Significance of Israel’s Solemn Days & Feasts

Passover
The Apostle Paul identified Jesus of Nazareth as who the lamb represented when
he said, “For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us,” 1 Cor 5:7. That
statement carries dual weight; not only for who the lamb represented, but also
for who the original Israelites represented as well. “Sacrificed for us” refers to
the Gospel Age disciples of Jesus who have laid aside all to follow him. These
same individuals are spoken of by the same Apostle Paul when he said, “Let us
therefore, as many as be complete, be thus minded….” This statement refers to
his just prior written confession, “Brethren, I count not myself to have
apprehended: but one thing, forgetting those things which are behind, and
reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for
the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” This high calling, if
successfully pursued, eventuates in joint-heirship with Jesus, a heavenly
inheritance. See Phi 3:13-15; Rom 8:16,17.
Just as the original Israelites were spared from death when Jehovah passed
through the land of Egypt that night to “smite all the firstborn in the land of
Egypt, both man and beast,” (Exo 12:12), so also those under the blood of Jesus
during the Gospel Age have been spared, released, from the condemnation that
came upon Adam and his posterity unto death. “There is therefore now no
condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus,” Rom 8:1. Those called of God
(1 Th 2:12), these, begotten of the Spirit (1 Pe 1:3; 1 Jn 5:18) unto a newness of
life in Christ (2 Co 5:17), must die, having sacrificed this life upon the altar, in
order that they might receive their eternal reward. “I have said, Ye are gods
(very great); and all of you children of the Most High. But ye shall die like men,
and fall like one of the princes.” Ps 82:6,7.
These spiritual Israelites eat the unleavened bread of truth, free from the
corruption of man’s theological spin, the bread of life, Jehovah’s Word. These
also eat or partake of bitter herbs, bitter experiences, which encourage us to
consume more and more of the lamb of God. That lamb was eaten only during
that Passover night, and so it is for the Gospel Age, the night time of sin, wherein
only the spirit begotten partake of the Lamb of God unto life eternal in the
heavens. All others of mankind will have their opportunity for life upon the earth
later within the confines and conditions of the Millennial Age under Christ’s
administration. See John 10:16.
As sojourners in this world, we live dressed, shoes on our feet and staff in our
hand, for this world is not our true home; we are only passing through,
journeying, ready for the Spirit’s leading, and ready to leave this world in the
morning hours of “that day.” We are more than anxious to leave behind the
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bondage of the flesh, which constrains us greatly, even as Egypt greatly
constrained the Israelites. And we shall leave!
Feast of Unleavened Bread
This feast began on the 15th day of the first month, the same day that the
Passover lamb was eaten. This feast centers around the unleavened bread that
was part of the Passover, making the Passover and this feast linked together with
a common element. Unleavened bread has no leaven, which represents sin.
After the Apostle Paul said, “Christ our passover sacrificed for us,” he continued,
“therefore, let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of
malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened of sincerity and truth,” 1 Cor
5;7,8. The feast, then, represents the Christian’s life and how it should be lived:
leaven free. Seven days, one whole week, one whole life to be spent without
corruption, malice, wickedness, having left these things behind, even as Israel
“swept out” of their houses all traces of leaven before the feast began. “Be ye
holy, for I am holy,” Lev 11:44,45; 1 Pe 1:15,16.
Feast of Weeks
The Feast of Weeks observes the firstfruits of wheat harvest, Exo 34:22. This
feast portrays the beginning of “the high calling of God” for the Church. The high
calling began with the barley sheaf, Yeshua our Lord Jesus, fifty days prior. He is
the Author, Heb 5:9. See Lev 23:10-16; Heb 5:1-10. It was there, at
Shavuot/Pentecost, that the Church of the living God officially began, 1 Ti 3:15.
The two wheat loaves were made with leaven which represented two things; first,
there would be two separate classes of individuals to obtain life out of the Gospel
Age high calling: the Bride which is the 144,000; and the Great Multitude of Rev
7. Secondly, both of those classes were identified with leaven, sin. All of the
disciples of Jesus came out of Adam’s posterity which was under the death
condemnation due to sin. Though these have been released from the
condemnation of that penalty, yet sin is still present in their fleshly bodies, and
will be until they finish their sacrifice in death. See Rom 7:13-25.
In Exo 29 the consecration procedure for Aaron and his sons was given by God to
Moses. In Lev 8 the service of installing Aaron and his sons as priests was
performed, thus the similarity of the two chapters. Two rams were to be used;
one for a burnt offering, Exo 29:15-18, and the other became the “ram of
consecration,” whereof part of the inwards and the right shoulder were waved
followed by burning those parts upon the altar as a burnt offering, 29:22-25.
Moses waved the breast, then received it as his part, vs 26. Then Moses
sanctified the breast and the right shoulder of future offerings for Aaron and his
sons as their due portion, vss 27,28. The balance of the ram was seethed
(boiled) in water and then eaten by Aaron and his sons that day only.
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In Lev 7, the lamb breast of the peace offering was waved and the right shoulder
was heaved, and then both parts were given to the priests as their part, vss 29-
35.
In Lev 23, the Feast of Weeks section, the two lambs offered as peace offerings
were waved along with the two wave loaves with leaven, which is the bread of
the firstfruits.
Two rams, from Exo 29:1,3; Lev 8:2; Num 29:12-34, are indicative of the
consecration of the priesthood, both High Priest and under priests. Exodus and
Leviticus provides the instruction and installation, whereas Num 29, as the
offerings on the seven feast days of Ingathering, manifests that the priesthood,
the Body members of Christ, was near its conclusion. On the eighth day after the
feast began, the day wherein the solemn assembly was held, only one ram was
offered, whereby the manifestation was given that the selection of the priesthood
had ended.
In Lev 23, two rams were offered, which pointed back to Lev 8 where the
Priesthood was installed. The wave bread, and lamb breast and shoulder of the
peace offering, were waved together. Because the waving of the firstfruit sheaf
represented Yeshua’s resurrection, the waving of the bread could not represent
the Church’s resurrection, for this feast portrayed the Church’s beginning.
Therefore, when the Apostle Paul said in Rom 6:4, “Therefore, we are buried with
him (Christ) by baptism into death,” Paul referred to the two rams, one of which
was the ram of consecration, which consecration was unto death not only for
Aaron and his sons, but more importantly, manifesting the consecration of all who
entered into covenant relationship with Jehovah for the purpose of running the
race for the High Calling (Phil 3:14), which was a commitment unto death. Then,
when Paul continued, “that like as Christ was raised up from the dead,” he
referred to the waving of the firstfruit sheaf along with the heave offering that
was a part of the peace offering, Exo 29:27-29. Then as Paul continued, “by the
glory of the Father,” he again referred to Lev 23 wherein the priest who did the
waving symbolically represented Jehovah, Who actually raised Yeshua out of the
death state on the morning of the third day. Then as Paul continued, “even so we
also should walk in newness of life,” he referred to Lev 23:20 where the two
loaves and the lamb parts were waved.
Thus, the waving of the bread and the peace offering parts represents the
Church’s walk in newness of life, or a new life. “Forgetting those things which are
behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the
mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus,” Phil 3:13,14. Paul
walked in newness of life, and so do we.
Day of Atonement
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The Day of Atonement, observed on the 10th day of the seventh month, consisted
of a sacrifice of a bullock for a sin offering, a sacrifice of a goat for a sin offering,
commonly called the Lord’s goat, and the release of the second goat, “live goat,”
into the wilderness, commonly called the scape goat. See Lev 16. These
sacrifices represented, in order, the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus, the sacrifice of the
Bride of Christ, and the final experience of those who become the Great Multitude
of Rev 7. This Day of Atonement brought Israel into a condition of righteousness
until its next annual observance, which then repeated the sacrifices and the
ensuing righteousness for the people.
Under God’s righteous arrangements, the Day of Atonement sacrifices, sin
offerings, Lev 16:6, prepared both the Lord Jesus and His Body members for the
upcoming work of the Millennial Age: restoration of mankind. See Heb 13:12,13;
Lev 16:27. The ransom sacrifice of Jesus (separate from the sin offering of
Jesus) provided an equivalent for Adam: a perfect man, for a perfect man that
had sinned willfully, which means Adam can be released from the death penalty
which God placed upon him. Adam’s offspring are included because they were in
his loins. What befell him, befell them. That ransom sacrifice requires the fleshly
body of the man Christ Jesus to be forever dead to take Adam’s place in his
penalty. The Sin Offering is the arrangement that God provided that enabled
Jesus to receive the Holy Spirit at Jordan, which was a begetting of him to the
Divine nature, which he did NOT have, John 5:26. His subsequent three and one
half years life of submission to God’s arrangements, a sacrifice voluntarily made,
prepared Jesus to be the Church’s Advocate during the Gospel Age and the future
Mediator for the balance of mankind. Thus we read, “Though he (Jesus) were a
Son (and a perfect one at that!), yet he learned obedience (under adverse
conditions that he had not experienced while in heaven as the Logos) by the
things which he suffered; and being made perfect (as a New Creation), he
became the author of eternal salvation (first for the Church, and secondly, for the
balance of mankind during the Millennial Age) unto all them that obey him,” Heb
5:8,9. It was the Sin Offering that enabled our Lord Jesus to be raised out of
death as a spirit being, because by it, He proved himself obedient, loyal, worthy.
Both the ransom sacrifice and the Sin Offering of Jesus concluded with his death
upon the cross.
Jesus was raised out of death as a Divine Spirit, while his humanity, his fleshly
body remained in the death state as Adam’s substitute. We read in John 6:51, “I
am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this
bread (appropriate the merit of Jesus’ sacrifice unto themselves), he shall live
forever (both the heavenly inheritors, “stars of heaven,” and the earthly
inheritors, “sand upon the seashore,” will live everlastingly if they fully conform to
the purpose of which Jesus died- that they might have life by becoming obedient
unto God’s righteous Law, Mat 22:36-40): and the bread that I will give is my
flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” Bread eaten does not exist
again. It is gone, and so will be the flesh of Jesus, which he voluntarily gave for
the world to have life, that is, initially, come out from under Adam’s death
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sentence for those few who will pass through the upcoming time of trouble, which
closes this present evil world; and for those who entered into death, they come
forth from their grave, John 5:28,29. We read also in 1 Cor 15:45, “And so it is
written, ‘The first man Adam was made a living soul’ (Gen 2:7); the last Adam
(Jesus) a quickening spirit.” The first man Adam gave to his posterity a tainted
life because of sin, whereas the second Adam (life-giver) will be Jesus who will
give true life to all who fully believe unto the necessary transformation of life unto
holiness.
From the Old Testament we read a synopsis of God’s overall plan:
“This shall be written for the generation to come: and the people which shall be
created (the New Creation of the Gospel Age) shall praise the LORD.
For He hath looked down from the height of His sanctuary; from heaven did the
LORD behold the earth;
to hear the groaning of the prisoner (because of sin);
to loose those that are appointed to death (in Adam all die);
to declare the name of the LORD in Zion (spiritual Israel), and His praise in
Jerusalem (fleshly Israel);
when the people are gathered together (having come out of death), and the
kingdoms (nations), to serve the LORD.” Psalm 102:18-22
Feast of Tabernacles
The Feast of Tabernacles is a reminder “that your generations may know that I
made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the
land of Egypt,” Lev 23:43. The huts of branches were temporary dwelling places,
just as were the tents of Israel in the wilderness. The Spirit begotten individuals
of the Gospel Age dwell here upon the earth temporarily, ready to move at the
Spirit’s leading. We sojourn here, even as Abraham sojourned in the land that
was promised, not having yet received it as his inheritance from God. See Acts
7:5.
Feast of Ingathering
The Feast of Ingathering in the seventh month coincides with the observance of
the Feast of Tabernacles. This feast celebrates the completion of the harvest of
the field, “in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labors out of the
field,” Exo 23:16. Exodus 23:16 seems to specifically state that the gathering is
out of the field wherein grain was first sown then harvested; whereas, in Lev
23:39 we read, “Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have
gathered in the fruit (H8393-income, that is produce) of the land, ye shall keep a
feast unto the LORD seven days….” From this text we understand the fruit to
include grapes and olives in addition to the grain of the field.
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This feast celebrates the completion of the gathering of the Bride of Christ unto
himself. They are represented by the firstfruits of wheat, Lev 23:17, Exo 34:22.
They are represented as part of the vine, the branches, John 15:1,5. They are
recipients of the Holy Spirit which enables them to see, to understand the deep
things of God, which light was cast by the lampstand in the Holy from the seven
lamps, fueled by olive oil. See Exo: 25:31-39; 27:20; 40:1-4. This feast tells all
the Israelites that the High Calling of God in Christ Jesus has been completed, the
harvest is finished. This means the Church number of 144,000 is complete, and
it means that the balance of those who failed to achieve that prize have been led
into the wilderness as the live goat to finish their sacrifices under great tribulation
(Lev 16:20-22; Rev 7:9-17). This feast is truly a celebration of the victory of the
Church of the living God over the flesh, over the Adversary and over the world!
Copyright © G. Kuehmichel, March 31-April 2, May 10, 20, 2020. All rights reserved.
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