Of the offerings made on the Day of Atonement, the most significant was the sin offering. Leviticus 16:5 says the high priest was “to take from the Israelite community two male goats for a sin offering….” Note that both goats constituted a single sin offering. Lots were cast for the goats: “one lot for the…
Category: Old Testament
The Day of Atonement (part 1)
The Day of Atonement occurred on the tenth day of the seventh month. On this day, the Israelites were to practice “self-denial” (usually understood to mean fasting) while various sacrifices were made (Lev. 23:27). Through these offerings, the Lord promised, “Atonement will be made for you on this day to cleanse you, and you will…
Trumpets
On the first day of the seventh month, the Israelites were to “have a day of rest, a sacred assembly commemorated with trumpet blasts” (Lev. 23:24). The purpose of this commemoration isn’t entirely clear. Unlike the preceding feasts, Trumpets isn’t associated with the history of the exodus or with Israel’s agricultural seasons. Other than instructions about…
Weeks/Pentecost (part 2)
Painting by Patrick Murphy http://www.inspiredsketch.blogspot.com In the last post, we looked at the fulfillment of Pentecost as recorded in Acts 2. Jesus was anointed with the fullness of God’s Spirit, and His anointing flowed down to the church. Sharing in Christ’s anointing means many things. First Corinthians 2:12 says, “We have not received the spirit…
Weeks/Pentecost (part 1)
Painting from http://theschoolofthetransferofenergy.com/tag/moses-and-aaron/ In the third month, the Israelites observed the Feast of Weeks, presumably named because it was held seven weeks and one day after Firstfruits. This span of time equals 50 days, so the feast also came to be known as Pentecost (=“fiftieth”) (Lev. 23:15, 16; Acts 2:1). During this 50 days, more of…
Firstfruits
Picture by Patrick Murphy http://inspiredsketch.blogspot.com/ On the 16th of the first month, the day after Unleavened Bread started, the Israelites were to bring a sheaf of new grain to the priest. This was also “the day after the Sabbath,” or Sunday (Lev. 23:11). This new grain was the first of the harvest to ripen, the…
Unleavened Bread
Image from http://dubyadesigns365.blogspot.com/2010/03/march-30-2010-unleavened-bread.html The feast of Unleavened Bread is closely tied to Passover and started the day after. Often, scripture groups both feasts under the same name, whether Passover or Unleavened Bread (Ex. 23:4-7; Deut. 16:1-8). On the first day of the feast, the Israelites removed yeast from their houses. For seven days they ate…
Passover
Picture from: http://www.hopeofisraelministries.com/passoverpesach.htm Some time ago, one of my readers asked me to post excerpts from my booklet, Christ in the Feasts. What follows is from the section on Passover. *** Passover Judaism’s annual cycle of feasts had its roots in Egypt’s oppression of the Israelites. Prior to the exodus, the Hebrew people had been slaves for…
Pan…Jesus? (Part 2)
Image from USGS This post is continued from the previous post “Eber had two sons. One was named Peleg, for during his days the earth was divided; his brother was named Joktan” (Gen. 10:25). So here’s my two cents about how we might see Jesus in Genesis 10:25. Eber means, “across or…
Pan…Jesus?
How often do you think Pangaea is the topic of conversation during a child’s bedtime story? Probably not very often. How about Pangaea and the Bible? Probably even less. Yet that is exactly what I found myself discussing tonight. While reading a book about dinosaurs to my 2 year old son, Pangaea was mentioned. My 8…
The Voice of One 