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1 Yahweh spoke again to Moses, saying,
2 "Speak to the sons of Israel and say to
them, '(moadai Yahweh) Yahweh's
appointed-times which you shall proclaim as (miqrei kodesh) My sacred assemblies – My appointed-times are these:
These are the weekly fifty-two
(or fifty-three) days of each solar year to be set aside as holy.
3 'For six days work may be done, but
on the seventh day there is a (Shabbat
Shabbaton) Sabbath of complete rest, a (miqra
kodesh) sacred assembly. You shall not do any work; it is a Sabbath to
Yahweh in all your dwellings.
On the seventh day of every week
we are to abstain from all unnecessary labor in order to keep the entire day
holy – a day dedicated to worship (that’s on our face before the Holy One) and
praise (that’s standing with raised hands and extolling the Almighty for His
attributes and acts). We also have an appointment with our God at a place of
sacred assembly. The Apostle Paul said that we should not forsake this
assembling (Hebrews 10:25).
This is specifically (yom
hashvi’i – Gen 2:2 & Lev 23:3) The Seventh Day – not just one day out of the
seven. It is (erev and
boqer – Gen 1:5) “evening
and morning,” that is, nighttime and daytime – sunset to sunset.
The (seder)
order of events for the sacred assemblies was defined by Yahweh, not left up to
leaders’ or congregants’ feelings, and was specifically distinct from
contemporary culture.
Yeshua was raised from a
tomb late on a Sabbath Day. He is returning for a thousand-year Sabbath of
Peace with us, before this world is renewed by fire. For that thousand year
Sabbath, Temple services will be by His design, as outlined in Ezekiel.
4 'These are the (moadai
Yahweh) appointed-times of Yahweh, (miqrei
kodesh) sacred assemblies which you shall proclaim at the times appointed
for them.
These are seven additional days each
year to be set aside as holy. They are related to the (Exod 23:14) three (Hag Yahweh – Lev 23:39) Feasts of Yahweh. However, “feasts” or
“festivals” are neither Biblical nor appropriate terms for these seven Holy
Days: one of them is a solemn fast – all feasting and festivities being
forbidden.
5 'In the first month, on the
fourteenth day of the month, (bein
haarbaim) between the evenings is the time for the (pesach
l’Yahweh) passover-offering to Yahweh.
6 'Then on the fifteenth day of the same
month there is (hag hamatzot l’Yahweh) the Feast of Unleavened Breads to Yahweh; for
seven days you shall eat (matzot)
unleavened breads.
7 'On the first day you shall have a (miqra
kodesh) sacred assembly; you shall not do any laborious work.
8 'But for seven days you shall present
an offering by fire to Yahweh. On the seventh day is a (miqra
kodesh) sacred assembly; you shall not do any laborious work.'"
On the fourteenth day of the month
Nisan, between noon and sunset (between the time when the sun begins to set and
the time when the sun goes below the horizon), the passover lamb was to be slain
and roasted. In the Torah, the term “(pesach)
passover” always refers to the lamb (or goat) offering, never to a feast or a
day. This passover-offering day, is called “Preparation Day” (John 19:31); it is
neither a feast day nor a Holy Day.
On the fourteenth of Nisan,
when the passover lamb was to be prepared between noon and sunset, “Messiah,
our passover (lamb), was sacrificed for us” (1 Corinthians 5:7). He was
buried just before the Holy Days began at sunset (Luke 23:53). Yeshua
redeemed a slave-girl out of Egypt – His church out of the land of sin.
Then after sunset, the beginning of
the fifteenth day of Nisan –the first feast began. The lamb was eaten before
midnight with unleavened breads (from previous year’s crops) and bitter herbs.
This is called the passover seder
because there is a defined order of events. The lamb was eaten only on the first
night of the feast, but the feast lasted seven full days.
For seven days, no leaven may be
present (a negative commandment), and unleavened breads of barley, oats, rye,
spelt, and/or wheat are to be eaten (a positive commandment) – with no new
grains being used until after the omer
is waved on the second day of the feast.
The (Yom
Hashvi’i) seventh day of the feast is the second annual Holy Day, with a
sacred assembly required. It is called “the Day of Faith,” because on this date
Israel came up from the Red Sea bed and saw the Egyptian army drowned, and
believed Yahweh and His servant Moses.
9 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
10
"Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, 'When you enter the land which I
am going to give to you and reap its harvest, then you shall bring in an (omer reshit) omer of the
beginning of your harvest to the priest.
11 'He shall wave (haomer)
the omer before Yahweh for you to be accepted; on the day after (hashabbat)
the rest-day the priest shall wave it.
12 'Now on the day when you wave (haomer)
the omer, you shall offer a male lamb
one year old without defect for an (olah
l’Yahweh) elevation-offering to Yahweh.
13 'Its grain offering shall then be
two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour
mixed with oil, an offering by fire to Yahweh for a soothing aroma, with its
drink offering, a fourth of a hin of
wine.
14 'Until this same day, until you have brought
in the offering of your God, you shall eat neither bread nor roasted grain nor
plump kernels (of new crop). It is to be a perpetual statute throughout your
generations in all your dwelling places.
Barley is the first of the five grain
crops to ripen. As soon as the first annual Holy Day is over, after sunset at
the beginning of the sixteenth of Nisan, three
seahs (about a bushel) of new barley
were harvested. Then, in the morning of that day, it was winnowed, sifted,
parched over a fire, ground, and sifted making one
omer (about two liters) of flour. Then
it was mixed with one log (about
one-third liter) of olive oil. It was waved upon a lamb. Then a three-finger
handful was taken from it, and with frankincense added was burned on the Altar
with the lamb. The remainder was given to the priests. No grain of the new crops
were allowed to be used until after this waving.
This sixteenth of Nisan, when the
omer mixture was waved, we call “Waving Day.” It should not be
called “feast of first fruits” or “early first fruits”: no form of the word
bikkur is ever used concerning it. It
is the second day of the Feast of Unleavened Breads. It is the first of fifty
days of “counting the omer.” These
latter two details can help with understanding the gospel narratives of events
surrounding the resurrection of Yeshua.
15 'You shall also count for yourselves
from the day after (hashabbat) the
rest-day, from the day when you brought in the
omer of the wave offering; there shall
be (sheva shabbatot) seven complete
weeks.
16 'You shall count fifty days to the day after
(hashabbat hashviyit) the seventh week; then you shall present a new
grain offering to Yahweh.
From the sixteenth of Nisan, we
are instructed to count fifty days. And we are instructed to count seven weeks
and one day. A blessing is said for each day:
“Blessed are You,
Yahweh our God, King of the Universe,
Who has
sanctified us by His Word, and instructed us to count the omer.
Today is the {twentieth} day of the omer;
it is the {second} week and {sixth} day of the omer.”
Like the grain, the redeemed
slave-girl is maturing for seven weeks, and being separated from the land of
Egypt in preparation for betrothal.
17 'You shall bring in from your
dwelling places two loaves of bread for a wave offering, made of two-tenths of
an ephah (a tenth of an ephah
is an omer – about two liters); they
shall be of a fine flour, baked with leaven as (bikkurim l’Yahweh) first fruits to Yahweh.
18 'Along with the bread you shall
present seven one year old male lambs without defect, and a bull of the herd and
two rams; they are to be an elevation offering to Yahweh, with their grain
offering and their drink offerings, an offering by fire of a soothing aroma to
Yahweh.
19 'You shall also offer one male goat for a sin
offering and two male lambs one year old for a sacrifice of peace offerings.
20 'The priest shall then wave them with
the (lechem habikkurim) bread of the
first fruits for a wave offering with two lambs before Yahweh; they are to be
holy to Yahweh for the priest.
21 'On this same day you shall make a
proclamation as well; you are to have a sacred assembly. You shall do no
laborious work. It is to be a perpetual statute in all your dwelling places
throughout your generations.
22 'When you reap the harvest of your
land, moreover, you shall not reap to the very corners of your field nor gather
the gleaning of your harvest; you are to leave them for the needy and the alien.
I am Yahweh your God.'"
The fiftieth day is the (Hag Shavuot – Exod 34:22) Feast of Weeks – the second of the three
Feasts of Yahweh. It is also (Yom
haBikkurim – Num 28:26) the Day of the First fruits – the third of the seven
annual Holy Days. And it is called “Pentecost” – meaning fiftieth. By this date,
wheat, the final and finest grain crop, is being harvested. Two
omers of fine wheat flour are to be
taken and baked into two large leavened loaves – about nine inches wide by
thirty-six inches long. This “bread of the first fruits” is to be waved with two
lambs. It is later eaten by the priests; nothing leavened may be placed on the
Altar.
This is the betrothal feast.
The church that was redeemed is ready to be betrothed to Yeshua. The
betrothal contract is the Torah from Mount Sinai. The earnest is the Holy
Spirit.
23 Again Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
24 "Speak to the sons of Israel, saying,
'In the seventh month on the first of the month you shall have a rest, a
reminder by blowing of trumpets, a sacred assembly.
25 'You shall not do any laborious work,
but you shall present an offering by fire to Yahweh.'"
The first day of the seventh
month is known as “the day of which no man knows the day or the hour,” because
its beginning is only determined after it has started. When it is announced from
the Holy Temple by a representative of the Sanhedrin, after they have considered
witness accounts concerning a new crescent moon, the Holy Day has already begun.
Therefore, the Holy Day is observed from the earliest possible start time,
though it may subsequently be found to start twenty-four hours later. In other
words, it is observed as a two-day long Sabbath, because all of the day must be
kept holy, though it cannot be known when it starts until after the fact.
This is the fourth of the seven
annual Holy Days. It is a precursor to the Feast of Tabernacles.
The
shofar (a ram’s horn trumpet) is
sounded several times, with an announcement preceding each trump. Before the
last and longest trump, the announcement is “Tekiah
Gedolah!” – the Return of the Great One!
At the Last Trump, with the
shout of the archangel, Yeshua will descend from heaven, and the dead in
Messiah shall rise (1 Cor 15:52, 1 Thess 4:16). Of that day and hour no one
knows (Matt 24:36, Mark 13:32). Messiah is returning for His bride.
26 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
27 "On exactly the tenth day of this
seventh month is (Yom haKippurim) the
Day of the Atonements; it shall be a sacred assembly for you, and you shall
humble your souls and present an offering by fire to Yahweh.
28 "You shall not do any work on this
same day, for it is a day of atonements, to atone for you before Yahweh your
God.
29 "If there is any person who will not humble
himself on this same day, he shall be cut off from his people.
30 "As for any person who does any work
on this same day, that person I will destroy from among his people.
31 "You shall do no work at all. It is to
be a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your dwelling places.
32 "It is to be a (Shabbat
Shabbaton) Sabbath of complete rest to you, and you shall humble your souls;
on the ninth of the month at evening, from evening until evening you shall keep
your Sabbath."
On the tenth day of this seventh
month, we come to the Day of the Atonements, the fifth of the seven annual Holy
Days. It is a solemn day of fasting and repentance. A sacred assembly is
required. [It may be noted that a Holy Day is herein called a Sabbath, even
though it is not a seventh day.]
Two goats (Lev 16:5-10)
represent the two atonements of this day. It is final preparation for the coming
third feast.
We must have two atonements
to be fit for the soon coming Kingdom: the goat for Azazel representing our
sins being accounted to Yeshua and taken away, and the goat for Yahweh
representing Yeshua’s righteousness being imputed to us with the soothing
aroma ascending to God.
33 Again Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
34 "Speak to the sons of Israel, saying,
'On the fifteenth of this seventh month is the (Hag
Sukkot) Feast of Tabernacles for seven days to Yahweh.
35 'On the first day is a sacred
assembly; you shall do no laborious work of any kind.
36 'For seven days you shall present an
offering by fire to Yahweh.
This third feast lasts seven days.
The first day of this feast is the sixth of the seven annual Holy Days. For the
seven days, we are to dwell – eat and sleep – in (sukkot)
tabernacles / booths. These are temporary structures made of branches and
leaves. We must keep the first day holy and have a sacred assembly, but we may
leave for our normal daily work on the other six days.
On the first day, among other
offerings, thirteen bullocks were offered at the Holy Temple. On the second day
it was twelve bullocks. On the sixth day it was seven bullocks. The total was
seventy bullocks, representing the fall of the seventy nations that were
originally separated from Babel. All the nations of this world have fallen by
the end.
This is a rehearsal for the
wedding feast – “The marriage of the Lamb is come, and His bride has made
herself ready!” – Rev 19:7-9. If we have come through the blood of the
Passover-lamb, if we have accepted the betrothal contract, if we have heard
the “Last Trump” and participated in the atonements, then we may be part of
this glorious feast! The remainder of the world will be under devastation.
On the eighth day you shall have a sacred assembly and
present an offering by fire to Yahweh; it is an assembly. You shall do no
laborious work.
This is known as (Yom
Hashmini Atzeret – Num 29:35) the Eighth Day Assembly. It is the final Holy
Day of the festival year, immediately following the seven-day Feast of
Tabernacles.
On this day, among other
offerings, one bullock was offered at the Holy Temple, representing the Kingdom
of God. All seventy kingdoms of this world have become the one Kingdom of Our
God.
Yeshua will reign in righteousness! He will dwell with His bride forever!
There will be no more sin, no more of sin’s results, no more death.
37 'These are the appointed-times of
Yahweh which you shall proclaim as sacred assemblies, to present offerings by
fire to Yahweh – elevation offerings and grain offerings, sacrifices and drink
offerings, each day's matter on its own day –
38 besides those of the Sabbaths of
Yahweh, and besides your gifts and besides all your votive and freewill
offerings, which you give to Yahweh.
These are the seven Holy Days of each
year when a sacred assembly is required with its own prescribed (seder) order of service. These are in addition to the weekly Sabbath
assemblies, and the required times to bring various offerings (e.g.: sin
offerings, thanksgiving offerings) to the Holy Temple.
Hebrew Vocabulary
(in order of usage in text)
Yahweh – the unique proper Name
of the Eternal Gracious One
Miqra (miqrei
is possessive form) – assembly, calling together
Kodesh – to keep holy, sanctify,
dedicate, consecrate
Moed (moadai
is plural possessive form) – appointed-time
Shvi’i – seventh (hashvi’i
is definite – the seventh)
Yom – day
Shabbat (shabbaton
is plural form) – a rest, especially to dedicate time to God
Related to
shevii – seventh (day or year or millennium)
Sometimes applied to other Holy
Days (e.g.: Lev 23:32)
Also used meaning “week”:
In Talmud first day of the week
is (Hebrew) “rishon bashabbat / first
of the sabbath” – Sukkot
In Gospels first day of the week
is (Greek) “mian sabbaton / first of
sabbath” – Matthew 28:1
Erev – to be dark or darkening
(afternoon, evening, or nighttime)
Boqer – morning (to break
forth), daytime (by implication)
Bein – between
Haarbaim – definite plural form
of erev – the evenings (noon and sunset)
Hag – feast; lots of food
including foods of symbolic nature (e.g.: lamb, breads, fruit-of-the-vine, new
fruits & nuts)
Units of Measure
Ephah – a basic unit of dry
measure; about twenty-five liters or twenty-eight quarts by Jerusalem
Hazon Ish measure, twelve liters by
Wilderness Na’eh measure
Seah – a unit of dry measure
(used for grain); one-third of an ephah;
about eight liters by Jerusalem measure
Omer – a unit of dry measure
(used for flour); one-tenth of an ephah;
about two-and-a-half liters by Jerusalem measure
Log – a unit of liquid measure
(used for olive oil); about one-third liter by Jerusalem measure
Hin – a unit of liquid measure
(used for wine); a “fourth of a hin”
is about one liter by Jerusalem measure
ddd 8-26-08 |