The Feast Days and the Sabbath

LESSON 2

THE FEAST DAYS AND THE SABBATH

You are welcome to another edition of Insights from God's Word, a Bible study programme that is committed to sharing God's Word by allowing the Bible to speak for itself.

In this edition, we continue with our series on The Sabbath Question. The topic for this study is: The Feast Days and the Sabbath. In this study, we will consider the various feast days that were connected with the Israelite sanctuary service, and trace out the various ceremonial sabbaths that were associated with them. We will then examine the key differences between these ceremonial sabbaths and the Seventh-day Sabbath of the Decalogue.

1. THE ISRAELITE SANCTUARY

When God led the Israelites through the wilderness, He commanded Moses to build Him a sanctuary so He will dwell among them (see Exodus 25:8). The sanctuary was to teach the people of God about the plan or way that God had devised to save mankind from the wretchedness of sin (see Psalm 77:13). Everything about the sanctuary; the lambs that were slain, the offerings for sins, the various services and feasts all pointed forward to the work of the coming Redeemer (John 1:29; 1 Peter 1:18-19; Revelation 7:14 ).

2. THE FEASTS OF THE SANCTUARY

Among the services that took place in the sanctuary were the various feasts or festivals that were celebrated each year. The festivals were grouped into two broad categories. There were Spring Festivals as well as Autumn Festivals. The Spring festivals included Passover, Unleavened Bread, Firstfruits and Pentecost. The Autumn festivals were made up of Trumpets, Atonement and Tabernacles. At this point, we will take our time to examine the various festivals one after the other and determine how each of them pointed forward to the work of the Great Antitype, Jesus Christ.

A) SPRING FESTIVALS

i) PASSOVER

Key Text: Leviticus 23:4-5

Period: 14th Day of 1st Month (Nisan)

Category: This day was not a Sabbath.

Representation: This festival pointed forward to the death of Christ for the salvation of man. The apostle Paul describes Christ as the true Passover Lamb (see 1 Corinthians 5:7).

ii) UNLEAVENED BREAD

Key Texts: Leviticus 23:6-8 ; Leviticus 23:9-14

Period: 15th to the 21st Day of the 1st Month (Nisan). This festival was a weeklong festival.

Category: The first day of the festival (15th Day of 1st Month) was a Sabbath. Moreover, the seventh day of the festival (21st Day of 1st Month) was also a Sabbath.

Representation: The festival of unleavened bread was a symbol of the perfect character of Christ (John 6:33, 35, 48, 50, 51).The ceremonies of the feast also emphasised the fact that God's people could overcome the pervasive leaven (sin) in their lives only through the power of the Passover Lamb (see 1 Corinthians 5:6-8; Revelation 12:11). Moreover, the fact that Christ rested in the grave on the 15th of Nisan, the first day of the feast of unleavened bread, is significant. As Christ rested on the seventh day after His work of creation, so did He rest on the seventh day after His work of redemption.

iii) FIRSTFRUITS

Key Text: Leviticus 23:10-11

Period: Within the weeklong festival of Unleavened Bread is the Feast of Firstfruits which is celebrated in connection with Barley Harvest. This festival took place on the 2nd Day of the Feast of Unleavened bread. This period is actually the 16th Day of the 1st Month (Nisan). During this festival, the Israelites will bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of their harvest unto the priest. The priest will wave the sheaf before the Lord to be accepted on behalf of the people. After the firstfruits is accepted by the Lord, the people could now go and gather the bulk of the remaining harvest.

Category: This day was not a Sabbath

Representation: This festival pointed forward to the resurrection of Christ which was to serve as the firstfruits of a much greater resurrection at the end of the age (see 1 Corinthians 15:20, 23; 1 Thessalonians 4:16). Just as the people of Israel brought the wave sheaf offering to the tabernacle to be presented to the Lord for acceptance through the priest, so did Christ also present Himself to the Father immediately after His resurrection to hear the assuring words that His sacrifice on behalf of mankind has been accepted (compare Leviticus 23:10-11 with John 20:17). Moreover, it is interesting to note that on the day Christ was resurrected, some of the saints who have slept in the Lord were also resurrected to bear testimony about the Saviour’s resurrection in Jerusalem (see Matthew 27:50-52). After His forty days sojourning with the disciples, Christ ascended to heaven with these resurrected saints (see Ephesians 4:8). The Redeemer presented these saints to the Father as the firstfruits of His work of redemption (see Revelation 5). The Father's acceptance of this "wave sheaf" made certain the later resurrection and gathering of a much greater harvest of the human race at the end of the age (review 1 Corinthians 15:20, 23; 1 Thessalonians 4:16).

iv) PENTECOST

Key Text: Leviticus 23:15-21

Period: 6th day of 3rd Month (Sivan). This period is obtained by counting 50 days from the feast of firstfruits (that is, the 16th Day of the 1st Month, Nisan). Pentecost means 'fiftieth' or 'fifty days', and the symbolism is derived from the fact that Moses received the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai 50 days after the Israelites left Egypt on the night of the Passover (see Exodus 12; 13). Pentecost is also known as the Feast of Weeks and was celebrated in connection with the first fruits of the wheat harvest.

Category: This day was a Sabbath.

Representation: This festival pointed forward to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the disciples at Jerusalem during the Day of Pentecost (see Acts 2). Just as the feast of Pentecost came exactly 50 days from the feast of firstfruits, so was the Holy Spirit also poured out on the apostles exactly fifty days after the resurrection of Christ. It is important to also note that in the outpouring of the Spirit of Christ, the Ten Commandment Law was now placed in the minds and hearts of God's children (see Hebrews 10:12-16).

B) AUTUMN FESTIVALS

i) TRUMPETS

Key Text: Leviticus 23:23-25

Period: 1st Day of 7th Month (Tishri). On this day, the priests of the Lord blew the trumpets to warn the people of the coming Day of Atonement. This feast came 10 days before the Day of Atonement.

Category: This day was a Sabbath.

Representation: This festival pointed forward to the Great Advent Awakening which took place in various parts of the world approximately 10 years before 1844. Among the key messages that were preached was the message that the hour of God's judgement was near (see Revelation 14:6-7).

ii) DAY OF ATONEMENT

Key Text: Leviticus 23:26-32

Period: 10th Day of 7th Month (Tishri). On this day, the high priest entered into the most holy place of the tabernacle to cleanse the sanctuary. This was the great day of judgement for the people of God. Anyone who held to any sin at this time was cut off soon after the work of the high priest was over.

Category: This day was a Sabbath.

Representation: This feast pointed forward to Christ's work of judgement in the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary just before His second advent. The Day of Atonement began in the year 1844, at the end of the 2,300 days prophecy of Daniel 8:14. It is sobering to realize that we are living at the time in history when this judgement is going on. And just as the impenitent were cut off when the high priest finished the work of atonement in the most holy place of the earthly sanctuary, so will all those who refuse to surrender their hearts to Christ will be cut off when our Lord leaves the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary (see Revelation 22:11-12; Revelation 15:5-8; Revelation 16).

iii) TABERNACLES

Key Text: Leviticus 23:33-44

Period: 15th to the 22nd Day of the 7th Month (Tishri). This festival is actually an eight day festival. During this period, the Israelites stayed in tents in remembrance of their Exodus from Egypt to the land of Canaan. The festival coincided with the fruit harvest and was also known as the feast of Ingathering.

Category: The first day of the festival (15th Day of 7th Month) was a Sabbath. Moreover, the eighth day of the festival (22nd Day of 7th Month) was also a Sabbath.

Representation: Festival points forward to the final ingathering of God's children into the kingdom of heaven (see Matthew 26:29; Matthew 8:11; Revelation 20:4-6). But before this great reunion, the festival of Tabernacles continue to remind us that just as the Israelites stayed in tents in their journey to the promised land, so are we to act as strangers and pilgrims on this earth even as we look forward to the glorious return of Christ to take us home (see Hebrews 11: 13; 1 Peter 2:11)

Friends, these are the yearly feasts that were related to the Israelite sanctuary. As we have noted above, some of these feasts were categorized as sabbath days or sabbaths because the Israelites were commanded by God to rest during these periods. Since these sabbath days were related to the ordinances of the sanctuary, they are usually referred to as ceremonial sabbaths.

3. THE CEREMONIAL SABBATHS VERSUS THE SEVENTH - DAY SABBATH

There are clear distinctions between the ceremonial sabbaths of the sanctuary and the Seventh-day Sabbath which is stipulated in the Moral Law of God. Here are some of the major differences:

A) The Seventh-day Sabbath was instituted right after creation when sin had not yet surfaced (see Genesis 2:1-3). The ceremonial sabbaths on the other hand were instituted after sin, and were categorized as part of sanctuary ordinances that served as shadows, types or figures which pointed forward to the work of the coming Redeemer (see Colossians 2:16-17).

B) The Seventh-day Sabbath is a memorial of creation (see Genesis 2:1-3; Exodus 20:11). The ceremonial sabbaths were celebrated as memorials of various sanctuary - related feasts (see Leviticus 23:23-25).

C) The Seventh-day Sabbath comes around every week, and actually falls on every seventh day (see Genesis 2:1-3; Exodus 20:10; Leviticus 23:3). As we have noted earlier in this study, the ceremonial sabbaths on the other hand were observed once in a year, and could fall on any day of the week (review Leviticus 23).

D) God has commanded His children not to do any work on the Seventh-day Sabbath (see Exodus 20:10; Leviticus 23:3). However, in respect to the ceremonial sabbaths, only servile or ordinary work could not be done (review Leviticus 23).

E) The Seventh-day Sabbath is inscribed in the Moral Law of God. The ceremonial sabbaths are not found in the Moral Law of God (see Exodus 20:3-17).

F) As part of God's Moral Law, the Seventh-day Sabbath is still binding upon all of God's people (see Exodus 20:8-11; James 2:8-12; Revelation 12:17; Revelation 14:12). The ceremonial sabbaths on the other hand, ceased to exist when Christ, the One whom all the sanctuary symbols pointed forward to, finally died on Calvary's cross (see Ephesians 2:15; Colossians 2:14-16).

G) As part of God's Moral Law, the Seventh-day Sabbath is eternal, and is going to be celebrated by God's people in the New World to come (see Exodus 31:16-17; Psalm 111:7-8; Isaiah 66:22-23). The ceremonial sabbaths, being part of the Ceremonial Laws, were nailed to the cross after the death of Christ (review Ephesians 2:15; Colossians 2:14-17).

4) Friends, despite these clear differences between the Seventh-day Sabbath and the ceremonial sabbaths, many in Christendom today still argue that the Seventh-day Sabbath was part of the feasts of ancient Israel which were nailed to the cross. Such people will usually quote Leviticus 23:1-3 and other New Testament texts (such as Colossians 2:16, Romans 14:5-6 and Galatians 3:16-17) as proof of their position.

In this study, I want us to carefully consider the passage of Leviticus 23:1-4 to ascertain for ourselves whether this passage can be used to further the argument that the Seventh-day Sabbath can be categorized as one of the feasts of the Israelite sanctuary service. From Leviticus 23:1-4, we read the following: "23:1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

23:2 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.

23:3 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.

23:4 These are the feasts of the LORD, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their seasons."

(Leviticus 23:1-4)

SOME HIGH POINTS FROM LEVITICUS 23:1-4

Friends, there are some clear points we can deduce from the chronology of this passage:

i) In the verse 2 of Leviticus 23, God began an introduction of the various feasts He wanted the people of Israel to keep.

ii) The verse 3 of the chapter should have taken off with the naming and descriptions of the various feasts. However, God did something else. He reminded Israel about the Seventh-day Sabbath. As we have already noted, the Seventh-day Sabbath dates back to creation week (see Genesis 2:1-3). Moreover, the Israelites had a good knowledge of the Seventh-day Sabbath as it was enshrined in the Ten Commandments (see Exodus 20:8-11). So the important question at this point in our study is this: Why did God remind Israel about the Seventh-day Sabbath? Friends, the Lord basically wanted the Israelites to understand that the feasts days He was about to give them were not to take the place of the Seventh-day Sabbath.

iii) Now, after reminding the Israelites of the Seventh-day Sabbath in verse 3, the Lord now goes back to begin with the introduction of the various feasts of the sanctuary in verse 4 of the chapter. The verse 4 of Leviticus 23 reads as follows: "These are the feasts of the LORD, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their seasons" (compare with verse 2).

It is interesting to note that even though the Lord had already introduced the feasts in verse 2, He introduced them again in verse 4. The reason for the second introduction was basically because there was an interjection. Instead of going straight ahead to mention and explain the feasts after the first introduction in verse 2, the Lord took a detour to remind the Israelites about the Seventh-day Sabbath, a memorial that was more important than any of the feasts He was about to give them. After He was through with this diversion on the Seventh-day Sabbath, the Lord saw it necessary to begin once again with an introduction of the sanctuary feasts so the Israelites don't confuse the Seventh-day Sabbath with the ceremonial festivals He was about to give them. At this point, I want us to reconsider the entire passage of Leviticus 23:1-4. As you read again, try to find out whether you can identify the line of reasoning we have just gone through: "23:1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

23:2 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.

23:3 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.

23:4 These are the feasts of the LORD, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their seasons."

(Leviticus 23:1-4) Beloved, from the verse 4 of Leviticus 23, we come away with the understanding that the Lord was now about to give the Israelites the feast days He spoke about in verse 2. From the verse 4, we note that these feasts were to be proclaimed in their seasons, which basically depicts the various yearly periods that the Lord was now about to give the people of Israel. The verse 5 of Leviticus 23 begins with the first feast, Passover; and then continues until the last feast in the chapter, Tabernacles.

A careful study of the rest of the chapter in Leviticus 23 (that is, the verses 5 to 44), helps us to really understand that the Seventh-day Sabbath is unique and cannot be classified as part of the feasts of the Israelite sanctuary. In latter lessons of this series, we will be exploring how various New Testament passages (such as Colossians 2:16, Romans 14:5-6 and Galatians 3:16-17) have also been seriously misinterpreted in Christendom to confuse the masses in relation to the Seventh-day Sabbath. I will encourage you to keep following this series on the Sabbath Question as we have only just began.

Exhortation: Before the death of Christ on Calvary's cross, the Lord had this to say concerning His children who kept the Seventh-day day Sabbath and the ceremonial Sabbaths: "56:1 Thus saith the LORD, Keep ye judgment, and do justice: for my salvation is near to come, and my righteousness to be revealed.

56:2 Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it; that KEEPETH THE SABBATH (Moral Law) from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil.

56:3 Neither let the son of the stranger, that hath joined himself to the LORD, speak, saying, The LORD hath utterly separated me from his people: neither let the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree.

56:4 For thus saith the LORD unto the eunuchs that keep MY SABBATHS (Ceremonial Law), and choose the things that please me, and take hold of my covenant;

56:5 Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off.

56:6 Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the LORD, to serve him, and to love the name of the LORD, to be his servants, every one that keepeth THE SABBATH (Moral Law) from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant;

56:7 Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people."

(Isaiah 56:1-7; Capital Emphasis Added)In our subsequent series of lessons, we will be considering the Seventh-day Sabbath in the New Testament. Our next study is captioned: Christ and the Sabbath. The Bible Study references for this study are Luke 4:16, John 1:1-3, Colossians 1:16-17, Mark 2:27-28, Luke 13:10-17, Mark 3:1-5, Mark 2:23-28, Luke 23:50-56 and Matthew 24:15-20. Please do well to go through these passages before the next study is released.

Stay blessed and keep shining for King Jesus.

Maranatha!

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