Themes in the Mo'Edim
Each of the appointments has themes associated with them. The themes
have become an integrated part of the celebrations, built up by
association with the first use of a term, meanings of words, the first
events, the time of year, and subsequent related events happening at the
same time. For instance, when the Father says that the Feast of Trumpets
is a "day of blowing," then sounding the shofar in other places becomes
associated with this action. Another comparison can be drawn from how
the Pesach Lamb is understood first to be an actual lamb and also Jesus
the Lamb of God. Our Father uses these types of things to illustrate His
spiritual realities for us (see John 3).
Another way that themes
become associated with the feasts is through prophecy. Our Father makes
and fulfills prophecy around the feasts, using the elements of the feast
to inform His people about what is going to happen, helping us to
persevere in times of adversity. He reminds us that He is always in
control, knowing (and declaring) the end from the beginning, and
encouraging us to overcome. Through the recurring pattern of annual
appointments with Him, salted throughout with various themes relating to
His character and attributes, He reveals Himself to His people. He is
the Center, the Rock, our Redeemer; on Him we can rely, we can trust and
obey with full confidence that He doesn't fail and He will never leave
nor forsake those who place that confidence unreservedly in Him.
The major themes for
Passover (Pesach, pay-sock) are redemption, renewal, salvation, and
freedom. A picture is given to us of the people of God being released
from Egypt to worship Him through a series of plagues visited on the
Egyptians. The final plague was the death of all first-born children in
houses (literally) that were not protected through obedience by marking
the doorframe with the blood of a lamb. Egypt is symbolic of the evil
world system (or sin), the blood of the lamb was foreshadowing the Blood
of the Messiah (the Lamb of God), and the meal is symbolic of the flesh
of the Messiah, which Jesus declares to be His Word in John 6. At first
the appointment was for remembering Egypt and freedom, and to look
forward to the Messiah. After the resurrection, the feast reminds us of
His sacrifice (Luke 22:19) that saved us from the curses of sin, and we
look forward to eventual permanent freedom of body, soul, and spirit in
the final form of the Kingdom. In the meantime, through this appointment
we celebrate our present release from captivity and rejoice in the
freedom of bond service to our Father. This is part of our
sanctification process, forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward
to what lies ahead, pressing on toward the prize of the upward calling
of God in Jesus haMashiach (the Messiah) (Philippians 3:13, 14).
With all due respect (which I admit is very little) to the boneheads who
are afraid some will be "Left Behind," this may very well be a picture
of our future deliverance. The plagues bear a remarkable resemblance to
the plagues in the book of the Revelation, and for those who have eyes
to see both processes appear to be nearly identical. What if events were
to happen in an entirely different fashion than that popularized in
current so-called "Christian fiction?" What a concept! I don't think
they realize just how much fiction they are producing.
Themes
associated with
Unleavened Bread (Hag HaMatzah (hahg-ha-maht-saw) include cleansing
(baptism); sanctification; purity; removing sin and Jesus as our mikveh
(baptism). All yeast (or leaven, which symbolizes sin) is removed from
the house, which teaches us about purification, sanctification, and
leaving sin behind (in Egypt, as it were). In place of sin we live on
the Word of God, the Bread of Life, Jesus our Messiah (the unleavened
bread). There is also a baptism (symbolized by going through the Red
Sea), which helps us understand cleansing and identification with God.
The Sea is a mikveh (Hebrew for literally "a gathering of waters," the
place where baptisms take place) which IS Jesus. He is our baptism, our
identity, our cleansing. One of these days we will experience a final
cleansing and entry into the eternal reality of the Kingdom.
First Fruits (HaBikkurim, hah-bic-er-eem) starts the beginning of
counting the weeks until Pentecost; and includes the offering to God of
the first fruits of the spring harvest. Jesus offered Himself as the
first fruits of the resurrection according to Paul (I Corinthians
15:23). Those of us who belong to Him are also a sort of "first fruits"
according to James 1:18.
Pentecost (Shavuot shaw-voo-oat) gives us the themes of reception of
instructions for holy living (His Word) from the "breath" (Holy Spirit)
of God (man does not live by bread alone); the Akeidah (ah-kay-daw or
the binding of Isaac) and the first (or left) trump of redemption. The
first Shavuot in Exodus 19 and the Shavuot in Acts chapter 2 are very
similar. Both have flames (or lightnings) symbolizing purification, both
have the Spirit of God moving (breath = wind = words), and at both the
Words of God were delivered for us to live by. At the first Shavuot
people died, at the other people lived. The Word at the first one was
delivered on stone tablets; in Acts it was written on the heart. This
feast is also called the Feast of Weeks because we count about seven
weeks between it and First Fruits.
The Akeidah is the story of
the binding of Isaac, and of Abraham's obedience in offering him as a
sacrifice (Genesis 22). It figures into both Shavuot and Yom Teruah, but
it's association with Shavuot comes from the voice of God represented as
a shofar sounding louder and louder (Exodus 19:16, 19), and horns are
also reminders of the sin of the golden calf worship (Exodus 32,
idolatry). It is a picture of the sacrifice made by the Father using His
Son Jesus for our redemption. The ram caught by its horns (two) was the
substitute, just as Jesus was the substitute for us. The first horn
(left horn) symbolizes the first redemption.
Trumpets or Yom Teruah (a.k.a.Rosh HaShannah or head of the year)
Feast of Trumpets (Yom Teruah) has a veritable plethora (fancy way
of saying a whole bunch) of themes. There is a king's coronation (who is
our king, the calf or God?) perhaps best pictured in Daniel 7:9, 10, 13,
14 (related to Revelation 4:1, 2), where books are opened and judgment
is made (that's why this scene is associated with this holy day), and
the Son of Man is given a kingdom (dominion and glory). The meaning of
the word Teruah means "awake" or "shout," and Yom Teruah literally means
"Day of Awakening Blast" (or shout). So we wake up from the sleep of sin
to repentance, or from spiritual lack of awareness to resurrection.
Other themes that I don't have space to talk about here are
marriage; concealment, and the last (or right) trump of the Akeidah.
Sweetness is prominent in the food we eat; my wife Susan likes to call
this the "feast of Sugar." Scripture includes Isaiah 27:13; Isaiah 52:1
and I Corinthians 15:52. These are prophetic of resurrection, our
gathering together with Him, our wedding with Him, and our being hidden
on the Day of Wrath (Yom Kippur). Remember that God switched this month
with the month of Pesach (Passover). Even though many call this the
"head of the year" (Rosh HaShanah), it really is in the seventh month.
Also, even though now it is a two-day event (because of it's starting
right smack on the new moon), it is supposed to be only one day long.
Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur (yohm-key-poor), although solemn, has
only a few but very important themes. The main theme is
Atonement/Judgment. For believers there is atonement, and for those who
do not have a sacrifice (the Messiah) there is only judgment. Those who
do not repent before this day can only see "smoke and burning," but
believers have access to His presence through the Messiah. The shofar is
also sounded on this day but with a different meaning. As a matter of
fact it is called the shofar haGadol, "the Great Trump." You might
recognize this from a statement of Jesus in Matthew 24:31.
Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot (sue-coat) - resurrection; rewards;
rest; thanksgiving; rejoicing; celebration; also called the Season of
Our Joy and the Feast of Nations. Some scriptures that are associated
with this feast are Isaiah 26:17-21; Psalm 27:5; and Psalm 47:5
(ascended = coronation, shouts of joy, trumpets). This could be called
God's Camping Trip because of traveling to Jerusalem and living in
tents. We live in tents during this time to remind us that Jesus dwelt
with us for a while, and we will dwell with Him when He sets up His
Kingdom and reigns from Jerusalem for 1,000 years. We have joy now
because we are free in Him, and we will be even freer when He comes and
we are with Him.
The eighth feast on our list is
Sabbath, which has strong themes of rest and fellowship. The first
Sabbath was observed by God Himself and recorded for us in Genesis
2:1-3. There seems to be something supernatural in obeying the Father's
instructions on this (which is true for all of His instructions or
Torah, but we 'feel' it more here). Resting on this particular day has
peculiar far-reaching aspects to it. It reaches deep into your soul, and
unwinds you in a way that brings peace and contentment to every fiber of
your being. Part of this could be from 'resonating' with the Father's
Spirit because of obedience. Part of it could be that we 'do' what we
see the Father "do," and that creates a spiritual bond with Abba (our
'daddy') through which flows His presence or peace (shalom). Or part of
it could be that your own physical rhythms move at the same rhythm that
the Father set with an end of the week rest. Hmm. It couldn't be that He
built you and knows what you need, could it? Nah, that can't be it.