The Feasts of Israel–Intro

Feasts of Israel Series, Part 1

Cycles of seven dominated the Feasts God appointed for His people.

Every seven days, they would reenact the week of creation a by observing a Sabbath rest. Seven weeks after the Feast of Passover they would celebrate the Feast of Pentecost. Seven months into their sacred calendar, they would gather once more to participate in the Feast of Tabernacles.

When they’d repeated the pattern six times, the seventh year became a Sabbath rest for the land itself and the people neither sowed nor reaped. When this seven-year cycle repeated seven times, the normal Feast of Tabernacles marked the beginning of a Jubilee year. All lands reverted to their original owners and all slaves were released to go home.

At least, this was God’s plan.

Deliberate Design

Fallible humans aren’t always purposeful in following directions, but God is always deliberate in His designs. He created the world in a way that people of every tongue and nation would be able to understand Him by studying what He made. In a similar way, every instruction He gave His chosen people shows us something of His meaning, purpose and wisdom if we will meditate on how He asked them to order their lives.

The feasts of Israel are one such set of instructions rich in significance. Even a quick look shows how moving through these feasts can transport us from glory to glory.

It began with the original Passover, when the people were set free from bondage by a God who was invisible to all but Moses. Seven weeks later, the people could see the smoke and fire of His presence on Mount Sinai as they experienced their first Pentecost. The book of the Law (written on stone by the finger of God) was brought out of the ark on the first Feast of Tabernacles and the priests read and explained it to the people. Each feast brought them closer to knowing and experiencing God’s presence.

Once the tabernacle was established, the rituals of the feasts became more meaningful. During Passover, the blood of the sacrificial lamb was brought into the tabernacle’s outer court to be sprinkled on the brazen altar. The blood of Pentecost’s sacrifices penetrated the tabernacle more deeply. It was taken inside the holy place to be painted on the horns of the altar of incense. The Feast of Tabernacles, however, was the one that brought the atoning blood of their sacrifices into the Holy of Holies itself, where it was sprinkled onto the Mercy Seat.

From glory to glory.

As I’ve begun to look into these feasts, I can see how experiencing them brings us, too, from one degree of glory to another. We come to the altar of repentance and forgiveness when we undergo our personal Passover with the Lord. Allowing the blood of the Lamb to pour out in our place, we dare to come nearer. Crossing the threshold of the door to the holy place on our Pentecost, we enter the cloud of baptism in the Holy Spirit. There, Christ’s blood has gone before us to altar of incense as we begin to pray more intimately with the Lord. But to experience the Feast of Tabernacles with Him is yet a more glorious adventure than all that came before. The blood of Christ leads us behind the veil and we commune with God in the very Holy of Holies.

Where might a trip through the feasts of Israel take us if we look at them with fresh eyes? Join me over the next several weeks as we explore their mysteries. I believe it will be a fascinating ride. Be sure to hit the subscribe button, if you haven’t already, so you don’t miss a thing. Along the way, please use the comments box to share your own insights and let me know if there are particular directions you’d like me go with this.