GOD’S   FEAST  OF  TABERNACLES

        This study describes the feasts the Lord instructed His worshippers to follow. They were included on the tablets of stone given to Moses on Mt. Sinai (Ex23:16, 24:12) with details in Leviticus Ch23.

          These Holy Days are pictures of how we are to grow in the fruits of the Holy Spirit, to repent and become cleansed from defilement on our journey to our inheritance in Jesus Christ.

   Consider the SECOND HALF of the Festival Year    
                                              
          The Lord shows grace by giving the Holy Spirit to confessing sinners after the Feast of Pentecost.  We should begin to produce fruits of the Spirit (Gal5:22, 23 John16:7-13). After the summer season of growth, the Lord will look at us to see if we bear fruit to gather at the harvest in the fall (Jn15:1-8).  The Feast of Ingathering contains three of God’s appointed times – The Feast of Trumpets, The Day Of Atonement, and The Feast Of Tabernacles. Read about them in Leviticus Ch16 and 23.

          We should yield our will and our life over more to the Lord out of gratitude for all He has revealed to us about how to have a relationship with Him.  

FEAST OF TRUMPETS

          The fall festival begins with the FEAST OF TRUMPETS, which announces to us to gather and convene an assembly as in (Num10). We must heed the warning signs and signals and be prepared to gather at the Lord’s appointed time. The fall Feast of Ingathering is a picture of the judgment. We will gather to see if we have produced fruit, or “produce.”  However, if we have no fruit, we will be cut out from His people (Jn15:6). In the book of Revelation, the trumpets announced coming judgment - either to condemnation or to eternal life – it is our choice (Dt30:15-18, Jn3:16).  We should welcome these special times of our Lord – to show our gratitude and allegiance to Him.

Day of Atonement

The next appointed time of the Lord is the Day of Atonement.   The Lord commands us to observe this appointed Ttime with a solemn rest (Ex 20-24:12, Lev 23:26-32). 

This feast of the Lord focuses on how we must trust in Jesus’ righteous sacrifice. We will compare what Jesus did for us at Calvary with the pictures of the Gospel seen in The Day Of Atonement.

We have read about miracles in the Spring Passover Feasts – now we should meditate, purify, humble ourselves, be ashamed of our ways, and make room in our hearts for the Lord who worked the miracles. During the Day of Atonement, the Lord asks us to fast and afflict our soul, and to consider what He has done for us.  

  Both goats on the Day of Atonement are legal unblemished sin offerings according to the law of sin offerings (Lev 4). Two goats without defect are required as sin offerings, (Lev 16:5-10,21-22).  They must be without defect since they picture Jesus. Either could have been chosen by lot to represent the Lord. Neither one can represent Satan – he was not clean or unblemished. He is full of the sin of pride.

 During the Day of Atonement ceremony, the first goat is to provide a blood covering for our sins – the blood sprinkled on the arc containing God’s Law.   This goat’s blood was sprinkled in the sanctuary to make atonement for the people’s impurities which had been taken in to the holy place, altars, and tent of meeting through their offerings, (Lev 16:15-19, Heb 9:11-12, 23-24). In the New Covenant, the law is to be written on our hearts and we are to be sprinkled with the blood of Jesus since we are a temple of the living God (1 Cor 3:16, 6:19, Heb 8:10, 1 Pet 1:2).  Jesus’ death redeemed us from our death sentence.

The second goat is to carry away the confessed iniquities of God’s people far into a solitary land (Lev 16:20-22, Ps 103:12).   The second goat made atonement by removing all the transgressions, and iniquities  of the people which were confessed on its head.  Jesus bore away our guilt of sin.

These two goat functions should remind us of what Jesus did for us at Calvary.

In the New Testament, we are told to make a complete sacrifice of any friendship ties that are greater than our tie to the Lord.  We are to take up our cross and follow the Lord – or we can not be His disciple.  Compare the life of Abram (Gen Ch 12-22, Luke 14:27).

          People are to be humble – not proud of themselves. They are to deny themselves of everything on the day where the Lord provided the way of Atonement to cover their sins (Lev 23:27-32). The Atonement Day pictures the need for us to be humbled by the blood sacrifice required to purify even the altar where our sin sacrifices are made! Today, Jesus teaches we are to sacrifice ourselves (Luke 14:26-27).

          We must go through humility to see the Atonement that we need before the Lord, just as we must be born again from above with the Holy Spirit to be able to see the Kingdom of God, (Jn 3:3). The Holy Spirit “Comforter” Jesus promised will help us see our true selves, to be ashamed our ways and guide us into all truth (Ezek 36:25-32, Jn 16:7-14).  "If we  confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1John 1:9, Psalm 139:23-24 "search me")                                            

The Lord’s Atonement Day is a day of complete rest from works – symbolizing our rest in Jesus’ Work of Atonement from God, for which we have come to see the need.  After learning from the previous appointed times of the year, people can see more clearly the need of having their uncleanness and their transgressions covered to be able to be with the Lord.  Paul challenges us to choose who we will serve and who to be a slave to (Rom 6:16-22).                                

Most people observing the Day of Atonement try to fast to weaken their will, and heighten the spiritual sensitivity of gratitude for God’s grace in supplying this Law for Atonement.  

Have you offered yourself to the Lord? He wants us completely. Jesus taught to love Him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength (Mk 12:30).

          When we see how difficult it is to humble ourselves, we can begin to  sincerely seek our High Priest Jesus’ whole offering to “appease God’s wrath against our sin.” Jesus’ sacrifice is the only way this can be done (Rom 3:24-26).

          By the time we reach the Day of Atonement through the year of God’s annual appointed times, or Feasts, we should see the need of complete rest in Jesus, the Lamb of God.  Jesus came;                    

·       to sooth God’s wrath against our sin,

·       to cover our iniquities in our temple for atonement,

·       to remove the guilt of our iniquity, transgression, and sin into the wilderness. We are the man in readiness  when we see our great need of atonement with God – when we completely Rest in Jesus to accomplish our atonement.

THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES

       The last Feast, the Feast of Tabernacles, or “booths,” is like all the cleansing ceremonies in God’s Law (Lev 10-16, 23:39). They are seven days length plus an eighth day which represents a new beginning.  After the cleansing the Lord will find our “vessel” fit to make His abode in  (1 Thess 4:4-5, 2Tim 2:20-21).   

But;

 IF we do not delight at His abiding in us, and –

 If we do not repent to love His laws, and –

 If we do not begin tilling the soil of our hearts garden to

        allow for our new spirit to bear fruit (Matt 13), and -             

 If we do not desire to become a slave of righteousness to serve Him (Rom 6:16-26), -

 - then - He may move back out of our heart temple as He did with His Old Testament people.  The Lord moved out of the national temple of the Nation of Israel (2 Kin17, Ezek 8:4, 9:3, 10:4,18 ).

If we don’t wholeheartedly welcome the Lord in our heart, then   BEWARE.  The Lord is a jealous God.  Jesus says, “Seven evil spirits will find your house swept clean and enter back in!” (Matt 12:43-45). We must see the value of the Lord’s Forgiveness, Mercy, and His Covenant Promise. He is willing to be our God and call us His children (Gen 17:7-8).

          In the New Testament, Paul reminds us, “Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God,” (2Cor7:1).  These promises are the Everlasting Covenant (Gen 17:4-14, 2Cor6:14-18). The fall Feasts remind us not to take the everlasting covenant promises of becoming God’s people lightly.  God’s appointed times illustrate His plan of salvation so that we can become His people.

In the New Testament, as in the Old Testament, a sinner is to be cleansed. He is to be separated from defilement (lust of flesh, of eyes, boastfulness), and atoned for - and anointed as a king and priest (1Pet2:9-10, 1 John 2:16)!   The seven day feast period represents attaining spiritual perfection.  A new beginning is represented by the eighth day which follows. This new beginning is the new birth Peter writes about in 1Peter1:2-3. The eight day feast at the end of the Lord’s Festival Plan of Salvation means that we have been prepared for the Father, Son and Holy Spirit to make Their abode in us (Jn 14:17, 23).  We have been cleansed and found to be faithful – to be put into service (2Tim 2:15).

The Feasts teach every individual how to establish faith as a child of God.  Not just faith in Jesus Christ’s role as the Lamb sacrifice to satisfy the law’s demands on us, but the faith of becoming one with God through Jesus’ satisfying the covenant requirements of the law for us (Rom 8;3-4, Heb 9:15).

Each individual must build up this FAITH!  Each must cut off the world from his heart –i.e. circumcise his heart (Jer 4:1-4, Rom 2:29). Don’t just look at Jesus’ return to cleanse the world of sin.  These Feasts apply to each man who has ever lived – showing him how to return to the covenant with God.   “If our uncircumcised heart becomes humbled, as to make amends for our iniquity – and we confess our sins and the sins of our fathers…”(Lev 26:40-43).  

In the big picture of the plan of salvation, we have been shown grace every day.  We are to respond to His grace and show Him we are repenting – to show our love and gratitude and allegiance to Him. Jesus told His disciples, “Unless you eat My flesh and drink My blood you have no life in you.” The festival plan which pictures Jesus’ salvation uses the name “FEASTS” because it is this plan we must eat of to enter God’s rest.  We must re –establish fellowship with our Lord and our God.

CONCLUSION

        We are to observe these feasts everyday spiritually. Remember them whenever we need forgiveness and reconciliation with our Father (2Cor5:18-20);

·       call on the Lord to PASSOVER our sins

·       return to the UNLEAVENED BREAD of God’s Law

·       be hopeful about your salvation because Jesus, the first fruits of the spring grain harvest was offered before God and accepted as our WAVE SHEAF OFFERING

·       confess your sins and ASK for the Holy Spirit at PENTECOST to grow fruit for the fall harvest

·       listen for the TRUMPETS of the lord calling you to a solemn meeting.

·       remember to rest in the ATONEMENT of Jesus, the Lamb of God who wants to cleanse the temple of our body for His abode.

·       Turn from sin, repent, purify yourself from all defilement of flesh and spirit to make a TABERNACLE for the Father and Son and Holy Spirit to live in you.

          Do this everyday – any day, whenever you need times of refreshing and forgiveness.  Observe the Lord’s appointed times. They are Holy to Him.  They should be Holy to us.

         

Can you see why the adversary of our Lord, the devil, would substitute other holidays to remove these teachings from the church?

          God’s plan of salvation is explained by the seven feasts. They are called feasts so that we will be attracted to eat this part of His Holy Scripture (Jn 6:53-58).  Peter writes that when we come to Him we are built up as a holy priesthood (1Pet 2: 5). Like the priest in the OT sanctuary we must eat of the sin offering by which atonement was made (Ex 29:31-33).   We must eat of Jesus – our sin offering seen in these symbolic pictures of the Gospel!                                                    

          Consider each time as a thought picture on which to feast.  Jesus tells us to eat His flesh (the Word of God) and drink His blood, which is His sacrifice for us.  All who keep God’s Feasts after Jesus returns, along with His remnant church which grieves about the appointed feasts, will be gathered to heaven (Zeph 3:18, Zach 14:16-19). 

                                                                                            

For a complete study and chart of “God’s Plan Of Salvation Seen In His Festivals” go to;          GOD'S PLAN OF SALVATION SEEN IN HIS FESTIVALS


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