Sunday, 20 January 2019

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE EVENING FESTIVALS.

The 7th New Moon of each year (corresponding with the 1st day of the month of Ethaninm or Tishri) was sabbatical, and the Law covenant decreed it to be a time of complete rest.
Leviticus 23: 1-36 says: "The Lord said to Moses,'Tell the Israelites:You will announce the Lord's chosen Festivals as Holy meetings. These are my special Festivals:
-Sabbath: Work for 6 days, but the 7th day, the Sabbath, will be a special day of rest, a Holy meeting. You must not do any work. It is a day of rest to Honor the Lord in all your homes.
-You will announce the Holy meetings at the times chosen for them. The Lord's Passover is on the 14th Day of the 1st Month just before dark.
-The Festival of Unleavened Bread is on the 15th Day of the same Month. You will eat unleavened bread for 7 days. On the 1st day of this Festival, you will have a special meeting. You must not do any work on that day. For 7 days you will bring sacrifices offered as gifts to the Lord. Then there will be another special meeting on the 7th day. You must not do any work on that day.
-Festival of the First Harvests: The Lord said to Moses, Tell the Israelites: You will enter the land that I will give you and real its harvest. At that time you must bring the first sheaf of your harvest to the priest.
The priest will lift the sheaf to show it was offered before the Lord. Then you will be accepted. The priest will present the sheaf on Sunday morning. On the day when you present the sheaf, you will offer a one-year-old lamb. There must be nothing wrong with that lamb. That lamb will be a Burnt Offering to the Lord. You must also offer a Grain Offering of 16 cups of fine flour mixed with olive oil. You must also offer 1 quart of wine. The smell of that offering will please the Lord. You must not eat any of the new grain, or fruit, or bread made from the new grain until you bring that Offering to your God. This Law will always continue through your generations, wherever you live.
-Festival of Harvest: From that Sunday morning (the day you bring the sheaf to be presented to God), count 7 weeks. On the Sunday following the 7th week (that is 50 days later), you will bring a new Grain Offering to the Lord. On that day, bring 2 loaves of bread from your homes. The bread will be lifted up to show it was offered to God. Use yeast and 16 cups of flour to make those loaves of bread. That will be your gift to the Lord from your first harvest. One bull, one ram, and 7 one-year-old male lambs will be offered with the Grain Offering from the people. There must be nothing wrong with these animals. They will be a Burnt Offering offered as a sweet-smelling gift to the Lord. You will also offer one male goat for a Sin Offering and 2 one-year-old male lambs as a Fellowship Offering. The priest will lift them up with the bread from the first harvest to show they were offered with the 2 lambs before the Lord. They will belong to the priest. On that same day, you will call a Holy meeting. You must not do any work. This Law continues forever in all your homes. Also, when you harvest your crops on your land, do not cut all the way to the corners of your field. Do not pick up the grain that falls on the ground. Leave it for poor people and for foreigners traveling through your country. I Am the Lord your God.
-Festival of Trumpets: Again the Lord said to Moses: Tell the Israelites: On the 1st day of the 7th month you must have a special day of rest. Blow the trumpet to remind the people that this is a Holy meeting. You must not do any work. You must bring an Offering as a gift to the Lord.
-Day of Atonement: The Lord said to Moses: The Day of Atonement will be on the 10th day of the 7th month. There will be a Holy meeting. You must not eat food, and you must bring an Offering as a gift to the Lord.You must not do any work on that day because it is the Day of Atonement. On that day the priests will go before the Lord and perform the ceremony that makes you pure. Anyone who refuses to fast on this day must be separated from their people. If anyone does any work on this day I will destroy that person from among the people. You must not do any work at all . This is a Law that continues forever for you, wherever you live. It will be a special day of rest for you. You must not eat food. You will star this special day of rest on the evening following the 9th day of the month. This special day of rest continues from that evening until the next evening.
-Festival of Shelters: Again the Lord said to Moses: Tell the Israelites: On the 15th day of the 7th month is the Festival of Shelters.  This Festival to the Lord will continue for 7 days.  There will be a Holy meeting on the 1st day. You must not do any work. You will bring offerings as gifts to the Lord for 7 days. On the 8th day you will have another Holy meeting. You must not do any work. You will bring an Offering as a gift to the Lord.
Leviticus 23: 37- 44 also says: "These are the Lord's special Festivals. There will be Holy meetings during these Festivals. You will bring offerings as gifts to the Lord -Burnt Offerings, -Grain Offerings,
-Sacrifices, and -Drink Offerings. You will bring these gifts at the right time,"
"You will celebrate these Festivals in addition to remembering the Lord's Sabbath days. You will offer these gifts in addition to your other gifts to the Lord. You will offer these things in addition to any offerings you give as payment for your special promises. They will be in addition to any special offerings you want to give to the Lord."
"On the 15th day of the 7th month, when you have gathered in the crops of the land, you will celebrate the Lord's Festival for 7 days. The 1st day will be a special day of rest, and then the 8th day will also be a special day of rest. On the1st day you will take good fruit from fruit trees. And you will take branches
from palm trees, poplar trees, and willow trees by the brook."
"You will celebrate before the Lord your God for 7 days. You will celebrate this festival to the Lord for 7 days each year. This Law will continue forever."
"You will celebrate this Festival in the 7th month. You will live in temporary shelters for 7 days. All the people born in Israel will live in them.  Why?  So all your descendants will know that I made the Israelites live in temporary shelters during the time I brought them out of Egypt.   I Am the Lord your God."

No comments:

Post a Comment