unleavened bread

        They were NOT to have leaven for 7 days after Passover

 

B) In fact - They cleaned out every bit of leaven from their homes- Why?

    APPLICATION - Leaven is symbolic of sin

 

C) This feast Commemorates Ex. 12 after Passover / angel of death passed the Egyptians distraught urged them to leave – left in a hurry    

And the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneading troughs being bound up in their clothes upon their shoulders.

 

D)They were in such a hurry to get out of Egypt that they left behind        their leaven

 

E) Leaving of the Leaven Commemorated their leaving of the world Behind  

1)     Egypt being symbolic of the world... Pharaoh being symbolic of     Satan... They LEFT behind with their LEAVEN

 

Now This feast looks forward in EXPECTATION to Jesus

A)The unleavened bread speaks of the body of Jesus Christ/ In Him NO sin

 

B) The unleavened bread was baked in a hot oven

      1) Even as Jesus endured the fiery wrath of God on the cross

 

C) The unleavened bread was  striped and pierced

     1) Even as the body of Jesus was striped and pierced

 

Interesting During the Passover meal... that was in conjunction with the Feast of Unleavened Bread...

A)They would make 3 round loaves of flat bread for the feast.

      The middle loaf was BROKEN/ wrapped in Linen and it was HIDDEN.

 

B) During the time of the dinner the children would search through the house looking for the lost piece of broken bread.

1)When they would find it they would bring it in to the family& they would all rejoice over finding the BROKEN  the HIDDEN piece of bread.

 

C) Interesting that This is a traditional part of the feast for which

     the Jew has no explanation. Why THREE pieces?

1)  Why the MIDDLE one BROKEN?      

   

E)Why was the BROKEN piece HIDDEN?/ Why the REJOICING when it

     was found? THEY don't know but WE do!!

 

The 3 pieces of bread represent the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

A) The middle piece represents the Son. the 2nd person of the trinity... whose body was striped and pierced...

   1) whose body was wrapped in burial linens... and hidden in the tomb

 

B)At the last supper Jesus, Jesus took the MIDDLE piece and He BROKE

     and said "Take and eat for this is MY body which is      BROKEN for you".

 

VERSES 9-12

The 3rd feast was the Feast of First Fruits

A)It would be COMMEMORATION of being brought into a land that was      blessed     Delivered FROM Egypt

 

B) They were brought THROUGH the wilderness And brought INTO a land flowing with milk and honey

  1) In thanksgiving for that they were to take the FIRST fruits and offer      it to the Lord

 

C) So The FIRST thing the Israelites did in Canaan was celebrate the Feast         of First of Fruits...

 

This Feast is in EXPECTATION of the RESURRECTION of Jesus

A)1Cor. 15:20 Jesus is the First Fruits of those who have risen from the Dead

 

B) Jesus rose on the 3rd day after Passover and became our Sabbath

    1) Hence - We celebrate the 1st day of the week as the Lord's Day

 

 

 

 

 

Now These 3 Feasts took place in April

A)Passover... The next day Unleavened Bread / Then on the 1st day of the week was First Fruits

 

B) 4th Feast was Pentecost – took place in June -  VERSES 15-16

 

C)The Feast of Pentecost.... 50 days after the Feast of First Fruits

      Pentecost = 50

 

What did Pentecost Commemorate?

A)Jewish Rabbis say that it commemorates the Law that was given to      Israel

 

B) The 2 loaves of VERSE 17 speak of the 2 tablets of the Law – speak of the fact that God loved His people enough to reveal His will in the Law

 

Now Pentecost was in EXPECTATION of that event that transpired 50 days      after the resurrection of Jesus - ACTS 2

A)The Disciples were gathered together in Jerusalem waiting for the Spirit to come upon them – happened – on the Day of Pentecost

 

B)The disciples were empowered – Peter Preached 3,000 souls were saved on that day the Church was Birthed

 

C) Think of this - When the LAW came down from Sinai... 3,000 people died / But On the Day of Pentecost 3,000 were saved

 

D) This is very interesting in light of  2 Cor. 3:5,6

5Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, 6who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

 

E) IF you try to live by the Law you will die -The Law can only condemn

     Trying to relate to God by the Law will kill you

    1) So this feast anticipates the birth of the Church     -Note VERSE 17

This feast also pictures the Church

A)2 loaves - Because there are two groups of people in the Church

       The Jews and the Gentiles - The wall of partition has been torn down

 

they shall be bakeD with leaven

 

B) You say: "Wait - Isn't leaven a type of sin?"-  Yes - You're right

    1) And thus the picture is appropriate because the Church has sin

 

C) It is POSITIONALLY righteous and holy before God

      1) BUT - PRACTICALLY you and I sin

 

D) We MUST understand that about THE Church... OUR Church... ANY           church

1)    If someone says: "I can't go here anymore... There's just too much sin there"... that is a Stupid statement

 

Be like saying: "I can't go to that hospital... there are too many             sick people there"  My Operation – Sorry can’t come

 A)The Church is a HOSPITAL for sinners/ place where the Lord does

      surgeries fixes hearts / walks /

 

B) It is where people come together to GROW in grace

    1) It is where people who are hurting come to be strengthened and               loved on

 

C) It is where people come to be challenged and comforted

     1) It is NOT a museum where crusty people frown at any infringements          Sin Sniffers  -   It is a HOSPITAL

 

D) This is NOT a license for sin

    1) It is acknowledging that we all have to grow and become like   Jesus

      It is NOT a place for pointing fingers

 

E) Who among us can point the finger at anybody else to condemn/ 4 Back

We dare NOT allow fault-finding and sin-sniffing to be the trademark           of this fellowship

A)We should be majoring on the excellent things

 

"Praise the Lord.. You're doing your best... You're growing.. I’m with you"

 

B) We struggle.. fall... fail... And Jesus is there to pick us up

      1) It was the sinners that loved to be near Jesus

 

C) He addressed the issue of sin... BUT - He instructed them in the                merciful and loving heart of the Father/ Not winking but encouraging

     1) How He would leave the 99 to find the ONE lost sheep

 

D) It was the self-righteous that hated being with Jesus

    1) If He Knew what type of woman she was …..

 

 

Now The next 3 feasts took place in October   VERSES 23-24

#5 The Feast of Trumpets

 

A)The COMMEMORATION was the gathering together of the people of      God (We'll see this in NUMBERS 10)

 

B) In that day there were no telephones or email

    1) The way of communication was through the blowing of trumpets

 

C) So the Trumpets were used to gather the people of God together for              specific functions

 

D)And The Feast of Trumpets was to gather the people together to      COMEMMORATE their ONENESS

1)It Commemorated how They were gathered together from Egypt... Brought through the wilderness... Brought into the promised land

 

The EXPECTATION is looking forward to the RAPTURE of the Church

1Ths. 4:16   6For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.        

 

Rev. 4:1   1After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, “Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this.”

 

A)There will be a voice that sounds like a trumpet saying: Come up         here - We will be GATHERED together... The RAPTURE

 

B) So the Feast of Trumpets spoke of the gathering together of God’s People /pointed to the Rapture

 

 

The 6th Feast is the only one that is ONLY sorrowful day in the calendar of Feasts... The Day of Atonement  VERSES 26-30

A)We looked at this in detail last week –Ch. 16

 

B)A day of RESTORATION...All sin in Israel was forgiven as the High Priest would go into the Holy of Holies  sprinkle blood on the Mercy Seat

 1) Once a Year

 

C) He would come out an announce that their sins were forgiven

 

D) So this one day the people would mourn & afflict themselves / day of introspection – Heavy day

     1) Priest sin – Fall over dead –  Heavy

 

 

 

 

REMEMBER the order of these feasts and what they represent

A)Passover > The death of Christ

Unleavened bread > His body being broken and striped and pierced for      us

 

B)   First Fruits > His Resurrection

                       Pentecost > Birth of the Church

                                      Trumpets > The Rapture of the Church

 

C)WHAT day is there going to be when there is an AT-ONE-MENT after the Rapture of the Church.... When there will be sorrow and affliction?

 1) When Israel realizes that they have crucified the Messiah/ 2nd Coming

 

Zech. 12:10-11   10“And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn. 11In that day there shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem,

 

Zech. 13:6   Where Wounds ….I was wounded in the house of my friends.

 

D)A day of heaviness... A day of AT-ONE-MENT as they acknowledge           Jesus as their Lord

 

 

AFTER the Atonement comes the LAST and the most JOYOUS of the feasts VERSES 33-35 – Skip to 39-44

A)COMMEMORATION - They remembered that at one time they were      pilgrims going through the wilderness

 

B) They REMEMBERED that God had carried them through that and provided for them and protected them

  1) They made booths of palm branches & camped out for a week/ Family C

 

C) They rejoiced and feasted over the fact that God saw them through

    the wilderness

     EXPECTATION - This is the ONE feast that we are told with      CERTAINTY will be celebrated throughout the millennium

Turn

     Zech. 14:16   And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left         of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up          from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to        keep the feast of tabernacles.

 

A)Now WHY are we going to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles through the Millennium?

 

B) To commemorate that we too have been brought through the         wilderness experience of this life on earth

1)   We are going to have a camp out once a year in Jerusalem

 

C)We'll rejoice in how God delivered and provided and protected us           through our earthly pilgrimage

 

          Zech. 14:17   And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the         families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD      of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain.

 

Application for us You do NOT have to feast with the Lord

A)If you DON'T want to FELLOWSHIP with the Lord gather with the           saints on the Lord's day and mid-     week.. You DON'T have to

 

B) BUT - Those who refuse to come will be DRY

 

C) Communion – 1 Cor. 11

 

“Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 25In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”

26For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.