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Tevet 23, 5763 / Dec 28, 2002
Tevet 21, 5766 / Jan 21, 2006
Tevet 21, 5769 / Jan 17, 2009
Tevet 19, 5772 / Jan 14, 2012
Tevet 19, 5775 / Jan 10, 2015
Tevet 18, 5781 / Jan 2, 2021
Daber elAharon /
Tell Aaron
SCRIPTURES (should be read first)
(God’s memorial Name is used 57
times in these two chapters.)
Leviticus 22
The priests and the animal offerings
(of this chapter, not all-inclusively) represent Yeshua and His work: therefore,
they are required to portray perfection. They are required to be males, because
that represents authority / power (as seen from Adam in creation) and strength.
Yeshua said, “All
authority has been given to Me in heaven and in on earth” – Matthew 28:18.
The punishment for an unqualified
priest is death by the hand of heaven (Sanhedrin 38b).
Verse 24 refers to castrated
animals, castration being a forbidden practice.
Verse 27 requires a Sabbath to be
fulfilled to validate an animal. This symbolizes the purpose of creation,
Sabbath being the goal.
Verse 32: It is our responsibility
to sanctify God’s Name – that means to act in ways that show our God is Holy, to
study His instructions and live to perform them.
Leviticus 23
Vocabulary:
A moed (pronounced moe-ed) is
an appointment time and/or place.
A Yom Tov (pronounced yoam
tove) is a Holy Day – a full day set apart for worship.
A hag (pronounced hawg) is a
feast – a great meal of special foods (no ham in this hag).
A seder (pronounced say-der)
is an order of service – an arrangement of worship activities designed by God.
Mussaf
is a festival offering, distinct from daily and personal offerings.
This chapter lists all of the
moedim of Yahweh, the “appointments with Yahweh”. These appointments
are for our spiritual elevation. They are memorials of past acts of God, and
prophetic of future acts.
They are Yom Tovim, days to
refrain from usual activities in order to worship God. They are times for
symbolic festive food and drink, clean clothing, and thanksgiving and prayer.
Their observance is commanded, not
suggested. Under God’s economy, the penalty for failure to observe the weekly
Sabbath was death (Exodus 31:14-15), and the penalty for failure to observe the
Day of the Atonements was being cut off from God’s people (Leviticus 23:29-32).
This should prompt us to take the observances seriously, though not above all
other commandments.
(V.3-4) First is the weekly Yom
Tov, the Holy Sabbath, of which there are fifty to fifty-five per Biblical
year. Then there are seven annual Holy Days, with accompanying preparation days,
feasts, offerings, and various other ordinances. So, we have about sixty
appointments per year. There are three “Feasts of Yahweh” (Exodus 23:14),
relating to the seven annual Holy Days.
The Holy
Sabbath . . .
(See
SABBATH is MESSIANIC
and
COMMENTARY Y2-40 on Leviticus 19, two weeks back).
(V.5) The term Pesach
(Passover), in Torah, is used exclusively for the (mussaf) offering – the
lamb: it is not used as the name of a festival. This is an area of great
confusion, concerning the date of the Feast. Remember: the Passover is a lamb,
not a day. [John 18:28 is referring to the day that the Passover is eaten.]
Prior to the first annual Holy Day,
on the fourteenth day of Nisan, the Passover Lamb must be offered. Between noon
and sunset (v.5 – “between the evenings” – between the beginning and end of the
going-down-of-the-sun), it must be slain and cooked. This is the preparation day
for the Passover lamb (Num. 9:2 – “You shall prepare the Passover”; John
19:14 – “It was the day of preparation of the Passover”). This
preparation includes other foods for the seven-day Feast. Note that this is a
commandment for families to make preparations for a feast; it is not fulfilled
by having a catered a dinner.
The Feast of Unleavened Breads
(Hag haMatzot) begins that evening (the beginning of Nisan 15), with the
seder where the Passover Lamb is eaten with unleavened breads and bitter herbs.
This Feast is the first of the three “Feasts of Yahweh”. (Today’s common term
“Lord’s Supper” is a misused translation of “Yahweh’s Feast”.) The first day of
the Feast is the first of seven Holy Days of the Festival Year.
This Feast is now celebrated as a
memorial of our redemption by the antitype Passover lamb – Yeshua.
(V.8) The seventh day of the Feast of
Unleavened Breads, Nisan 21, is the second of the seven annual Holy Days.
(V.9-14) Going back, on the second
day of the Feast of Unleavened Breads (Nisan 16), the day after the first Holy
Day (a Sabbath*), a lamb is to be waved, along with a firstfruit one-omer
unleavened barley loaf (the omer being about two liters, of fine barley
flour). Barley is the first of five bread-grain crops to ripen; none of the new
barley may be eaten until the first loaf is waved on this day.
Omer
is sometimes mistranslated “sheaf”: no sheaf of grain is ever to be waved as an
offering. This day is not (as is often erroneously taught) the “Feast of
Firstfruits”: it is part of the Feast of Unleavened Breads. The term
“firstfruits” does not refer to this day. We can find no basis for associating
this day with (1 Corinthians 15:20 – Christ the firstfruits) the resurrection of
Yeshua, which was late on Nisan 17, a weekly Sabbath.
(V.15-16) The day, when the lamb and
omer barley loaf are waved, is the first day of counting the omer. We are
commanded to count each day, for fifty days – not just to recognize the first
and fiftieth days, but to count each day. We are also commanded to count, in
parallel, seven weeks – until the day after the seventh week.* As the first loaf
from the new barley crop is waved on day one, so the first loaves from the new
wheat crop are waved on day fifty. Wheat is the last of the five bread-grain
crops to ripen, and none may be eaten until the firstfruits are waved before
Yahweh.
We count down the days from our
redemption to our betrothal.
Day fifty (which could fall on Sivan
5, 6, or 7 in Temple times) is called Yom haBikkurim – the Day of the
Firstfruits. It is the third of the seven annual Holy Days. On this day, two
lambs are waved along with two leavened loaves, each made of two omers
(about four liters) of fine wheat flour – the firstfruits of the best and final
bread-grain harvest. [The loaves were about three feet long and nine inches
wide.]
This day is also called Hag
Shavuot – Feast of Weeks, and Pentecost (fiftieth day); it is the
second of the three “Feasts of Yahweh”. It celebrates the betrothal of the Bride
to Messiah. It is the date of the division of seventy nations into different
languages at Babel, the date of receiving the Torah in the various languages
3300 years ago, and the date of receiving the Gospel in the various languages
over 1900 years ago.
* Note that annual Holy Days are
sometimes referred to as Sabbaths: see v. 27 & 32, where the tenth day of
Tishrei is called Shabbat. Also, Shabbat is a term used in both
Torah and Talmud for week: see v. 15-16, and the Psalm for the nth day of
the week is in Talmud called the Psalm for the nth day of Shabbat.
______
(V.23-25) Then, on the first day of
the seventh month (Tishrei 1), we are to have a “rehearsal of blowing” the
shofar (ram’s horn trumpet). Two biblical names, for this fourth of seven
Holy Days, are Rosh haShannah (New Year) and Yom Teruah (Day of
Blowing the shofar). While secular Judaism majors on a New Year
celebration, we rehearse hearing the shout of the archangel, and Last Trump,
when Messiah will return and the righteous dead will be raised.
(V.27-32) On the tenth day of the
same month is Yom haKippurim – the Day of the Atonements. It is
always plural – atonements: there must be two, which are represented by the two
(mussaf) offerings, two goats. The goat for Azazel (commonly called the
scapegoat) represents Yeshua taking our sins away. The goat for Yahweh, an
elevation offering (burned), represents Yeshua’s righteousness being imputed to
us, the sweet aroma ascending up to God. This pictures the purification of the
Bride of Messiah. This is the fifth of the seven annual Holy Days, and all
feasting must be completed beforehand, as this is a fast day, the only
Biblically mandated one.
(V.33-36) From the fifteenth through
the twenty-first day of the same month is Hag Sukkot – the seven-day
Feast of Tabernacles. This is the last of the three “Feasts of Yahweh”. It
is the marriage supper of the Lamb.
The first day of the Feast is the
sixth of the seven annual Holy Days.
The day after the Feast, Tishrei 22,
is the seventh and final annual Holy Day. It is Shimini Atzeret – the
Eighth Day Assembly (so called because it is the day after the seven day
Feast). It represents the final dwelling of Messiah and Bride.
By looking at the feast foods, the (mussaf)
offerings, and the Psalms and Torah portions for each Holy Day, we can see the
details of what God wants us to know about our savior, Yeshua the Messiah. And,
we can learn how to become what God designed for us to be.
Going back to the Feast of
Tabernacles:
Four species are to be waved. The
etrog has both pleasant taste and aroma: it represents the person who knows
Torah and practices good deeds. The lulav, branches of date palm, whose
dates have good taste but no aroma, symbolize the person who knows Torah, but is
deficient in deeds. The myrtle, which has no taste, but good aroma, is likened
to the person who lacks knowledge of Torah, but practices good deeds. The
willow, which has neither, symbolizes the person without knowledge or deeds.
The etrog, a citrus fruit, in
appearance like a lemon, is identified by peri etz – a tree that tastes
similar to its fruit, and hadar – fruit that dwells. The etrog
tree is an evergreen. It is entirely edible, all having similar taste. The fruit
does not fall, but “dwells” on the tree from year to year. It does not ripen
until the second year, and becomes harder to pick year after year. It does not
rot after picking, whether or not it is refrigerated: after many years, it
disappears, seeming to gradually evaporate. [I am growing a potted etrog
tree in my dining room - ddd.]
_______
Colossians 2
We know, from previous Sabbath
studies, that the Holy Sabbath is for all creation, and is both memorial and
prophetic of Yeshua. It is Messianic, and is for all, for eternity. [See
“Sabbath is Messianic”.] We know from Zechariah 14:17-19, that observing the
Feast of Tabernacles will be a requirement upon all nations, under great penalty
for non-observance. We know how the gentile Corinthian church was instructed to
observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread (1 Corinthians 5:8). So, let us look at
the general applicability of Holy Days to gentile believers.
(V.2-4) Paul wants us to attain “to
all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in
a true knowledge of God's mystery, that is, Messiah Himself, in whom are hidden
all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I say this in order that no one may
delude you with persuasive argument.”
(V.16-17) “Therefore let no one
condemn you, for what you eat or drink, or in respect to a festival or a new
moon or a Sabbath day – these things being a shadow of what is to come, Messiah
being the body (casting the shadow).”
The Apostle Paul is telling gentiles,
to let neither Jew nor gentile condemn them (both would condemn us today). This
verse is not about “judging” which thing to do: it is about being condemned by
others for what one is doing (the word krino, often herein translated
“judge”, means condemn). It is not about freedom to do whatever one desires; it
is about being resolute in observing Biblical Sabbaths and festivals and new
moons. It is not about observing “mere” shadows (as one popular translation
reads), but learning about Messiah by an all-wise God’s eternal shadow pictures!
In other words, we should not succumb to the pressure of outsiders (be they
family or friends), rather we should recognize the greatness of our blessing –
to be partakers in God’s beautiful, educational, worship plan!
(V.23) Paul ends this portion by
warning against putting the commandments of men before the ordinances of God,
saying that that man’s ways do not help us to become overcomers. Today we
struggle with those who call God’s appointed times outmoded, with perverted
teaching that these are the ways of men that Paul is warning against!
See commentary on
Colossians 2 at end of
MESSIANIC PERSPECTIVE.
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Leviticus 23 –
Expounded from Hebrew (Additional Commentary)
1
Yahweh spoke again to Moses, saying, 2 "Speak to the sons of
Israel and say to them, '(moadai Yahweh) Yahweh's appointed-times
which you shall proclaim as (miqrei kodesh) My sacred assemblies
– My appointed-times are these:
These are the weekly fifty-two (or fifty-three) days of each solar year
to be set aside as holy.
3
'For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there is a (Shabbat
Shabbaton) Sabbath of complete rest, a (miqra kodesh) sacred
assembly. You shall not do any work; it is a Sabbath to Yahweh in all
your dwellings.
On
the seventh day of every week we are to abstain from all unnecessary
labor in order to keep the entire day holy – a day dedicated to worship
(that’s on our face before the Holy One) and praise (that’s standing
with raised hands and extolling the Almighty for His attributes and
acts). We also have an appointment with our God at a place of sacred
assembly. The Apostle Paul said that we should not forsake this
assembling (Hebrews 10:25).
This is specifically (yom hashvi’i – Gen 2:2 & Lev 23:3) The
Seventh Day – not just one day out of the seven. It is (erev and
boqer – Gen 1:5) “evening and morning,” that is, nighttime and
daytime – sunset to sunset.
The (seder) order of events for the sacred assemblies was defined
by Yahweh, not left up to leaders’ or congregants’ feelings, and was
specifically distinct from contemporary culture.
Yeshua was raised from a tomb late on a Sabbath Day. He is returning
for a thousand-year Sabbath of Peace with us, before this world is
renewed by fire. For that thousand year Sabbath, Temple services
will be by His design, as outlined in Ezekiel.
4
'These are the (moadai Yahweh) appointed-times of Yahweh, (miqrei
kodesh) sacred assemblies which you shall proclaim at the times
appointed for them.
These are seven additional days each year to be set aside as holy. They
are related to the (Exod 23:14) three (Hag Yahweh – Lev 23:39)
Feasts of Yahweh. However, “feasts” or “festivals” are neither Biblical
nor appropriate terms for these seven Holy Days: one of them is a solemn
fast – all feasting and festivities being forbidden.
5
'In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, (bein
haarbaim) between the evenings is the time for the (pesach
l’Yahweh) passover-offering to Yahweh. 6 'Then on the
fifteenth day of the same month there is (hag hamatzot l’Yahweh)
the Feast of Unleavened Breads to Yahweh; for seven days you shall eat (matzot)
unleavened breads. 7 'On the first day you shall have a (miqra
kodesh) sacred assembly; you shall not do any laborious work.
8 'But for seven days you shall present an offering by fire to
Yahweh. On the seventh day is a (miqra kodesh) sacred assembly;
you shall not do any laborious work.'"
On
the fourteenth day of the month Nisan, between noon and sunset (between
the time when the sun begins to set and the time when the sun goes below
the horizon), the passover lamb was to be slain and roasted. In the
Torah, the term “(pesach) passover” always refers to the lamb (or
goat) offering, never to a feast or a day. This passover-offering day,
is called “Preparation Day” (John 19:31); it is neither a feast day nor
a Holy Day.
On the fourteenth of Nisan, when the passover lamb was to be
prepared between noon and sunset, “Messiah, our passover (lamb), was
sacrificed for us” (1 Corinthians 5:7). He was buried just before
the Holy Days began at sunset (Luke 23:53). Yeshua redeemed a
slave-girl out of Egypt – His church out of the land of sin.
Then after sunset, the beginning of the fifteenth day of Nisan –the
first feast began. The lamb was eaten before midnight with unleavened
breads (from previous year’s crops) and bitter herbs. This is called the
passover seder because there is a defined order of events. The
lamb was eaten only on the first night of the feast, but the feast
lasted seven full days.
For seven days, no leaven may be present (a negative commandment), and
unleavened breads of barley, oats, rye, spelt, and/or wheat are to be
eaten (a positive commandment) – with no new grains being used until
after the omer is waved on the second day of the feast.
The (Yom Hashvi’i) seventh day of the feast is the second annual
Holy Day, with a sacred assembly required. It is called “the Day of
Faith,” because on this date Israel came up from the Red Sea bed and saw
the Egyptian army drowned, and believed Yahweh and His servant Moses.
9
Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 10 "Speak to the sons of
Israel and say to them, 'When you enter the land which I am going to
give to you and reap its harvest, then you shall bring in an (omer
reshit) omer of the beginning of your harvest to the priest.
11 'He shall wave (haomer) the omer before Yahweh for
you to be accepted; on the day after (hashabbat) the rest-day the
priest shall wave it. 12 'Now on the day when you wave (haomer)
the omer, you shall offer a male lamb one year old without defect
for an (olah l’Yahweh) elevation-offering to Yahweh. 13
'Its grain offering shall then be two-tenths of an ephah of fine
flour mixed with oil, an offering by fire to Yahweh for a soothing
aroma, with its drink offering, a fourth of a hin of wine.
14 'Until this same day, until you have brought in the offering of
your God, you shall eat neither bread nor roasted grain nor plump
kernels (of new crop). It is to be a perpetual statute throughout your
generations in all your dwelling places.
Barley is the first of the five grain crops to ripen. As soon as the
first annual Holy Day is over, after sunset at the beginning of the
sixteenth of Nisan, three seahs (about a bushel) of new barley
were harvested. Then, in the morning of that day, it was winnowed,
sifted, parched over a fire, ground, and sifted making one omer
(about two liters) of flour. Then it was mixed with one log
(about one-third liter) of olive oil. It was waved upon a lamb. Then a
three-finger handful was taken from it, and with frankincense added was
burned on the Altar with the lamb. The remainder was given to the
priests. No grain of the new crops were allowed to be used until after
this waving.
This sixteenth of Nisan, when the omer mixture was waved, we call
“Waving Day.” It should not be called “feast of first fruits” or “early
first fruits”: no form of the word bikkur is ever used concerning
it. It is the second day of the Feast of Unleavened Breads. It is the
first of fifty days of “counting the omer.” These latter two
details can help with understanding the gospel narratives of events
surrounding the resurrection of Yeshua
15
'You shall also count for yourselves from the day after (hashabbat)
the rest-day, from the day when you brought in the omer of the
wave offering; there shall be (sheva shabbatot) seven complete
weeks. 16 'You shall count fifty days to the day after (hashabbat
hashviyit) the seventh week; then you shall present a new grain
offering to Yahweh.
From the sixteenth of Nisan, we are instructed to count fifty days. And
we are instructed to count seven weeks and one day. A blessing is said
for each day:
“Blessed are You, Yahweh our God, King of the Universe,
Who has sanctified us by His Word, and instructed us to count the omer.
Today is the {twentieth} day of the omer;
it is the {second} week and {sixth} day of the omer.”
Like the grain, the redeemed slave-girl is maturing for seven weeks,
and being separated from the land of Egypt in preparation for
betrothal.
17
'You shall bring in from your dwelling places two loaves of bread for a
wave offering, made of two-tenths of an ephah (a tenth of an
ephah is an omer – about two liters); they shall be of a fine
flour, baked with leaven as (bikkurim l’Yahweh) first fruits to
Yahweh. 18 'Along with the bread you shall present seven one
year old male lambs without defect, and a bull of the herd and two rams;
they are to be an elevation offering to Yahweh, with their grain
offering and their drink offerings, an offering by fire of a soothing
aroma to Yahweh. 19 'You shall also offer one male goat for
a sin offering and two male lambs one year old for a sacrifice of peace
offerings. 20 'The priest shall then wave them with the (lechem
habikkurim) bread of the first fruits for a wave offering with two
lambs before Yahweh; they are to be holy to Yahweh for the priest.
21 'On this same day you shall make a proclamation as well; you
are to have a sacred assembly. You shall do no laborious work. It is to
be a perpetual statute in all your dwelling places throughout your
generations. 22 'When you reap the harvest of your land,
moreover, you shall not reap to the very corners of your field nor
gather the gleaning of your harvest; you are to leave them for the needy
and the alien. I am Yahweh your God.'"
The fiftieth day is the (Hag Shavuot – Exod 34:22) Feast of Weeks
– the second of the three Feasts of Yahweh. It is also (Yom
haBikkurim – Num 28:26) the Day of the First fruits – the third of
the seven annual Holy Days. And it is called “Pentecost” – meaning
fiftieth. By this date, wheat, the final and finest grain crop, is being
harvested. Two omers of fine wheat flour are to be taken and
baked into two large leavened loaves – about nine inches wide by
thirty-six inches long. This “bread of the first fruits” is to be waved
with two lambs. It is later eaten by the priests; nothing leavened may
be placed on the Altar.
This is the betrothal feast. The church that was redeemed is ready
to be betrothed to Yeshua. The betrothal contract is the Torah from
Mount Sinai. The earnest is the Holy Spirit.
23
Again Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 24 "Speak to the sons
of Israel, saying, 'In the seventh month on the first of the month you
shall have a rest, a reminder by blowing of trumpets, a sacred
assembly. 25 'You shall not do any laborious work, but you
shall present an offering by fire to Yahweh.'"
The first day of the seventh month is known as “the day of which no man
knows the day or the hour,” because its beginning is only determined
after it has started. When it is announced from the Holy Temple by a
representative of the Sanhedrin, after they have considered witness
accounts concerning a new crescent moon, the Holy Day has already begun.
Therefore, the Holy Day is observed from the earliest possible start
time, though it may subsequently be found to start twenty-four hours
later. In other words, it is observed as a two-day long Sabbath, because
all of the day must be kept holy, though it cannot be known when it
starts until after the fact.
This is the fourth of the seven annual Holy Days. It is a precursor to
the Feast of Tabernacles.
The shofar (a ram’s horn trumpet) is sounded several times, with
an announcement preceding each trump. Before the last and longest trump,
the announcement is “Tekiah Gedolah!” – the Return of the Great
One!
At the Last Trump, with the shout of the archangel, Yeshua will
descend from heaven, and the dead in Messiah shall rise (1 Cor
15:52, 1 Thess 4:16). Of that day and hour no one knows (Matt 24:36,
Mark 13:32). Messiah is returning for His bride.
26
Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 27 "On exactly the tenth day
of this seventh month is (Yom haKippurim) the Day of the
Atonements; it shall be a sacred assembly for you, and you shall humble
your souls and present an offering by fire to Yahweh. 28
"You shall not do any work on this same day, for it is a day of
atonements, to atone for you before Yahweh your God. 29 "If
there is any person who will not humble himself on this same day, he
shall be cut off from his people. 30 "As for any person who
does any work on this same day, that person I will destroy from among
his people. 31 "You shall do no work at all. It is to be a
perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your dwelling
places. 32 "It is to be a (Shabbat Shabbaton) Sabbath
of complete rest to you, and you shall humble your souls; on the ninth
of the month at evening, from evening until evening you shall keep your
Sabbath."
On
the tenth day of this seventh month, we come to the Day of the
Atonements, the fifth of the seven annual Holy Days. It is a solemn day
of fasting and repentance. A sacred assembly is required. [It may be
noted that a Holy Day is herein called a Sabbath, even though it is not
a seventh day.]
Two goats (Lev 16:5-10) represent the two atonements of this day. It is
final preparation for the coming third feast.
We must have two atonements to be fit for the soon coming Kingdom:
the goat for Azazel representing our sins being accounted to Yeshua
and taken away, and the goat for Yahweh representing Yeshua’s
righteousness being imputed to us with the soothing aroma ascending
to God.
33
Again Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 34 "Speak to the sons
of Israel, saying, 'On the fifteenth of this seventh month is the (Hag
Sukkot) Feast of Tabernacles for seven days to Yahweh. 35
'On the first day is a sacred assembly; you shall do no laborious work
of any kind. 36 'For seven days you shall present an
offering by fire to Yahweh.
This third feast lasts seven days. The first day of this feast is the
sixth of the seven annual Holy Days. For the seven days, we are to dwell
– eat and sleep – in (sukkot) tabernacles / booths. These are
temporary structures made of branches and leaves. We must keep the first
day holy and have a sacred assembly, but we may leave for our normal
daily work on the other six days.
On
the first day, among other offerings, thirteen bullocks were offered at
the Holy Temple. On the second day it was twelve bullocks. On the sixth
day it was seven bullocks. The total was seventy bullocks, representing
the fall of the seventy nations that were originally separated from
Babel. All the nations of this world have fallen by the end.
This is a rehearsal for the wedding feast – “The marriage of the
Lamb is come, and His bride has made herself ready!” – Rev 19:7-9.
If we have come through the blood of the Passover-lamb, if we have
accepted the betrothal contract, if we have heard the “Last Trump”
and participated in the atonements, then we may be part of this
glorious feast! The remainder of the world will be under
devastation.
On
the eighth day you shall have a sacred assembly and present an offering
by fire to Yahweh; it is an assembly. You shall do no laborious work.
This is known as (Yom Hashmini Atzeret – Num 29:35) the Eighth
Day Assembly. It is the final Holy Day of the festival year, immediately
following the seven-day Feast of Tabernacles.
On
this day, among other offerings, one bullock was offered at the Holy
Temple, representing the Kingdom of God. All seventy kingdoms of this
world have become the one Kingdom of Our God.
Yeshua will reign in righteousness! He will dwell with His bride
forever! There will be no more sin, no more of sin’s results, no
more death.
37
'These are the appointed-times of Yahweh which you shall proclaim as
sacred assemblies, to present offerings by fire to Yahweh – elevation
offerings and grain offerings, sacrifices and drink offerings, each
day's matter on its own day – 38 besides those of the
Sabbaths of Yahweh, and besides your gifts and besides all your votive
and freewill offerings, which you give to Yahweh.
These are the seven Holy Days of each year when a sacred assembly is
required with its own prescribed (seder) order of service. These
are in addition to the weekly Sabbath assemblies, and the required times
to bring various offerings (e.g.: sin offerings, thanksgiving offerings)
to the Holy Temple.
Hebrew Vocabulary
(in order of usage in text)
Yahweh – the unique proper Name of the Eternal Gracious One
Miqra (miqrei is possessive form) – assembly, calling together
Kodesh – to keep holy, sanctify, dedicate, consecrate
Moed (moadai is plural possessive form) – appointed-time
Shvi’i – seventh (hashvi’i is definite – the seventh)
Yom – day
Shabbat (shabbaton is plural form) – a rest, especially to
dedicate time to God
Related to shevii – seventh (day or year or millennium)
Sometimes applied to other Holy Days (e.g.: Lev 23:32)
Also used meaning “week”:
In Talmud first day of the week is (Hebrew) “rishon bashabbat /
first of the sabbath” – Sukkot
In Gospels first day of the week is (Greek) “mian sabbaton /
first of sabbath” – Matthew 28:1
Erev – to be dark or darkening (afternoon, evening, or nighttime)
Boqer – morning (to break forth), daytime (by implication)
Bein – between
Haarbaim – definite plural form of erev – the evenings (noon and
sunset)
Hag – feast; lots of food including foods of symbolic nature (e.g.:
lamb, breads, fruit-of-the-vine, new fruits & nuts)
Units of Measure
Ephah – a basic unit of dry measure; about twenty-five liters or
twenty-eight quarts by Jerusalem Hazon Ish measure, twelve liters
by Wilderness Na’eh measure
Seah – a unit of dry measure (used for grain); one-third of an ephah;
about eight liters by Jerusalem measure
Omer – a unit of dry measure (used for flour); one-tenth of an ephah;
about two-and-a-half liters by Jerusalem measure
Log – a unit of liquid measure (used for olive oil); about one-third
liter by Jerusalem measure
Hin – a unit of liquid measure (used for wine); a “fourth of a hin”
is about one liter by Jerusalem measure
ddd 8/26/08 |
Readings:
"Blessed are You, Yahweh our God, King
of the Universe,
Who chose us from among all peoples by
giving us Your Torah.
Blessed are You, Yahweh, giver of the
Torah."
Leviticus 22-23
Reader 1*
Amen. 1 Then Yahweh
spoke to Moses, saying, 2 "Tell Aaron and his sons to be careful with
the holy gifts of the sons of Israel, which they dedicate to Me, so as not to
profane My holy name; I am Yahweh. 3 "Say to them, 'If any man among
all your descendants throughout your generations approaches the holy gifts which
the sons of Israel dedicate to Yahweh, while he has an uncleanness, that person
shall be cut off from before Me; I am Yahweh. 4 'No man of the
descendants of Aaron, who is a tzara or who has a discharge, may eat of
the holy gifts until he is clean. And if one touches anything made unclean by a
corpse or if a man has a seminal emission, 5 or if a man touches any
teeming things by which he is made unclean, or any man by whom he is made
unclean, whatever his uncleanness; 6 a person who touches any such
shall be unclean until evening, and shall not eat of the holy gifts unless he
has bathed his body in water. 7 'But when the sun sets, he will be
clean, and afterward he shall eat of the holy gifts, for it is his food. 8
'He shall not eat an animal which dies or is torn by beasts, becoming unclean by
it; I am Yahweh. 9 'They shall therefore keep My charge, so that they
will not bear sin because of it and die thereby because they profane it; I am
Yahweh who sanctifies them.
Reader 2*
Amen. 10 'No layman,
however, is to eat the holy gift; a sojourner with the priest or a hired man
shall not eat of the holy gift. 11 'But if a priest buys a slave as
his property with his money, that one may eat of it, and those who are born in
his house may eat of his food. 12 'If a priest's daughter is married
to a layman, she shall not eat of the offering of the gifts. 13 'But
if a priest's daughter becomes a widow or divorced, and has no child and returns
to her father's house as in her youth, she shall eat of her father's food; but
no layman shall eat of it. 14 'But if a man eats a holy gift
unintentionally, then he shall add to it a fifth of it and shall give the holy
gift to the priest. 15 'They shall not profane the holy gifts of the
sons of Israel which they offer to Yahweh, 16 and so cause them to
bear punishment for guilt by eating their holy gifts; for I am Yahweh who
sanctifies them.'"
Reader 3*
Amen. 17 Then Yahweh
spoke to Moses, saying, 18 "Speak to Aaron and to his sons and to all
the sons of Israel and say to them, 'Any man of the house of Israel or of the
aliens in Israel who presents his offering, whether it is any of their votive or
any of their freewill offerings, which they present to Yahweh for an elevation
offering-- 19 for you to be accepted-- it must be a male without
defect from the cattle, the sheep, or the goats. 20 'Whatever has a
defect, you shall not offer, for it will not be accepted for you. 21
'When a man offers a sacrifice of peace offerings to Yahweh to fulfill a special
vow or for a freewill offering, of the herd or of the flock, it must be perfect
to be accepted; there shall be no defect in it. 22 'Those that are
blind or fractured or maimed or having a running sore or eczema or scabs, you
shall not offer to Yahweh, nor make of them an offering by fire on the altar to
Yahweh. 23 'In respect to an ox or a lamb which has an overgrown or
stunted member, you may present it for a freewill offering, but for a vow it
will not be accepted. 24 'Also anything with its testicles bruised or
crushed or torn or cut, you shall not offer to Yahweh, or sacrifice in your
land, 25 nor shall you accept any such from the hand of a foreigner
for offering as the food of your God; for their corruption is in them, they have
a defect, they shall not be accepted for you.'"
Reader 4*
Amen. 26 Then Yahweh
spoke to Moses, saying, 27 "When an ox or a sheep or a goat is born,
it shall remain seven days with its mother, and from the eighth day on it shall
be accepted as a sacrifice of an offering by fire to Yahweh. 28 "But,
whether it is an ox or a sheep, you shall not kill both it and its young in one
day. 29 "When you sacrifice a sacrifice of thanksgiving to Yahweh,
you shall sacrifice it so that you may be accepted. 30 "It shall be
eaten on the same day, you shall leave none of it until morning; I am Yahweh.
31 "So you shall keep My commandments, and do them; I am Yahweh.
32 "You shall not profane My holy name, but I will be sanctified among the
sons of Israel; I am Yahweh who sanctifies you, 33 who brought you
out from the land of Egypt, to be your God; I am Yahweh."
Reader 5*
Amen. 1 Yahweh spoke
again to Moses, saying, 2 "Speak to the sons of Israel and say to
them, 'Yahweh's appointed times which you shall proclaim as sacred
assemblies – My appointed times are these: 3 'For six days work may
be done, but on the seventh day there is a Sabbath of complete rest, a
sacred assembly. You shall not do any work; it is a Sabbath to Yahweh in all
your dwellings. 4 'These are the appointed times of Yahweh, sacred
assemblies which you shall proclaim at the times appointed for them. 5
'In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight is Yahweh's
Passover offering. 6 'Then on the fifteenth day of the same
month there is the Feast of Unleavened Breads to Yahweh; for seven days you
shall eat unleavened bread. 7 'On the first day you shall have
a sacred assembly; you shall not do any laborious work. 8 'But for
seven days you shall present an offering by fire to Yahweh. On the seventh
day is a sacred assembly; you shall not do any laborious work.'" 9
Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 10 "Speak to the sons of Israel
and say to them, 'When you enter the land which I am going to give to you and
reap its harvest, then you shall bring in the sheaf of the first fruits of your
harvest to the priest. 11 'He shall wave the omer (mixture)
before Yahweh for you to be accepted; on the day after the Sabbath the priest
shall wave it. 12 'Now on the day when you wave the omer, you
shall offer a male lamb one year old without defect for an elevation offering to
Yahweh. 13 'Its grain offering shall then be two-tenths of an ephah
of fine flour mixed with oil, an offering by fire to Yahweh for a soothing
aroma, with its drink offering, a fourth of a hin of wine. 14 'Until
this same day, until you have brought in the offering of your God, you shall eat
neither bread nor roasted grain nor new growth. It is to be a perpetual statute
throughout your generations in all your dwelling places. 15 'You
shall also count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day
when you brought in the sheaf of the wave offering; there shall be seven
complete weeks. 16 'You shall count fifty days to the
day after the seventh week; then you shall present a new grain offering
to Yahweh. 17 'You shall bring in from your dwelling places two
loaves of bread for a wave offering, made of two-tenths of an ephah; they shall
be of a fine flour, baked with leaven as first fruits to Yahweh. 18
'Along with the bread you shall present seven one year old male lambs without
defect, and a bull of the herd and two rams; they are to be an elevation
offering to Yahweh, with their grain offering and their drink offerings, an
offering by fire of a soothing aroma to Yahweh. 19 'You shall also
offer one male goat for a sin offering and two male lambs one year old for a
sacrifice of peace offerings. 20 'The priest shall then wave them
with the bread of the first fruits for a wave offering with two lambs
before Yahweh; they are to be holy to Yahweh for the priest. 21 'On
this same day you shall make a proclamation as well; you are to have a
sacred assembly. You shall do no laborious work. It is to be a perpetual statute
in all your dwelling places throughout your generations. 22 'When you
reap the harvest of your land, moreover, you shall not reap to the very corners
of your field nor gather the gleaning of your harvest; you are to leave them for
the needy and the alien. I am Yahweh your God.'"
Reader 6*
Amen. 23 Again Yahweh
spoke to Moses, saying, 24 "Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, 'In
the seventh month on the first of the month you shall have a rest, a reminder by
blowing of trumpets, a sacred assembly. 25 'You shall not do
any laborious work, but you shall present an offering by fire to Yahweh.'"
26 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 27 "On exactly the tenth day
of this seventh month is the day of the atonements; it shall be a sacred
assembly for you, and you shall humble your souls and present an offering by
fire to Yahweh. 28 "You shall not do any work on this same day, for
it is a day of atonements, to make atonements on your behalf before
Yahweh your God. 29 "If there is any person who will not humble
himself on this same day, he shall be cut off from his people. 30 "As
for any person who does any work on this same day, that person I will destroy
from among his people. 31 "You shall do no work at all. It is to be a
perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your dwelling places.
32 "It is to be a Sabbath of complete rest to you, and you shall humble
your souls; on the ninth of the month at evening, from evening until evening you
shall keep your Sabbath." 33 Again Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
34 "Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, 'On the fifteenth of this
seventh month is the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days to Yahweh. 35
'On the first day is a sacred assembly; you shall do no laborious work of
any kind. 36 'For seven days you shall present an offering by fire to
Yahweh. On the eighth day you shall have a sacred assembly and present an
offering by fire to Yahweh; it is an assembly. You shall do no laborious work.
Reader 7*
Amen. 37 'These are the
appointed times of Yahweh which you shall proclaim as sacred assemblies, to
present offerings by fire to Yahweh-- elevation offerings and grain offerings,
sacrifices and drink offerings, each day's matter on its own day-- 38
besides those of the Sabbaths of Yahweh, and besides your gifts and besides all
your votive and freewill offerings, which you give to Yahweh. 39 'On
exactly the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the
crops of the land, you shall celebrate the feast of Yahweh for seven days, with
a rest on the first day and a rest on the eighth day. 40 'Now
on the first day you shall take for yourselves the foliage of beautiful trees,
palm branches and boughs of leafy trees and willows of the brook, and you shall
rejoice before Yahweh your God for seven days. 41 'You shall thus
celebrate it as a feast to Yahweh for seven days in the year. It shall be a
perpetual statute throughout your generations; you shall celebrate it in the
seventh month. 42 'You shall live in booths for seven days; all the
native-born in Israel shall live in booths, 43 so that your
generations may know that I had the sons of Israel live in booths when I brought
them out from the land of Egypt. I am Yahweh your God.'" 44 So Moses
declared to the sons of Israel the appointed times of Yahweh.
"Blessed are You, Yahweh our God, King
of the Universe,
Who in giving us Yeshua, the Living
Torah, has planted everlasting life in our midst.
Blessed are You, Yahweh, giver of the
Torah."
______________________
"Blessed are You, Yahweh our God, King
of the Universe,
Who selected good prophets, delighting
in their words which were spoken truthfully.
Blessed are You, Yahweh, Who chose the
Torah, Your servant Moses, Your people Israel,
and the prophets of truth and
righteousness."
(No Prophet)
Psalm 86 (To be sung.) A
Prayer of David.
1 Incline Your ear, O Yahweh,
and answer me; for I am afflicted and needy. 2 Preserve my soul, for
I am a godly man; O You my God, save Your servant who trusts in You. 3
Be gracious to me, O Lord, for to You I cry all day long. 4 Make glad
the soul of Your servant, for to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul. 5
For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in lovingkindness to
all who call upon You. 6 Give ear, O Yahweh, to my prayer; and give
heed to the voice of my supplications! 7 In the day of my trouble I
shall call upon You, for You will answer me. 8 There is no one like
You among the gods, O Lord, nor are there any works like Yours. 9 All
nations whom You have made shall come and worship before You, O Lord, and they
shall glorify Your name. 10 For You are great and do wondrous deeds;
You alone are God. 11 Teach me Your way, O Yahweh; I will walk in
Your truth; unite my heart to fear Your name. 12 I will give thanks
to You, O Lord my God, with all my heart, and will glorify Your name forever.
13 For Your lovingkindness toward me is great, and You have delivered
my soul from the depths of Sheol. 14 O God, arrogant men have risen
up against me, and a band of violent men have sought my life, and they have not
set You before them. 15 But You, O Lord, are a God merciful and
gracious, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness and truth. 16
Turn to me, and be gracious to me; oh grant Your strength to Your servant, and
save the son of Your handmaid. 17 Show me a sign for good, that those
who hate me may see it and be ashamed, because You, O Yahweh, have helped me and
comforted me.
Colossians
2:1 – 3:6
Reader 8*
Amen. 1 For I want you
to know how great a struggle I have on your behalf and for those who are at
Laodicea, and for all those who have not personally seen my face, 2
that their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit together in love, and
attaining to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding,
resulting in a true knowledge of God's mystery, that is, Messiah Himself, 3
in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4 I say
this so that no one will delude you with persuasive argument. 5 For
even though I am absent in body, nevertheless I am with you in spirit, rejoicing
to see your good discipline and the stability of your faith in Messiah. 6
Therefore as you have received Messiah Yeshua the Lord, so walk in Him, 7
having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your
faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude. 8
See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception,
according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the
world, rather than according to Messiah.
Reader 9*
Amen. 9 For in Him all
the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, 10 and in Him you have
been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority; 11
and in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in
the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Messiah; 12
having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with
Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. 13
When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh,
He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions,
14 having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees
against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having
nailed it to the cross. 15 When He had disarmed the rulers and
authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them
through Him.
Reader 10*
Amen. 16 Therefore let
no one condemn you in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a
new moon or a Sabbath day-- 17 things which are a shadow of what is
to come, the body being Messiah. 18 Let no one keep defrauding you of
your prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of the angels, taking
his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind,
19 and not holding fast to the head, from whom the entire body, being
supplied and held together by the joints and ligaments, grows with a growth
which is from God. 20 If you have died with Christ to the elementary
principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit
yourself to decrees, such as, 21 "Do not handle, do not taste, do not
touch!" 22 (which all refer to things destined to perish with use)--
in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men? 23 These
are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made
religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no
value against fleshly indulgence.
Reader 11*
Amen. 3:1 Therefore if
you have been raised up with Messiah, keep seeking the things above, where
Messiah is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on the
things above, not on the things that are on earth. 3 For you have
died and your life is hidden with Messiah in God. 4 When Messiah, who
is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.
5 Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to
immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to
idolatry. 6 For it is because of these things that the wrath of God
will come upon the sons of disobedience,
"Blessed are You, Yahweh
our God, King of the Universe,
Rock of Ages, righteous
throughout all generations.
You are the faithful God,
promising and then performing, speaking and then fulfilling,
for all Your words are true
and righteous.
Faithful are You, Yahweh
our God, and faithful are Your words,
for no word of Yours shall
remain unfulfilled;
You are a faithful and
merciful God and King.
Blessed are You, Yahweh our
God, Who are faithful in fulfilling all Your words."
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