(Read Lev. 23)
It has been said that till a Christian can explain the seven Feasts of the Lord, the seven parables of the Kingdom of Heaven, and the seven addresses to the Churches in Asia as found in Rev. 2 and 3, he has not got very far in Christian knowledge.
There is no doubt these three sevens cover an enormous extent of truth. Our object in this Chapter is to look a little at the Seven Feasts of the Lord.
Lev. 23 begins by emphasizing that man must work six days, and that the seventh-the Sabbath-is a day of rest, but verse 4 says emphatically as to what follows, " These are the Feasts of the Lord," and from that point seven are specified. They are:-
The Passover.
The Feast of Unleavened Bread.
The Feast of Firstfruits.
The Feast of Pentecost.
The Feast of Trumpets.
The Great Day of Atonement.
The Feast of Tabernacles.
Some commentators think that the Sabbath is the first of the seven Feasts, and treat the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread as one thus still counting the seven Feasts of the Lord.
But on looking at the beginning of Lev. 23 this exposition does not seem to be justified. Verse 3 emphasizes the Sabbath, the day of rest. But verse 4 says, " These are the feasts of the Lord," and then proceeds to enumerate the seven Feasts of the Lord.
Why then should the Sabbath have such a prominent, place to begin with? The answer is that the Sabbath typifies the very end of God's ways in grace on earth, even His own entrance into the rest He has had ever before Him, of accomplishing all the purposes of His grace and love to men. The very word Sabbath, Hebrew, Shabbath, means cessation of work. " He spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all His works " (Heb. 4:44For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works. (Hebrews 4:4)). The Sabbath typifies the eternity of rest that lies before God when He will rest in the complacency of His love, when righteousness shall dwell. " We, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness" (2 Peter 3:1313Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. (2 Peter 3:13)).
In short we have here an example of God setting the end before us, and then giving us the Feasts of the Lord, as showing how He works in grace with Israel and His Church to His goal of glory and eternal rest.
Then further the Sabbath is never called by itself a Feast, though there are Feast days that specifically occur on the Sabbath. Finally the Sabbath was a weekly occurrence, whilst the Seven Feasts of the Lord occurred annually. It would have thrown things out of gear to have a feast occurring fifty-two times in the year, and the others annually, as one set of feasts. Verse 4 settles the point, " These are the feasts of the Lord."
These seven Feasts of the Lord were celebrated as follows:
The Passover ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ..14th day of 1st month
The Feast of Unleavened Bread.......... 15th-21st day of 1st month
The Feast of Firstfruits (Harvest time) ... . 3rd month
The Feast of Pentecost, fifty days later ... .5th month
The Feast of Trumpets ... ... ... ... ... ........1st day of 7th month
The Great Day of Atonement ... ... ... ... .10th day of 7th month
The Feast of Tabernacles ... ... ... ... ... ... 15th day of 7th month
These break up into three sections. The first two set forth God's way of dealing with man, the foundation of all His ways in grace, whether in Old Testament or New Testament times, whether with Jew or Gentile.
The third and fourth set forth this present dispensation, marked by neither Jew nor Gentile, but the Church of God.
The fifth, sixth, and seventh set forth God's dealing with the Jews after the Church is raptured to glory.
Thus we reach the very end of God's ways in grace, and come to the threshold of the Eternal State, the Antitype of the Sabbath.
Let us now take these up in detail.
The Feast of the Passover
The Passover was the beginning of God's dealing with Israel in establishing relationship with Himself. They must be a redeemed people at the outset. This was typical. But we are left in no doubt as to what it typified. We read,
How often has the Passover night in Egypt been enlarged upon by the gospel preacher, so that we need not say much about it here. How often have we rejoiced over this Scripture, " And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt " (Ex. 12. 13). God sees the blood, typical of the precious blood of Christ, this satisfies Him as to His righteous claims and His holiness, and that same blood is given to the believer as the token for his assurance. What more could we have? As the hymn puts it,
" God is satisfied with Jesus,
I am satisfied as well."
If God is satisfied, the believer may well be.
Acquaintance with God on the ground of redemption as the foundation of God's ways in grace, is typically presented to us in the Passover, when we read, " This month shall be unto you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you " (Ex. 12. 2). It started the Jewish calendar, and typically testified that God could only begin relationship with His people on the ground of redemption.
The Feast of Unleavened Bread
If the blood of the Passover gave TITLE to God to redeem His people, and bring them with a strong and outstretched hand from the land of their bondage, the Feast of Unleavened Bread sets forth that there must be MORAL SUITABILITY on the part of the people, if they were to be happy with God. They must be a sanctified people.
This feast flowed out from the Passover as its consequence, but though it immediately followed, it will be seen how different they were. The Passover was God acting typically in righteous grace in relation to His people on the ground of redemption. The Feast of the Unleavened Bread was the answer that God expects from His people in their practical ways on earth. Leaven had to be put out of their dwellings, that is evil has to be refused on their part.
Christ is our Passover. Brought to God on the ground of redemption, holiness becomes those who stand in relationship with God. Evil, typified by leaven, has to be excluded from our lives. " Follow... holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord " (Heb. 12:1414Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: (Hebrews 12:14)). These words are addressed to believers, to each one of us.
The Feast of Unleavened Bread lasting seven days typifies our whole responsible life down here, the eighth day leading to the day, which has no evening and morning, the eternal Sabbath of God's rest, the eternal State when God shall be all in all.
The Feast of Firstfruits
Verse 9 of our Chapter, with the opening sentence, " And the LORD spake unto Moses," marks a new section, introducing us to the Feast of the Firstfruits and the Feast of Pentecost.
These two feasts are marked very significantly by the formula, " On the morrow after the Sabbath " (verse 11) and " unto the morrow after the seventh Sabbath " (verse 16). The Sabbath is- the great day connected with Judaism. They were accustomed for all their feasts more or less to circle round the Sabbath. What could this new departure mean, " the day after the Sabbath "? The answer is that the
day after the Sabbath," that is " the first day of the week " is connected with CHRISTIANITY. To this hour the unbelieving Jews celebrate their Sabbath every seventh day of the week, whilst " upon the first day of the week... the disciples came together to break bread " (Acts 20:77And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight. (Acts 20:7)) as their custom was in apostolic times, a custom in the mercy of God permitted to us to this present time.
In short we may ask, What great event occurred on the first day of the week? The answer is, The most wonderful moment in the history of this world was when our Lord, the triumphant Conqueror over sin and death and hell, rose from the dead. So it is no wonder that the first day of the week was called the Lord's Day. The apostle John wrote, " I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day " (Rev. 1:1010I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, (Revelation 1:10)). It was indeed a very special day.
The Jew's rejection of Christ brought in a new era, that of Christianity. A Jew who gets converted to-day drops Judaism religiously, and embraces Christianity. And until the Church is raptured to glory it will be true that " blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in " (Rom. 11:2525For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. (Romans 11:25)).
So these two Feasts, the Feasts of the Firstfruits, and the Feast of Pentecost, must have occasioned much inquiry in Old Testament times, but when we come to the New Testament, we get the key to it very plainly, as we shall see.
The harvest in nature is used as a type of the harvest in grace. Our Lord, as is noted the people of Samaria streaming out in response to the woman's invitation, " Come, see a Man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ? " (John 4:2929Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ? (John 4:29)), said to His disciples, " Say not ye, There are yet four months and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields, for they are white already to harvest. And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together " (John 4:35, 3635Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. 36And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. (John 4:35‑36)).
When the Jewish harvest in the field was to be reaped, a Sheaf of the Firstfruits was brought unto the priest, and his office was to wave it before the LORD " on the morrow after the Sabbath."
This is clearly a type of Christ in resurrection. He lay in the tomb all the Sabbath, surely showing that there was no blessing according to the law and for Israel on those lines. In that great resurrection Chapter, 1 Cor. 15, we read, " Now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the FIRST-FRUITS of them that slept " (verse 20). Again we read in the same Chapter, " As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: CHRIST THE FIRSTFRUITS; afterward they that are Christ's at His coming " (verses 22, 23). So this great New Testament resurrection Chapter clearly links up with Lev. 23.
When it says, " In Christ shall all be Made alive," this does not teach, as the universalists do, who deny eternal punishment, that all mankind shall be eventually saved. All mankind is not " in Christ." Born into this world, the offspring of a fallen race, we are all " in Adam." To be " in Christ " means to be saved, to be a believer on the Lord as Savior. Christians can look back to a moment in their history when they put their faith in the Lord and passed from death unto life. The Apostle Paul in his salutation to the Church of God in Rome wrote, " Salute Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen, and my fellow prisoners... who also were IN CHRIST before me " (Rom. 16:77Salute Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen, and my fellowprisoners, who are of note among the apostles, who also were in Christ before me. (Romans 16:7)), showing these relations of the Apostle had been converted at a time when he was unconverted.
Another point to be observed is of all importance, in that the very word, FIRSTFRUITS, typically shows that it is a sample of the whole harvest of grace, of which all believers form a part. How our blessing is all wrapped up for confirmation in the resurrection of Christ is seen in the argument, If Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins " (1 Cor. 15:1717And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. (1 Corinthians 15:17)).
In this connection Rom. 8:1111But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. (Romans 8:11) is a very illuminating Scripture. We read, " If the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you." Note the wonderful connection. Christ was raised by the power of the Holy Spirit. That same Holy Spirit has been sent by an ascended Christ in glory to indwell each believer as the pledge that just as HE was raised, so shall saints on the earth, alive when the Lord comes, be quickened as far as their mortal bodies are concerned by that same Spirit. The Spirit is given as the seal, or the pledge of this. Christ was raised representatively just as He died representatively, and His resurrection carried with it the promise and pledge of the resurrection of all God's people, who have fallen asleep in Jesus, or, if alive on the earth, their bodies will be quickened into bodies of glory like our Lord's.
In connection with the waving of the Sheaf of the First-fruits, a Burnt Offering-a lamb without blemish-was offered up, typifying God's delight in all the sweet savor to Him of the sacrifice of Christ.
Note there was No Sin Offering, as there was with the new Meat Offering as we shall see presently. There could be no Sin Offering as applying to the Lord personally.
A Meat Offering was also to be presented to the Lord, a Drink Offering accompanying the same, typifying God's delight in the devoted life of our Lord even unto death, and the joy-the Drink Offering—connected with it. Neither bread, nor parched corn, nor green ears were to be eaten till the Offering was presented to God, thus emphasizing that nothing can be enjoyed spiritually till the foundation of all has been laid in the death of Christ, and until we begin with Him.
The Feast of Pentecost
The Feast of Pentecost was to be celebrated on " the morrow after the seventh Sabbath," with its special meaning of " the first day of the week," the great day of this Christian dispensation, as the Sabbath was of Judaism. Moreover it was to take place fifty days after the Wave Sheaf was waved before the Lord.
What great event happened fifty days after Christ rose from the dead? The very word, Pentecost (Greek, Pentecoste, means fiftieth), points to that great happening described in Acts 2:11And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. (Acts 2:1) to 13. We know how our Lord remained on this earth forty days after His resurrection, and before His ascension. The disciples were to tarry at Jerusalem until they were " endued with power from on high " (Luke 2:4949And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business? (Luke 2:49)). " And when the day of Pentecost [the fiftieth day] was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from Heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance " (Acts 2:11And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. (Acts 2:1) to 4).
On the day of Pentecost, " the morrow after the Sabbath," " the first day of the week," fifty days after our Lord rose from the dead, the great event took place of the bestowal of the Holy Spirit to be in this world as He had never been before. Indwelling each believer, it was the glorious day of the Church's birth. On that day the Church was constituted. The mystery hid from all ages emerged in the sight of a triumphant Head in Heaven, even our Lord Jesus Christ, and believers on earth were indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God, thus linking each believer with the Head in Heaven, and with each other as members of the one Body on earth. " There is one Body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling " (Eph. 4:44There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; (Ephesians 4:4)). " Christ also loved the Church, and gave Himself for it; that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word, that He might present it to Himself a glorious Church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish " (Eph. 5:2525Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; (Ephesians 5:25) to 27).
Thus clearly can we see that the " New Meat Offering " is typical of the Church of God upon this earth. Indeed there is no such clear intimation of the Church upon earth in the Old Testament pages, as we find in Lev. 23. At the same time the relation between the Head in Heaven and the members of the one Body on earth could not be hinted at in Old Testament times. This constituted " the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to His saints " (Col. 1:2626Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: (Colossians 1:26)).
The New Meat Offering consisted of two loaves. The two loaves set forth how Jew and Gentile believers are bound together in this new and blessed association. Nothing less than this wonderful truth would make the Jew forget that he was a Jew religiously, or the Gentile that he was a Gentile " afar off," and in the warmth and glory of the conception of the Church in its relation to the Head in Heaven forget their long-time religious feud, than which none could be more bitter. This is a word that is needed to-day. The Church of God oversteps all frontiers, differences of language, differences in social position, color of skin, and makes one all believers on the face of the earth in one blessed Christian fellowship. There is ever the tendency to limit the Church in one's mind to the country to which we belong, or the small section of Christians with whom we may walk.
This is all guarded against in Eph. 2:13, 1413But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. 14For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; (Ephesians 2:13‑14). We read, " Now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off [Gentiles] are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For He is our peace, who hath made both [Jew and Gentile] one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us [Jew and Gentile]." How good it is when all walls of partition are broken down in the mighty flow of divine love, and by the living influence of the Holy Spirit of God.
These two loaves were to be of fine flour baken with leaven Why leaven? In Lev. 2:1111No meat offering, which ye shall bring unto the Lord, shall be made with leaven: for ye shall burn no leaven, nor any honey, in any offering of the Lord made by fire. (Leviticus 2:11) we are told " Ye shall burn no leaven, nor any honey, in any offering of the LORD made by fire." This seems to contradict this instruction to burn no leaven in any offering made by fire. It is true that in every case without exception where the Offering sets forth CHRIST personally no leaven is allowed. It would be unthinkable to speak of leaven, or evil, in connection with Him.
But this is a New Meat Offering, not the Meat Offering (Lev. 2) setting forth Christ personally, but one that sets forth the Church as the product of the death of Christ. This New Meat Offering does NOT, however, set forth Christ personally, but the Church composed of Jew and Gentile, who both before their coming into blessing were sinners, and who, even as saints, might sin. The leaven in the Offering acknowledges that. The fact that it was baken in the oven sets forth that the working of the leaven would be arrested by the fire. And furthermore in addition to a Burnt Offering, and a Meat Offering with its attendant Drink Offering, there was a SIN OFFERING and a Peace Offering. This offering is carefully described as the New Meat Offering.
We remember in the Feast of the Firstfruits, typically setting forth Christ in resurrection, there were a Burnt Offering and a Meat Offering with its attendant Drink Offering, but No SIN OFFERING. How could there be a Sin Offering when the feast set forth our Lord personally? But in this case the Sin Offering answers to the leaven in the fine flour of the loaves, acknowledging what had been the character of the saints before conversion. Even in this New Meat Offering there were these sacrifices accompanying it, that show that the Church can only be looked upon as an offering to the Lord as the believers approach in all the efficacy of the work of Christ, whether seen in the Burnt Offering, the Meat Offering, the Sin Offering, the Peace Offering, and that such approach covers all these particular types of the death of Christ.
The Gleaning of the Harvest
Lev. 23:2222And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not make clean riddance of the corners of thy field when thou reapest, neither shalt thou gather any gleaning of thy harvest: thou shalt leave them unto the poor, and to the stranger: I am the Lord your God. (Leviticus 23:22) is a very remarkable verse.There shines from it the clear light of Divine inspiration. We read, " And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not make clean riddance of the corners of thy field when thou reapest, neither shalt thou gather any gleaning of thy harvest: thou shalt leave them unto the poor, and to the stranger: I am the LORD your God." Note where this verse lies. It is situated between the New Meat Offering Feast, typical of this present' dispensation of God's grace in connection with His Church upon this earth, and the Feast of Trumpets; that bringing in the last three Feasts that pertain to God's, dealing with the Jews, His own people and the nations, after the Church is raptured to glory.
This verse sets forth that when the Harvest of this present dispensation is over as the result of the preaching of the Gospel of the grace of God, there will be a special movement of God's Holy Spirit in reaching the Jews with the Gospel of the Kingdom to prepare them for their reception of their Messiah and King, the Lord Jesus Christ. Through the Jews the message will go out to the poor and the stranger-the heathen nations of the world-in preparation for the day when the Lord shall reign as universal Lord as the Son of Man and " the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea " (Hab. 2:1414For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. (Habakkuk 2:14)).
Not many details are given in Scripture as to this. Perhaps the fullest and clearest is found in Matt. 25:3131When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: (Matthew 25:31) to 46, which tells us of the Lord's earthly brethren, Jewish evangelists, preaching among the nations in view of the day when the nations shall be gathered before the judgment seat of Christ. The sheep, those receiving the Gospel of the Kingdom, will be separated from the goats, those, who reject this testimony-the sheep to pass into life eternal, that is into millennial blessing, and the goats into everlasting punishment.
It is interesting that sheep and goats are always found mixed together in the flocks of Palestinian shepherds, and the separation of the sheep from the goats would be a vivid way of presenting what will take place in the last days.
The Feast of Trumpets
With the New Meat Offering we leave the Christian dispensation, typified in this interesting Chapter. Again we get the formula, " And the Lord spake unto Moses." We come now to God taking up the Jews for blessing, to implement His promises to Abraham and to give His Son His earthly rights as the Messiah and King over Israel, and over the wide world as Son of Man. " Ask of Me, and I shall give Thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for Thy possession " (Psa. 2:88Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. (Psalm 2:8)).
We read, " Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, in the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a Sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation " (Lev. 27:2424In the year of the jubilee the field shall return unto him of whom it was bought, even to him to whom the possession of the land did belong. (Leviticus 27:24)). A trumpet, a loud sounding instrument, that played a large part in the signals for the moving of the camp from time to time, symbolizes some arresting movement of God's Holy Spirit in connection with the revival of God's earthly people after their long centuries of unbelief and the judicial blindness that has overtaken them. In the words of Scripture, " Blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in " (Rom. 11:2525For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. (Romans 11:25)). Zechariah, too, throws light on this subject for he predicts the day will come when there will be a Divine outpouring " upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon Me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for Him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn " (Zech. 12:1010And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. (Zechariah 12:10)).
It is a remarkable sign of the times that for the last third of a century the Jews have been returning to their ancient land in large numbers, going back as predicted in the Old Testament Scriptures in unbelief, all telling the tale that things are developing in preparation for this wonderful Feast of Trumpets when it comes. It will be so arresting that there will be no mistake about it. But there is no doubt that the extraordinary way the Jew is returning to his own land, and all the developments that are happening as the result of this is all foreshadowing the time when the Feast of Trumpets will take place,
The Great Day of Atonement
Ten days after the Feast of Trumpets the Great Day of Atonement was celebrated. When the spirit of grace and of supplications are poured out by Divine goodness on the Jewish nation, when they shall look on Him whom they have pierced, then the nation will experience a deep spirit of humiliation, so deep that husband and wife will humble themselves apart. All classes will take part in this. We read, " The family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart [the kingly family]; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart [the prophetic family]; the family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart [the priestly family]; the family of Shimei (see Num. 3:1818And these are the names of the sons of Gershon by their families; Libni, and Shimei. (Numbers 3:18)) apart, and their wives apart [the Levitical family] " (Zech. 12:1212And the land shall mourn, every family apart; the family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart; (Zechariah 12:12)).
In such a spirit of deep humiliation the nation will celebrate the Great Day of Atonement as it has never been celebrated before. It will be such a celebration as will betoken the acceptance of their Messiah, and that the One they have long rejected is their true Messiah, whose work at the cross, and the shedding of His precious blood, is the glorious fulfillment of all the types and shadows. The Jews revere these shadows, but so far have missed their true meaning as connected with, the One they have despised and rejected. What a glorious day that will be for the world, the introduction of a true " new world order " founded on righteousness, peace and security through the personal reign of our Lord on the earth. We read, " If the casting away of them [viz. the Jewish nation governmentally] be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead? " (Rom. 11:1515For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead? (Romans 11:15)).
The Feast of Tabernacles
Fifteen days after the Feast of Trumpets, and five days after the Great Day of Atonement, the Feast of Tabernacles took place. This Feast is typical of the Millennium, the thousand years' reign of Christ on this earth. It is the windup of God's dealings with Israel on the earth. It is interesting that prophecy concerning the Jew never goes beyond the Millennium, See Isa. 65, where it speaks of " new heavens
and a new earth " (verse 17), but it goes on to speak of Jerusalem on earth, it speaks of a sinner being accursed, showing plainly that Isaiah prophesied of an earthly time, even the Millennial reign of our Lord. But when we come to the New Testament prophecy goes further. When the earth and heaven have fled away, the very scene of the Millennium gone, there will appear " a new heaven and a new earth " (Rev. 21:11And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. (Revelation 21:1)), wherein righteousness shall dwell, when there will be no more tears, sorrow, crying, pain or death. We shall be in eternity then in the full meaning of that word.
During the Feast of Tabernacles, which took place at the end of the Harvest, a time of plenty and rejoicing, a faint picture of the fulfillment of the type in the days to come, the Israelites by birth were to dwell in booths to remind them how God had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They might forget this in the comfort of the land and in the joy of the bountiful reign of their Messiah with all its accompaniments of peace and plenty never before known in the world. It does not do for us to forget the pit out of which we have been dug, that we are after all, with all the wondrous blessings that are ours, sinners saved by grace.
Num. 29. is a remarkable Chapter.
Its setting occurs when Israel had got out of the wilderness, and had arrived in the land on the east side of the river Jordan. In this Chapter we are given fuller details than anywhere else as to the offerings that were required in connection with these three Feasts of the Lord, viz. the Feast of Trumpets, the Great Day of Atonement, and the Feast of Tabernacles.
One remark may be made about the offerings made on the eight days of the Feast of Tabernacles. On the first day among other sacrifices, thirteen young bullocks were offered up as a Burnt Offering. The next day they sacrificed twelve, and day by day the number was diminished till on the seventh day only seven bullocks were offered. Does this not set forth how everything committed to man has the tendency to lose its first enthusiasm? Ephesus lost its first love. The last times came in the lifetime of the Apostle Paul. Many antichrists were seen in John's day. The seventh Church addressed in Rev. 2 and 3 is Laodicea, which was only fit to be spued out of the mouth of the Lord.
On the other hand it will be the last and greatest test of man, and here it shows how incorrigible fallen mankind is under ideal circumstances. Surely after such a reign there will be nothing but holy submission to God's will. Nay, as soon as the personal hand of the Lord is withdrawn, we find, when Satan is loosed from his imprisonment in the bottomless pit during the thousand years' reign of Christ, that he will go out to deceive the nations, and under his awful leadership there shall be seen the last and biggest revolt against God that has ever been. In untold numbers they will spread over the earth, and attack Jerusalem, called " The beloved city." Fire will come down from God, the last revolt will be over. See Rev. 20:77And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, (Revelation 20:7) to 10. The earth and the heavens shall pass away, the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth and all its works shall be burned up, and " we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness " (2 Peter 3:1313Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. (2 Peter 3:13)).. Such is the man in the flesh that even the personal reign of Christ does not alter him.
But shall God be defeated? Nay, " then cometh the end, when He [the Son] shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when He shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign, till He hath put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death" (1 Cor. 15. 24 to 26). In one word the eternal state will be a scene where every trace of sin and sorrow, and man's will, will be absent, a scene marked by " GOD... ALL IN ALL " (1 Cor. 15:2828And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all. (1 Corinthians 15:28)).
We rise up from our task with two very deep impressions, made so by cumulative testimony to these two things as we considered the Tabernacle's Typical Teaching The first impression is that there can be no having to do with a holy
God, no way of blessing for the sinner, save through the atoning sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ, and through that alone. The necessity for this, the solemnity of it, cannot be exaggerated. The second impression is that along with the perfect standing of the believer on the ground of the atoning sacrifice of Christ, there is the insistence again and again of the necessity of moral suitability, if we have to do with God.
The two deep impressions circle round the truth set forth by the symbolic meaning of the blood and the water. They can be compressed into two verses:-
Any weakening of either of these two great facts is fraught with very evil consequences.
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