Sermon #46
Leviticus Sermons
Title: “The
Feasts Of The Lord”
Text: Leviticus 23:1-44
Subject: The Seven Annual Feasts of Israel – Pictures of
Christ
Date: Sunday Morning—October 20, 2002
Tape # X-25b
Reading: Psalm 84
Introduction:
Psalm 84
To the chief Musician
upon Gittith, A Psalm for the sons of Korah.
1. How amiable are thy tabernacles, O LORD of
hosts!
2. My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of
the LORD: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God.
3. Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow
a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O
LORD of hosts, my King, and my God.
4. Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they
will be still praising thee. Selah.
5. Blessed is the man whose strength is in
thee; in whose heart are the ways of them.
6. Who passing
through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools.
7. They go from strength to strength, every one of
them in Zion appeareth before God.
8. LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer: give ear, O God of
Jacob. Selah.
9. Behold, O God our shield, and look upon the face of
thine anointed.
10. For a day in thy courts is better than a
thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to
dwell in the tents of wickedness.
11. For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD
will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that
walk uprightly.
12. LORD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth
in thee.
I want to talk to you today
about “The Feasts of The Lord.”
In the Old Testament the Lord God required his people to keep seven distinct
feasts, called “Holy convocations,” every year. These “holy convocations,”
these solemn assemblies of God’s people for worship were to be observed is a
specific order, on specific days, and in a specific ways. These seven feasts
are described in Leviticus 23.
This 23rd chapter
of Leviticus is a chapter of tremendous importance. It is full of typical
Gospel instruction. I cannot attempt, and will not try, to give you a detailed
exposition of these 44 verses in one message. This morning, I will just call
your attention to the highlights. I want us to look at these seven feasts
together, and see just one thing from these 44 verses this morning.
Proposition: Each of these feasts were
typical of our Lord Jesus Christ and God’s great salvation in and by him.
These seven feasts were
seasons of joyful solemnity appointed by God to point to Christ’s coming and
the salvation he would accomplish. Each feast pointed the children of Israel
back to something they had experienced and pointed them forward to things yet
to come.
The
Order
You cannot avoid noticing
the facts that one feast, one commemoration of grace, led to another, and that
each seemed to suggest a its successor. In other words, the feasts were given
by divine order, and were specifically given to teach (by type and shadow) the
order of things to come.
Israel’s feasts seem to represent the course of time, from creation to the final
end. The Lamb slain (the passover) begins it, and the eighth day of the
blessedness represented in the feast of tabernacles is its close, while the
sabbath, symbolizing rest, — God’s rest in himself and his our rest in him —
both precedes and follows this course of history.
These feasts also appear to
be representative of the great works of our God in redemption, grace, and
salvation, ultimately culminating in the tabernacle of God being with men
forever!
The
Sabbath
As we through this chapter,
I will show you the seven feasts distinctly set before us in these verses; but
as you read the chapter, you cannot help but noticing that the opening three
verses appear to be out of place. These first three verses deal with the
observance of the sabbath. Then, the next 41 verses describe “the feasts of
the Lord.” Being the kind of inquisitive person I am, when I began studying
this chapter, I could not avoid asking myself, “Why are these first three
verses put here? What was God’s intention in opening this chapter with sabbath
instruction?” The answer is not hard to find.
It is very obvious that the sabbath occupied a very
prominent and independent place in Old Testament worship. In fact, each of
these feasts is specifically associated with sabbath observance. Before Moses
gives instruction about keeping the feasts, he gives specific instruction from
God about keeping the sabbath. It is as if the Lord is saying, “These feasts
which I give are typical of my great salvation which shall give you everlasting
rest in me and will give me everlasting rest in you.”
Israel’s first great feast was the feast of the
Passover. Their last annual feast was the feast of tabernacles. Strip away
their typical dress, and you have, full, complete redemption and eternal,
resurrection glory. This everlasting salvation in Christ is that great rest of
which the Old Testament sabbath was typical.
(Leviticus 23:1-4) "And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
(2) Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, Concerning the
feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even
these are my feasts. (3) Six days shall work be done: but the
seventh day is the sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; ye shall do no
work therein: it is the sabbath of the LORD in all your
dwellings. (4) These are the feasts of the LORD, even holy
convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their seasons."
The sabbath was to be kept every week each week. It
was a constant reminder to Israel of that sweet rest which Adam lost in the
Garden and of that blessed rest that could and would be recovered only in and
by Christ. The sabbath was entirely and only intended to typify salvation in
Christ, the blessed rest of life, and faith, and reconciliation to God in him.
“No work” whatsoever was to be done on the
sabbath, because salvation is altogether a matter of grace, a work of grace
alone, enjoyed by faith in Christ, without our woks of any kind. Now, watch
this—No other festival in the Old Testament had such a strict an injunction put
on it except only the day of atonement.
Do you see the significance of that? The rest
of faith is the same as the rest of complete, perfect atonement, and the rest
of complete reconciliation to God. This is what was typified in the
beginning, when the Lord God rested from all his works on the seventh day.
Is it so with your soul? Do you have such rest in
Christ with God as if you had never sinned? Do you have you no more conscience
of sin? This is the rest Christ has won for all who trust him. Oh, come now to
the Lord Jesus Christ and rest! Cease from all work and labor and rest in him.
(Matthew 11:28-30) "Come unto me, all ye that
labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (29) Take my yoke
upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find
rest unto your souls. (30) For my yoke is easy, and my burden is
light."
(Hebrews 4:3) "For we which have believed do enter
into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my
rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world."
(Hebrews 4:7) "Again, he limiteth a certain day,
saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will
hear his voice, harden not your hearts."
The
rest of faith is good, oh, how good! But the rest of heaven will be glorious!
(Hebrews 4:9) "There remaineth therefore a rest to
the people of God."
I. The Feast of Passover (v. 5)
(Leviticus 23:5) "In the fourteenth day of the
first month at even is the Lord's passover."
The first of Israel’s feast
was the feast of Passover. This feast was a constant reminder of God’s great
work of grace in bringing Israel out of Egypt by his mighty power and stretched
out arm, because of the blood that was shed for them (Ex. 12-14). But it was
more than that. The Passover was a picture of and a constant reminder of God’s
promise to send a Redeemer, even Christ our Passover, who is sacrificed for us
(1 Cor. 5:7).
(1 Corinthians 5:7) "Purge out therefore the old leaven,
that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover
is sacrificed for us:"
This feast is called “the
Lord’s passover” because the whole of the work was his. Three things were
prominent in the first passover—(1.) A Lamb—(2.) Blood!—(3.) Deliverance! It
was pre-eminently “the Lord’s Passover!”
·
He
ordained it.
·
He
provided the lamb.
·
He
accepted the lamb.
·
He
passed over the people.
·
He
brought them out of Egypt and across the Red Sea.
·
He
was praised for it (Ex. 15).
·
“Salvation
is of the Lord!”
As often as we eat the bread
and drink the wine at the Lord’s Table, like Israel of old, we show forth the
Lord’s death until he comes again, in remembrance of him.
·
In
Remembrance of Redemption Finished—Atonement!
·
In
Remembrance of Redemption Future—Resurrection Glory!
(1 Peter 1:18-20) "Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not
redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain
conversation received by tradition from your fathers; (19) But
with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without
spot: (20) Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the
world, but was manifest in these last times for you,"
(Psalms 115:1) "Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but
unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth's sake."
II. The Feast of Unleavened Bread (vv.
6-8)
(Leviticus 23:6) "And on the fifteenth day of the same
month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the LORD: seven days ye must
eat unleavened bread."
The feast of unleavened
bread was really a continuation of the feast of Passover. On the Passover night
the children of Israel ate the Lamb with their coats on their backs, their
shoes on their feet, and their staffs in their hand, ready to go out of Egypt.
The Passover sacrifice was the cause. The feast of unleavened bread represents
the effects of redemption. The sacrifice of the paschal lamb (Christ—His Shed
Blood!) is the effectual cause of pardon. The sweet fellowship of faith,
represented in the feast of unleavened bread, is the effect, the sure and
certain result of Christ’s death as our Substitute.
The feast of unleavened
bread pictures faith in Christ (John 6:53-56).
(John 6:53-56) "Then Jesus said unto them, Verily,
verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink
his blood, ye have no life in you. (54) Whoso eateth my flesh, and
drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.
(55) For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. (56) He
that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in
him."
Don’t miss the connection of the feast of unleavened
bread with the feast of passover. The feast of unleavened bread began the next
day after the passover was ended. So, too, the gift of life and faith in Christ
follows the accomplishments of Christ at Calvary. All who were redeemed by
blood shall be made to live and feed upon Christ at God’s appointed time.
(Galatians 3:13-14) "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse
of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every
one that hangeth on a tree: (14) That the blessing of Abraham might come
on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the
Spirit through faith."
As one great family the
children of Israel kept the first day of this feast as a “holy convocation.”
No servile work was done. It was a blessed time of rest. (Faith in Christ is a
perpetual sabbath rest.) The people were all joined together, united in one
holy body of redeemed souls, remembering what God had done for them.
·
They
were all bought with the same blood.
·
They
were all saved by the same power.
·
They
were all going to the same homeland.
·
They
all ate the same bread.
(Ephesians 3:18-19) "May be able to comprehend with all
saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; (19) And
to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled
with all the fulness of God."
(Ephesians 4:1-7) "I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord,
beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, (2)
With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another
in love; (3) Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of
peace. (4) There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in
one hope of your calling; (5) One Lord, one faith, one baptism, (6) One
God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you
all. (7) But unto every one of us is given grace according to the
measure of the gift of Christ."
III. The Feast of Firstfruits (vv.
9-14)
(Leviticus 23:10-12) "Speak unto the children of Israel, and
say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall
reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of
your harvest unto the priest: (11) And he shall wave the sheaf before
the LORD, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the sabbath the priest
shall wave it. (12) And ye shall offer that day when ye wave the sheaf
an he lamb without blemish of the first year for a burnt offering unto the
LORD."
The Holy Spirit tells us
plainly that this feast speaks of Christ’s glorious resurrection and of our
resurrection with him, in him, and by him
(1 Corinthians 15:23) "But every man in his own order: Christ
the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming."
(James 1:18) "Of his own will begat he us with the
word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures."
(Revelation 14:4) "These are they which were not defiled
with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb
whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the
firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb."
(Romans 11:16) "For if the firstfruit be holy,
the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the
branches."
Now, look at verse 12 again.
The sheaf of firstfruits is offered to God with the lamb of burnt
offering!
(Leviticus 23:12) "And ye shall offer that day when ye
wave the sheaf an he lamb without blemish of the first year for a burnt
offering unto the LORD."
IV. The Feast of weeks (vv. 15-22)
The feast of weeks described
in verses 15-22 was held fifty days (seven weeks and a day—a sabbath) after the
feast of firstfruits. It is commonly called “Pentecost” because it was held on
the 50th day. This is the harvest, or ingathering feast. This great
harvest feast speaks of ingathering of God’s elect by Christ.
The risen Christ gave us a
delightful picture and foretaste of the ingathering of his elect in Acts 2:1-4.
When the ay of pentecost was fully come he poured out his Spirit upon all flesh
and 3000 souls were gathered into the fold of his grace at one time. Just as
the harvest followed the firstfruits, so the salvation of God’s elect follows
the resurrection of Christ. Indeed, all the redeemed shall be gathered unto
God.
(Isaiah 43:5-7) "Fear not: for I am with thee: I
will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west; (6) I
will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons
from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth; (7) Even every
one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have
formed him; yea, I have made him."
(John 10:15-18) "As the Father knoweth me, even so know
I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. (16) And other sheep
I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear
my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. (17) Therefore
doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.
(18) No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to
lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I
received of my Father."
(Romans 11:26) "And so all Israel shall be saved: as
it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away
ungodliness from Jacob:"
Look at verse 22 for a
minute.
(Leviticus 23:22) "And when ye reap the harvest of your
land, thou shalt not make clean riddance of the corners of thy field when thou
reapest, neither shalt thou gather any gleaning of thy harvest: thou shalt
leave them unto the poor, and to the stranger: I am the LORD your
God."
Even in requiring Israel
never to gather all their harvest, the Lord is teaching us about his grace. As
Boaz left some handfuls of purpose for Ruth, so the Lord God always provides
for his own. In the Old Testament, there was a remnant according to the
election of grace among the Gentiles. The Lord said, “You take care that you
provide for them.” In this gospel age there is a remnant according to the
election of grace among the Jews. The Lord says, “You take care that you
provide for them.”
In other words, the Lord
would have us ever mindful of the needs of others, specifically of the fact
that he has a people to whom he will be gracious; and he gives us the privilege
of serving their souls’ needs.
V. The Feast of Trumpets (vv.
23-25)
The feast of trumpets
represented the glorious triumph of Christ proclaimed by the gospel.
(Leviticus 23:23-25) "And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
(24) Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in
the first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of
blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation. (25) Ye shall do no servile
work therein: but ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the
LORD."
I have no doubt at all that
“the joyful sound” mentioned in Psalm 89:15 referred to the feast of
trumpets.
(Psalms 89:15) "Blessed is the people that know
the joyful sound: they shall walk, O LORD, in the light of thy
countenance."
Every saved sinner enters
into the joyful sound of grace proclaimed in the gospel. We hear the sweet
sounds of mercy and trust, justice and judgment, righteousness and peace
blended together in blessed harmony, and rejoice. I’m no musician, but I know
every note of the song, and rejoice in each one.
·
Justice
Satisfied!
·
Redemption
Accomplished!
·
Sin
Pardoned!
·
Righteousness
Brought In!
·
God
Glorified!
·
Salvation
Sure!
·
Grace!
Grace! Grace!
·
Eternal
Salvation!
(Psalms 89:14-37) "Justice and judgment are the
habitation of thy throne: mercy and truth shall go before thy face. (15) Blessed
is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O LORD, in
the light of thy countenance. (16) In thy name shall they rejoice all
the day: and in thy righteousness shall they be exalted. (17) For thou art
the glory of their strength: and in thy favour our horn shall be exalted.
(18) For the LORD is our defence; and the Holy One of Israel is our
king. (19) Then thou spakest in vision to thy holy one, and saidst, I
have laid help upon one that is mighty; I have exalted one chosen
out of the people. (20) I have found David my servant; with my holy oil
have I anointed him: (21) With whom my hand shall be established: mine
arm also shall strengthen him. (22) The enemy shall not exact upon him;
nor the son of wickedness afflict him. (23) And I will beat down his
foes before his face, and plague them that hate him. (24) But my
faithfulness and my mercy shall be with him: and in my name shall his
horn be exalted. (25) I will set his hand also in the sea, and his right
hand in the rivers. (26) He shall cry unto me, Thou art my
father, my God, and the rock of my salvation. (27) Also I will make him my
firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth. (28) My mercy will I
keep for him for evermore, and my covenant shall stand fast with him. (29) His
seed also will I make to endure for ever, and his throne as the days of
heaven. (30) If his children forsake my law, and walk not in my
judgments; (31) If they break my statutes, and keep not my commandments;
(32) Then will I visit their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity
with stripes. (33) Nevertheless my lovingkindness will I not utterly
take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail. (34) My covenant will
I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips. (35) Once
have I sworn by my holiness that I will not lie unto David. (36) His
seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before me. (37) It
shall be established for ever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in
heaven. Selah."
VI. The Feast of Atonements (vv.
26-32)
(Leviticus 23:26-32) "And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
(27) Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a
day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall
afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD. (28) And
ye 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. (29) For whatsoever
soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut
off from among his people. (30) And whatsoever soul it be that
doeth any work in that same day, the same soul will I destroy from among his
people. (31) Ye shall do no manner of work: it shall be a statute
for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. (32) It shall
be unto you a sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls: in the
ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate
your sabbath."
The word “atonement”
in verse 27 should be in the plural, “atonements.” Really, the word
would be better translated “expiations.” This feast has reference to our
perfect, complete restoration to our God and the restitution of all things,
when our great Savior shall have gathered all things together in one, for the
glory of God.
(Acts 3:21) "Whom the heaven must receive until the
times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all
his holy prophets since the world began."
(Ephesians 1:11) "In whom also we have obtained an
inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh
all things after the counsel of his own will:"
(1 Corinthians
15:24-28) "Then cometh the
end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when
he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. (25) For he
must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. (26) The last
enemy that shall be destroyed is death. (27) For he hath
put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him,
it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him.
(28) And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also
himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all
in all."
The feast of trumpets was a
prelude to and a proclamation of liberty!
(Romans 8:18-24) "For I reckon that the sufferings of
this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory
which shall be revealed in us. (19) For the earnest expectation of the
creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. (20) For the
creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who
hath subjected the same in hope, (21) Because the creature itself
also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious
liberty of the children of God. (22) For we know that the whole creation
groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. (23) And not only they,
but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we
ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the
redemption of our body. (24) For we are saved by hope: but hope that is
seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?"
VII. The Feast of Tabernacles (vv.
33-43)
(Leviticus 23:33-34) "And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
(34) Speak 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 of tabernacles
was a time when Israel was reminded that they dwelt in booths in the wilderness
and God dwelt with them in the cloudy and fiery pillar. But it spoke of more
than that. It spoke of that time when God came here and tabernacled in human
flesh that he might at last bring God and man together in eternal glory and
perfect fellowship, with sin and every evil consequence of it forever expiated,
put away, purged, gone, and forgotten forever!
(Psalms 72:16-19) "There shall be an handful of corn in
the earth upon the top of the mountains; the fruit thereof shall shake like
Lebanon: and they of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth.
(17) His name shall endure for ever: his name shall be continued as long as
the sun: and men shall be blessed in him: all nations shall call him
blessed. (18) Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel, who
only doeth wondrous things. (19) And blessed be his glorious name
for ever: and let the whole earth be filled with his glory; Amen, and
Amen."
(Revelation 21:1-7) "And I saw a new heaven and a new
earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was
no more sea. (2) And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming
down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
(3) And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle
of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his
people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. (4) And
God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more
death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for
the former things are passed away. (5) And he that sat upon the throne
said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these
words are true and faithful. (6) And he said unto me, It is done. I am
Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is
athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. (7) He that
overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my
son."
Now, let me show you one
more thing. The eighth day was considered the great day of the feast of
tabernacles (John 7:37). On the eighth day all grapes and fruits were gathered
in (Ex. 23:16). The harvest was completed. What a time of celebration it was! The
joy of harvest and the shouting and dancing associated with the treading of the
winepresses must have been something to behold. Who knows? It just may be that
this is the eighth day of the feast. This may just be the last day there is. So
I want you to turn to John 7:37, and hear the Son of God, as he speaks on the
eighth day, the great day of the feast.
(John 7:37-38) "In the last day, that great day of
the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto
me, and drink. (38) He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said,
out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water."
(Revelation 21:5-7) "And he that sat upon the throne said,
Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are
true and faithful. (6) And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and
Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the
fountain of the water of life freely. (7) He that overcometh shall
inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son."