February 6, 2011- TODAY’S READING IN THE ONE YEAR BIBLE:
Exodus 23:14-25:40; Matthew 24:29-51; Psalm 30:1-12; Proverbs 7:24-27
The Distinctiveness of the Law and the Prophetic Meaning of the Feasts
The giving of the law through Moses made a profound difference in the history of Israel. Its impact has had a substantial impact upon Western civilization and for this historic reason the Ten Commandments (Decalogue) have been rightly posted in many courtrooms in the United States and other countries.
Although there had been prior written codes of law in other previous civilizations, here were laws that for the first time stood taller than men and defined transgressions as not merely an offense against society, but an offense to the revealed moral nature of God. Consequently as God was making Himself known to the people of Israel, a world-view was taking shape in which it was understood that man was made in the image of God and accountable to Him.
This was in marked contrast to other civilizations. Egypt was ruled by Pharaoh. His arbitrary judgments were the law of the day. There was no written or codified law. His ‘might’ as Egypt’s pharaoh, determined what was ‘right’.
To the East, the Mesopotamian cultures had complex written codified legal systems, the oldest extant example dating from 2050 BC. It was a system for determining accurate weights and measures and underscored the right of Ur Nammu to rule as king over the region. Abraham, who hailed from Ur of the Chaldees must have known of the two tables of stone with Akkadian inscription dating from 1920 BC that codified property regulations laid down by the god Tishpak that were transmitted by their local king. The Code of Hammurabi, dating from 1728 BC, was found in Susa, and was impressively written on a six foot diorite stone slab.
Paul Johnson in “The History of the Jews” writes,
“Though the Mosaic code was in this sense part of the Near Eastern tradition, its divergences from the other ancient codes are so many and so fundamental as to make it something entirely new. Firstly, the other law-codes, though said to be inspired by God, are given and worded by individual kings, such as Hammurabi or Ishtar; they are thus revocable, changeable and essentially secular. By contrast, in the Bible, God alone writes the law- legislation throughout the Pentateuch is all His- and no Israelite king was ever permitted, or even attempted, to formulate a law-code. Moses (and, much later, Ezekiel, transmitter of law reforms) was a prophet, not a king, and a divine medium, not a sovereign legislator. Hence, in his code there is no distinction between the religious and the secular- all are one- or between civil, criminal and moral law. This indivisibility had important practical consequences. In Mosaic legal theory, all breaches of the law offend God. ..Making restitution to the offended mortal is not enough. God requires expiation too, and this may involve drastic punishment” (p. 33 History of the Jews).
Other legal codes saw people as ‘property valued’ according to their ‘usefulness’. Human value would be arbitrarily determined (not unlike modern society that in many cultures puts lesser value on the unborn, the handicapped, females, the elderly or those of another race). The Law of Moses upholds that mankind is made in God’s image and so human life is not just valuable, it is sacred. Murder is a sin against God. Adultery is a sin against God. Money cannot buy off the judge. This law was not written to favor the rich. All are to be held accountable. Kings were subject to the law. When a king of Israel was to take office he was not only required to read the Law but as a practical discipline he was to personally write it out on a scroll:
Deuteronomy 17:18-20 (NIV)
18 When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the priests, who are Levites. 19 It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the LORD his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees 20 and not consider himself better than his brothers and turn from the law to the right or to the left. Then he and his descendants will reign a long time over his kingdom in Israel.
18 When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the priests, who are Levites. 19 It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the LORD his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees 20 and not consider himself better than his brothers and turn from the law to the right or to the left. Then he and his descendants will reign a long time over his kingdom in Israel.
The’ eye for an eye’, ‘tooth for tooth’stipulation (Exodus 21:24-25) is often misunderstood. It simply means that the punishment must be commensurate to the crime, a strict upholding of compensation due according to the extent of injury.
The Mosaic code contains laws, revolutionary at the time, which champion human dignity and the need to show compassion for the outcast, the widow and the foreigner. The Sabbath was given not just as a sign of the covenant relationship between God and the people of Israel but as a means of treating all workers and work animals with respect for their need for rest and refreshment. Even the land was treated with respect and given a Sabbath (Exodus 23:10-12).
There are laws that took into account the danger of the ‘mob mentality’ , the ‘popular poll’ mentality, bribes, and false witnesses that often obstruct justice (Exodus 23:1-9).
God commanded holidays as important community seasons of worship. The three seasonal harvests contained the seven major feasts. All of these have great prophetic meaning in the history of redemption, not only through His mighty acts in the redemption of Israel, but also the redemption of the world through the acts of the Messiah.
Three times a year all the men were to appear before the Lord and celebrate God’s redemptive history (Exodus 23:14)
THE FIRST SEASONAL FEAST (UNLEAVENED BREAD) (Exodus 23:15) in the early spring (Abib- Nisan).
This Feast was comprised of three feasts commemorating the children of Israel being delivered from Egypt and the first fruit of harvest, events that also correspond with the First Coming of the Messiah.
1. The Lord’s Passover (Lev 23:5) (Beginning at twilight on the fourteenth day of the First month); the time of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, the spotless Lamb of God, our Passover lamb (1 Cor 5:7).
2. The Feast of the Unleavened Bread (Leviticus 23:6). This begins on the fifteenth day of the first month. All leaven has been purged (the corruption of sin has been put away through the substitutionary death of Christ, the last Adam) and unleavened bread is to be eaten in commemoration of the urgent and immediate need to take God’s ordained escape route through repentance and faith in the Bread of Life (John 14:6; 6:35). We are called to a life of consecration in which we keep the Gospel Feast
1 Corinthians 5:8 (NIV) 8 Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth.
3. The Feast of First Fruits (Leviticus 23:9-14). One sheaf, the first grain to appear from harvest, is waved as a single representative of the harvest that will eventually be ingathered. It is “accepted on your behalf”. This is the day that Jesus rose from the dead as the representative of a new man made up of both Jew and Gentile. He is accepted on our behalf. God’s wisdom has made Him, Jesus Christ, to be for us our righteousness, sanctification and redemption (1 Cor. 1:30)
THE SECOND SEASONAL FEAST (THE FEAST OF THE HARVEST) (Exodus 23:16a)
4. The Feast of Weeks (Leviticus 23:15-22, also called the Feast of Pentecost). After the first sheaf is presented on behalf of all on the Feast of First Fruits, seven weeks are counted off. On the fiftieth day after the Sabbath, would be the seventh week after the Resurrection and the day in which the Holy Spirit was given to bring the ingathering of the harvest (Acts 2). The two loaves speak of Jews and Gentiles (although still containing the leaven of sin) accepted in the sinless firstfruit of the resurrection harvest (Christ).
THE THIRD SEASONAL FEAST (THE FEAST OF INGATHERING AT THE END OF THE YEAR) (Exodus 23:16b).
5. The Feast of Trumpets (Leviticus 23:23-25) This was held on the first day of the seventh month. Whereas the events surrounding the first coming of the Messiah were celebrated in the Spring Feasts, the events surrounding Christ’s Second Coming are celebrated in the Autumn feasts. Christ return will be with the sound of the trumpet that will signal for our gathering together unto Him (Matt 24:31; 2 Thess 2:1)
6. The Day of Atonement (Leviticus 23:20-32). This is the Day when the people of Israel afflicted their souls with fasting, prayer and confession of sin as their High Priests made atonement on their behalf. Prophetically a spirit of grace and supplication will be poured out on the house of David and they will look on the One they have pierced. There will be repentance and cleansing (Zechariah 12:10-13:1) (NIV)
7. The Feast of Tabernacles (Lev 23:33-44) This Feast reminded the Israelites of God blessing them as they tabernacled in the wilderness. They could look forward to permanently abiding in His presence. This prophetically pictures the future kingdom that God has prepared when Christ returns and is received as King of Kings. Gentiles will celebrate The Feast of Tabernacles with the Israelites (Zech 14;16-19)
NEW TESTAMENT READING: Matthew 24:29-51
Jesus speaks of the events that are prophesied in the Autumn Feasts listed above when He predicts His return as the Judge of all the nations. There will be the sounding of the Trumpet and the Ingathering of his elect (Matt 24:31).
Consider His prediction: “ I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.” (Matt 24:35)
The temple was destroyed within the generation of his hearers (Matt 24:1). In 70 AD Titus of Rome attacked Jerusalem and destroyed the temple.
Jesus then gives predictions about events that will take place up to the time of His return (Matt 24:4- and clarifies that the gospel will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. We are living in this time in which we have the privilege of taking the gospel to the whole world.
But there are other signs that will be given (Matthew 24:29). Those who see those signs will know that Christ’s return in imminent.
Let’s not forget what Jesus said, lest we become presumptuous.
Matthew 24:36 (NIV) 36 "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
Let us not forget these words, lest we become careless:
Matthew 24:38-39 (NIV) 38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.
PSALM 30 is a great Psalm of Thanksgiving reminding us of God’s great work of deliverance in our lives that turns our weeping into rejoicing!
Pastor David
So, naturally, we proclaim Christ! We warn everyone we meet, and we teach everyone we can, all that we know about him, so that, if possible, we may bring every man up to his full maturity in Christ. (Colossians 1:28, J.B. Phillips paraphrase)
New Life Community Church, Concord, MA 10742
Meeting Sundays at 10:30 AM at the Emerson Umbrella for the Arts, 40 Stow Street, Concord MA
Mailing Address: Post Office Box Five, Concord, MA 01742
Church Offices: 35 Bypass Rd. Lincoln, MA 01773 978-369-0061
Home Office: 978-371-3176
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