CHAPTER 23

(1490 B.C.)

THE FEASTS

¹And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying,

²Speak unto the Children of Israel, and say unto them, Concerning the Feasts of the LORD, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are My Feasts. (Israels sacred year contained one weekly and seven annual Feasts, but the annual Feasts were related to the weekly Feast. The weekly Feast was the Sabbath; the seven annual Feasts were: Passover, Unleavened Bread, Firstfruits, Pentecost, Trumpets, Atonement, and Tabernacles. All proclaimed the Work of Christ in the Plan of Redemption, in some fashion.)

³Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; you shall do no work therein: it is the Sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings (the Feast of the Sabbath stood apart as being Gods rest; it was a Prophecy and a Promise of the rest in Christ that remained to the people of God, which we presently enjoy; in other words, whereas the Sabbath then was a day, now it is a Person, the Lord Jesus Christ; acceptance of Him and resting in Him presently constitute the keeping of the Sabbath).

PASSOVER

⁴These are the Feasts of the LORD, even holy convocations, which you shall proclaim in their seasons.

⁵In the fourteenth day of the first month at evening is the LORDs Passover (the words at evening should read between the evenings, i.e., at any time from sunset of one day to sunset of the next; Passover figures Redemption, as carried out by our Lord).

UNLEAVENED BREAD

⁶And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread unto the LORD: seven days you must eat Unleavened Bread.

⁷In the first day you shall have an holy convocation: you shall do no servile work therein.

⁸But you shall offer an Offering made by fire unto the LORD seven days: in the seventh day is an holy convocation: you shall do no servile work therein. (Unleavened Bread figured the perfect, unspotted, unsullied life of Christ, which was offered up in Sacrifice. On the first and seventh day no work was to be done, signifying that Salvation is not by works [Eph. 2:8-9]. Let all understand that we can know nothing of rest, nothing of holiness, and nothing of fellowship, save on the ground of the death of Christ. It is peculiarly striking, significant, and beautiful to observe that directly Gods rest is spoken of, and we speak of the Sabbath in Verse 3, the next thing introduced is the blood of the paschal lamb, symbolizing the Crucifixion of Christ.)

FIRSTFRUITS

⁹And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying,

¹⁰Speak unto the Children of Israel, and say unto them, When you be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then you shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the Priest:

¹¹And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the Sabbath the Priest shall wave it (the sheaf of Firstfruits was to be waved on the day after the Sabbath; that was the day that Christ rose from the grave; no Sin Offering accompanied the sheaf, for Jesus was sinless).

¹²And you shall offer that day when you wave the sheaf an he lamb without blemish of the first year for a Burnt Offering unto the LORD (signifying the perfection of Christ given to believing man).

¹³And the Meat Offering thereof shall be two tenth deals of fine flour (signified the Perfect Life of Christ) mingled with oil (the Holy Spirit on and within Christ [Lk. 4:18-19]), an Offering made by fire unto the LORD for a sweet savour (the cakes were to be burned on the Altar, signifying the death of Christ, and that such was pleasing to God): and the Drink Offering thereof shall be of wine, the fourth part of an hin (symbolizing the joy that comes of Salvation, all afforded by Christ).

¹⁴And you shall eat neither bread, nor parched corn, nor green ears, until the selfsame day that you have brought an Offering unto your God: it shall be a Statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings (part of this Offering was to be eaten by the Priests, and part burned on the Altar; Firstfruits symbolized the Resurrection of Christ).

PENTECOST

¹⁵And you shall count unto you from the morrow after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the Wave Offering; seven Sabbaths shall be complete (the day after seven complete weeks was the fiftieth day, hence the name Pentecost, which actually meant, in the Hebrew, fifty or fiftieth):

¹⁶Even unto the morrow after the seventh Sabbath shall you number fifty days; and you shall offer a new Meat Offering unto the LORD (a Thanksgiving Offering, which contained no flesh, but rather grain).

¹⁷You shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals: they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baked with leaven; they are the Firstfruits unto the LORD (the leaven is intended to foreshadow those who, though filled with the Holy Spirit, and adorned with His gifts and graces, have, nevertheless, evil dwelling is us; in other words, the sin nature is still in the Child of God [Rom., Chpt. 6]; although the sin nature dwells there, it is not to rule and reign [Rom. 6:12]).

¹⁸And you shall offer with the bread seven lambs without blemish of the first year, and one young bullock, and two rams: they shall be for a Burnt Offering unto the LORD, with their Meat Offering, and their Drink Offerings, even an Offering made by fire, of sweet savour unto the LORD.

¹⁹Then you shall sacrifice one kid of the goats for a Sin Offering, and two lambs of the first year for a sacrifice of Peace Offerings. (Concerning this, Mackintosh says: The assembly, on the Day of Pentecost, for this was the day that the Holy Spirit was outpoured, stood in the full value of the Blood of Christ, and was crowned with the Gifts of the Holy Spirit; but there was leaven there also. No power of the Spirit could do away with the fact there was evil dwelling in the people of God. It might be suppressed and kept out of view, but it was there. This fact is foreshadowed in the type by the leaven in the two loaves, and it is set forth in the actual history of the Church; for albeit God the Holy Spirit was present in the assembly, the flesh was there likewise. Flesh is flesh, nor can it ever be made ought else than flesh.

The Holy Spirit did not come down on the Day of Pentecost to improve nature or to do away with the fact of its incurable evil, but to baptize Believers into one body, and connect them with their Living Head in Heaven.)

²⁰And the Priest shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits for a Wave Offering before the LORD, with the two lambs: they shall be holy to the LORD for the Priest.

²¹And you shall proclaim on the selfsame day, that it may be an holy convocation unto you: you shall do no servile work therein: it shall be a Statute forever in all your dwellings throughout your generations. (The command to do no servile work is repeated ten times in connection with these Feasts. Mans activities were forbidden to intrude themselves into a Salvation which was Divine and perfect. God desired happy redeemed children in his family, not slaves. Pentecost proclaimed Christ as the Baptizer with the Holy Spirit, all made possible by the Cross.)

²²And when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not make clean riddance of the corners of your field when you reap, neither shall you gather any gleaning of your harvest: you shall leave them unto the poor, and to the stranger (Gentiles): I am the LORD your God (this Verse proclaims Gods welfare program; for those who did not own land, and found themselves on hard times, they, according to the Law, could reap the corners of the fields, and thereby obtain grain that they could use for food).

TRUMPETS

²³And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying,

²⁴Speak unto the Children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall you have a Sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation (the Feast of Trumpets pertains both to the Church and to Israel; it speaks, first of all, to the Church, which will signal the Rapture, and thereby the close of the Church Age; but the same trumpets which signal the end of the Church will, at the same time, signal the beginning of the restoration of Israel).

²⁵You shall do no servile work therein: but you shall offer an Offering made by fire unto the LORD.

ATONEMENT

²⁶And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying,

²⁷Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of Atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and you shall afflict your souls, and offer an Offering made by fire unto the LORD (this was the only day in the Jewish year where Israel was ordered to fast; however, it was followed by a great Feast).

²⁸And you shall do no work in that same day: for it is a day of Atonement, to make an Atonement for you before the LORD your God (this was the one day of the year that the High Priest went into the Holy of Holies to offer up Incense, and blood on the Mercy Seat, all for himself and the entirety of Israel).

²⁹For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people (anyone who refused to fast, and remained in that frame of mind, could lose their soul).

³⁰And whatsoever soul it be that does any work in that same day, the same soul will I destroy from among his people (the demand that no work be done on this particular day was meant to portray Salvation by Faith, and not by works [Eph. 2:8-9]).

³¹You shall do no manner of work: it shall be a Statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings (until Christ would come, Who, in effect, was the Atonement, which would be brought about on the Cross of Calvary).

³²It shall be unto you a Sabbath of rest, and you shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at evening, from evening unto evening, shall you celebrate your Sabbath (Israel was to rest on this day, typifying the rest that Christ would bring, and which would come to the seeking soul; whereas then it was only one day of rest, typified every week by the Sabbath, now it is a perpetual rest, because all is in Christ [Mat. 11:28-30]).

TABERNACLES

³³And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying,

³⁴Speak unto the Children of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days unto the LORD (this Feast pictures Israel safe in Christ, and enjoying the coming Millennial reign, when she will finally gain her place and position ordained by the Lord so long, long ago, as chief of the nations).

³⁵On the first day shall be an holy convocation: you shall do no servile work therein (the Feast of Tabernacles took place in the month of October, the time of the fruit harvest; it began some five days after the Great Day of Atonement).

³⁶Seven days you shall offer an Offering made by fire unto the LORD: on the eighth day shall be an holy convocation unto you; and you shall offer an Offering made by fire unto the LORD: it is a solemn assembly; and you shall do no servile work therein.

³⁷These are the Feasts of the LORD, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an Offering made by fire unto the LORD, a Burnt Offering, and a Meat Offering, a Sacrifice, and Drink Offerings, everything upon his day (daily Sacrifices):

³⁸Beside the Sabbaths of the LORD, and beside your gifts, and beside all your vows, and beside all your freewill Offerings, which you give unto the LORD (the Feast of Tabernacle Offerings were to be over and above the regular Offerings, whatever they may have been).

³⁹Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the fruit of the land, you shall keep a Feast unto the LORD seven days: on the first day shall be a Sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a Sabbath.

⁴⁰And you shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God seven days (somewhat like a Campmeeting).

⁴¹And you shall keep it a Feast unto the LORD seven days in the year. It shall be a Statute forever in your generations: you shall celebrate it in the seventh month (as stated, our October).

⁴²You shall dwell in booths seven days; all who are Israelites born shall dwell in booths:

⁴³That your generations may know that I made the Children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God (in a sense, this would remind them of their wilderness wanderings).

⁴⁴And Moses declared unto the Children of Israel the Feasts of the LORD.