Messiah Mitzvot Part 3
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Precept Three
Precept Three
And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years,
The Hebrew word for “seasons” here is mo’ad מוֹעֵד meaning “a set time”. Chasal states that God was not referring to the environmental seasons but the seasons or feasts by which He would later reveal to Israel. It is believed that the seasons of climate change were made for the feasts not the feasts for the climate. Is it any wonder that we live in a humanistic era in which man perceives he is god over the climate and he alone can heal it, manage it, and control it.
So it is today, that the Laws and Ways of God are to define the social and moral climates in which we live instead of our cultural climates seeking to redefine the Laws and Ways of God.
From Genesis (be’reshit בְּרֵאשִׁית meaning beginning or choice part; the root word is reshit רֹאשׁ meaning head or chief) God has used the model of the Holy Feasts (consecrated times) to layout His plans throughout the Scripture, as later revealed to Israel.
“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,
In fact, Jesus makes a similar reference in Matthew 16:1-3
And the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test him they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. He answered them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.
The Greek word used here for “times” is καιρός kairos meaning seasons or occasions. In the Hebrew translation of this passage it uses the following phrase: הָעִתִּים לׂא תַכִּירוּ (Ha’etem lo tah’cheru) translated as “the times you will not know”.
Though the most religious and pious among them could act as great weather men, but in accordance with the seasons God had granted them, could not discern the coming of the Son of Man, the Messiah. As born again believers and followers of Jesus Christ, let us know the seasons.
This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
We are Gentiles grafted into the covenant family of the Lord. However, it would extremely benefit us to have enough knowledge of God to have more discernment of the signs of the times, or consecrated seasons, than the Pharisees had. We need to understand the Holy Feasts in context of the plans of God.
The following is a table of the seven Holy Feasts, their correlation to the life of the Christ and other Biblical events and concepts associated with them as divinely appointed times, least you be deceived.
Tabernacles/Ingathering (Sukkot) The Birth of Christ; Ingathering/Wilderness/Torah Completion/Provision/Temple Dedication/Restored Fellowship with God (Leviticus 23:34; Ezekiel 37:26-28; Zechariah 14:16-17; Deuteronomy 16:13-15; 1 Kings 8:2,65; John 1:14; Hebrews 4:16: Isaiah 27:12-13; Jeremiah 23:7-8)
Passover (Pesach) Sacrificial Death of Christ; Exodus/Death of First Born/Deliverance/Revelation of Who God is/Betrothal Day (Leviticus 23:9-17; Exodus 12:5; Deuteronomy 16:1-10; Revelations 7:14; 2 Corinthians 5:21)
Unleavened Bread (Chag HaMotzi) Sanctification in Burial/No Decay; Red Sea Crossing/Cleansing of the Home/Revealing of that which is hidden/Bread of Affliction/Removing of the old/Honest and Sincere devotion (Leviticus 23:6; Exodus 12:15-20; Matthew 16:12; Mark 8:14-15; Luke 12:1; Romans 6:13-22; 1 Corinthians 5:6-8; Deuteronomy 16:3; Luke 8:17)
First Fruits (Reshit Katzer) Resurrection of Christ; Harvest/Countdown to Jubilee/Counting of the Sheaves/Discovery of the empty tomb/Presentation of Yeshua to the Father/Noah’s flood ended/Waving of the Sheaves/Haman was hanged (Leviticus 23:9-14; Joshua 5:11; Luke 23:54; Mark 15:42; Luke 24:45-46; Matthew 28:1-10; 1 Corinthians 15:20-23; Matthew 27:52-53; Hebrew 1:6; Colossians 1:15-16; James 1:18; 1 Peter 1:3; Revelations 1:5; Romans 4:25; John 14:19; John 20:1; Luke 24:1; Mark 16:2; Genesis 8:4;Exodus 12:2)
Pentecost/Weeks/Harvest (Shavu’ot) Born Again/Immersion of the Holy Spirit/Inward Transformation; Giving of Torah/Lifting of the Chuppah (Wedding Canopy)/Infilling of the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit)/Culmination of Redemptive work/Demonstration of God’s power/Bitter turned to sweet/Heavenly feeding/Water from the rock/Covenant affirmation/Pilgrimage journey/Day of Dedication/Days of Preparation/Marriage Day (Leviticus 23:16-17; Exodus 34:22; Deuteronomy 18:16; Acts 2:1-14; Exodus 19:2-7; Exodus 19:9-15;Exodus 24:7)
Atonement (Yom Kippur) Making of all things new; Holiest Day/Introspection/Prophetic insight/Restoration of Israel/Day of Judgement/Purification Process/Purging and Cleansing/A Day Like Purim (Esther)/The day the Priest could enter the Holy of Holies/Tenth day of the Days of Awe/Repentance/Day of the Redeemed/Distinguishing between that which is holy and that which is common (Leviticus 23:27; Hebrews 5:10; Hebrews 6:20; Exodus 34:10; Exodus 32:32-3; Hebrews 9:15; Leviticus 17:11; Revelations 21:15; Isaiah 43:18-19)
Trumpets (Yom Teru’ah) The Return of Christ; Only feast not set on a specific day/Sixth Day of Creation/Creation of Man/Day of White Clothing/Head of the Years (Rosh Hashanah)/A New Day/Day of Remembrance/Day of Awakening/Destiny of the Righteous (Book of Life)/Destiny of the Wicked (Book of Death)Arise from Sleep and Slumber/Sealing of all Books (Life and Death)/Day of Noise/Day of Trembling/Day of Blowing of the Shofar/Day of Listening/Day of Warfare/New moon/Festival of Shouting/Catching Away of a Bride/Creation and Calling Up/The Beginning and the End (Leviticus 25:8-10; Leviticus 23:24; Numbers 29:1; Exodus 23:16; Numbers 10:1-2; Leviticus 25:9; Matthew 24:36-44)
This brings us to a third precept of Jesus we find in John 2.
On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.” So they took it. When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.” This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.
This precept is a bit less obvious but extremely and powerfully life transforming. The third precept of Jesus we see is to “Give it to the Master”. It is a command to surrender and submit all to the Master. It is a command of His Lordship over every part of your life. Is it any wonder that this was His first miracle? The revealing of the Covenant of God and Gospel preached to Abraham and the Prophets, to be renewed for all mankind to receive such an amazing salvation.
Jesus Christ is the Master of the Feasts, the appointed times. If your life is not your own but surrendered to Him, then every time, every season, is an appointed time when given back to the Master, and reveals more of who He is in your life. In submission to His Lordship, He will reveal His plan for a destiny surrendered back to the Master. This is holiness. God’s entire plan was not to make days holy but to make holy people. The days were made for man not man for the days.
And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.
Here the words of God through the Apostle Peter.
Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
Holy means that which is consecrated and belongs to God. You cannot make you holy. Only God can make you holy. And God makes holy only that which belongs to Him.
The Yetzer HaRha יֵצֶר הַרַע (carnal inclination) within you will read the command to be holy and try to convince you that you can make yourself holy through fleshly self-righteous efforts. But you cannot. This was a nachash נָחָשׁ or deceptive manipulation of the TRUTH in the Garden of Eden. But only through absolute surrender and submission to His Lordship can you be made holy. Only through the blood of Christ. Only through His redemptive power. Only through His model of holiness can you be made holy. That same lying devil will tell you that you cannot be holy as He is holy. That is a half-truth. You cannot in your fleshly old natured self. But you can in your born again redeemed nature of Christ.
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
He alone is the Master of the seasons. He is the Master of Ceremonies. He is the Groom at the wedding banquet. When you give it all to Him He turns water into wine; makes dirty clean; the broken whole; and the common holy. Only He makes holy that which belongs to Him. You are His. You are chosen not common. You are destined not dismayed. He renews, restores, replenishes and reforms. He supplies, saves, secures and safeguards that which is His. He fills and refills His vessels of honor.
Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.
In the story of the wedding where Jesus turned water into wine, the empty wine vessels are not the ones Jesus chose to refill. Instead, he chose the consecrated vessels that were used for holy purposes and told the servants to fill them with clean water. And within those vessels He performed a complete supernatural transformation.
He can and will do the same for you if you will “Give it to the Master”. What are you still hanging onto in your mind, your soul, your heart, your flesh, your life that you have not given to the Master? Today, choose surrender. Choose to be that chosen, consecrated, empty vessel that He may fill with the life transforming power of God.
