The Feast of Tabernacles (pt. 2)

What's the point?  Of life, I mean.  You're born, you might live a good 80-90 years, and then you die.  So what's the point of it all?  You can't take anything with you so what's the use in accumulating a bunch of "stuff" that will just get passed on to the next person?

Well, I'm going to tell you why we're here. 

...drum roll, please.....

To be in a relationship.

Eh hem, I said...TO BE IN A RELATIONSHIP! 

Was that possibly not the answer you were looking for?  Okay, okay, so I'm being a bit vague, but I just wanted to get your cranial juices flowing.  :)

An intimate relationship (which is what I'm talking about here) involves 2 persons who deeply, courageously, and fervently love and care for each other.  A strong and steady marriage between a man and woman best pictures this.  Each of them is willing to sacrifice whatever they have for the other person.  Their possessions, their time, even their life become inconsequential when compared to their true love.  Remember this.

Again, what kind of a relationship am I talking about, here?  Well, the only kind that matters of course!  A relationship with the one who actually MADE YOU.  No, not your dad or mom.  No, not the person who might make you feel like a better person, like say, your spouse or children.  No no, I'm talking about the one who crafted seeds, formed clouds, spoke stars into existence, and made your heart beat for the very first time in your mother's womb.  The one who had you in His mind before time existed.  The one who paints beautiful artwork in the heavens day and night just to get your attention.  I'm talking about GOD! 

We're born, we live, we die.  None of this is pointless IF (and I mean IF) you know the Maker of heaven and earth.  However, if you choose to reject Him who gave you life in the first place then you will find yourself alone...for eternity.  All alone.  

Deep down inside none of us want to be alone.  God certainly doesn't want you to be alone!  He made you for a reason; that He might show you His love and give you an eternity to get to know Him better.  But, because He is true love He will not force Himself upon anyone, because then their love for Him wouldn't be real.  We don't want someone we love and care for to just be a mindless zombie and say they love us when we know they really don't.  No, we want that person in our life to really, truly care for us!  That's exactly how God feels about you!  That you would see just how much He has sacrificed for you to give you the opportunity to know Him.

Sacrificed?  What has God sacrificed for you, you might ask?  Only EVERYTHING!  For those of you who don't know what I'm talking, listen up, and for those of you who DO know what I'm talking about let this be a reminder...God sacrificed His only Son for you.  He gave Him up to be sin for you and I, sinners.  Yeshua (Jesus) came to earth in the form of a man, lived a life in perfect obedience to give us a perfect example to go by, and was murdered by people who professed godliness but knew nothing of it.  Our Savior was born, lived, and died.  Sound familiar?  Oh, I forgot one thing...He rose again!!!

Now, if Yeshua rose from the dead, what do you think that means for those who trust in Him?  YES!  They will live again too!  Death will have no hold on us who follow our Messiah now into eternity.  But again, if you don't know Him when you die then there will be no resurrection for you.  Just a second death.

But I want you to think about the "living" part of things here for a minute.  The Son of God came to the earth He created and lived among those whom He foreknew.  Yet, He was rejected and despised by many around Him.  But He didn't come to be Mr. Popular.  He came to heal the sick, raise the dead, and speak truth to everyone who knew it when they heard it! 

Yeshua is God, but He subjected Himself to a life of having nothing but a little food and water and the air He breathed.  He who was outside of the very time that He created stepped into it and was governed by it.  He who was/is eternal allowed His life to be taken.  His possessions, His time, and His life was inconsequential when He considered you and I.

This life isn't about gaining a bunch of things, but rather, losing everything for the chance to know Him who can give you everything!  In other words, if you want to invest in this world and live for yourself then you are going to miss out on all that truly matters, because nothing you have will save you when death comes.  However, if you let go of those things (and sometimes people) in this world that are keeping you from possibly hearing your Creator and allow Him to reveal Himself to you, you will know what I'm talking about.  Your life will be brought into perspective and you will be challenged in everything you've ever known...and that is a good thing. 

If you're in a relationship with your Lord then you know that not every step in this journey through life is easy, but it is one more step with your true love.  Yes, your true love.  You know, the One who made that sunset for you to enjoy? 

The Feast of Tabernacles (pt 1)

Here it is...the last feast of God's calendar year!  The Feast of Tabernacles, also called the Feast of the Ingathering.
What does this feast mean for the people of God today?  How are we to celebrate it?  Well, it's a pretty large feat to try and tackle that all in one post so we're going to look at this feast in several parts.
Again, going to Leviticus 23, which speaks concerning all the feasts of the LORD, the feast of Tabernacles follows the Day of Atonement, on the fifteenth day of the seventh month.  They (the children of Israel) were commanded to offer up sacrifices and offerings and to rest on the first and last days (high sabbaths) of the feast.  They were also commanded to dwell in booths, or temporary shelters.
Before we get into things too much, let's take a look at the word "tabernacle" itself.   That IS, after all, the name of the feast!

The word, in Hebrew, is "suka", meaning - "a hut or lair; booth, tent; a rude or temporary shelter".

The Israelites were commanded to build sukas and dwell in them throughout the feast in order to commemorate their deliverance from Egypt by the hand of the LORD.

 The idea of building a temporary dwelling place was also a picture of dwelling with the LORD during the time He was leading them out of slavery in Egypt.  I can say, in a sense, that my Savior has delivered me from my "Egypt" in the fact that I was a "slave to sin", but now I am a "slave to righteousness" (Romans 6:17-18).  I was not, however, delivered from literal Egypt.  I'm saying that for a reason which I'll get to in a later post.  Nonetheless I AM free in HIM!  Messiah is the reason I celebrate.  In fact, He is the reason for everything, which is what we have to realize and remember when looking at things like the Feasts of the LORD.

As I dwell in this body, which Peter references as a "tent" (2 Peter 1:13-14), as does Paul (2 Corinthians 5:4), I am reminded that this world is not my home.  And while there are many wonderful things about this creation that He has given for me to enjoy, it is not my destination.  It is a place of learning.  It is a battlefield.  It is a 'temporary' dwelling...as is my body.

As I look forward to the next seven days of the Feast of Tabernacles I am reminded to not get ahead of my Lord.  Each day and every step is a glorious opportunity to walk with Him...and that is what it's all about...the journey with Him. 

The Day of Atonement

In Leviticus 23:26-32 the LORD speaks of another feast day - the Day of Atonement.
10 days following the Feast of Trumpets falls the Day of Atonement, which speaks of the atoning sacrifice for sins.  Under the First Covenant and the Levitical priesthood we saw that only once a year the high priest would enter into the Holy of Holies (the very back portion of the Tabernacle where the ark of the covenant was kept and the glory of the LORD would dwell) to make atonement for his sins and the sins of the people.  Speaking to Moses and the Israelite people, the LORD said it was to be a day of solemn rest and one in which the people were to afflict their souls.

Again, is this feast only for Jewish people, or is it for whoever calls on the name of the LORD to be saved...Jew and Gentile alike?

Over the centuries, those who have kept this feast day have done so by fasting and "afflicting" their souls, though how one actually accomplishes the affliction of their own soul is not clearly understood. 
The word for "afflict" in Leviticus 23 is the Hebrew word, 'ana' which literally means, "to depress; abase self; chasten self; deal hardly with; through the idea of brow-beating".   What exactly does that look like, practically speaking?  Well we'll take a look at a few passages of Scripture in just a second, that will hopefully shed some light on that.
The word for "souls" is 'nepes' which can have the meaning of a living thing or appetite.  Because appetite is there in the meaning of the word 'nepes' it is often ascribed as the reason that many abstain from food and drink on this day.

Something interesting is that which concerns the idea of fasting.  Nowhere in the commandment concerning this feast day is fasting mentioned.  So why do so many abstain from food on the Day of Atonement?  Is it because of the meaning of that word 'nepes'?  It has been a tradition of the Jewish people for millennia yet it isn't commanded in Scripture.  Fasting from food can certainly be afflicting, but does that afflict the soul or simply the flesh?  I do believe that denying the flesh does have some effect on the spirit since our spiritual nature and carnal nature are intertwined while still in this existence.  However, the concept that fasting from physical food can truly afflict the soul is not entirely proportionate as one might think.
I believe there are many who fast from food and drink because of tradition.  It's something that's always been done so let's keep doing it, right?  Also there are those who fast because of the fact that 'appetite' is in the meaning of the word 'nepes', but remember that word primarily means "a living being" or a "soul".

Also, we know that fasting from physical things doesn't completely afflict one's own soul.  And does "appetite" simply lend itself to eating?  No.  We have many appetites in this world that need to be abstained from such as those things that the flesh relishes in...like selfishness, anger, lying, murder, etc...

Now what about the command to afflict one's soul?  Well, one of the truest examples the LORD gives us is found in what He spoke through the prophet Isaiah.  In chapter 58 of Isaiah the LORD gives HIS interpretation of true fasting.  For sake of space I'm not going to type the whole chapter out so I HIGHLY SUGGEST YOU READ IT.  But a few verses say this:

"Is this not the fast that I have chosen:
To loose the bonds of wickedness, 
To undo the heavy burdens,
To let the oppressed go free,
And that you break every yoke?
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
and that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out;
When you see the naked, that you cover him,
And not hide yourself from your own flesh?"
- Isaiah 58:6-7

Wow.  Do I do those things?   That's pretty afflicting to the soul. 
If you read the entire chapter you'll get the full picture of why God is saying this to His people.  Their hypocrisy was in that they were fasting from food but not from their appetites for injustice and strife!  Basically we're talking about lawlessness here.  The very thing our Savior came to abolish by living and fulfilling His law.

The result of doing the things God commands is found in verses 8-9.  Read them in conjunction with Matthew 5:13-20.

Then the Lord says this in verse 10 of Isaiah:

"If you extend your soul to the hungry 
And satisfy the afflicted soul,
Then your light shall dawn in the darkness, 
And your darkness shall be as the noonday."
- Isaiah 58:10

Again, wow.  That cuts right to it, doesn't it?  We have been given the ministry of reconciliation according to what Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:17-21, which means the same thing that Isaiah was pointing out - that we are to be about reaching others with the love of God by walking in His commandments.  God has reconciled us to Himself through the ATONING sacrifice of Jesus Christ (Yeshua Messiah), so we ought to be about reconciling others to Him as His ambassadors and His body!

"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."
- Matthew 5:16

What good works?  The ones HE prepared beforehand for us to walk in (Ephesians 2:10): His commandments, statutes, judgments, laws.  HIS WAYS.  Not our own.  Not the world's.  Not the devil's.  HIS ways.  HIS works.  That's the only way our ministry can be truly affective for HIS glory.

So afflicting your soul is a commandment for the Day of Atonement and it's a pretty serious one.  How you do that, though, is simply walking in God's truth and loving instructions and allowing Him to bring about real change in your heart.  Presenting an offering made by fire.  As we've looked at before, that looks like what Paul wrote in Romans 12:1.  To offer YOURSELF as a living sacrifice, acceptable to God.  If your offering is acceptable to God then He will consume it!  Our God is a consuming fire, thus you become the burnt offering!

Yeshua already made atonement for your sins...are you willing to walk in that knowledge and truth?  Are you willing to afflict your soul His way rather than trying to do it in your own?

The Feast of Trumpets

 

What is the Feast of Trumpets?

Well, on our calendars it's known more familiarly as Rosh Hashanah. However, in reality we're talking about two completely different feasts.

Rosh Hashanah actually means "Head of the Year"; in other words, it's the Jewish New Year. The Jews believe that it is the beginning of their civil year, but it has very little to do with Yahweh's Feast of Trumpets as read in Leviticus 23.
In fact, the new year celebration of the Jewish people comes directly from the Babylonian calendar system which many of them began to adopt after their captivity there, some 2,500 years ago.

The Feast of Trumpets.
"Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
Speak to the children of Israel, saying: 'In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a sabbath-rest, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation.
You shall do no customary work on it; and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD.'" - Leviticus 23:23-25

First of all let's define a few things:
The Seventh Month: While we're looking at the end of September, which is the ninth month, how can we say that the feast is in the seventh month?
Well, the LORD told Moses and Aaron before He led them out of Egypt that the beginning of their months, or the true new year, was actually in the spring around the time of our months March/April. So starting from there we end up with the seventh month falling around this time of year. God's calendar is the true time keeper, not the Gregorian calendar we use today.

A Holy Convocation: What does the word convocation mean? The Hebrew word for convocation is "miqra" (mik-raw) which means a public meeting; also a rehearsal.
The idea is that the feasts of the LORD are holy meetings between Him and us, as well as rehearsals. "Rehearsals for what?", you may ask.   Rehearsals for the time coming when we are with Him for all eternity.
The word for feast is "moed" which means appointment, or a fixed time. The Feasts of Yahweh are appointed times that He has specifically set aside to meet with us throughout the year. They are important for that reason alone, but He also works in many ways during the feasts, in the lives of His people.

In verse 24, the LORD says that the feast of trumpets should be a memorial of blowing of trumpets.

Memorial = zikron - a memorable thing; a record
Blowing of Trumpets = teruah - clamor, that is, acclamation of joy or a battle cry.

It is a memorial of an acclamation of joy!
In Nehemiah 8:1-12, Ezra read from the Law to all the people assembled on the Feast of Trumpets. As he read, the people were convicted upon hearing the Commandments and began to weep, however, the Levites who taught the people said,
"This day is holy to the LORD your God: do not mourn nor weep...do not sorrow, for the joy of the LORD is your strength."

So how can we say that the Feast of Trumpets, which Yahweh gave to the Israelites, is for us as believers in Christ? And what about the 'offering made by fire to the LORD'? How does that work today under the New Covenant?

Quite simply, the feast itself speaks of not only hearing the voice of the Lord, but responding to Him with our lives as we await His return.
"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service."
Romans 12:1

If we offer up not only our praises, but our very lives as a sacrifice to God, then He will accept that offering if we are living in obedience to His Word.
And because our God is a consuming fire (Hebrews 12:29), our lives then become a "burnt offering" in a sense.
This is not spiritualizing the matter, since the idea of literal, animal sacrifices were simply a shadow, or picture, of the sacrifices which we are to now offer up.
In fact, in Hosea 14:2 it reads,
"for we will offer the sacrifices of our lips."
The word for sacrifices in the Hebrew is "par" which means literally - bull calves.

The Feast of Trumpets speaks clearly of Jesus' (Yeshua's) return for His saints. Whether or not we respond to His calling by repenting of our sins is the decision we must make.

Because of this, it is beautiful to see that The Feast of Trumpets is literally Yom Teruah, or the Day of the Awakening Blast!
The Trumpet (Hebrew - shofar) was often used as an alarm, a call to battle, or an awakening blast for the people to respond to. This is why the shofar (trumpet) can be best identified with the voice of God. It represents His voice because the Lord often uses the trumpet as a picture of calling His people to Him.
Exodus 19:16 tells us of the shofar which sounded from Mount Sinai. It grew louder and louder and the mountain shook (as did the people!).
Moses spoke and God answered Him by voice. Moses responded to the blast of the shofar and God then answered him.
This should be our response as well. The shofar sounded louder and louder, just as the Lord does with us to get our attention.
Our prayer should be that we would hear His voice and respond to Him before He has to cry out to wake us up!
Like Elijah, we too should listen to the 'still, small voice' of the LORD. The one that is gentle and peaceful.
Otherwise we will not fully understand what He is saying to us when it comes to the point that He's shouting to get our attention.

The Day of the LORD (the Day when our Savior returns) is a Day which Joel describes as terrible, and a Day of darkness and gloominess (Joel 2:1-2), and all accompanied by the sound of the trumpet (shofar). This is 'terrible' to those who do not know the voice of the LORD - those who do not have a saving relationship with Him and reject His commandments (Matthew 7:21-23).  Keeping His commandments, by the way, is what He uses to give us better understanding and wisdom concerning Himself (Psalm 111:10) and proves our faith in Him and love for Him is real (John 14:15; James 2:14-26).

But to those who love and obey Him, the Day of the LORD is a great day of salvation to all His people who wait for Him!

"And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they willl gather together His elcet from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other."
Matthew 24:31

Notice the 'great sound of a trumpet' that accompanies our Lord's return.
Also,
"For 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."
1 Thessalonians 4:16

Notice the words like 'shout' and 'voice' which are alongside the phrase 'trumpet of God'. There is a definite link between the shofar and the voice of the Lord.

"I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet, saying,
'I am the Alpha and Omega, the first and the Last'
Revelation 1:10-11a

We see from the context of this chapter that the 'voice' that John heard was the Lord Yeshua's, and it sounded like a trumpet.

Clearly, the shofar that sounded from Mount Sinai, as God spoke to the children of Israel, was also a prelude to the coming of our Messiah when the heavenly shofar will sound again and He will gather His saints to Himself!

Yeshua said, "'My sheep hear My voice,'" - John 10:27a

Do you hear His voice?
Can you tell where the Lord is directing you?
If not, then you must search His Word to determine whether you truly know the Shepherd or not. If you don't, then when the shofar sounds from heaven and our Messiah returns for those who love Him, He will say to you,

"I never knew you, depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness" (Matthew7:21-23).

Remember

I'm pretty forgetful.  I'll chalk it up to being a man and being...focused! 
Yeah, that's it!  Focused.  Being so firmly set on a task at hand that I don't have time to bother myself with trivial stuff like "remembering"!
Oh, who am I kidding?  I just forget things sometimes.  I'll admit it, but while I may be a bit forgetful, I'm learning everyday to remember the important things.  Like setting out an extra roll of toilet paper for guests.  Haha, just kidding!  Well, kinda...

Actually, I think one of the biggest reasons for forgetfulness is that we get too busy and lose focus on the things we're supposed to be more concerned with rather than our own pursuits.  If we'd slow down and simplify a little bit I think our focus would change and so would our remembering skills.  At least, I think mine would!

As I've been pondering that thought, it dawned on me that remembrance plays a key role in our relationship with the LORD in two ways:

1. The LORD always remembers us and...
2. He tells us to remember what He has done for, and commanded, us.

(the LORD)"Who remembered us in our lowly state: for His mercy endures forever; and has redeemed us from our enemies; for His mercy endures forever." - Psalm 136:23-24

Our God will never leave us nor forsake us when we cling to Him (and even when we don't), because He remembers us in our times of trouble and distress.

"And God remembered Noah..." - Genesis 8:1
"God remembered Abraham..." - Genesis 19:29
"God remembered Rachel..." - Genesis 30:22

and the list of Scriptures goes on....

Now that's not to say that God forgot about Noah, Abraham, and the rest and all the sudden remembered them! It wasn't like God was sitting there and went "Ooops! I almost forgot about that guy down there!"  No, not at all! When we read that God remembered someone or something it's that He did NOT forget them. He had marked a special place for them in His plan and He was going to keep His promises to them, just like He ALWAYS does!

The Lord of heaven and earth will never forget those who call on His name to be saved. If we are born again then we are His children and nothing outside of our relationship with Him can remove us from His hand. Though we can remove ourselves, it is not a quick process.

At least 14 times in the book of Deuteronomy alone, Yahweh tells His people to "remember" all the things He did for them - in Egypt, in the wilderness, to keep His commands, etc...

Another fascinating thought in the realm of memory is what the Lord commanded concerning the Sabbath;

"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy" - Exodus 20:8

The Lord is not simply saying to remember which day it is (though that's part of it) but look closely at what He is telling us to remember:

"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy".

That's the key to remembering the Lord's Sabbath...that we keep it holy. Not that we can keep, or make, the day holy, but that we would treasure it in our lives. God has already made it holy (Genesis 2:3) because HE said it was, and by setting it apart from every other day, He sanctified it.

Our Creator is telling us to keep it holy (separate) from every other day in our lives. To keep it sacred before Him.

Yeshua said that the Sabbath day was made for mankind, not the other way around (Mark 2:27) thereby making it important for us to see what God's purpose in this day is all about.

It is not only about physical rest, which our bodies do need, but spiritual and mental rest as well. A day of reflecting on the Lord and the coming eternity that we will spend with Him. After 6 days of working in, and dealing with, this world we need rest!  That's part of the commandment, by the way...to work 6 days and rest on the seventh.

He has called us to meet with Him on His Sabbath day.  It is an appointed time for gathering with Him (Leviticus 23:1-3).  The day was made for us, but it's all about HIM! 

Some argue that our Sabbath rest can be anytime in Jesus. While we do find our eternal security, or rest if you will, in our Savior, that argument of "Sabbath can be any day", doesn't make sense, Scripturally.   Given the fact that even though our eternal rest is in Him, we still exist in this physical realm and God has still given us bodies to dwell in and a physical earth to live on. He still expects us to live for Him in the same way His people have lived for Him for thousands of years. We can't hyper-spiritualize everything to the point where we're constantly thinking about things and that's all we need to do. If all I do is just think about eating, I'll end up getting pretty hungry and would eventually starve to death.

The time is coming when we will rest with our Lord forever, but until then we have a weekly, holy reminder/rehearsal with Him and His body until He returns.  What a blessing that He has given us such a beautiful picture of our eternity with Him while we're still waiting for that day to come!

So while I know I'll forget things once in a while, I hope that I will remember His great love for me, His promises to me, and His provision for me.  And if I forget, I'm sure He will remind me!  He's so faithful to do that!

So may we remember Him, not only on this beautiful Sabbath day, but every day on life's journey.