(initially published 09/04/2011)
This is a fascinating study I’ve been doing from Pastor Mark Biltz at El Shaddai Ministries. Most of the substantive content in this post is attributable to his teachings on this subject, with some additional commentary added from me.
The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘These are my appointed festivals, the appointed festivals of the Lord, which you are to proclaim as sacred assembles.’” (NIV)
The Lord spoke again to Moses, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘The LORD’S appointed times which you shall proclaim as holy convocations – My appointed times are these” (New American Standard Bible)
Note these are the Lord’s Feasts – instituted by Him. He didn’t say these were the feasts of the Jews, or the feasts of Israel. As we go through the 7 Feasts of the Lord (consisting of 4 Spring feasts and 3 Fall feasts), we will see, from a Hebraic perspective and from Hebraic roots (over 3000 years of Jewish practice) that nothing takes God by surprise. It is apparent that He had it all figured out from the beginning. Through the Lord’s Feasts, we’ll see that it was God who determined what day His son would die. It was God who determined what time Jesus would die. And we’ll even see that it was God who determined what songs were sung at His son’s funeral.
When we (being of a Western mindset) think of feasts, we think of food and revelry. But this is inaccurate from a Hebraic mindset. And we must consider this from a Hebraic mindset because when the Lord issued the command to Moses in Leviticus, He told him to speak to the Jews and tell them of God’s appointed feasts. And we know that the Old Testament was originally recorded in Hebrew. So the Hebrew word for feasts is “moed” which literally means “an appointment.” According to Pastor Mark Biltz, this meaning is such that it’s almost like God had a day planner and pre-determined at what points in history He was going to intervene. Further, Pastor Biltz defines “Moed” as:
“a fixed point in time or season; specifically, a festival. To fix upon (by agreement or appointment); by implication, to meet (at a stated time), to engage (for marriage).”
If you say you’re going to set an appointment with someone, don’t you think it’s important that you both know when the date/time/place will be? So it’s a fixed time, and everyone is aware of when that will be. But one of our problems is that we have God’s biblical calendar (the Jewish calendar), and the Julian/Gregorian calendar (the common calendar we go by today). While we live and work under the Julian/Gregorian calendar, it’s very important that we are aware of and understand God’s biblical calendar if we are to fully understand how God used/uses these feasts to herald the coming of his Messiah (both His first coming, and His second).
And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, . . . (NIV)
We’re all aware that the sun, moon and stars mark the days and seasons. But it might interest you to know that the original Hebrew text in this scripture uses the word “owth” for signs, meaning (in the sense of appearing) a signal, and the word for seasons here, again, is “moed”, meaning an appointment or feast. So God tells us from the very beginning that He will also use the sun, moon and stars as signals to tell us of His appointed times. And we see that He’s done that before with the birth of Jesus, how He used a star to guide the magi (who were, among other things, astronomers) to where the Messiah lay in a manger.
The next thing we notice from Leviticus 23:1-2 is that God calls these appointments “holy convocations” or “sacred assemblies.” The Hebrew word used in the original text is “miqra” meaning something called out, i.e. a public meeting, also a dress rehearsal.
So another way to translate this scripture from the original Hebrew is this:
“Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, concerning the Divinely Appointed times of the Lord, which ye shall proclaim to be Holy Dress Rehearsals, even these are for my divinely set appointments.” Pastor Mark Biltz
As an example then, for 1500 years, the Jews have killed the Passover lamb on Nisan 14 (the first month of the Jewish/biblical calendar – which is stipulated in Leviticus 23:5); and 1500 years later, Jesus, THE Passover Lamb, would die on Nisan 14 (the Lord’s Passover). Over the past 3,000 years, through the following of the Jewish feasts on the biblical calendar, the Jews have been participating in the “dress rehearsals” of God’s “divine appointments” with mankind. We will see this in even greater detail as we go on to review how these feasts were practiced and their symbolic significance.
Well, guess that’s enough to whet your appetite for now. For your greater understanding, I’ve taken an overview of the Lord’s seven feasts, prepared by Mark Biltz, and expanded it a bit so you can start to see the relationships between them (Overview of the Seven Feasts). I’ll refer to this table from time to time going forward.
Next time, I’ll start delving into the Spring feasts with greater detail and, I promise you, you’ll be amazed. Until then, be blessed!
CHOOSE YOUR ETERNITY 