#324 3-Apr-12 12:16 p.m.
Reading #324
The pass over
As Moses and the people awaited the command to cross over the river Jordan, the cold of winter was over, the latter rain had ended, and all nature rejoiced in the freshness and beauty of the springtime. The grass was green on the hills and valleys, and wild flowers everywhere brightened the fields. The moon, approaching the full, made the evenings delightful. It was the season so beautifully pictured by the sacred singer:
“For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; the flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle[dove] is heard in our land. The fig tree puts forth [ripens] her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell [they are in blossom].” Song of Solomon 2:11-13.
It was in these conditions that the LORD said:
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Deuteronomy 16:
1 Observe the month of Abib [our March/April], and keep the passover to the LORD your God: for in the month of Abib the LORD your God brought you forth out of Egypt by night.
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We have already seen that the single day of the Passover feast was followed immediately by the seven-day Feast of Unleavened Bread. (Exodus 12, Readings #177 and #178, October 2002.) In these combined ceremonies both the death and resurrection of the Son of man were foretold. During the preliminary rituals the sprinkling of the blood on the doorway signified the protecting power of the Son of God, and this made the destroyer “pass over” that house. Then, for individual protection, each member of the family had eaten of the lamb, and in this pictured the New Testament message, “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Colossians 1:27.
The sheaf of first fruits from the barley harvest that was waved before the LORD on the third day of the combined festivals, was typical of the resurrection of Christ. Paul says, in speaking of the resurrection of the LORD and of all His people: “Christ the first fruits; afterward they that are Christ's at His coming.” 1 Corinthians 15:23. Like the wave sheaf, which was the first sheaf of ripe grain gathered before the general harvest, Christ is the first fruits, or chief One, of that harvest of redeemed ones who at the first resurrection shall be gathered into the garner of God.
These types were fulfilled, not only as to the event, but also as to the time.
On the fourteenth day of the first Jewish month, the very day and month on which for fifteen long centuries the Passover lamb had been slain, Christ, having eaten the Passover with His disciples, instituted that feast which we call the LORD’s supper. This was to commemorate His death as “the Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world” John 1:29. That same night He was taken by wicked hands to be crucified and slain. The next day, the high Sabbath, the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, He spent resting in the tomb. John 19:31. And as the antitype of the wave sheaf our LORD was raised from the dead on the third day, “the first fruits of them that slept,” a sample of all the resurrected just, whose “vile [mortal] body” shall be changed, and “fashioned like to His glorious body.” 1 Corinthians 15:20; Philippians 3:21.
However, because of the rebellions after the exodus from Egypt, the circumcision and the “pass over” ceremonies had not been observed for thirty-nine years, and most of the people had never partaken of them. Now they were to be resumed when the Hebrews crossed over the Jordan. Because of this, the Son of God introduced a new factor into the ritualism of the “pass over”.
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Deuteronomy 16:
2 You shall therefore sacrifice the passover to the LORD your God, of the flock and the herd, in the place which the LORD shall choose to place His name there.
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Because of the general slackness of most of the people, the Son of God gave directions to the Israelites to assemble before Him in the Promised Land at set periods, in the place which He should choose. There they were to observe special days wherein no unnecessary work was to be done, but the time was to be devoted to a consideration of the blessings which He had bestowed upon them. One of these times was the Passover/Feast of Unleavened Bread festival. Although they were of necessity away from home they could still partake of the “pass over” meal as families, sprinkling the blood on the doorposts of their temporary housing, and at the same time, participate in public demonstrations at the tabernacle.
The ceremonies enacted at Jerusalem in connection with the Passover service – the night assembly, the men with their girded loins (dressed for travel), shoes on feet, and staff in hand, the hasty meal, the lamb, the unleavened bread, and the bitter herbs, and in the solemn silence the rehearsal of the story of the sprinkled blood, the death-dealing fallen angel, and the grand march from the land of bondage – all were of a nature to stir the imagination and impress the heart. The picture of the birth of their nation reminded the watchers of their rebirth as Christians, for Christ comes to His people before they come to His sanctuary.
At all of these special seasons they were to bring gifts, freewill offerings, and thank offerings to the LORD, according as He had blessed them. Those who placed a high value upon the blessings which God bestowed upon them brought offerings in accordance with their appreciation of these blessings. Those whose moral powers were stupefied and numbed by selfishness and idolatrous love of the favours received, rather than inspired by fervent love for their bountiful Benefactor, brought meagre offerings. Thus their hearts were revealed.
That principle holds good even today. Especially should those whom He has prospered render to Him the things that are His. We should appear before Him “at the place where He commands us” with a spirit of self-sacrifice, and bring our offerings in accordance with the blessings He has bestowed upon us. But today many among us whom God prospers show base ingratitude to Him. If His blessings rest upon us, and He increases our substance, we often use these gifts as cords to bind us to the love of our possessions; we allow worldly business to take possession of our affections and of our entire being, and neglect devotion and religious privileges. We cannot afford to leave our business cares and come before God even once a year, let alone three. We turn the blessings of God into a curse by serving our own earthly interests to the neglect of His requirements.
One of the blessings to be received while attending the Feast of Unleavened Bread is how to deal with the “leaven” in our lives.
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Deuteronomy 16:
3 You shall eat no leavened bread with it; seven days shall you eat unleavened bread therewith, even the bread of affliction: for you came forth out of the land of Egypt in haste: that you may remember the day when you came forth out of the land of Egypt all the days of your life. 4 And there shall be no leavened bread seen with you in all your coast [area] seven days; neither shall there any thing of the [pass over lamb’s] flesh, which you sacrificed the first day at even, remain all night until the morning.
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What is represented by the leaven? “Then Jesus said to them, ‘Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.’ And they reasoned among themselves, saying, ‘It is because we have taken no bread.’ Which when Jesus perceived, He said to them, . . . ‘How is it that you do not understand that I spoke it not to you concerning [physical] bread, that you should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees?’ Then understood they how that He bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.” Matthew 16:6-12.
Put simply, “Pharisees” are people who insist on righteousness by works, as well as righteousness by faith, when Christian works are the PRODUCT of righteousness, not the means of attaining it. “Sadducees” are those who use human reasoning when searching the Bible, and by this they often deny or explain away the most obvious doctrines. Both are normally very “religious” people of whom we need to be wary, for both are still among us. The remedy? “Leave none of it [the lamb] till the morning” was the command, and in this way we are shown that we can take into our lives with Him all the truths that the Lamb of God can show us, for He only is the unleavened bread that came “down from heaven.” John 6:33.
Moses continued:
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Deuteronomy 16:
5 You may not sacrifice the passover within any of your gates [cities], which the LORD your God gives you: 6 but at the place which the LORD your God shall choose to place His name in, there you shall sacrifice the passover at even, at the going down of the sun, at the season that you came forth out of Egypt. 7 And you shall roast and eat it in the place which the LORD your God shall choose: and you shall turn in the morning, and go to your tents.
8 [For] six days [after that] you shall eat unleavened bread: and on the seventh day shall be a solemn assembly [a special rest day] to the LORD your God: you shall do no work therein.
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God repeated the warning not to make an official sacrifice anywhere but in the place where He had put His name. This was to help the people keep their religion clean and separate from that of the nations that surrounded them. This was also designed to help them not to attend the Pagan or professed Christian ceremonies which were normally so attractive to them, and in which they could not see any significant differences to their own way of worship.
Now we are told of the second gathering:
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Deuteronomy 16:
9 Seven weeks shall you number to you [by counting the weekly Sabbaths]: begin to number the seven weeks from such time as you begin to put the sickle to the corn [from the weekly Sabbath after the third day]. 10 And you shall keep the Feast of Weeks to the LORD your God with a tribute of a freewill offering of your hand, which you shall give to the LORD your God, according as the LORD your God has blessed you. 11 And you shall rejoice before the LORD your God, you, and your son, and your daughter, and your manservant, and your maidservant, and the Levite that is within your gates, and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are among you, in the place which the LORD your God has chosen to place His name there. 12 And you shall remember that you were a bondman in Egypt: and you shall observe and do these statutes.
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As we have seen (Reading #256, April 2004) seven weeks of Sabbaths meant forty-nine days and it was the next day, the fiftieth (called Pentecost in Greek), the day after the seventh Sabbath, which was the occasion being commemorated. We now know that it pointed forward to that great day when the Holy Spirit was able to publicly communicate with many different nationalities and explain to them about the sacrifice of the Son of man. It was a great day of rejoicing in the knowledge that not only could Jews be set free from the bondage of sin, but so also could Gentiles, all the “lost sheep of the house of Israel”!
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Acts 2:5-12.
“And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. And they were all amazed and marveled, saying one to another, ‘Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans? And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born? . . . we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.’ And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, ‘What means this?’”
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We should notice that as an evidence of success on that day, in the ceremonial system two loaves baked with leaven were presented before God. “Even to the morrow after the seventh Sabbath shall you number fifty days; and you shall offer a new [freshly baked] meat [food] offering to the LORD. You shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals: they shall be of fine flour; THEY SHALL BE BAKED WITH LEAVEN; they are the firstfruits to the LORD.” Leviticus 23:16-17. In this instance the leaven represents sin or mixed up doctrines, and here we are being told that to receive a Pentecostal outpouring it is not necessary that all our experience and doctrines be squeaky clean. Just as the disciples of that original day had serious misunderstandings of some doctrines and yet could do their work for God, so we may have too, and yet still present an offering in righteousness to the LORD.
One of the other points raised during that witness was the fact that Christ would return the second time and resurrect His followers from every nation to take them to be with Him forever. Acts 2:21; 1 Thessalonians 4:17-18.
This was also foretold by the last of the three festivals, called The Feast of Tabernacles.
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Deuteronomy 16:
13 You shall observe the Feast of Tabernacles seven days [living in booths, tents made out of branches], after that you have gathered in [all] your corn and your wine. 14 And you shall rejoice in your feast, you, and your son, and your daughter, and your manservant, and your maidservant, and the Levite, the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are within your gates. 15 Seven days shall you keep a solemn feast to the LORD your God in the place which the LORD shall choose: because the LORD your God shall bless you in all your increase, and in all the works of your hands, therefore you shall surely rejoice.
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The “pass over” and Unleavened Bread were celebrated in the first month, the “Pentecost” in the third, and “Tabernacles”, or living in tents, was observed in the seventh month. This last occasion came after all the harvests had been gathered and winter was approaching, the time when no man could work. John 9:4. This of course, was a picture of the time when the gospel has done all its work, and the end of all things is at hand. Matthew 24:12.
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Deuteronomy 16:
16 Three times in a year shall all your males appear before the LORD your God in the place which He shall choose; in the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and in the Feast of Weeks [Pentecost], and in the Feast of Tabernacles. And they shall not appear before the LORD empty: 17 every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD your God which He has given you.
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As a means of education the feasts of Israel filled an important place. In ordinary life the family was both a school and a church, the parents being the instructors in secular and in religious lines. But three times a year seasons were appointed for greater social interaction and worship. These gatherings were held first at Shiloh, and afterward at Jerusalem,. Only fathers and sons were required to be present; but none desired to forgo the opportunities of the feasts, and, so far as possible, all the household were in attendance; and with them, as sharers of their hospitality, were the stranger, the Levite, and the poor. The only reason women are not specifically mentioned is that they were normally too busy doing practical things for the family, their babies and their homes, and therefore the choice was left to them.
Even today we should all feel that God requires this of us (in principle) for it is written, “And let us consider one another to provoke [encourage] to love and to good works: not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as you see the Day [of Judgment] approaching.” Hebrews 10:24-25. We should seek Him individually three times a day (Psalm 55:17), once a week as a family or local group (Leviticus 23:3), and three times a year in an extended session, as a minimum. If we do not avail ourselves of the privileges which He has provided that we may become strong in Him and in the power of His grace, we will grow weaker and weaker, and have less and less desire to consecrate all to God. We should come to these sacred convocation meetings to meet with Jesus, for He too will come to the feast – He will be present, and there He will do for us that which we most need to have done – teach us how to live together with our differences of opinion. That’s why these words were recorded.