And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years.
And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, Concerning the feasts of the Lord, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my feasts.
Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; ye shall do no work therein: it is the sabbath of the Lord in all your dwellings.
These are the feasts of the Lord, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their seasons.
Many people are probably familiar with both of the above scriptural references but at first glance it may not be absolutely clear what God is trying to tell us in just these few words. If we take a closer look at the verse in Genesis, when God states that he created the lights in the firmament of the heaven (the sun, moon and stars), he is telling us that the FIRST reason he created these heavenly bodies was for SIGNS. The very next reason he created them was for SEASONS and THEN they were also to be for days and years (for use in keeping time). Why? The only logical reason is because the Lord God Almighty, our Creator, was telling us "this is how I am going to communicate with you".
Note: seasons does not describe or refer to the seasons that we typically think of such as winter, spring, summer and fall, rather the word used in the original Hebraic text is mo`ed. The definitions given for mo`ed are the following: appointed place, appointed time, meeting, an assembly (as convened for a definite purpose); technically the congregation; by extension, the place of meeting; also a signal (as appointed beforehand):—appointed (sign, time).
So, what God was telling us, from the very beginning, was to look to the sun, moon and stars (keep watch) for any signs (or signals) from Him. He was also letting us know that He, our creator, has His own divine, appointment calendar! What makes this point even further is the fact that in Leviticus, chapter 23, the same exact word, mo`ed, is used for the word feasts and seasons (this can be seen in the original Hebraic text here. God is telling Moses, "this list of "feasts" I'm going to give you are already booked on MY calendar.....keep watch, pay attention and follow the instructions I give you, according to each "feast".
These are the 7, ONLY 7, days of the year that God told us to "keep" (not including the Sabbath, of course). He was in essence saying "make sure you mark these 7 days on YOUR calendar too because they're REALLY important!" (of course I'm paraphrasing here).
The following are THE FEASTS OF THE LORD:
- Passover
- Unleavened Bread
- Firstfruits
- Pentecost/Shavuot (Weeks)
- Yom Teruah/Feast of Trumpets/Rosh haShanah
- Yom Kippur/Day of Atonement
- Sukkot/Feast of Tabernacles
The first three feasts are set in the first month (the Biblical first month, which is Nisan). The fourth feast, Pentecost is set at 50 days after Passover and the last three feasts are set in the month of Tishri (the 7th month on the Hebrew calendar).
The following is what I would consider the absolute Perfection, Mystery and Completeness of God, all wrapped in one:
- Feast of Passover: Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, 'On the tenth of this month
they are each one to take a lamb for themselves, according to their fathers'
households, a lamb for each household.
Now if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his neighbor
nearest to his house are to take one according to the number of persons in
them; according to what each man should eat, you are to divide the lamb.
Your lamb shall be an unblemished male a year old; you may take it
from the sheep or from the goats. (Exodus 12:3-5)
Jesus, OUR Passover Lamb (The Lamb of God) physically entered through the gates of Jerusalem and was greeted by the multitudes who were shouting "Hosanna to The Son of David" (Matt 21:1-11). At the same moment, at another gate in the city, the passover lambs were being lead through the gate and assembled for selection by each Jewish family for that Passover. Jesus then entered the temple and with authority drove
out those who were buying and selling! “My house shall be called a house of prayer,” he
proclaimed. These events correspond with taking the Passover lamb into the house on the
tenth of the month (Exodus 12:3).
The Israelites were to take a year old, male lamb into
their households until the fourteenth day of the month in order to inspect it for flaws. It
had to be a lamb without blemish (Exodus 12:5). Jesus, the Lamb of God, had come into
the house and over the next few days the chief priests, the scribes, the elders, the
Pharisees and the Sadducees would all confront and question Him, but they would find
no flaw (Luke 20:1-8, 19-26; Matthew 15:22-40, 21:23-27). Even after they arrested
Jesus and brought him into the house of the high priest, they could only bring false
witnesses against Him (Mark 14:53-59). And finally, when they brought Jesus before
Pontius Pilate to have Him condemned to death, Pilate could only state the truth saying,
“I find no guilt in Him” (John 18:38). The Lamb was indeed unblemished (Hebrews
4:15).
You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month, then the
whole assembly of the congregation of Israel is to kill it at twilight.
(Exodus 12:6)
At the very time that the Passover lambs were being killed, Jesus was being crucified
(Matthew 27:46-50; Mark 15:34-37; Luke 23:44). While all of Jerusalem was busy
preparing the Passover meal with the lambs that were being sacrificed, Jesus was uttering
His last words, “It is finished” (John 19:30). What was finished was God’s plan for the
salvation of all people through the death of His Son. All that the Passover represents had
been fulfilled in Christ (1 Corinthians 5:7).
For I will go through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike down
all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all
the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments—I am the LORD.
The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live; and
when I see the blood I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to
destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. (Exodus 12:12-13)
Just as the blood of the Passover lamb saved the Israelites from the judgments of God and
redeemed them from slavery, so does the blood of Christ save all who believe from the
judgment of God and redeem them from slavery to sin (1 Peter 1:18-20).
Jesus said, "Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to
abolish but to fulfill” (Matthew 5:17).
