Each Moed on Its Proper Day

I believe that every follower of Yeshua (aka Jesus) should be keeping God's appointed times. Passover, Shavuot, Yom Teruah, Yom Kippur, etc. I believe that doing so honors God and teaches valuable lessons.

I also believe it's important that we try to do it the way God said to as much as possible, including the timing. Of course, very few people can go to Jerusalem, and there's no altar or priesthood, so there's a lot we can't do, but we can keep the spirit of the Feasts.

We have a pretty good idea of the correct timing, though. If you believe that Yeshua is the Messiah, then you must believe that he kept all the commandments correctly. We know that he kept the weekly Sabbath and the other appointed times on the same day that the Pharisees and Sadducees did. They were wrong about some things, but clearly not about everything. With a few minor exceptions, we know when the first century Jews kept the weekly Sabbath and all of the other appointed times and therefore when Yeshua kept them. They counted the months according the new moon and the weeks according to a continuous cycle of 7 days with no connection to the new moon, and so did Yeshua.

Whether you follow the sighting of the new moon or the calculated new moon, you can get the timing of the annual holy days right within a day or two, even if you've chosen the wrong method...whichever that is. Maybe you count the start of the year by the sighting of ripe barley or maybe you count it by the calculated agricultural cycles. Either method is reasonable, and I don't think we have sufficient information about first century practices.

However, if you're trying to keep the appointed times on a day that's radically different than most other people--counting the Sabbath by the new moon or calculating the months without reference to the new moon, for example--I have to wonder what makes you think you know better than Yeshua.

If you don't think keeping the feasts is important to God, this probably seems like a petty disagreement. I'll simply refer you back to the Scriptures, which plainly say that the timing of the feasts is important to him. If the King summoned you to court on Tuesday and you showed up on Wednesday because it was more convenient for you, don't you think he would care?

These are the appointed feasts of the LORD, which you shall proclaim as times of holy convocation, for presenting to the LORD food offerings, burnt offerings and grain offerings, sacrifices and drink offerings, each on its proper day...

Leviticus 23:37

L'shana Tova! (or not...)

Messianics need to quit obsessing over obscure conspiracy theories. No mortal on earth knows the real origin of 99% of all of the extra-biblical traditions surrounding Biblical holidays (like Rosh Hashanah/Yom Teruah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot). Maybe this or that ancient prayer was influenced by some old rabbi getting too cozy with a shaman or maybe not. Maybe the date got shifted a bit so the Jews could blend in with the Romans or Babylonians a little better. But really, there's no way that you or anyone else will ever know.

So stop getting so crazy about it. Say "Shana tova!" or don't say it. Build a sukka of reeds and fronds or put up a tent or don't do either, whichever you and your community believes honors the commandment.

You're not a cohen serving in the Tabernacle, so keeping the commandment is far more important than keeping it perfectly. Unity in the Kingdom is far more important than baseless witch hunts for anything that might somehow, somewhen have been remotely connected to someone's pagan uncle's nickname.

Relax. Do the best you can and let God worry about details that are hopelessly outside of your scope of knowledge and power. Enjoy God's appointed times. Be at peace.

L'shana Tova!

The Eighth Day

Days were divided into seven-day weeks at Creation, with the seventh day set aside as a day of rest. If you are at all familiar with Hebrew numerology, you'll know that the number of each day corresponds in meaning with those things created on that day. Two obvious examples are six and seven. Six is the number of man, who was created on the sixth day. Seven is the number of completion and perfection. Creation was complete and God rested on the seventh day.

Eight is the number of new beginnings. On the eighth day of Creation, a new week began--the first week of the completed creation. Throughout the Bible, eight is a day for starting new things. The eighth day of Sukkot is a high Sabbath in honor of the start of a new life in relationship to God. The eight days of Hanukkah represent the rededication of the Temple and are a shadow of the Great Sukkot to come (Isaiah 4, among others). Yeshua rose from the dead at the very beginning of the eighth day not to change the Sabbath from the seventh day--that is actually one of the signs of the antichrist (Daniel 7:25)--but to symbolize a new phase of his ministry and the new life we have in him.

Yeshua in the Passover

(Sorry this one is so sloppy. I was tired and stressed. Excuses, excuses.)

Passover commemorates the day that God spared the Israelites from the plague against the firstborn. The blood of the lamb painted on the wooden door posts prophesied of the blood of Yeshua (the Lamb of God) on the wooden cross and how he is the only door through which anyone can survive the curse of death. The only thing required for that salvation is faith in God's promise of mercy for those who belong to him. Painting the blood on the door was an outward sign of that faith.

Passover is also a family celebration. It is supposed to be celebrated with your family. If the family is too small to eat a whole lamb, then you invite the neighbors over too. Together, the family is supposed to eat the entire lamb. Nothing is supposed to be left over. That sounds kind of gross, but it really is what God expects of us in the rest of our life, too. We don't get to pick and choose what parts of Yeshua to keep and which parts to reject. It's all or nothing, the conqueror and absolute ruler along with the servant and messiah.

The day after Passover is the first day of Unleavened Bread, which lasts for seven days. The Israelites had to leave Egypt with their bread dough unleavened and uncooked. All yeast is supposed to be out of the house by the end of Passover day. Sometimes yeast is used in scripture to symbolize sin, and seven represents perfection. Yeshua's sacrifice erases sin from the record of our lives, and that's how we start out our new life in God's eyes. It's a continual fight to keep sin out, though. There really is no way to eliminate all yeast from your home. It's in the air, and there were no hepafilters in ancient Egypt. There is no way to eliminate all sin from your life, either. Don't focus on being sinless. Focus on eliminating the sin as you find it, and as you are able.

The first day after the first regular Sabbath after Passover is called First Fruits. It's a day to dedicate the first of your early crops to God. The firstborn of every animal and every family also belongs to God. Paul called Yeshua the firstborn or the first fruits of the resurrection. First Fruits is always on the first day of the week, the same day that Yeshua rose from the dead.

All of the biblical feasts are prophecies of the Messiah in one way or another. Passover is the first feast of the year and the inauguration of the Kingdom of God.