Difference between revisions of "Feasts"

<p> Ηag (from a root, "to dance") is the [[Hebrew]] applied to the Passover, and still more to the feast of tabernacles, as both were celebrated with rejoicings and participation of food (&nbsp;Exodus 12:14; &nbsp;Leviticus 23:39; &nbsp;Numbers 29:12; &nbsp;Deuteronomy 16:39). But moed is the general term for all sacred assemblies convoked on stated anniversaries; God's people by His appointment meeting before Him in brotherly fellowship for worship. Their communion was primarily with God, then with one another. These national feasts tended to join all in one brotherhood. Hence, arose Jeroboam's measures to counteract the effect on his people (&nbsp;1 Kings 12:26-27). [[Hezekiah]] made the revival of the national [[Passover]] a primary step in his efforts for a reformation (&nbsp;2 Chronicles 30:1). The Roman government felt the feast a time when especial danger of rebellion existed (&nbsp;Matthew 26:5; &nbsp;Luke 13:1). </p> <p> The "congregations," "calling of assemblies," "solemn meetings" (&nbsp;Isaiah 1:13; &nbsp;Psalms 81:3), both on the convocation days of the three great feasts, passover, Pentecost, and tabernacles, and also on the sabbaths, imply assemblies for worship, the forerunners of the synagogue (compare &nbsp;2 Kings 4:23). The septenary number prevails in the great feasts. [[Pentecost]] was seven weeks (sevens) after Passover; passover and the feast of tabernacles lasted seven days each; the days of holy convocation were seven in the year, two at Passover, one at pentecost, one at the feast of trumpets, one on the day of atonement (the first day or new moon of the seventh month), and two at the feast of tabernacles. The last two solemn days were in the seventh month, and the cycle of feasts is seven months, from [[Nisan]] to Tisri. There was also the sabbatical year, and the year of Jubilee. </p> <p> The continued observance of the three feasts commemorative of the great facts of [[Israelite]] history make it incredible that the belief of those facts could have been introduced at any period subsequent to the supposed time of their occurrence if they never took place. The day, the month, and every incident of Israel's deliverance out of Egypt are embalmed in the anniversary passover. On the three great feasts each Israelite was bound to "appear before the Lord," i.e., attend in the court of the tabernacle or temple and make his offering with gladness (Leviticus 23; &nbsp;Deuteronomy 27:7). [[Pious]] women often went up to the Passover: as &nbsp;Luke 2:41, Mary; &nbsp;1 Samuel 1:7; &nbsp;1 Samuel 2:19, Hannah. Those men who might happen to be unable to attend at the proper time kept the feast the same day in the succeeding month (&nbsp;Numbers 9:10-11). On the days of holy convocation all ordinary work was suspended (&nbsp;Leviticus 23:21-35). The three great feasts had a threefold bearing. </p> <p> '''I.''' They marked the three points of time as to the fruits of the earth. </p> <p> '''II.''' They marked three epochs in Israel's past history. </p> <p> '''III.''' They pointed prophetically to three grand antitypical events of the gospel kingdom. </p> <p> '''I.''' ''They [[Marked]] The Three [[Points]] Of Time As To The [[Fruits]] Of The Earth.'' </p> <p> '''(I.)''' At the Passover in spring, in the month Abib, the first green ears of barley were cut, and were a favorite food, prepared as parched grain, but first of all a handful of green ears was presented to the Lord. </p> <p> '''(2)''' Fifty days (as Pentecost means) after Passover came the feast of weeks, i.e. a week of weeks after Passover. The now ripe wheat, before being cut, was sanctified by its firstfruits, namely two loaves of fine flour, being offered to Jehovah. </p> <p> '''(3)''' At the feast of tabernacles, in the end of the common year and the seventh month of the religious year, there was a feast of ingathering when all the fruits of the field had been gathered in. There was no offering of consecration, for the offerings for sanctifying the whole had been presented long before. It was not a consecration of what was begun, but a joyful thanksgiving for what was completed. See for the spiritual lesson &nbsp;Proverbs 3:9; &nbsp;Psalms 118:15. </p> <p> '''II.''' ''They Marked Three Epochs In Israel'S Past History.'' Each of the three marked a step in the [[Historical]] progress of Israel. </p> <p> '''(1)''' The Passover commemorated the deliverance out of Egypt when [[Jehovah]] passed over Israel, protecting them from the destroying angel and sparing them, and so achieving for them the first step of independent national life as God's covenant people. </p> <p> '''(2)''' Pentecost marked the giving of the law on Sinai, the second grand era in the history of the elect nation. God solemnly covenanted, "If ye will obey My voice indeed and keep My covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto Me above all people, and ye shall be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation" (&nbsp;Exodus 19:5). </p> <p> '''(3)''' All the nation now wanted was a home. The feast of tabernacles commemorates the establishment of God's people in the land of promise, their pleasant and peaceful home, after the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, living in shifting tents. They took boughs of palm and willows of the brook, and made temporary huts of branches and sat under the booths. So in their fixed home and land of rest their enjoyment was enhanced by the thankful and holy remembrance of past wanderings without a fixed dwelling. Joshua especially observed this feast after the settlement in [[Canaan]] (as incidentally comes out in &nbsp;Nehemiah 8:17). </p> <p> [[Solomon]] (appropriately to his name, which means king of peace) also did so, for his reign was preeminently the period of peaceful possession when every man dwelt under his own vine and figtree (&nbsp;1 Kings 4:25); immediately after that the last relic of wilderness life was abolished by the ark being taken from under curtains and deposited in the magnificent temple of stone in the seventh month (&nbsp;2 Chronicles 5:3), the feast of tabernacles was celebrated on the 15th day, and on the 23rd Solomon sent the great congregation away glad in heart for the goodness that the Lord had showed unto David, Solomon, and [[Israel]] His people. </p> <p> The third celebration especially recorded was after the [[Babylonian]] captivity, when the [[Jews]] were re-established in their home under Ezra and Nehemiah, and all gathered themselves together as one man on the first day of the seventh month, the feast of trumpets. Then followed the reading of the law and renewal of the covenant. Then finding in the law directions as to the feast of tabernacles, they brought branches of olive, pine, myrtle, and palm, and thick trees, and made booths on their roofs and in their courts, and in the courts of God's house, and sat under them with "great gladness" (Nehemiah 8). </p> <p> '''III.''' ''They [[Pointed]] Prophetically To Three Grand Antitypical Events Of The [[Gospel]] Kingdom.'' Prophetically and typically. </p> <p> '''(1)''' The Passover points to the Lord Jesus, the true paschal Lamb sacrificed for us, whose sacrifice brings to us a perpetual feast (&nbsp;1 Corinthians 5:7). </p> <p> '''(2)''' Pentecost points to our Whitsuntide (Acts 2) when the [[Holy]] Spirit descending on Christ's disciples confirms Christ's covenant of grace in the heart more effectually than the law of [[Sinai]] written on stone (&nbsp;2 Corinthians 3:3-18). </p> <p> '''(3)''' Two great steps have already been taken toward establishing the kingdom of God. Christ has risen from death as "the firstfruits of them that slept" (&nbsp;1 Corinthians 15:20), even as the green ears of barley were offered as firstfruits at Passover. Secondly, the Holy Spirit has not merely once descended but still abides in the church as His temple, giving us a perpetual Whitsun feast, One step more is needed; we have received redemption, also the Holy Spirit; we wait still for our inheritance and abiding home. The feast of tabernacles points on to the antitypical Canaan, the everlasting inheritance, of which the Holy Spirit is the "earnest" (&nbsp;Ephesians 1:13-14; &nbsp;Hebrews 4:8-9). The antitypical feast of tabernacles shall be under the antitypical Joshua, Jesus the [[Captain]] of our salvation, the antitypical Solomon, the Prince of peace (&nbsp;Isaiah 9:6; &nbsp;Revelation 7:9-17). </p> <p> The zest of the heavenly joy of the palmbearing multitude (antitypical to the palmbearers at the feast of tabernacles), redeemed out of all nations, shall be the remembrance of their tribulations in this wilderness world forever past; for repose is sweetest after toil, and difficulties surmounted add to the delight of triumph. [[Salvation]] was the prominent topic at the feast. In later times they used to draw water from the pool of Siloam, repeating from Isaiah 12 "with joy shall ye draw water from the wells of salvation," referred to by Jesus (&nbsp;John 7:2-37; &nbsp;John 7:39). So Christ shall appear the "second time without sin unto salvation" (&nbsp;Hebrews 9:28). The palm-bearing multitude accompanying Jesus at His triumphant entry into His royal capital cried "Hosanna," i.e. Save us we beseech Thee. So the prophetical &nbsp;Psalms 118:25-26, implies that Israel shall say when in penitent faith she shall turn to her returning Lord (&nbsp;Matthew 23:39). </p> <p> So the thanksgiving song of eternity shall be, "Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne and unto the Lamb." Meanwhile on earth Israel, long finding no ease or rest for the sole of the foot, but having "trembling of heart, failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind" (&nbsp;Deuteronomy 28:65), shall at length rest in her own land under [[Messiah]] reigning at [[Jerusalem]] as His holy capital and over the whole earth, and "everyone 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" (&nbsp;Zechariah 14:9; &nbsp;Zechariah 14:16; Revelation 7). That feast shall remind Israel of hardships now past, and of salvation and peace now realized on earth, so that "the voice of rejoicing and salvation shall be in the tabernacles of the righteous" (&nbsp;Psalms 118:15). </p> <p> There was in the Three [[Feasts]] a clear prefigurement of the Three Persons; the Father, in the work of creation, especially adored in the feast of tabernacles; the Son in the Passover sacrifice; the Spirit in the Pentecostal feast. The times of the feasts were those least interfering with the people's industry; the Passover just before harvest; Pentecost at its conclusion and before the vintage; tabernacles after all fruits were gathered in. The feast of [[Purim]] commemorated the baffling of Haman's plot for the Jews' destruction; the feast of [[Dedication]] the purification of the temple by the Maccabees, after its defilement by [[Antiochus]] Epiphanes. (See [[Esther]] ; DEDICATION, [[Feast]] OF.) </p> <p> In the New [[Testament]] Jude (&nbsp;Judges 1:12, "feasts of charity"; also &nbsp;2 Peter 2:13, mentions the [[Christian]] lovefeasts which often preceded the Lord's supper (1 Corinthians 11 end) just as the Passover preceded it in Christ's institution. (See [[Lord]] 'S SUPPER.) They ate and; drank together earthly, then heavenly food, in token of unity for time and eternity. The fervent love and fellowship which characterized the first disciples originated these feasts (&nbsp;Acts 2:45-46; &nbsp;Acts 4:35; &nbsp;Acts 6:1). Each brought his portion, as to a club feast; and the rich brought extra portions for the poor. </p> <p> From it the bread and wine were taken for the Eucharist. In it the excesses took place which Paul censures, and which made a true and reverent celebration of the Lord's supper during or after it impossible. Hence the lovefeasts were afterward separated from the Lord's supper, and in the fourth century forbidden by the [[Council]] of [[Laodicea]] A.D. 320, and that of [[Carthage]] A.D. 391, as excesses crept in, the rulers of the church receiving double portions (Tertullian, De Jejun., 17), and the rich courting the praise of liberality. Pliny, in his famous letter to Trajan, says the [[Christians]] met and exchanged sacramental pledges against all immorality, then separated, and met again to partake of an entertainment. </p>

<p> In the Jewish church we find much said concerning the festivals observed; and what makes the subject important is, that they were of the Lord's own appointment. They had the constant feast of the Sabbath every seventh day, in commemoration of the Lord's resting on the seventh day from the works of creation. And when the church was formed in the wilderness, they had the several feasts as appointed in regular order. The feast of the Passover, typical of the Lord Jesus Christ, on their going out of Egypt. The feast of Pentecost, the fifteenth day from the Passover, in commemoration of the giving of the Law on mount Sinai, fifty days after the people left Egypt. They had also the feast of Tabernacles, which formed the third great feast of the year, in which all the males were enjoined to appear before the Lord. (&nbsp;Deuteronomy 16:16) These were among the standing feasts appointed by the Lord in the church of Israel. </p> <p> But beside these, they had others by the same appointment. The feast of Trumpets of the New Moon; the feasts of Expiation, or, as the Jews called it, Chippur; that is, pardon; because on this day it was considered, that an act of grace took place from heaven, for the cleansing the sins and infirmities of all the people through the year. What a striking allusion to that great day of the Lord Jesus, when "by the one offering of himself once offered, he perfected for ever them that were sanctified!" (&nbsp;Hebrews 10:14) And what a beautiful correspondence to the same, was the prophet Zechariah's account of this glorious event, when hosts: "I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day." (&nbsp;Zechariah 3:9) </p> <p> In this account of the Jewish feasts we must not overlook the feast of Jobel, or Jubilee Trumpets, in the forty-ninth year, called the Sabbatical year, or seven times seven. For surely, nothing could be more striking as typical of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord made a blessed provision, by this feast, for the freedom of every poor captive in the land. I refer the reader to the account of it in the [[Scriptures]] themselves, (&nbsp;Leviticus 25:1-55 throughout;) for it would not come within the limits of the present work, to go through the particulars. But of all the subjects in the Jewish church, which pointed in a direct allusion to the Lord Jesus Christ, there is not one more striking. And I venture to believe, that though this trumpet was never sounded but once in forty-nine years, and consequently few, if any, ever heard it before, or ever lived to hear it a second Jubilee, yet there was not a soul in the camp but understood the joyful sound, and felt the meaning (if I may be allowed the expression,) like the archangel's trumpet, as it will be understood by all flesh, when Jesus comes to judgment. The rigorous master on the morning of the Jubilee, whose tyranny then expired, understood by it his sentence. And what were the feelings of the poor oppressed servant, whom the Lord hath then made free, when the mor nirgshered in the sound of the blessed, though never before heard, trumpet! </p> <p> I hope the reader will not overlook the sweetest and most interesting part of this feast of the Jubilee. It was the Lord Jesus in his great salvation who was thus proclaimed. Every poor sinner, captive to Satan, sin, and hell, who heard the sound, heard it in the sweet voice, "Ye have sold yourselves for nought, and ye shall be redeemed without money, saith the Lord." (&nbsp;Isaiah 52:3) </p> <p> I think it highly proper, before I dismiss this article concerning the Jewish feasts, to remark to the reader, the distinguishing privilege we enjoy in the Christian church, in having all in one the sum and substance of every feast in the person, work, grace, and glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have our Christian Sabbaths weekly, in which we commemorate all the blessings of creation, redemption, and sanctification at once. And all believers in Christ truly find their sabbaths to be all this and more. </p> <p> Doth not every regenerated child of God in honouring the Lord's day, honour at the same time the Lord's work; and while he celebrates God the Father's resting from the works of the old creation, celebrate also God the Father's work in the new creation of his precious soul in Christ Jesus? (See &nbsp;Ephesians 2:10) And in the celebration of the sabbath in honour of God the Son, who by his triumph over death, hell, and the grave, when he arose on that day, and manifested himself to be the resurrection and the life; doth not every regenerated child of God thereby prove, "that he is risen with Christ from dead works, to serve the living and true God?" Yea, doth he not manifest his personal interest in that sweet promise, by those acts of giving honour to his Lord, where it said, "Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection; on such the second death hath no power." (&nbsp;Revelation 20:5) And is not God the Holy Ghost glorified and honoured in the Christian sabbath, at the renewal of the sacred day, in that then is celebrated his first open and visible display of his love and mercy over the church, when at Pentecost he came down upon the people? Doth not every regenerated child of God here also, as in the other instances, testify, that it is by the sovereignty of his power and grace, he is quickened to a new and spiritual life, and now waits again on the Lord, in his holy ordinance of the sabbath, for the renewing of the Holy Ghost to be shed on him abundantly, through Jesus Christ our Lord? (&nbsp;Titus 3:5-6) </p> <p> Surely, these are very clear and incontestible evidences of the true commemoration of the Christian sabbath, when, in the observance, special and distinct acts of praise and honour, are given to each glorious person of the GODHEAD, as they are represented to us in the Scriptures of truth, in the several character-offices of their divine agency. And thus while each and every one hath the special and distinct acts of praise given to them, for the special acts of grace and mercy shewn to the church in Christ, the whole form one and the same glorious object of adoration, love, and praise, as the eternal undivided JEHOVAH, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, both to the church on earth, and in heaven, to all eternity. </p> <p> [[Reader]] it is most blessed thus to see and enjoy our privileges. The believer's feast is a continual feast; yea, an increasing everlasting feast, a daily sabbath. Jesus himself is indeed the Jubilee; yea, the very sabbath of the soul. And when at his house, at his table, at his ordinances, in his word, in every promise, and by every providence, the soul is kept alive by grace in him, the feast is not at stated periods only, but continual. Jesus is the life of the soul; and the portion for ever. </p>

<p> The feasts of Jehovah, as instituted under the lawas given by Moses, partake more of the character of commemorations, or assemblies of the congregation to celebrate special dealings of the Lord, and consequently special seasons in the history of His people, being called 'holy convocations.' A list of the yearly feasts is given in &nbsp;Leviticus 23 . The first mentioned is the Sabbath, and if this is counted as one, by considering the Passover and the feast of unleavened bread as one there are <i> seven </i> in all — the perfect number. If the Sabbath is not included, as that was a weekly festival, being the <i> rest </i> of God, and on which the others were founded, then the Passover and the feast of unleavened bread may be counted as two, and still there are <i> seven. </i> There can be no doubt that these seven feasts were typical of the ways of blessing from the cross to the millennium. They stand thus: </p> <p> DATES. &nbsp;Leviticus 23 . ANTITYPES. </p> <p> The Sabbath. &nbsp;Leviticus 23 :. &nbsp;1-3 . </p> <p> Christ our Passover </p> <p> Abib 14th. Passover Feast. &nbsp;Leviticus 23:5-8 .} is slain: "let us keep </p> <p> " 15th. Feast of Unleavened Bread. } the feast," that is, of </p> <p> unleavened bread. </p> <p> First Fruits ( <i> barley </i> ), 'day after the } The Resurrection. </p> <p> Sabbath.' &nbsp;Leviticus 23:9-14 . } </p> <p> Zif. [Seven Sabbaths intervene.] </p> <p> Sivan. Pentecost: Feast of Weeks: First } Descent of the Holy </p> <p> Fruits ( <i> wheat </i> ). &nbsp;Leviticus 23:15-22 . } Spirit and the Church </p> <p> formed. </p> <p> Tammuz. </p> <p> Ab. [The present interval.] </p> <p> Elul. </p> <p> Israel awakened: </p> <p> [[Tisri]] 1st. Feast of Trumpets. &nbsp;Leviticus 23:23-25 .} they afflict their souls, </p> <p> 10th. Day of Atonement. &nbsp;Leviticus 23:26-32 .} receive their Messiah, </p> <p> 15th. Feast of Tabernacles: ingathering } and are brought into </p> <p> of the <i> vintage. </i> &nbsp;Leviticus 23:33-44 . } blessing in the millennium. </p> <p> These seven are called 'the set feasts.' &nbsp;Numbers 29:39; &nbsp;1 Chronicles 23:31; &nbsp;2 Chronicles 31:3; &nbsp;Nehemiah 10:33 . Also 'holy convocations,' when the people assembled together to offer the various offerings, and thus be reminded of their association with the living God, to whom they owed all their blessings.To ensure this at least thrice in the year, it was enjoined that all the males should appear before the Lord three times in the year, and they must not appear empty. These times were at the Feast of Unleavened Bread (no doubt including the Passover); the Feast of Weeks, or of Harvest; and the Feast of Tabernacles, or 'of Ingathering.' &nbsp;Exodus 23:14-17; &nbsp;Deuteronomy 16:16 . See PASSOVER, etc. </p> <p> There are two other Feasts mentioned as yearly which were not apparently ordered of God. The 25th of Chisleu, the Feast of Dedication, instituted by [[Judas]] Maccabeus when the temple was re-dedicated after being defiled by Antiochus Epiphanes, B.C. 165. &nbsp;John 10:22 . The other, the Feast of Purim, on the 14th and 15th of Adar, when the Jews were delivered from the threatened destruction plotted by Haman. &nbsp;Esther 9:21,26 . </p>

<p> '''Feasts.''' [[Special]] thanksgivings and periods of rejoicing. The religious feasts mentioned in [[Scripture]] fall under three heads:(''A)'' Those properly connected with the institution of the Sabbath; (''B)'' the historical or great festivals; (''C'' ) the day of atonement. (''A)'' Immediately connected with the Sabbath are: 1. The weekly Sabbath itself. 2. The seventh new moon, or feast of trumpets. 3. The sabbatical year. 4. The year of jubilee. (''B)'' The great feasts are—1. The passover. 2. The feast of pentecost, of weeks, of wheat harvest, or of the first-fruits. 3. The feast of tabernacles or of Ingathering. On each of these occasions every male Israelite was commanded to "appear before the Lord," that is, to attend in the court of the tabernacle or the temple, and to make his offering with a joyful heart. &nbsp;Deuteronomy 27:7; &nbsp;Nehemiah 8:9-12. On all the days of holy convocation there was to be an entire suspension of ordinary labor of all kinds, &nbsp;Exodus 12:16; &nbsp;Leviticus 16:29; &nbsp;Leviticus 23:21; &nbsp;Leviticus 23:24-25; &nbsp;Leviticus 23:35; but on the intervening days of the longer festivals work might be carried on. The significance of the three great festivals is stated in the account of the Jewish sacred year. &nbsp;Leviticus 23:1-44. The times of the festivals were evidently appointed so as to interfere as little as possible with the industry of the people. The religious festivals preserved the religious faith of the nation and religious unity among the people. They promoted friendly intercourse, distributed information through the country at a time when the transmission of news was slow and imperfect; and imported into remote provincial districts a practical knowledge of all improvements in arts and sciences. After the captivity the feast of purim, &nbsp;Esther 9:20 ff. ''Seq.,'' and that of the dedication, &nbsp;1 [[Maccabees]] 4:56, were instituted. Jesus went up to Jerusalem at the latter feast. &nbsp;John 10:22. </p>