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Point of Reference
by Fred Price
“The roots of Christianity lie deep within the biblical feasts. On Passover Jesus became the lamb whose blood redeemed us, on Firstfruits he rose from the dead as the firstborn of the new creation, and on Pentecost he poured out his Spirit to inaugurate the new covenant.”1
Besides these three feasts or holy days – which are celebrated in the spring of the year – three more were initiated by God on Mount Sinai – celebrated similarly close together – in the fall. The Feast of Trumpets or Rosh Hashanah, commemorates the beginning of the civil new year. A shofar – or ram’s horn – is sounded on that day, not only celebrating the coming of the new year but heralding God as the King of the world and celebrating the anniversary of the world’s creation. If that weren’t enough, it’s also the first day of the ten Days of Awe, a time of self-examination and repentance in anticipation of Yom Kippur or the Day of Atonement, the most holy day of the year for the Jewish people. (They sure know how to get the most out of their holidays – don’t they?)
When the Jerusalem Temple was still standing, Yom Kippur was the only day of the year that the high priest dared to enter the Most Holy Place. There he would offer atonement for the sins of the Israeli people. He did so, in part, by laying his hands on a goat – the scapegoat of Leviticus 16:8-10 – symbolically transferring the guilt of the nation on to the animal, which was then driven out into the wilderness. (After the destruction of Jerusalem and it’s temple in 70 A.D., all sacrifice ceased and the rabbi’s declared that prayer alone was sufficient to acquire forgiveness from sin.)
Five days after the Day of Atonement, the joyous Feast of Tabernacles was celebrated, sometimes called the Feast of Ingathering. The purpose of this feast being to remind the Jewish people of God’s provision for them throughout their travels from Egypt to Israel – represented by the booths or huts hastily constructed and in which they would “live” for seven days – reinforcing in their minds what the path with God can be like, insecure from a human standpoint yet filled with miraculous blessings all the while.
Secondarily, as this feast day fell during the fruit harvest and the last of the wheat was being gathered in, it became a harvest celebration as well, as the Jews settled themselves in the seasonal rhythms of the Promised Land to which they had been led. But there’s more, for even as Israel appeared to be a land flowing with milk and honey to a people who had spent 40 years traipsing through the desert in search of themselves, the land can actually be dry and arid for up to six months of the year. Between May and October hardly a drop of water falls, so that by mid-fall, when the Feast of Tabernacles/Ingathering is celebrated, the land is parched and the people desperate for water. Part of the ceremonial commemoration then came to be a beseeching of God for the winter rains that would replenish the soil and allow for good yields the next year. As such, on the last day of the feast, the priests led the people in a water libation ceremony; ending with a prayer entreating God to send “living water” for the coming year.
It was no mere coincidence then that on this last day of this great feast, Jesus stood up in the midst of the crowd at the temple and shouted, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” John 7:36,37 (See also John 4:10-14; Is. 55:1 & 59:11) Referencing the Holy Spirit who would soon be poured out on all true believers, “water” that would quench their thirst for God and then flow from them into the rest of the world. (Jesus characterizing our desire to walk closer with Him as a craving – or thirst – for righteousness in His Sermon on the Mount. Matthew 5:6)
For Christians, the particular significance of these three feasts lay in their look to the future. The shofar – or trumpet – blown on the Feast of Trumpets heralding Christ’s return as our Lord, Savior and King. Paul saying, “Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed – in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.” 1 Corinthians 15:51,52 But the mood will be mixed, because there will be judgment as well as celebration at Christ’s return. Those who follow Him experiencing the ultimate Atonement Day, as Jesus – our high priest – will be revealed to all as the only one qualified to enter the Most Holy Place, once and for all wiping away our sin through the power of His blood.
On that day, the final Ingathering will occur and we will “tabernacle” with God forever.
1Ann Spangler and Lois Tverberg, from Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus, Zondervan Publishing
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Fred Price - married (50 years), father of two grown children, grandfather of six.
Fred retired earlier this year after 42 years as a factory worker. He has always had a heart for young people and the challenges they face today. Over the years Fred has taught Discipleship Groups for High School and college students.
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