Yahweh's Holiday Schedule
Maybe you have never heard of the biblical feasts or maybe you have but thought they were just cool stories. Since we just wrapped up the final feast I thought it would be a good time to talk about them.
The biblical feasts are days given to us as celebrations unto the Lord. We have a lot of civil holidays on our calendar and these are Gods holidays. The biggest thing we need to remember is that these are Yahweh’s Feast (Mo'ed in Hebrew) not ours, and not just for the jews. Leviticus 23:1-2 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, These are the appointed feasts of the Lord that you shall proclaim as holy convocations; they are MY appointed feasts. And then we read in Numbers 15:15-16 “there shall be one statute for you and for the stranger who sojourns with you, a statute forever throughout your generations. You and the sojourner shall be alike before the LORD. One law and one rule shall be for you and for the stranger who sojourns with you”
As we study out the biblical feasts we see that all the biblical feasts point towards Jesus (Yeshua in Hebrew).
So with the Mo’edim we start with the Sabbath. Sabbath was the first day Yahweh set apart. Leviticus 23: 3 “Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work. It is a Sabbath to the Lord in all your dwelling places.
Then we move into the Spring Feasts.
Pesach or Passover comes first. Leviticus 23:4 “These are the appointed feasts of the Lord, the holy convocations, which you shall proclaim at the time appointed for them. 5 In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight, is the Lord's Passover.
It is a reminder of when the children of Israel fled egypt and were spared from death because the angel passed over them. It is also a reminder of when Yeshua or Jesus became our passover lamb and was slain for our sins and shed his blood to redeem us.
Then we move into the Feast of unleavened bread. Leviticus 23:6 And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the Lord; for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. 7 On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall not do any ordinary work. 8 But you shall present a food offering to the Lord for seven days. On the seventh day is a holy convocation; you shall not do any ordinary work.”
When Israel was fleeing Egypt, they did so in such haste that they did not have time to add yeast to there bread and let it rise. During this feast we eat no leavened bread and we let yeast symbolize sin and how sin once it takes hold is hard to remove just as yeast cannot be separated once it gets in.
Then we have first fruits. Leviticus 23:10 “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you come into the land that I give you and reap its harvest, you shall bring the sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest,
Originally this was a celebration of the first harvest. It was a way to honor Yahweh for providing for them and bringing forth everything they needed. What they didn’t know then was that this would come to be the day that Yeshua would raise from the dead and become the firstfruit of many who will one day rise and meet him.
1 Cor 15:20
Then we come to Shavuot or Pentecost. The last of the Spring Feasts. Leviticus 23:15-21 This is the second of the harvest feasts. During this time they were instructed to bring an offering of their harvest to the Lord. This is also celebrated as the time when the children of Israel met with Yahweh at Mount Sinai. Later on when the disciples were gathered to celebrate Shavuot, Yahweh released his Ruach or Spirit upon the disciples. Acts 2
Then comes the Fall feasts
First is Yom Teruah or the day of trumpets. Leviticus 23:23 "And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 24 “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall observe a day of solemn rest, a memorial proclaimed with blast of trumpets, a holy convocation.
This feast has the least known of it due to the fact that not alot is said from Yahweh about it. Rest and blow the trumpet. As believers in Yeshua we can know that when he returns there will be a blast of a trumpet to signal his arrival. This day is a call to attention to remind us that his return is at hand so be prepared.
After Yom Teruah we move into Yom Kippur. Leviticus 23:26 This is the Holiest of the Mo’edim for two reasons.
This was the day historically that the Priest went into the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle and temple and made atonement for the Sins of Israel for the entire year. This was the only day they were allowed to enter the Holy of Holies
This day reminds us of the sacrifice of Yeshua by atoning for our sins using his own blood. It reminds us that He is now our high priest seated with Yahweh
Finally we get to end with the best one of all.
Sukkot
Sukkot goes by many names. Feast of Tabernacles, Feast of Booths, Feast of the ingathering. It is a 7 day feast found in Leviticus 23 and has an eighth day attached to the end of of it also known as the eighth great day
Leviticus 23:33-43
33 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 34 “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, On the fifteenth day of this seventh month and for seven days is the Feast of Booths[f] to the Lord. 35 On the first day shall be a holy convocation; you shall not do any ordinary work. 36 For seven days you shall present food offerings to the Lord. On the eighth day you shall hold a holy convocation and present a food offering to the Lord. It is a solemn assembly; you shall not do any ordinary work.
37 “These are the appointed feasts of the Lord, which you shall proclaim as times of holy convocation, for presenting to the Lord food offerings, burnt offerings and grain offerings, sacrifices and drink offerings, each on its proper day,38 besides the Lord's Sabbaths and besides your gifts and besides all your vow offerings and besides all your freewill offerings, which you give to the Lord.
39 “On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the produce of the land, you shall celebrate the feast of the Lord seven days. On the first day shall be a solemn rest, and on the eighth day shall be a solemn rest.40 And you shall take on the first day the fruit of splendid trees, branches of palm trees and boughs of leafy trees and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days. 41 You shall celebrate it as a feast to the Lord for seven days in the year. It is a statute forever throughout your generations; you shall celebrate it in the seventh month. 42 You shall dwell in booths for seven days. All native Israelites shall dwell in booths, 43 that your generations may know that I made the people of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.”
Sukkot is a feast centered around the children of Israel and their wandering around the wilderness for fourty years and living in Booths, or sukkahs. Temporary structures, Tents. It also is a means to remind us that just as the structures are temporary so is our physical body and one day we will get to tabernacle or sukkot with Yahweh for eternity.
Sukkot is symbolic of the wedding feast that will take place at Yeshua’s return.
Why do we do it?
Obedience. Yahweh said so. Some people get kinda ruffled when they think about obedience but to deny this feast is to deny that it is a good thing. All Yahweh’s Mo’edim are good things and have great value and prophetic insight into our eternity with Him.
Because it is a prophetic picture of what is to come, it helps us not forget to keep our lives right with Him. Sukkot isn’t just about the past. It is forever. In Zechariah 14 the prophet is talking about the coming day of the Lord and in verse 16 he says "Then all the survivors from the nations that came against Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord of Hosts, and to celebrate the Sukkot 17 Should any of the families of the earth not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of Hosts, rain will not fall on them.
It is a practice for the wedding supper. If we look at all the fall feasts combined we can see a beautiful picture of the return of Yeshua. The trumpet will sound (Yom Teruah) we will sit before God on the day of judgement for our Final Attonement (Yom Kippur) and then we will get to celebrate the wedding of the Lamb of God (Sukkot)
At the end of passover they have a saying L'Shana Haba'ah B'Yerushalayim meaning Next year in Jerusalem which is proclaiming hopefully next year we will be able to meet in Jerusalem because the Lord has come. But I like to say at Sukkot “Next year we will look for the Lord’s return”
How do we do it?
First thing we are commanded is to rest. The first day and the eighth day are to be a sabbath rest. No ordinary work.
Secondly we are to dwell in a sukkah or booth. This word dwell in hebrew is Yashav and means to sit. We usually spend every night at dinner time out here or we will come out and enjoy a cup of tea or coffee out here. It is open all week.
Thirdly we are told to give an offering to the Lord and take care of the widows and orphans and those in need. I would encourage everyone to take time and give a special offering to a ministry or find a family in need as a way to honor this feast. For all the feasts we should never come before the Lord empty handed. These are great times to demonstrate the Love of Yahweh to others.
Cool Facts about Sukkot
This is believed by scholars to be the time when Yeshua was born. The bible says that Yeshua came and Tabernacled (sukkot) among us John 1:14. So break out the Christmas music and celebrate our Messiah's birth.
Traditionally the book of Ecclesiastes is read during this week because it correlates our bodies as being temporary dwelling places
And then on the Eighth day traditionally you celebrate the Torah. The torah is our foundation.
The biggest thing that we do for Sukkot is Rejoice and celebrate
So study up on your biblical feasts and celebrate the holidays that God gave us to enjoy
