Showing posts with label Feast of the Lord. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Happy Sukkot! (Feast of Tabernacles)

Blessings on ye heads!

Steve & Laurie Martin

Founders

Love For His People, Inc.

Monday, October 6, 2014

SEASONS OF HARVEST – THE FIRST FRUITS Feast of Tabernacles

SEASONS OF HARVEST – THE FIRST FRUITS

Feast of Tabernacles

"Three times you shall keep a feast to Me in the year: You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread […] and the Feast of Harvest, the firstfruits of your labours which you have sown in the field; and the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you have gathered in the fruit of your labours from the field.” (Exodus 23:14-16)

Three times a year the people of Israel were required by God to come to Jerusalem for a holy convocation. Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles are the three great pilgrimage feasts which the Israelites were instructed to celebrate. All three biblical feasts were celebrations of thanksgiving for the different seasons of harvest in Israel’s calendar. In this and coming issues of the Word From Jerusalem magazine, we will feature a three-part teaching series that looks at the important lessons these festivals teach us about “Harvest”, which is the theme of this year’s Feast of Tabernacles celebration in Jerusalem.

First Fruits
The Passover feast was the first of the three great harvest festivals, and it was also called the feast of the first fruit or chag habikurim.

"Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When you come into the land which I give to you, and reap its harvest, then you shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest. He shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted on your behalf; on the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it. (Leviticus 23:10-11)

Every Passover, “on the day after the Sabbath”, a sheaf of firstfruits (bikurim in Hebrew) were to be waved before God. The firstfruit represented not only the very first produce of each year, it also represented the entire harvest. Paul explains this in Romans 11:16, saying, “For if the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy…” This means that through the offering and the setting apart of the firstfruits, the entire harvest was set apart.

Waving the firstfruits before God was a declaration that all the produce of the coming year belonged to Him. He owns it all, and His blessing on the seed is crucial as it is also He who gives the increase.

The same was true for all cattle and even for each family. God said, “Consecrate to Me all the firstborn, whatever opens the womb among the children of Israel, […] it is Mine.” (Exodus 13:2) So for each first child, there was a symbolic sacrifice brought to the Temple to represent the firstborn of the family.

By honouring God with our firstfruits, we declare that our families and all our possessions belong to Him. This holds a great potential of blessing for us. If we decide to dedicate our family and our possessions to God, we submit them to His Kingship and place everything under His hand of blessing. It means that we give our best to God, just as Abel gave the firstborn (bikurim) and it found favour and acceptance with God (Genesis 4:4).

Israel the firstborn
God called Israel as a nation His firstborn. “Thus says the LORD: "Israel is My son, My firstborn.” (Exodus 4:22)

This means that Israel has been given by God the rank of the firstborn among the nations. In saying so, God declared in a beautiful way His intention to bless all the nations of the earth. Remember what Paul said: “If the firstfruit is holy then the lump is holy.” (Romans 11:16)

In calling and blessing Israel as His firstborn, the Creator was declaring that He was also going to call and bless a redeemed people from all the nations. This corresponds to the election God placed upon Israel from the beginning: “In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Genesis 12:3)

And indeed it was through the one “seed” of Abraham, Jesus the Messiah, that this blessing came to all humanity (Galatians 3:13-16).

But Israel’s calling as the firstborn among the nations also gives hope for the restoration of Israel. Being the firstborn assured the privilege of a double blessing (Deuteronomy 21:15-17).

The prophet Jeremiah proclaimed: “Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the ends of the earth, […] I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters, in a straight way in which they shall not stumble; For I am a Father to Israel, and Ephraim is My firstborn.” (Jeremiah 31:8-9)

Other Hebrew prophets foresaw a future restoration of Israel which indeed involves a double blessing on the nation (Isaiah 61:7; Zechariah 9:12).

As the inheritance of a firstborn is ensured by God, in the same manner we know that He will fulfill all His promises given to Israel.

Jesus, the firstborn from the dead
During the Passover week, “on the day after the Sabbath” – that is, the first day of the week – the firstfruit offering was waved in the Temple. The Gospels record that it was on that very day when Jesus rose from the dead.

“Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb…” (Matthew 28:1). Jesus thus became “the firstborn from the dead,” (Colossians 1:18; see also 1 Corinthians 15:20).

Jesus was the first to overcome death, and as such he entered the heavens and presented himself to the Father. But he did so not just for himself but in him, as the firstborn, were presented all the millions who would “believe in Him and not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

That is why the Bible calls him “the firstborn among many brethren” (Romans 8:29).

Jesus is the “firstborn of all creation” (Colossians 1:15) and thus has the supremacy in all things (Colossians 1:18). Even though we can call him our elder brother, we honour and worship him as our King, Lord and Saviour.

Conclusion
We end part one of this teaching series with the thought that the firstfruits are a representation of the best that we have and of all we own. If we present this back to God with a thankful heart, He promises us His blessing.

“Honour the LORD with your possessions, and with the firstfruits of all your increase; So your barns will be filled with plenty, And your vats will overflow with new wine.” (Proverbs 3:9-10)

Be encouraged to give God your very best!

Thursday, April 10, 2014

Happy Passover (Pesach) Blessings from LOVE FOR HIS PEOPLE!

Happy Passover (Pesach) Blessings

from

LOVE FOR HIS PEOPLE!

Feast of the Lord - Pesach (Passover) April 14-21, 2014.

Passover Feast

By Mary Fairchild

Mary Fairchild ,

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Passover Seder

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Bible Feasts:

Paul said in Colossians 2:16-17 that the Jewish feasts and celebrations were a shadow of the things to come through Jesus Christ. And though as Christians we may not commemorate these holidays in the traditional biblical sense, as we discover the significance of each, we will certainly gain a greater knowledge of God's Word, an improved understanding of the Bible, and a deeper relationship with the Lord.

Passover Feast - Pesach:

Passover commemorates the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, as recorded in the book of Exodus. On Passover, Jews also celebrate the birth of the Jewish nation after being freed by God from captivity. Today, the Jewish people not only remember an historic event on Passover, but also celebrate in a broad sense, their freedom as Jews.

The Hebrew word Pesach means "to pass over." During Passover Jews take part in a meal known as the Seder, which incorporates the retelling of the story of Exodus and God's deliverance from bondage in Egypt. Each participant of the Passover Seder experiences in a personal way, a national celebration of freedom through God's intervention and deliverance. Hag HaMatzah or the Feast of Unleavened Bread and Yom HaBikkurim or Firstfruits are both mentioned in Leviticus 23 as separate feasts, however, today Jews celebrate all three feasts as part of the eight-day Passover holiday.

Time of Observance:

Today, Passover begins on day 15 of the Hebrew month of Nissan (March or April) and continues for 8 days. Originally, Passover began at twilight on the fourteenth day of Nissan (Leviticus 23:5), and then the next day, day 15, the Feast of Unleavened Bread would begin and continue for seven days (Leviticus 23:6).

• See Bible Feasts Calendar for the actual dates of Passover.

Scripture Reference:

The story of Passover is recorded in the Old Testament book of Exodus.

About Passover:

Joseph, son of Jacob, after being sold into slavery in Egypt, was kept by God and greatly blessed. Eventually he was put into a high position—second-in-command to Pharaoh. In time, Joseph moved his entire family to Egypt and protected them there. 400 years later, the Israelites had grown into a people numbering 2 million. There were so many Jews in Egypt that the new Pharaoh was afraid of their power. To maintain control, he turned them into slaves, oppressing them with harsh labor and ruthless treatment.

Yet, through a man named Moses (great, great grandson of Jacob), God came to rescue his people.

At the time Moses was born, Pharaoh had ordered the death of all Hebrew males, but God spared Moses when his mother hid him in a basket along the banks of the Nile. Pharaoh's daughter found the baby and decided to raise him as her own. Later Moses fled to Midian after killing an Egyptian for cruelly beating one of his own people. There God appeared to Moses in the flames of a burning bush and said, "I have seen the misery of my people. I have heard their cries, I care about their suffering, and I have come to rescue them. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people out of Egypt." (Exodus 3:7-10, paraphrased)

After making some excuses, Moses finally obeyed God and confronted Pharaoh. But when Pharaoh refused to let the Israelites go, God sent a series of plagues to persuade him. With the final plague God promised to strike dead every first-born son in Egypt at midnight on the 15th day of the month of Nissan. But to Moses, the Lord provided instructions so his people would be spared. Each Hebrew family was to take a Passover lamb, slaughter it, and place some of the blood on the door frames of their homes. When the destroyer passed over Egypt, he would not enter the homes covered by the blood of the Passover lamb.

These and other instructions became part of a lasting ordinance from God for the observance of the Passover Feast, so that the generations to come would always remember God's great deliverance.

At midnight, the Lord struck down all the firstborn of Egypt, and that very night Pharaoh called Moses and said, "Up! Leave my people. Go." They left in haste and God led them toward the Red Sea. After a few days Pharaoh changed his mind, and decided to send his army in pursuit. When the Egyptian army reached them at the banks of the Red Sea, the Hebrew people were afraid and cried out to God.

Moses answered, "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today."

Moses stretched out his hand and the sea parted, allowing the Israelites to cross on dry ground, with a wall of water on either side. And when the Egyptian army followed, it was thrown into confusion. Moses then stretched out his hand over the sea again and the entire army was swept away, leaving no survivors.

Jesus and Passover:

In Luke 22, Jesus shared the Passover meal with his apostles saying, "I have been very eager to eat this Passover meal with you before my suffering begins. For I tell you now that I won’t eat this meal again until its meaning is fulfilled in the Kingdom of God." (Luke 22:15-16, NLT) Jesus is the fulfillment of the Passover. He is the Lamb of God, sacrificed to set us free from bondage to sin. (John 1:29; Psalm 22; Isaiah 53) His blood covers and protects us, and his body was broken to free us from eternal death. (1 Corinthians 5:7)

In the Jewish tradition a hymn of praise known as the Hallel is sung during the Passover Seder. In it is Psalm 118:22, speaking of the Messiah: "The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone." (NIV) Jesus said in Matthew 21:42, one week before his death, that he himself was the stone the builders rejected.

As God commanded the Israelites to always commemorate his great deliverance through the Passover meal, we Christians were instructed by Christ as well, to continually remember his sacrifice through The Lord's Supper or Communion.

More Facts About Passover

Jews drink four cups of wine at the Seder. The third cup is called the cup of redemption, the same cup of wine taken during the Last Supper.
The bread of the Last Supper is the Afikomen of Passover, or the middle Matzah which is pulled out and broken in two. Half is wrapped in white linen and hidden. The children search for the unleavened bread in the white linen. Whoever finds it brings it back to be redeemed for a price. The other half of the bread is eaten, ending the meal.
Learn how to prepare the Passover Seder Plate.
Check out these online guides for implementing a Christian Seder:
- The Passover Seder for Christians (Haggadah adapted by Dennis Bratcher)
- Passover in the Time of Jesus (By Daniel B. Wallace , Th.M., Ph.D.)

Passover in the Bible

Passover in the Old Testament: Exodus 12; Numbers 9: 1-14; Numbers 28:16-25; Deuteronomy 16: 1-6; Joshua 5:10; 2 Kings 23:21-23; 2 Chronicles 30:1-5, 35:1-19; Ezra 6:19-22; Ezekiel 45:21-24.
Passover in the New Testament: Matthew 26; Mark 14; Luke 2, 22; John 2, 6, 11, 12, 13, 18, 19; Acts 12:4; 1 Corinthians 5:7.
More about Passover.