The High Holy Days
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Over the next month we are going to be celebrating the High Holidays. These include Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot.
Although we will be doing some teaching about the feast days, we will be focusing on celebrating and commemorating them, not just learning about them.
For that reason I felt that it would be a good idea to take this week and go into a little detail about these special appointments with Adonai.
To start with I would like to go into the word Moedim.
Specifically the passage in Lev. 23:4 says
Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia Chapter 23
אֵ֚לֶּה מֹועֲדֵ֣י יְהוָ֔ה
A Concise Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament מוֹעֵד
מוֹעֵד (ca. 200 ×) & מֹעֵד
What we find is that Moedim speaks of an appointment, a time and place to meet. Not only are we supposed to set asside some time to celebrate with Adonai, but we are also supposed to congregate together. These festivals are not for individual happiness, but for the joy that can only be experienced in community, a loving, God-fearing, community.
Rosh Hashanah
Rosh Hashanah
Rosh Hashanah literally means “The Head of the Year” and it is treated by Israel as the begining on the Civil Year. Now just for a reference for those who do not know, Israel has 4 new years (also Including 01 Nisan, the begining of the Religious year, the new year for Trees, and the New Year on 01 Jan, like us here in Australia).
There is not much in the scriptures that talks about this day, other than Lev. 23:23-25
Adonai spoke to Moses saying: “Speak to Bnei-Yisrael, saying: In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you are to have a Shabbat rest, a memorial of blowing (shofarot), a holy convocation. You are to do no regular work, and you are to present an offering made by fire to Adonai.”
From this passage we can see that Adonai commands 4 things:
a blowing of Shofarot
a gathering together
no regular work
an offering made by fire
An that is it. But there is so much throughout Scriptures about the blowing of the shofar, and to have a day that will be remembered throughout all of history as “the day that the last shofar blew!”
For instance we have the passage in Joel 2:1
Blow the shofar in Zion! Sound an alarm on My holy mountain! Let all living in the land tremble— for the day of Adonai is coming— surely it is near!
As well as another warning of war and judgement in Jer. 4:5
Declare in Judah and proclaim in Jerusalem, saying: “Blow the shofar in the land!” Cry aloud and say, “Assemble yourselves! Let us go into the fortified cities.”
But not only is a call to war, but also a call to repent as we see in Joel 2: 15
Blow the shofar in Zion! Sanctify a fast; proclaim an assembly.
Here we have a call to repent, after judgement has already been enacted, but how much better would it be for a nation to repent before the judgement comes?
Another reason for blowing the shofar, is to Anounce the King! We see a great example of this when Solomon was established as king over Jerusalem in 1 Kings 1:38-40
So Zadok the kohen, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, the Cherethites and the Pelethites went down, and had Solomon ride on King David’s mule, and brought him to Gihon. Then Zadok the kohen took the horn of oil out of the Tent and anointed Solomon. Then they blew the shofar, and all the people said: “Long live King Solomon!” All the people went up after him, while the people were playing on flutes and rejoicing with great joy, so that the ground shook at their noise.
But as we have studied over the last few months, we know that not only was the shofar used to announce the son of David, Solomon, but it will also be used to anounce the comming of the Son of David, Yeshua, as Yeshua pointed out in Matt. 24:29-31
“But immediately after the trouble of those days, ‘the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light and the stars will fall from heaven and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.’ Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the land will mourn, and they will see ‘the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven’ with power and great glory. He will send out His angels with a great shofar, and they will gather together His chosen from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”
Every other time in Scripture, when we hear of someone coming with or in the clouds of heaven, it always refers to Adonai. Every other passage, except this one. Who is this man, who has the right, authority and power to come in the clouds, and to approach the Ancient of Days? How is his dominion “an everlasting dominion” that never passes away?
This is Yeshua of Nazareth!
Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur
Now interestingly just as Yom Teruah has the least written about it in Scripture, Yom Kippur, which comes 10 days later, has the most written in Scripture.
Not only do we have Lev. 23:26-32 but we also have the entirety of Lev. 16, and in the New Covenant, the entirety of the book of Hebrews. I would encourage you all this Yom Kippur, to set asside some time to read the entire book of Hebrews in light of Lev. 16, and you will see what I mean.
In Lev. 23:27 we read:
“However, the tenth day of this seventh month is Yom Kippur, a holy convocation to you, so you are to afflict yourselves. You are to bring an offering made by fire to Adonai.
This is the only day that Adonai commands the Beni Yisrael to fast, to deny themselves, to do nothing, but pray. It is an interesting point, that the success or failure of Yom Kippur was on the sholders of 1 man, the Cohen HaGadol. There was absolutely nothing that the people could do for their own salvation, for the covering of their sins, but wait and pray that the sacrifice offered by the High Priest was acceptable.
But waiting and praying was commanded as it states in Lev. 23:29-30
For anyone who does not deny himself on that day must be cut off from his people. Anyone who does any kind of work on that day, that person I will destroy from among his people.
Notice how Adonai takes this personally? He claims that He will bring destruction to anyone who does not humbly accept the sacrifice offered by the High Priest.
Now some here will think that I am saying that if you do not fast this Yom Kippur, that Adonai will bring judgement to your life, that is not what I am saying.
When we read through Lev 16, we find that the Cohen HaGodol had to do everything to first be personally pure before Adonai. He had to wash, change his clothes into a simple white garment, and then offer a Bull on behalf of himself and his family. Lev. 16:11
“Also Aaron is to present the bull of the sin offering which is for himself and so make atonement for himself and his house. He is to slaughter the bull of the sin offering which is for himself.
Then he would take 2 goats, one to be the scape goat, which was to be chased out of the camp, and traditionally chased off a cliff. The second goat became the Sin offering for Adonai, and the blood of that sin offereing was taken into the Most Holy Place and put upon the altar.
Now one thing is for certain, there is no way that you can read through the text of Levitcus and come to the conclusion that blood is no longer important. In fact it is in the very next chapter that we have a power statement Lev. 17:11
For the life of the creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your lives—for it is the blood that makes atonement because of the life.
Now there are 2 problems, or difficulties, with the sacrificial system that Adonai set up in the wilderness for Beni Yisrael. Firstly we see that the priesthood were not perfect people. Secondly we see that because the High Priest was imperfect, and because the Tabernacle and Temple were temporary, the sacrifices of Yom Kippur had to be offered every single year.
Then we read about Yeshua in Heb. 9: 22-28
And nearly everything is purified in blood according to the Torah, and apart from the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. Therefore it was necessary for the replicas of these heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices—but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Messiah did not enter into Holies made with hands—counterparts of the true things—but into heaven itself, now to appear in God’s presence on our behalf. And He did not offer Himself again and again—as the kohen gadol enters into the Holy of Holies year after year with blood that is not his own. For then He would have needed to suffer again and again from the foundation of the world. But as it is, He has been revealed once and for all at the close of the ages—to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And just as it is appointed for men to die once, and after this judgment, so also Messiah, was offered once to bear the sins of many. He will appear a second time, apart from sin, to those eagerly awaiting Him for salvation.
The High Priest had to offer these sacrifices of attonment to cover the sins of the people on a yearly basis. Also he always had to offer them for himself as well, because he was not perfect. Could all the imperfect people please raise your hand?
For this reason the Sacrifices that were made in the tabernacle and in the Temple, would only deal with the sins of that past year, but when we look at Yeshua we see something different. Yeshua was perfect, he never broke any of the laws in the Tenakh, now there are only a few people who could claim that throughout Scripture. But Yeshua pointed out that it was not just external obedience to the Commands that matter but also our internal heart attitude. Remember when Yeshua said in Matt. 5:21-22
“You have heard it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever commits murder shall be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be subject to judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca’ shall be subject to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be subject to fiery Gehenna.
or how about Matt. 5:27-28
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that everyone who looks upon a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
Now I may not have committed Adultery and I may not be a murderer, but have i harboured hatred and anger in my heart against someone else? Has my thought life always been pure?
So Yeshua shows that the bar is much higher, and yet He met that standard. He was perfect, and sinless; completely submitted to Adonai, and acted with love for the world.
Yeshua was not of the tribe of Aaron, and was therefore not in the priestly lineage here on earth, but he was of a different priesthood, and eternal priesthood. By His sacrifice, by laying down his life for our sins, Yeshua was both the Scape Goat killed outside the city, and the Sin Offering of Adonai whoes blood was offered on the heavenly altar.
And instead of us waiting an praying that the sacrifice offered by the High Priest would be accepted, we are expectantly waiting for the return of Yeshua, we are eagerly awaiting Him for our complete salvation!
The author of Hebrews continues by quoting from the Prophet Jeremiah (Heb. 10:16-18)
“This is the covenant that I will cut with them: ‘After those days,’ says Adonai, ‘I will put My Torah upon their hearts, and upon their minds I will write it,’ ” then He says, “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.” Now where there is removal of these, there is no longer an offering for sin.
Because of the New Covenant, we now stand in a place where both Jew and Gentile are waiting for the return of Messiah, we are waiting for the fulfillment of all the promises that Adonai has made through out the Scriptures. and Heb. 10:19
Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have boldness to enter into the Holies by the blood of Yeshua.
So let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and body washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the unwavering confession of hope, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good deeds. And do not neglect our own meetings, as is the habit of some, but encourage one another—and all the more so as you see the Day approaching.
Sukkot
Sukkot
Now we get to Sukkot. Let’s read from Lev. 23:33-36
Adonai spoke to Moses saying: “Speak to Bnei-Yisrael, and say, On the fifteenth day of this seventh month is the Feast of Sukkot, for seven days to Adonai. On the first day there is to be a holy convocation—you are to do no laborious work. For seven days you are to bring an offering by fire to Adonai. The eighth day will be a holy convocation to you, and you are to bring an offering by fire to Adonai. It is a solemn assembly—you shall do no laborious work.
Now we come to the greatest of all the feast days, Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles. This feast was know as “The Feast” and it was said in the time of the 2nd Temple that, “You had not experienced joy unless you had experienced Sukkot in Jerusalem!”
Adonai explains that this is a feast of Thanksgiving, and opportunity to remember the provision of Adonai’s salvation as well as the daily provision of the food that we eat. Adonai commanded that the entire nation must remember by living in tabernacles. Lev. 23:42-43
You are to live in sukkot for seven days. All the native-born in Israel are to live in sukkot, so that your generations may know that I had Bnei-Yisrael to dwell in sukkot when I brought them out of the land of Egypt. I am Adonai your God.”
But interestingly, Jeremiah prophesies of a day that would come when we would no longer be looking at the rescue from Egypt, but instead would be looking at the return from all the surrounding lands, like it is today. Jer. 16:14-15
“Therefore, the days are quickly coming,” declares Adonai, “when it will no longer be said. ‘As Adonai lives, who brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt.’ Rather, ‘As Adonai lives, who brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north and from all the lands where He had banished them.’ So I will bring them back into their land that I gave to their fathers.
In fact we see in Jer. 31:30-36 That there would be a day greater than the rescue from Egypt, and even greater than the return of the people to the land of Israel. There would be a day that would indroduce a new coventant.
“Behold, days are coming” —it is a declaration of Adonai— “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— not like the covenant I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. For they broke My covenant, though I was a husband to them.” it is a declaration of Adonai. “But this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days” —it is a declaration of Adonai— “I will put My Torah within them. Yes, I will write it on their heart. I will be their God and they will be My people. No longer will each teach his neighbor or each his brother, saying: ‘Know Adonai,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest.” it is a declaration of Adonai. “For I will forgive their iniquity, their sin I will remember no more.” Thus says Adonai, who gives the sun as a light by day and the fixed order of the moon and the stars as a light by night, who stirs up the sea so its waves roar, Adonai-Tzva’ot is His Name: “Only if this fixed order departs from before Me” —it is a declaration of Adonai— “then also might Israel’s offspring cease from being a nation before Me—for all time.” Thus says Adonai: “Only if heaven above can be measured and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, then also I will cast off the offspring of Israel—for all they have done.” It is a declaration of Adonai.
This is what Yeshua established, the New Covenant with Beni Yisrael! And the wild thing is that Adonai choose to include the Gentiles, not only in the New Covenant, but also in Sukkot. We see in Zechariah 14:16
Then all the survivors from all the nations that attacked Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, Adonai-Tzva’ot, and to celebrate Sukkot.
Conclusion
Conclusion
To conclude today by reminding us that these Feasts are not the Jewish Feasts, but rather they are the Appointments of Adonai. And the work of Adonai throughout the world is declared through the feasts.
All of the Spring Feasts, have been explicitly fulfilled (Passover, Firstfruits, and Shavuot) by Yeshua’s Death, Resurrection and the outpouring of the Ruach HaKodesh. And all of the Autumn Feasts will be fulfilled as a part of Yeshua’s Return: the sounding of the Last Shofar, the Judgement seat of Adonai, and the celebration of Adonai once again dwelling with us!
