Tilling and Planting

Tag: Salvation

  • Purim: The Queen’s Holiday

    Purim: The Queen’s Holiday

    Intro

    I hope you’re not getting tired of me talking about the Jewish Holidays. Honestly, it’s been kind of fun and fascinating to learn how the different holidays point to Jesus. And I really hope you’ve enjoyed it and learned from it as well. Today, though, I’m pivoting to one that God did not establish. A Jewish queen established it. This holiday is called Purim. And it was established by Queen Esther as described in the Biblical book of Esther. Despite the fact that God didn’t ordain it (and despite His name not being mentioned in the book), God’s sovereignty can be clearly seen throughout Esther and the terrifying circumstances that led to the creation of Purim.

    The Celebration

    When it comes to observing Purim, the Jewish people have four things they do. First, they attend a public reading of Megillah – the Book of Esther – twice. Once the night before Purim and once on the day of Purim. One fun tradition with this is that every time Haman’s name (the villain, I’ll get to the story later) is mentioned, the hearers stamp their feet, use noisemakers, etc. to drown out his name.

    The second thing observed is to give to the needy. More than one Jewish holiday includes this and God commands and encourages this practice all through the Old Testament, so this comes as no surprise. For this specific holiday, a core theme is Jewish unity, so giving to the needy recognizes that.

    A third practice is to give gifts of food to friends. In case you missed it, every Jewish holiday involves a lot of food. Sure, many also contain fasting (Purim is no exception), but they always end with an abundance of food. To me that’s a reminder that even though there’s a time and place for fasting, we should always come back to celebrate and thank God for the food He has provided us with.

    Fourth and finally, is the feast itself. Invite as many friends and family as you can and feast! Enjoying the company of others and having fun is the primary message and theme of Purim.

    A few additional things include masquerades, special prayers, and a fast that occurs before the official day of Purim.

    Now in case you aren’t so familiar with the story of Esther, I’ll jump into that now.

    The Story

    So where did Purim come from? What part of Jewish history does it remember? This one goes back in time to the time of the Persian Empire. Some quick history: during the reign of Solomon’s son, the nation of Israel divided into two, Israel in the north and Judah in the south. Many years later, Assyria destroyed Israel and carted them off into exile. Babylon came along and took over Assyria and then turned and destroyed Judah – taking them into captivity. Babylon in turn was conquered by the Persian empire.

    That first Persian king over the territory of Babylon was named Cyrus. And Cyrus allowed the Jewish people (really all exiled peoples under Babylon) to return to their homeland and rebuild. The book of Ezra records one of the earliest returns of exiles and the rebuilding of the temple (Nehemiah records another return and rebuilding of Jerusalem’s walls, but this occurred after the events of Esther).

    Queen Swap

    Enter the Book of Esther. Here we find ourselves a couple of generations after Cyrus when King Xerxes (Ahasuerus is the Hebrew name for Xerxes and preserved as such in some English translations) is on the throne. The king throws a lavish party and displays his wealth and power to all sorts of Persian nobles. In his intoxicated state, he orders Queen Vashti to appear before them all to display her beauty (Esther 1:10-11). And she refused (verse 12). Why she did isn’t clear. Many believe the order was to appear naked and wearing only her crown…If that’s true, I don’t blame her for refusing.

    In any event, Xerxes became angry and asked his advisors what to do. They advised him to get rid of Vashti as an example of what happens when one disobeys the king’s command – and to supposedly prevent women everywhere from rebelling against their husbands, probably not a realistic fear, but they used it as a weapon to reinforce the low status of women, nonetheless. The king agrees and throws out Vashti, declaring her to no longer be his queen (verses 13-21).

    After calming down, Xerxes takes the advice of his nobles again to find a new queen (2:1-4). And through a beauty pageant/one night stand (really it was rape, this isn’t a PG book when you think about it), Esther was chosen over all the other young woman to be Xerxes’s new queen (verses 8-18).

    Esther Who?

    Now, who exactly was Esther?

    Now there was in the citadel of Susa a Jew of the tribe of Benjamin, named Mordecai son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, 6 who had been carried into exile from Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, among those taken captive with Jehoiachin king of Judah. 7 Mordecai had a cousin named Hadassah, whom he had brought up because she had neither father nor mother. This young woman, who was also known as Esther, had a lovely figure and was beautiful. Mordecai had taken her as his own daughter when her father and mother died.

    Esther 2:5-7 (NIV)

    So, Esther was a cousin of a Benjaminite named Mordecai. In verse 15 it gives the name of Esther’s father as Abihail – identified also as Mordecai’s uncle. Also, her real name according to the text was Hadassah. Verse 7 also identifies her as being quite lovely. This is an important note since the king’s edict targeted the most beautiful young women in the empire.

    We don’t know a whole lot else about her, but when brought into the harem, she pleased the eunuch – Hegai – in charge and he gave her special treatment and moved her to the best place in the harem (see verses 8-9). However she pleased Hegai likely contributed to what we read later (verses 17-18) where it says the king was pleased with her more than any of the other women and chose to make her queen (and I’m sure the special treatment helped out as well).

    Haman’s Plot

    Now we get to the meat of the story. The events that directly lead to the establishment of Purim. Enter Haman. A noble of Xerxes with a position of honor greater than all the other nobles. He’s identified as an Agagite, which history + tradition tells us was a group of people descended from Agag, the king of the Amalekites. The Amalekites were a long time enemy of the Israelites whom God commanded King Saul to destroy – but he failed. So already Haman’s views on the Jewish people aren’t favorable. Add to that Haman’s massive ego and a small slight and suddenly there’s a decree to eradicate all Jewish people.

    Okay, back up, what slight? Mordecai – Esther’s cousin – refused to bow to Haman (chapter 3:2-4). This enraged Haman (verse 5). And he decided that he didn’t just want to destroy Mordecai, he wanted to destroy all of the Jews (verse 6). So he concocted this story about the Jews and presented it to the king to get his blessing to destroy them all.

    Then Haman said to King Xerxes, “There is a certain people dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom who keep themselves separate. Their customs are different from those of all other people, and they do not obey the king’s laws; it is not in the king’s best interest to tolerate them. 9 If it pleases the king, let a decree be issued to destroy them, and I will give ten thousand talents of silver to the king’s administrators for the royal treasury.”

    Esther 3:8-9 (NIV)

    The king agreed and an edict was sent out to all the empire that on a specific date, the Jews were to be eradicated.

    Mordecai’s Plea

    When Mordecai learned of this, he – along with all the Jews – mourned. This mourning reached the ears of Esther and she inquired of him why he mourned. Mordecai explained the situation and then pleaded with her to go to the king and beg for mercy for the Jews. Esther reported that, according to law, no one could go into the king’s presence without being summoned – herself included. The consequence was execution. Mordecai challenged her saying that she likely will not be spared either – despite her position. And even suggested that the reason she got into her position was to bring salvation to her people. Esther agreed and asked that all the Jews in Susa fast for her for three days and then she would go before the king (see chapter 4).

    Esther’s Bravery

    After the three days of fasting, Esther put on her royal attire and entered the king’s court. When the king saw her, he held out his royal scepter – which pardoned her disobedience to the law. He asked her what she wanted and Esther invited him and Haman to a banquet, and there make her real request (chapter 5:1-8).

    Fast forward to the banquet recorded in chapter 7 and Esther reveals her nationality to the king for the first time and Haman’s true nature.

    So the king and Haman went to Queen Esther’s banquet, 2 and as they were drinking wine on the second day, the king again asked, “Queen Esther, what is your petition? It will be given you. What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be granted.”

    3 Then Queen Esther answered, “If I have found favor with you, Your Majesty, and if it pleases you, grant me my life—this is my petition. And spare my people—this is my request. 4 For I and my people have been sold to be destroyed, killed and annihilated. If we had merely been sold as male and female slaves, I would have kept quiet, because no such distress would justify disturbing the king.”

    5 King Xerxes asked Queen Esther, “Who is he? Where is he—the man who has dared to do such a thing?”

    6 Esther said, “An adversary and enemy! This vile Haman!”

    Then Haman was terrified before the king and queen. 7 The king got up in a rage, left his wine and went out into the palace garden. But Haman, realizing that the king had already decided his fate, stayed behind to beg Queen Esther for his life.

    8 Just as the king returned from the palace garden to the banquet hall, Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was reclining.

    The king exclaimed, “Will he even molest the queen while she is with me in the house?”

    As soon as the word left the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face. 9 Then Harbona, one of the eunuchs attending the king, said, “A pole reaching to a height of fifty cubits stands by Haman’s house. He had it set up for Mordecai, who spoke up to help the king.”

    The king said, “Impale him on it!” 10 So they impaled Haman on the pole he had set up for Mordecai. Then the king’s fury subsided.

    Esther 7 (NIV)

    Brutal way to die. A quick note, verse 9 indicates Mordecai spoke up to help the king. I didn’t cover that, but chapter 6 describes how the king honored Mordecai for foiling an assassination plot against him in chapter 2. Ironically, the king ordered Haman to perform the parade for Mordecai.

    Salvation for the Jews

    After Haman’s demise, the king gives Haman’s position to Mordecai. And at Esther’s pleading, orders a new edict written that allowed the Jews to defend themselves against all their enemies that took advantage of Haman’s edict. And when the fateful day came, the Jews overpowered their enemies – and all the nobles, governors, and other government officials helped the Jews for fear of Mordecai, now the most powerful noble in the empire. This carried on for two days rather than the original one, as requested by Esther.

    Purim Established

    After this victory, Mordecai issued an edict for the Jews to observe the fourteenth and fifteenth days of Adar (the days they fought and overcame their enemies) as holidays for generations to come. And the name Purim comes from the Persian word pur meaning “lot” and refers to the lots that Haman cast to determine which day to eradicate the Jews.

    God’s Silent Hand

    Whew! I went through a lot there. Basically the entire Book of Esther summarized. Did you notice I never mentioned God? Did you notice that Esther never mentioned God? It’s true. God’s name is not in the entire book. But His hand of providence permeates the book.

    The king chooses Esther among all the young women to be his next queen. Mordecai happens to uncover an assassination plot against the king. Later Haman’s own ego causes Mordecai to become honored by the king.

    Mordecai suggests to Esther that Haman’s plot is the reason she’s in her royal position. Even though Mordecai doesn’t say explicitly, he’s clearly suggesting divine providence. And when Esther initially replies in fear, he suggests that salvation will come from somewhere else – again suggesting divine providence. Mordecai clearly believes in God’s faithfulness to the Jews. Esther agrees to Mordecai’s plan to go before the king and by some miracle remains alive.

    It’s worth noting here, that Esther pleases everyone who encounters her. First, Hegai (the eunuch in charge of the harem), then everyone she encountered leading up to her one night with the king, and finally the king himself. Something about her made everyone like her – which enabled her to go before the king and not die. This too suggests divine working in her life. This extends to when she makes her plea to save the Jews and Xerxes chooses her over Haman. Then he allows the Jews two days to defend themselves and elevates Mordecai to the highest noble position.

    It’s pretty clear to me that God worked all through the Book of Esther.

    Wrapping Up

    And there you go. One of the biggest Jewish holidays of the year. Not established by God, but blessed by Him no doubt. Still in the Old Testament though, in case you’re keeping track. God’s providence and sovereignty shines so clearly through this story that I might take some time each year to re-read Esther and remind myself of that. Having a Jewish co-worker helps since he makes known when each of the holidays comes around (and brings donuts for Purim!).

    I’ve got one more holiday to cover, Hanukkah. Another one not established by God, but divine providence surrounds the events – and makes an appearance in the New Testament. Of note, I might take a break for the fourth Saturday of this month (August). The week immediately following the publishing of this one I’m volunteering at a camp and the weekend after will be recovery. So I might not get around to writing anything. I’ll send out an email when the day gets closer.

    Outro

    If you enjoyed this post, please consider doing one or all of these things. First, subscribe if you haven’t. If you have, thank you! Second, spread the word. Send these to everyone you know and encourage them to read and subscribe. This blog is purely word of mouth right now. I rely on you, my readers, to help me get more readers. And third, please consider donating. It’ll enable me to continue to offer regular posts.

    Feel free to leave a comment with any questions about what I’ve written, any additional comments about the post, or if there’s a topic you’d like me to write about. Before doing that though, be sure to check out all my posts here and see if I’ve covered it already. And if you find I’ve done it already but aren’t satisfied or still have more questions, let me know!

    Thank you for reading this! I greatly appreciate each one of you. Until next time, God bless you all!

  • Jewish Holidays Revisited

    Jewish Holidays Revisited

    Intro

    In this last post about the seven Jewish Holidays (or feasts or festivals) found in the Bible that God instituted, I’m giving a brief summary of how the feasts point to Jesus – either His first coming, second coming, or both. These aren’t in the same order that I did the individual posts on, but they are in the order of when they occur on the calendar. So let’s dive in.

    Passover

    Passover reminded the Jews about the night the angel of death killed the firstborn of Egypt, but passed over all Israelite homes as long as they put the blood of the Passover lamb on their doorposts. This marked the end of slavery and the beginning of freedom for them.

    Jesus fulfilled this by becoming the unblemished, spotless Passover Lamb and shedding His blood for the forgiveness of our sins. By receiving this forgiveness, we are freed from our sins and are no longer slaves to them.

    Unleavened Bread

    The Feast of Unleavened Bread – which happened right after Passover – reminded the Jews of their flight from Egypt. Further, throughout Scripture, leaven is used as a picture of sin. This is important.

    Jesus fulfilled this one because of His sinless life. And since leaven is a picture of sin, you could say Jesus lived an “unleavened life”. This goes hand in hand with Jesus being the unblemished, spotless Passover Lamb. Because only a perfect lamb could be sacrificed for the Passover.

    Day of Firstfruits

    The Day of Firstfruits served as a celebration of the barley harvest. And the Jews took this time to give thanks to God for His provision – appropriate. In addition, it reminded the Jews that the first fruits of everything belonged to God. Food and firstborn among animals and people.

    Jesus fulfilled this by becoming the wave offering (the priest presented a wave offering for this festival) that He presented to God and then His atonement was released to be received by us (just as the wave offering was released to be used). This one occurred on Resurrection Day.

    The first three holidays point to Jesus’ sacrifice, death, and resurrection. And it gets better from here.

    Pentecost

    Also called the Feast of Weeks, Pentecost celebrated the wheat harvest and the giving of the law at Mt. Sinai. It came 50 days after the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

    The fulfillment of this one came on the day of Pentecost itself when the disciples were all gathered in the upper room. Holy Spirit poured out upon them and they preached the gospel to untold thousands. And the result was a harvest of 3000 people. The connection isn’t quite as obvious here (other than the usage of the word “harvest”), but the New Testament refers to the Holy Spirit as a type of first fruit that God gives believers. And like the Feast of Firstfruits, the Feast of Weeks is a feast of giving of the first fruits – of wheat rather than barley. Furthermore, the Jews remembered the giving of the law during this time. The law symbolized and instituted the Old Covenant; the outpouring of Holy Spirit symbolized and fully established the New Covenant.

    With this one, we’ve reached the end of the Spring festivals and the end of the ones completely fulfilled by Jesus’ first coming.

    Feast of Trumpets

    Moving on to the Jewish holidays found in the fall, the Feast of Trumpets kicks off a ten day period of introspection and repentance. From the first trumpet blast sounded, the people began to look at their lives and confess their sins to God and others. They seek reconciliation and forgiveness.

    In terms of fulfillment, this one hasn’t been fulfilled yet. The Feast of Trumpets is the first holiday on the Jewish calendar that points to the Second Coming of Christ. How so? Well, so much around the Second Coming is associated with trumpet blasts. A trumpet blast precedes the rapture of the church, a trumpet will herald the Great and Terrible Day of the Lord, angels will sound seven trumpets each for a different judgment on the inhabitants of the earth, etc. The festival urges people to seek forgiveness from God before it’s too late.

    Day of Atonement

    The confessing of sins from the Feast of Trumpets and the ten days following, culminates in the Day of Atonement – the most sacred and solemn day on the Jewish calendar. On this day, the high priest sacrificed a goat for a sin offering for the people and then on a second goat – the scapegoat – pronounced all the sins of the nation and laid them upon the goat. Someone then took the goat out to the wilderness and released it. It’s a little different now without the temple and the priesthood established. That’s why there’s a ten day period of confession. But the idea is the same. Sin must be atoned for and forgiven.

    One thing interesting about this feast comes from the fact that I see elements of both Jesus’ first and second comings. It’s pretty obvious from a reading of Hebrews that Jesus serves as our High Priest, but also served as the atoning sacrifice for our sins. However, it also points to a future redemption of the entire nation of Israel when Jesus returns. Similarly, the Day of Atonement reminds us of the seriousness of sin and the need for judgment of it. And the Second Coming includes judgment of the wicked and of sin itself.

    Feast of Tabernacles

    This final of the holidays on the Jewish calendar (as instituted by God) is the Feast of Tabernacles, or Sukkot. The Jews take this time to live in tabernacles (think tents) and remember their ancestors’ journey through the wilderness after escaping Egypt. It’s a time to reflect on the provision and presence of God. After all, the official Tabernacle that the Lord directed Moses to make was the place of God’s presence among the Israelites.

    Like the Day of Atonement, this festival points to both the first and second comings. And to me, it looks fairly obvious how. For Jesus’ first coming, John in particular used the Greek word for tabernacle to describe Jesus dwelling with mankind – much how God dwelt with the Israelites in the wilderness. And like those tabernacles that Jews live in to commemorate this festival, His first coming was temporary. However, all these festivals see a greater fulfillment than what is on the surface. And for this one, it also points to Jesus’ second coming, but as a permanent dwelling with mankind. The Bible also mentions that all nations will celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. All nations will celebrate God dwelling with mankind for all eternity. That’s powerful.

    And that’s the last of the Jewish holidays in this list. To sum up: the first four festivals in the Spring all point to the establishment of the New Covenant through Jesus’ death, resurrection, and sending of Holy Spirit. The last three in the fall primarily point to the second coming of Christ and His reign and rule over all and the destruction of sin once and for all (with some additional elements pointing back to His sacrifice and first coming).

    Wrapping Up

    And there you have it. All seven Jewish Holidays that God Almighty established. It’s incredible seeing how much they point to Jesus and all the foreshadowing that exists.

    Even though this has come to a close, I’m not quite done with Jewish Holidays. There are two more that are very well known that I think a lot of people forget were not established by God. Despite that, you see God’s fingerprints all over the circumstances surrounding the establishment of these holidays. Join me next time as I explore the first of these two: Purim.

    Outro

    If you enjoyed this post, please consider doing one or all of these things. First, subscribe if you haven’t. If you have, thank you! Second, spread the word. Send these to everyone you know and encourage them to read and subscribe. This blog is purely word of mouth right now. I rely on you, my readers, to help me get more readers. And third, please consider donating. It’ll enable me to continue to offer regular posts.

    Feel free to leave a comment with any questions about what I’ve written, any additional comments about the post, or if there’s a topic you’d like me to write about. Before doing that though, be sure to check out all my posts here and see if I’ve covered it already. And if you find I’ve done it already but aren’t satisfied or still have more questions, let me know!

    Thank you for reading this! I greatly appreciate each one of you. Until next time, God bless you all!

  • Atonement for Sin

    Atonement for Sin

    Intro

    We’re at the end! Kind of. Today I’ll be discussing the final Jewish feast that God instituted in the Old Testament. However, I’m aware of a couple of other really well known holidays not instituted by God that I intend to discuss in upcoming posts. So while we’ve reached the end of the Divinely established holidays, the series of Jewish holidays isn’t quite at its end. But getting back to today’s topic, the holiday I’m analyzing today is known as the Day of Atonement – or Yom Kippur. The Day of Atonement is the most holy and solemn day on the Jewish calendar. However, it is also one of the most powerful references to Jesus in all the Jewish feasts. Buckle up, this is going to be fun.

    What is it?

    As I mentioned, the Day of Atonement is the most holy day on the Jewish calendar. This day ends a 10 day period of introspection and repentance by the Jewish people that started with the Feast of Trumpets. On this day, the High Priest makes atonement for all the sins of the entire nation of Israel. That’s a heavy burden. Before diving into the foreshadowing, let’s take a deeper dive at how God ordained this day and how it has evolved.

    As God Ordained

    The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron who died when they approached the Lord. 2 The Lord said to Moses: “Tell your brother Aaron that he is not to come whenever he chooses into the Most Holy Place behind the curtain in front of the atonement cover on the ark, or else he will die. For I will appear in the cloud over the atonement cover.

    3 “This is how Aaron is to enter the Most Holy Place: He must first bring a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. 4 He is to put on the sacred linen tunic, with linen undergarments next to his body; he is to tie the linen sash around him and put on the linen turban. These are sacred garments; so he must bathe himself with water before he puts them on. 5 From the Israelite community he is to take two male goats for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering.

    6 “Aaron is to offer the bull for his own sin offering to make atonement for himself and his household. 7 Then he is to take the two goats and present them before the Lord at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 8 He is to cast lots for the two goats—one lot for the Lord and the other for the scapegoat. 9 Aaron shall bring the goat whose lot falls to the Lord and sacrifice it for a sin offering. 10 But the goat chosen by lot as the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the Lord to be used for making atonement by sending it into the wilderness as a scapegoat.

    11 “Aaron shall bring the bull for his own sin offering to make atonement for himself and his household, and he is to slaughter the bull for his own sin offering. 12 He is to take a censer full of burning coals from the altar before the Lord and two handfuls of finely ground fragrant incense and take them behind the curtain. 13 He is to put the incense on the fire before the Lord, and the smoke of the incense will conceal the atonement cover above the tablets of the covenant law, so that he will not die. 14 He is to take some of the bull’s blood and with his finger sprinkle it on the front of the atonement cover; then he shall sprinkle some of it with his finger seven times before the atonement cover.

    15 “He shall then slaughter the goat for the sin offering for the people and take its blood behind the curtain and do with it as he did with the bull’s blood: He shall sprinkle it on the atonement cover and in front of it. 16 In this way he will make atonement for the Most Holy Place because of the uncleanness and rebellion of the Israelites, whatever their sins have been. He is to do the same for the tent of meeting, which is among them in the midst of their uncleanness. 17 No one is to be in the tent of meeting from the time Aaron goes in to make atonement in the Most Holy Place until he comes out, having made atonement for himself, his household and the whole community of Israel.

    18 “Then he shall come out to the altar that is before the Lord and make atonement for it. He shall take some of the bull’s blood and some of the goat’s blood and put it on all the horns of the altar. 19 He shall sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times to cleanse it and to consecrate it from the uncleanness of the Israelites.

    20 “When Aaron has finished making atonement for the Most Holy Place, the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall bring forward the live goat. 21 He is to lay both hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the wickedness and rebellion of the Israelites—all their sins—and put them on the goat’s head. He shall send the goat away into the wilderness in the care of someone appointed for the task. 22 The goat will carry on itself all their sins to a remote place; and the man shall release it in the wilderness.

    23 “Then Aaron is to go into the tent of meeting and take off the linen garments he put on before he entered the Most Holy Place, and he is to leave them there. 24 He shall bathe himself with water in the sanctuary area and put on his regular garments. Then he shall come out and sacrifice the burnt offering for himself and the burnt offering for the people, to make atonement for himself and for the people. 25 He shall also burn the fat of the sin offering on the altar.

    26 “The man who releases the goat as a scapegoat must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water; afterward he may come into the camp. 27 The bull and the goat for the sin offerings, whose blood was brought into the Most Holy Place to make atonement, must be taken outside the camp; their hides, flesh and intestines are to be burned up. 28 The man who burns them must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water; afterward he may come into the camp.

    29 “This is to be a lasting ordinance for you: On the tenth day of the seventh month you must deny yourselves and not do any work—whether native-born or a foreigner residing among you— 30 because on this day atonement will be made for you, to cleanse you. Then, before the Lord, you will be clean from all your sins. 31 It is a day of sabbath rest, and you must deny yourselves; it is a lasting ordinance. 32 The priest who is anointed and ordained to succeed his father as high priest is to make atonement. He is to put on the sacred linen garments 33 and make atonement for the Most Holy Place, for the tent of meeting and the altar, and for the priests and all the members of the community.

    34 “This is to be a lasting ordinance for you: Atonement is to be made once a year for all the sins of the Israelites.”

    And it was done, as the Lord commanded Moses.

    Leviticus 16 (NIV)

    Hoo boy. The instructions for this holiday come immediately after the deaths of two of Aaron’s sons who tried to offer incense in a manner that they weren’t supposed to. And the instructions takes an entire chapter to describe! In addition, there’s a little snippet in Leviticus 23 to give a few more instructions specifically for the people.

    26 The Lord said to Moses, 27 “The tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. Hold a sacred assembly and deny yourselves, and present a food offering to the Lord. 28 Do not do any work on that day, because it is the Day of Atonement, when atonement is made for you before the Lord your God. 29 Those who do not deny themselves on that day must be cut off from their people. 30 I will destroy from among their people anyone who does any work on that day. 31 You shall do no work at all. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live. 32 It is a day of sabbath rest for you, and you must deny yourselves. From the evening of the ninth day of the month until the following evening you are to observe your sabbath.”

    Leviticus 23:26-32 (NIV)

    This was a day of enormous magnitude. For on this day the High Priest entered the Holy of Holies (the only time he could) and offered atonement for the sins of the entire nation. And if he didn’t do things just right, he would be struck dead. No pressure. Can you see why this became the most holy and solemn day of the year for the Jewish people?

    Perhaps the most interesting part about these instructions is the two goats. One to serve as the sin offering for the nation and the other to serve as the scapegoat and be released into the wilderness – where it would die. I’ll discuss these goats more throughout the different sections, so keep them in mind.

    As Observed

    Over the years, the Jews developed different observances for this day. As well as some additional beliefs that aren’t outlined in Scripture. One such belief is that on this day, the Book of Life is opened, names written in it and then sealed again until next year. God never said that.

    Second, at some point, the man responsible for leading the scapegoat out into the wilderness started leading the goat up to a cliff and pushing it off. Again, God did not command this. In fact, He specifically states to release the goat into the wild – to die, yes, but not by the hands of the Israelites. I believe this is meant to symbolize that God takes care of the sins of the people. I imagine that at some point, however, people started wondering (and worrying) what it might mean if the scapegoat came back into the camp. So they figured they’d make sure it never did. I can see the logic there, but it is at the expense of obedience to the Lord. We’re not much different today.

    Another unusual custom was the tying of a scarlet ribbon around the scapegoat and a matching one in the temple. The idea being that when God accepted the sacrifices and the scapegoat offering, the ribbon in the temple turned white. This might be the strangest belief of them all. Some blending of mysticism with Judaism.

    In more modern times, we see such practices as increased charitable giving. Weeks of introspection and repentance. Asking God and others for forgiveness, and forgiving others. Praying special prayers, giving food to others, having special meals, giving special blessings, etc. There’s quite a bit. After Yom Kippur is over, there’s also a lot of celebration with even more joy than the observances leading up to it.

    Where is Jesus?

    I mentioned that this holiday foreshadows Jesus more powerfully than many of the others – and that’s saying something! And like the Feast of Tabernacles, the Day of Atonement contains elements of Jesus’ First and Second Comings. Take a look.

    First Coming

    First of all, the obvious. Hebrews makes the case that Jesus is our High Priest. But in addition to being our High Priest, He also serves as the blood sacrifice (Hebrews 9:7-14). So not only does Jesus fulfill the High Priestly role found in the Day of Atonement, He also fulfills the twin roles of the bull offering and the goat offering – both of which were sin offerings.

    Another piece is the Mercy Seat. The High Priest had to sprinkle the blood on the Mercy Seat. God – through Jesus – offered Mercy to all mankind. Furthermore, the word for Mercy Seat in Leviticus means “propitiation”, and the New Testament says in multiple places that Jesus is the propitiation for our sins (translated in some English Bibles as “atoning sacrifice”) – see 1 John 4:10 and 1 John 2:2.

    Lastly, Jesus fulfilled the scapegoat requirement as well since God placed all of mankind’s sin upon Jesus and He took them away forever!

    Second Coming

    I don’t have a whole lot to say about this. The biggest things to note is that Yom Kippur points to a future redemption of all of Israel. And this won’t happen until Jesus comes back. The Jews also associate the Day of Atonement with judgment – which points to the great and terrible Day of the Lord at the Second Coming.

    Another interesting connection comes from the word translated as “scapegoat”. The Hebrew word used here is Azazel. This word is also associated with the devil. Which points to the final judgment of the devil himself.

    The Scarlet Ribbon

    Remember the scarlet ribbon I referenced earlier? The mystic-type belief that when God accepted the sacrifices the one tied around a door handle in the temple turned white? Even though God did not give this instruction to the people, it seems like there was something to it. Ancient literature gives accounts of this actually happening during the Second Temple period. I’d be more skeptical of the whole ordeal if not for the fact that all of a sudden, the literature records the color change ceasing. You read that right, they say it just stopped for the last 40ish years before the destruction of the Second Temple. What happened 40ish years prior to the temple’s destruction? The Crucifixion.

    While I’m not totally on board with the miraculous color turning of the ribbon, I have to admit that the timing of it ending makes sense. With the death of Jesus, God stopped accepting animal sacrifices for sin.

    I don’t know the truth behind this, but I’m not going to rule out anything here. God may have honored the ribbon for His own reasons – if only to use it as another pointer to Jesus’.

    Wrapping Up

    And there we go. All seven God-ordained Jewish holidays wrapped up. For this last one, I wish for you to remember the seriousness of sin, the holiness of God, the sacrifice of Jesus, and the coming hope of His return.

    Next time I’m going to give a summary outline of all seven festivals and how they point to Jesus. After that, I’ll move to one of the two well-known holidays that God did not ordain – but make an appearance in the Bible. Stay tuned!

    Outro

    If you enjoyed this post, please consider doing one or all of these things. First, subscribe if you haven’t. If you have, thank you! Second, spread the word. Send these to everyone you know and encourage them to read and subscribe. This blog is purely word of mouth right now. I rely on you, my readers, to help me get more readers. And third, please consider donating. It’ll enable me to continue to offer regular posts.

    Feel free to leave a comment with any questions about what I’ve written, any additional comments about the post, or if there’s a topic you’d like me to write about. Before doing that though, be sure to check out all my posts here and see if I’ve covered it already. And if you find I’ve done it already but aren’t satisfied or still have more questions, let me know!

    Thank you for reading this! I greatly appreciate each one of you. Until next time, God bless you all!

  • Firstfruits of Many

    Firstfruits of Many

    Intro

    I’m on a roll now with Jewish holidays. I’ve talked about Passover and the connection to the Crucifixion and I’ve talked about Pentecost/Feast of Weeks (Shavuot) and the connection to the outpouring of Holy Spirit and the harvest of souls that came immediately after. Now I wish to talk about the Feast of Firstfruits (Yom HaBikkurim) and the connection to the resurrection. Side note: I’m kind of bouncing around with the holidays in terms of when they occur on the calendar, but that’s okay. I’m kind of doing it as I feel.

    The Feast

    In the book of Leviticus, God institutes the Feast of Firstfruits as such.

    The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you enter the land I am going to give you and you reap its harvest, bring to the priest a sheaf of the first grain you harvest. He is to wave the sheaf before the Lord so it will be accepted on your behalf; the priest is to wave it on the day after the Sabbath. On the day you wave the sheaf, you must sacrifice as a burnt offering to the Lord a lamb a year old without defect, together with its grain offering of two-tenths of an ephah of the finest flour mixed with olive oil—a food offering presented to the Lord, a pleasing aroma—and its drink offering of a quarter of a hin of wine. You must not eat any bread, or roasted or new grain, until the very day you bring this offering to your God. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live.

    Leviticus 23:9-14 (NIV)

    So what was the point of this one? Similar to the Feast of Weeks, this feast celebrated a harvest and was a time of thanksgiving to God for His provision. The difference between this one and the Feast of Weeks is that the Feast of Weeks celebrated the wheat harvest while the Feast of Firstfruits celebrated the barley harvest. The priest would take a sheaf of barley and wave it before the Lord as an offering. Then all Israelites sacrificed a lamb as a burnt offering to God. No one was allowed to eat of the crop until the first portion had been brought to the priest. This acknowledged that the firstfruits belonged to God and He was the source of it all.

    The timing of this feast was right in line with Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread (stay tuned for this one!). In fact the exact time of when it should be celebrated has been in dispute. Leviticus says the waving of the first sheaf must occur the day after the Sabbath. However, the Pharisees and Sadducees disagreed on whether that meant the regular weekly Sabbath (favored by the Sadducees) – which would put the sheaf waving on our Saturday evening/Sunday morning – or if it was the special Sabbath of the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread – which could change from year to year and was favored by the Pharisees. And this disagreement continues among scholars today.

    The Fulfilment

    I already mentioned that this feast connects to the resurrection of Jesus. So how does it do that? First, let me back up a bit, I feel like I haven’t explained something rather important very well. God in His wisdom and forethought instituted various festivals for the Israelites to observe – 7 in all. And God designed each one of them to point to Jesus and the New Covenant in some way. I already went through Passover (the Crucifixion) and the Feast of Weeks/Pentecost (outpouring of Holy Spirit) and now I’m onto the Feast of Firstfruits. Make sense? Cool, let’s move on.

    The first thing to note is that despite the disagreement on when the sheaf should be waved, it seems clear from the Bible that this day fell on a Sunday – after the regular Sabbath’s day of rest. This means that Jesus rose from the dead on the day that the priest waved the sheaf as an offering to the Lord. Already this is significant. The wave offering signified that what was waved belonged to the Lord but then He released it to be used by others. Jesus presented Himself as an offering to God and the atonement that Jesus achieved was released by God to be received by us.

    Furthermore, Paul uses the word “firstfruits” to refer to Jesus and His resurrection.

    But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him.

    1 Corinthians 15:20-23 (NIV)

    Paul refers to Jesus’ resurrection as the firstfruits. Basically saying, “Just as God raised Jesus from the dead, so shall you be.” Similarly in Romans 8:23, Paul writes that the indwelling of the Spirit is a firstfruit of the redemption of all creation (specifically our bodies).

    When God instituted the Feast of Firstfruits, He looked ahead to the day His Son would fulfill it by becoming the firstfruits of the New Covenant and redemption of all creation.

    Wrapping Up

    Praise God for the resurrection! Am I right? As Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians, without the resurrection our faith is useless (see 1 Corinthians 15:13-17). Don’t gloss over the power of Jesus’ resurrection. We tend to put a lot of emphasis on the Cross and the weight of the sin He carried. But the resurrection demonstrated that God accepted Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. I love it.

    I also love the amount of care God put into the holidays He gave the Israelites in the Old Testament. Every one of them a picture of Jesus and the New Covenant. Most people missed it when Jesus walked the earth and most people don’t recognize it today. That’s why I’m taking the time to go through them all. The connections amaze me. Some more than others. So stay tuned for the next one: The Feast of Unleavened Bread!

    Outro

    If you enjoyed this post, please consider doing one or all of these things. First, subscribe if you haven’t. If you have, thank you! Second, spread the word. Send these to everyone you know and encourage them to read and subscribe. This blog is purely word of mouth right now. I rely on you, my readers, to help me get more readers. And third, please consider donating. It’ll enable me to continue to offer regular posts.

    Feel free to leave a comment with any questions about what I’ve written, any additional comments about the post, or if there’s a topic you’d like me to write about. Before doing that though, be sure to check out all my posts here and see if I’ve covered it already. And if you find I’ve done it already but aren’t satisfied or still have more questions, let me know!

    Thank you for reading this! I greatly appreciate each one of you. Until next time, God bless you all!

  • Jesus The Passover Lamb

    Jesus The Passover Lamb

    Intro

    Easter has just passed us by. During this time we remember His death and resurrection. We remember that, much like the sacrifices of the Old Testament were made to pay for sin, Jesus’ sacrifice was made to pay for our sin. In this, I remember John the Baptist calling Jesus “The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29). And this fits with the idea of Jesus being a sacrifice like the sacrifices that the Jews were required to do. But this begs the question: Why a lamb? Why not a bull or any of the other animals? As my title kind of indicates, it all has to do with a particular Jewish holiday. So today I’m going to show the parallels between Passover and the Crucifixion and show how Jesus is the ultimate Passover Lamb.

    Passover Summary

    Before I dive into the parallels, I’m going to give a quick summary of the start of Passover found in Exodus 12. That’ll give a clearer picture of why Jesus is the ultimate Passover lamb. The Egyptians enslaved the Israelites and after a handful of generations of oppression, God raised up Moses to lead them out. But Pharaoh was stubborn and refused. Consequently, God sent a series of plagues. After the first 9, God sent a warning to the Israelites. Unlike the other 9 plagues, the 10th – the death of the firstborn – would sweep through both the Egyptian and Israelite households. However, in His great mercy, God provided a way for His people to avoid the final plague. They were to take a lamb, kill it, and spread its blood on the doorposts of their homes and the angel of death would pass over their house.

    Parallels

    Just by reading my summary, I’m sure you can draw a pretty obvious parallel in that in both scenarios you’ve got guilty people (Israelites who were no saints and then all of humanity who are also terrible sinners) who are under a penalty and yet God provides a means of salvation because of His great love and mercy. So, that snippet alone demonstrates an important aspect to Jesus being the Passover lamb for all of humanity. But there is so much more. Let’s dive in.

    Mature Male

    According to Exodus, the lamb must be a 1 year old male. For a lamb, this is the age of maturity.

    The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats.

    Exodus 12:5 (NIV)

    Likewise, Jesus was born as a man and was fully mature when He was crucified – Luke records Jesus was about 30 when He started (Luke 3:23) and had a ministry of about 3.5 years, which made Him about 33.5 years of age when He died.

    No Broken Bones

    As soon as you read this heading, you’re probably thinking of how you know none of Jesus’ bones were broken. That’s a pretty common thing to hear when talking about the crucifixion.

    These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken,”

    John 19:36 (NIV)

    But did you know that the Passover lamb also could not have any of its bones broken?

    Do not break any of the bones.

    Exodus 12:46b (NIV)

    Admittedly this is one I forgot about. What’s great is the specificity God used and then He ensured that Jesus fulfilled all that specificity.

    Spotless

    If you reference Exodus 12:5 again (I have it above under “Mature Male”), you’ll see that it also states the lamb must be “without defect”. A couple other very common ways to describe this is “without blemish” or “spotless”. God required perfection for the Passover lamb. And not just for this one instance, but every year when the Jews celebrate it. It represented salvation.

    What about Jesus? Based on that paragraph you can say that Jesus’ sacrifice was for salvation. And we’ve also heard all the time that He was a sinless, perfect human being.

    “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.”

    1 Peter 2:22 (NIV)

    To take this parallel even further, the priests were required to carefully examine every single lamb brought into the temple for the sacrifices. And what happened to Jesus before His crucifixion? Pilate and Herod both examined Jesus and found no cause for Him to be sentenced to death.

    Then Pilate announced to the chief priests and the crowd, “I find no basis for a charge against this man.”

    Luke 23:4 (NIV)

    Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers and the people, and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was inciting the people to rebellion. I have examined him in your presence and have found no basis for your charges against him. Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us; as you can see, he has done nothing to deserve death. Therefore, I will punish him and then release him.”

    Luke 23:13-16 (NIV)

    For the third time he spoke to them: “Why? What crime has this man committed? I have found in him no grounds for the death penalty. Therefore I will have him punished and then release him.”

    Luke 23:22 (NIV)

    And this is just Luke’s account. Matthew’s account in Matthew 27 records that Pilate washed his hands declaring that he was innocent of Jesus’ blood. Jesus clearly fulfilled the requirement that the Passover lamb be perfect.

    Substitution

    In the story of the first Passover, the Israelites killed the lamb as a substitute for the lives of their firstborn. Jesus died as a substitute for us. We all deserve death and separation from God for eternity. But Jesus took that punishment upon Himself when He died on that Cross.

    The Blood on the Doorposts

    Even the placement of the blood on the doorposts has a parallel.

    Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it into the blood in the basin and put some of the blood on the top and on both sides of the doorframe. None of you shall go out of the door of your house until morning.

    Exodus 12:22 (NIV)

    Applying the blood to the top and sides of the door frame forms the sign of the cross. And not only that, but you also get the sign of the cross when the blood is dripping from the top and down the sides.

    An additional thing found in this verse is the hyssop plant. Look at what John says in his gospel.

    A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips.

    John 19:29 (NIV)

    Even the plant used to apply the blood to the doorposts had a parallel in the crucifixion!

    Freedom From Slavery

    The death of the firstborn convinced Pharaoh to let the Israelites go. That first Passover led to their freedom from physical enslavement. Likewise, Jesus death leads to our freedom from spiritual enslavement.

    Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.

    Romans 8:1-2 (NIV)

    Timing

    As if all this wasn’t enough, do you know when Jesus died? During the time that the lambs were slaughtered for Passover. Talk about divine timing! In addition, he entered Jerusalem on the donkey the same day that the lambs were brought into the city in preparation for the Passover. For Passover, the Jews brought the lamb into their home for a few days before killing it. Likewise, Jesus entered the city a few days before His death. On the same day. Crazy right?

    Wrapping Up

    This is a little bit of a shorter post, but it’s a powerful one. There are so many parallels between the Passover and Jesus’ Crucifixion. It just goes to show how much thought God put into it all and how much He wants His chosen people to see all the parallels and recognize Jesus as the promised Messiah – the conquering King, yes, but more importantly, the ultimate Passover Lamb – the one who saves from sin and sets us free for all eternity.

    So today – though Easter is over – let us remember Jesus’ sacrifice as the ultimate Passover Lamb.

    Outro

    If you enjoyed this post, please consider doing one or all of these things. First, subscribe if you haven’t. If you have, thank you! Second, spread the word. Send these to everyone you know and encourage them to read and subscribe. This blog is purely word of mouth right now. I rely on you, my readers, to help me get more readers. And third, please consider donating. It’ll enable me to continue to offer regular posts.

    Feel free to leave a comment with any questions about what I’ve written, any additional comments about the post, or if there’s a topic you’d like me to write about. Before doing that though, be sure to check out all my posts here and see if I’ve covered it already. And if you find I’ve done it already but aren’t satisfied or still have more questions, let me know!

    Thank you for reading this! I greatly appreciate each one of you. Until next time, God bless you all!