Scriptures

Leviticus 21:1 to 24:23
Ezekiel 44:15-31
Galatians 3:26-29

Last week in the study Mishpatim we looked at the priesthood being clothed in immortality. We saw how to live in Yeshua, Spirit Life inside the Mishkan/Tabernacle through the walk of redemption and holiness in Him, the Living Torah. We studied the difference between clean and unclean, holy and unholy practices and how the Tabernacle (ours included) becomes defiled. We learned contamination on a physical or spiritual level comes from not keeping YHVH’s order or putting into practice what YHVH instructs, and how this can cause curses, illnesses or even death in our lives physically and spiritually. These are the instructions for the priesthood of Yeshua. This week’s Torah portion focuses on the qualifications and rules for the priests who minister before YHVH versus those priests who may not.

Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel (Exodus 19:5-6 ).

But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy (1 Peter 2:9-10).

"For thus says YHVH: 'David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel; nor shall the priests, the Levites, lack a man to offer burnt offerings before Me, to kindle grain offerings, and to sacrifice continually.'"

And the Word of YHVH came to Jeremiah, saying, "Thus says YHVH: 'If you can break My covenant with the day and My covenant with the night, so that there will not be day and night in their season, then My covenant may also be broken with David My servant, so that he shall not have a son to reign on his throne, and with the Levites, the priests, My ministers. As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, nor the sand of the sea measured, so will I multiply the descendants of David My servant and the Levites who minister to Me.'" Moreover the word of YHVH came to Jeremiah, saying, "Have you not considered what these people have spoken, saying, 'The two families which YHVH has chosen, He has also cast them off?' Thus they have despised My people, as if they should no more be a nation before them. Thus says YHVH: 'If My covenant is not with day and night, and if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth, then I will cast away the descendants of Jacob and David My servant, so that I will not take any of his descendants to be rulers over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For I will cause their captives to return, and will have mercy on them'" (Jeremiah 33:17-26).

Jeremiah 33 tells of the restoration of the House of Judah and the House of Israel. In verse 17 quoted above we perceive YHVH is speaking of the Melchizedek order, as Scripture refers to King David and the Covenant that bears his name. David was not only King but was also a Priest.

The Seven Covenants of YHVH

SEVEN COVENANTS		SCRIPTURE REFERENCE		DESCRIPTION OR CONDITIONS
		Genesis 1:26-28; Genesis 2:15-17		Universal to all mankind. Man is multiply, govern animals, keep the garden, not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Death penalty. Issues is obedience.
		Genesis 3:14-19		Universal to all mankind. Curse on man, woman and serpent Promise of a Redeemer. Promise of defeat of the serpent by the seed of the woman.
		Genesis 8:21-9:17 Genesis 24-27 Sign: Rainbow		Universal to all mankind. Promise that a flood would never destroy earth. Institute principle of human government to curb sin. First physical sign of a covenant.
		Genesis 12: 1-3 Genesis 15:17 Sign: Circumcision		Unconditional gift to the people Israel. -Also called Deliverance or Salvation. Gift of inheritance of a Land, a People and a Blessing. –Faith brings the birthright, the inheritance.
		Exodus 19 -24 Sign: Sabbath		Conditional Covenant to people of Israel. It is based on blessings/curses for the people Israel. -Dependant on Abrahamic Cov. Teaches us HOW to walk in our redemption and inherit the Land, the People and the Blessing. -Circumcision of heart (from our sinful nature). Obedience brings The Blessing.
		2 Samuel 7:12-16 Sign: Temple		Unconditional: for the people of Israel. -Dependant on Abrahamic and Mosaic Covenants. Assigns a ruling dynasty. -Last to rule was Yeshua who came as King and Priest in order of Melchizedek.
		Jeremiah 31:33 Luke 22:20 Hebrews 8:8-10		Made with 1. The House of Israel 2. The House of Judah and 3. Those who have the testimony (Abrahamic Cov). "I will put my Spirit within them to keep my statutes and ordinances [Mosaic Cov. – John 5:45-46] and write it on their hearts. They will know YHVH and He will forgive their sins and heal them."

Note: When Israel did not keep or was disobedient to the Mosaic Covenant, David’s tent (Covenant) fell, as David’s Covenant was dependant on the Abrahamic Covenant AND the Mosaic Covenant (Deuteronomy 4:31; Amos 9:11; Acts 15:15-21). If we are a royal priesthood (Exodus 19:5-6; 1 Peter 2:9) but are not keeping the Mosaic Covenant we cannot enter the Davidic Covenant, as all the covenants are contingent upon every preceding covenant; each one is an expansion of the previous covenant. House of Judah represents the kingly portion and the House of Israel, the priestly portion. United together (Ezekiel 37:15-28) they will represent the order of Melchizedek and David’s tent is restored (Acts 15:16-21).

Those who return to the ways of YHVH are the ones walking in all the Covenants. The Abrahamic Covenant gifts us with redemption, salvation, inheritance and identity. We received a land, a people and a blessing. How to receive these blessings are written in the next Covenant called the Mosaic Covenant. The Mosaic Covenant is contingent on the Abrahamic Covenant. The two Covenants are not separate from each other, nor does one replace the other but are wholly dependent. The Mosaic Covenant is not about salvation, but about redemption and consecration in HOW to walk holy in our redeemed lifestyle. That is why the Mosaic Covenant is conditional. It is conditional upon us – whether we will walk in holiness and the principles that govern the earth or not. All creation obeys YHVH but only mankind is given a choice whether to obey our not. The choice is ours. The issue is obedience. You cannot skip or replace a covenant. Faith brings the birthright and obedience brings the blessings.

Found in the Covenant of David will be those who already walk in the Abrahamic Covenant AND the Mosaic Covenant. Keeping these two covenants will restore David’s Covenant. Walking in the Davidic Covenant means walking with power and authority in the order of Melchizedek – as a king and a holy priest.

The two houses of Israel, House of Israel and House of Judah, carry the Melchizedek order only when they walk together in unity following YHVH’s Word. Again, the House of Judah carries the kingly portion (Torah) and the House of Israel carries the priestly order (Messiah). David’s tent/Covenant is only restored when the order of Melchizedek is restored in man’s hearts. The spirit of Elijah ushers the Bride to the Son of David, Yeshua Ha Mashiach, the Bridegroom. The spirit of Elijah is the spirit of restoration and David’s tent needs to be restored to usher in the Messiah… a second time (Malachi 4:4-6; Luke 1:16-17).

The Spirit of Elijah

Remember the Law of Moses, My servant, which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments. Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of YHVH. And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers (Malachi 4:4-6).

This referred in part to John the Baptist, "who will go as a forerunner before Him [Messiah] in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children" (Luke 1:17).

"The great and awesome day of YHVH" refers to the two separate comings of Yeshua. The great day refers to the first coming of Messiah as Savior, and the awesome day refers to the second coming of Messiah as the Deliverer and Deliverance of Israel at the end of the age. This means that there is also a first and second coming of the Spirit and power of Elijah. Yeshua confirmed this, after the death of John the Baptist, when He said, "Elijah is coming and will restore all things." (Matthew 17:11).

In the Tanakh/Old Testament, the prophet Samuel was headmaster of what was known in Israel as the School of the Prophets, and the prophet Elijah was one of his successors. The students that attended the schools were called "the sons of the Prophets" (1 Samuel 10:5; 2 Kings 2:3-5; 4:38). And it was here that many of the prophet’s mantles/talets were handed down from generation to generation.

This is significant because Peter said that "heaven must receive Yeshua until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time" (Acts 3:21). Peter goes on to say that "all the prophets who have spoken from Samuel and his successors onward (including Elijah and the Songs of the Prophets) also announced these days." This prophetic mantle is the same double portion of the Spirit of Elijah that he gave to Elisha just before he was received into heaven” (2 Kings 1:11).

Peter identifies who the new successors of the prophetic mantle are when he says, "It is you who are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant which God made with your fathers" (Acts 3:24-25).

Just as John the Baptist came in the Spirit and power of Elijah to "make straight the way of YHVH" at Messiah’s first coming, so the Spirit and power of Elijah is being poured out on the earth today "to make ready a people prepared for YHVH” at His coming."

This is part of what Yeshua meant during the Passover Seder/Meal when He said, "He that believes in Me, the works that I do shall he do also and greater works than these shall he do; because I go to My Father" (John 14:12).

The Spirit of Yeshua that was upon Elijah is supernaturally empowering the Body of Messiah to minister "the restoration of all things." Receiving and ministering in the Spirit and power of Elijah is a key to the return of the Messiah for His Bride for “heaven must receive Yeshua until the period of the restoration of all things.” (Simchat Torah Beit Midrash®. The Seder Service. Colorado: STBM Publishing Copyright 2006. 19-20. Used by permission.)

The Paths of Righteousness and The Bridegroom’s Return

"In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you know." Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?" Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:2-6).

Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, "Be holy, for I am holy" (1 Peter 1:13-16 ref. Leviticus 11:44; 19:2; 20:7,26; 21:8).

In Ezekiel 43:10-12 YHVH asked the prophet:

Describe the temple to the people of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their sins. Let them consider the plan, and if they are ashamed of all they have done, make known to them the design of the temple – its arrangement, its exits and entrances – its whole design and all its regulations and laws. Write these down before them so that they may be faithful to its design and follow all its regulations. This is the law of the temple: All the surrounding area on top of the mountain will be most holy. Such is the law of the temple.

It is very important to consider YHVH’s plan. Even Paul taught the importance of the Temple in 1 Corinthians 3:9-17 as the only pattern we are to follow as we, ‘God’s fellow workers’ and ‘His building’, erect His true Tabernacle. This is a law that governs the principles of life just as gravity is a law. It exists for a benefit and a blessing for those who observe it or this law will be a witness against us who despise the pattern. That is why we are studying it today, to have L’Chaim/Life!

For we are YHVH’s fellow workers; you are YHVH’s field, you are YHVH’s building. According to the grace of YHVH, which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. For no other foundation can anyone lay than that, which is laid, which is Yeshua the Messiah. Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one's work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is. If anyone's work, which he has built on it, endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. Do you not know that you are the temple of YHVH and that the Spirit of YHVH dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of YHVH, YHVH will destroy him. For the temple of YHVH is holy, which temple you are (1 Corinthians 3: 9-17).

In the book Sons of Zadok C.M. Oliver writes,

In seminaries to become ministers of YHVH none seemed to teach anything about ministering to God! Very few people even believed that God needed ministering to.

What characterizes the person who may minister to God? Ezekiel 44:14-16 acts as pivotal verses, separating those who will minister to the people and declaring who will NOT minister to Him. "I will make them watchmen of the Temple, to perform all its chores, everything that needs to be done in it. But the priests, who are Levites and descendants of Zadok and who faithfully carried out the duties of my sanctuary when the Israelites went astray from me, are to come near to minister before me; they are to stand before me to offer sacrifices of fat and blood, declares the Sovereign Lord."

True priests who minister to YHVH will "teach [His] people the difference between the holy and the profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean... They shall also keep [His] laws and My statutes in all [His] appointed feasts, and sanctify [His] Sabbaths” (Ezekiel 44:23-24).

In the Brit Chadasha/New Testament, 1 Peter 2:5-8 was addressing the fact that our bodies are now the temple of YHVH and we must act according to the pattern written in Leviticus. “You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to YHVH through Yeshua the Messiah.” The Messiah is that word given to Moses but the people rejected that stone (The Five books of Moses are referred to as stones, the stone the people rejected was Leviticus the book that taught us the principles that govern the earth). “Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone, A stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall. They stumble because they disobey the message – which is also what they were destined for.”

For we are the temple of the Living God. As God as said, "I will dwell in them and walk among them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people." "Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate," says YHVH. "And do not touch what is unclean; and I will welcome you. And I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to Me," Says YHVH Almighty. Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God (2 Corinthians 6:16-7:1).

Keep my commands and follow them. I am YHVH. Do not profane my holy name. I must be acknowledged as holy by the Israelites. I am YHVH who makes you holy and brought you out of Egypt to be your Elohim. I am YHVH (Leviticus 22:31-32).

If you love me, keep my commandments (John 14:15).

Leviticus 23 The Appointed Feasts of the Messiah

YHVH said to Moses, "Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'These are MY appointed feasts'" (Leviticus 23:1-2).

The Feast days of YHVH are called the paths of righteousness andare appointments of an eternal nature that teaches and shows us the way home. We walk in these paths not for salvation purposes, but in the pursuit of holiness unto YHVH.

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Yeshua, the author and finisher of faith (Hebrews 12:1-2).

What Are the Paths of Righteousness?

The paths of righteousness, are the covenants, moedim/feast days of YHVH, the Sabbath and New Moon festival. They are designed for the Bride and priesthood of Messiah, and are a highway of holiness that brings the regathered and ingathered of YHVH’s redeemed people in the latter days. (Isaiah 35:8-10; James 1:12; 1 Peter 5:4).

Yeshua’s covenants and feasts called the way, the paths of righteousness are the order of YHVH through the Tabernacle to guide and prepare us, His Bride for His return.

He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake (Psalm 23:3).

I walk in the way of righteousness, along the paths of justice (Proverbs 8:20).

So you may walk in the way of goodness, and keep to the paths of righteousness (Proverbs 2:20).

I have taught you in the way of wisdom; I have led you in right paths (Proverbs 4:11).

Signs and Wonders In the Heavens

Then God said, "Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years" (Genesis 1:14).

Without these heavenly signs it would be unclear to YHVH’s people what they should do, and how and where they should walk. YHVH always set His ways by the moon; this is a sign for His calendar. When the first sighting of the crescent New Moon, called Rosh Chodesh in Hebrew, is seen, that marks the beginning of the Biblical/Hebrew month. On that day the Israelites were to announce the Rosh Chodesh/New Moon by blowing silver trumpets and offering sacrifices. Once the “first day” was announced the Israelites could count the days toward the first feast; the seventh day was the Sabbath.

And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made (Genesis 2:2-3).

But the seventh day is the Sabbath of YHVH your God. For in six days YHVH made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore YHVH blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it (Exodus 20:10-11).

YHVH’s calendar, governed by the moon, allowed the Israelites to celebrate the moedim/feast days on the appointed days. These feasts mark YHVH’s appointments, seasons, days and years. The moedim/feast days were designed to lead His people on the High Way of Holiness and escort the Bride to her wedding led by the Spirit of Elijah/Yeshua, the Bridegroom. Without these feast day appointments of YHVH, it would be difficult for the Bride to find her way to her wedding (Jeremiah 31:21; Isaiah 35).

THE SEVEN FEASTS OF YHVH

FEAST DAY		DESCRIPTION
		First Month/Nissan 14: Calling of the Bride from among the Nations and marked by the Blood of the Lamb, Yeshua Ha Mashiach (Leviticus 23:5).
		First Month/Nissan 15- 21: A 7-Day feast of consecration for the Bride. The first day and last days are High Holy Sabbaths (Leviticus 23:6-8).
		First Month/Nissan 17: Speaks of Yeshua’s resurrection as firstfruits from the dead. We become Yeshua’s firstfruits from the dead (Leviticus 23:9-14).
		First stage of a Hebrew wedding: Third Month/Sivan 7: Feast of Weeks. Fifty-days or seven weeks after Feast of Unleavened Bread. Betrothal of the Bride at Mt Sinai (Exodus 19- 24 and Acts 2). High Holy Sabbath.
		Seventh Month/Tishrei 1: At the sighting of the Rosh Chodesh/New Moon. Trumpet call wakes the sleeping Bride! (Matthew 25:1-13). High Holy Sabbath.
		Second Stage of a Hebrew wedding: Seventh Month/Tishrei 10: Ten days after Rosh Chodesh is the Wedding of Bride to Bridegroom (Matthew 24:30-36:51). High Holy Sabbath.
		Third Stage of a Hebrew wedding: Seventh Month/Tishrei 15: A seven day celebration of the Wedding supper of the Lamb. Nations (wedding guests) invited. The first day and an extra day eighth day at the end, called Shemini Atzeret, are High Holy Sabbaths (Zechariah 14:16-21).

Yeshua, the Bridegroom has fulfilled the first four spring feasts, and will return to fulfill the last three fall feasts. All seven are eternal and hold prophetic anointing and blessings for those who enter into them.

A true priest or prophet of YHVH is to teach the people about clean and unclean, holy and unholy and YHVH’s moedim – His feast days, Sabbath and New Moon. This is the true “gospel” we are to teach the people and is still in effect today according to Ezekiel 22:26; 44:23-24; Acts 15:19-21, 29; 21:25; Hebrews 4:1-3.

So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or Sabbaths (Colossians 2:16).

As a royal priesthood and holy nation (1 Peter 2:9), we are to keep the order and pattern that is governed by God’s feasts, the Sabbath being the first feast, and to teach His people to keep them perpetually. This is our praise offering to YHVH – doing what He has asked us to do (Hebrews 4:1-3).

Leviticus 23:3 The Sabbath

“Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; ye shall do no work therein: it is the Sabbath of YHVH in all your dwellings.” God says for us to do our “common” work for six days and to set aside the seventh day, that one day, as holy unto Him, and rest. There are blessings that flow to us for keeping that day Holy and undefiled.

If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and YHVH’s holy day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words, then you will find your joy in YHVH, and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob (Isaiah 58:13-14).

We can have Shabbat any day of the week, but there is only one Sabbath day, the seventh day. The days are as years in Scripture and prophetically this Sabbath day represents the seven thousandth year period of time called the millennial. At that time the Messiah will rule as King and Priest (in the order of Melchizedek) over the reunified, regathered and ingathered whole House of Israel. Israel will have been taken back to the beginning, back to the Garden where they shared intimacy of fellowship with Yeshua as in the time of Adam (Psalm 90:4; 1 Peter 3:8).

After the Sabbath, YHVH gave us seven feasts that set up His yearly calendar, again, governed by the moon. The moon marks all YHVH’s feast days. If we miss the first moon we miss all YHVH’s High Holy feast days. The lunar calendar has been used since Creation to show YHVH’s people. Genesis 1:14  “And YHVH said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons (moed- appointed time/set feast), and for days, and years”. Without the lunar calendar we miss YHVH’s eternal feasts. It is unfortunate that a Roman calendar governs us today. The Roman’s worshipped the sun and used the sun to mark the days. This sun-based calendar was used to govern the people during the Roman occupation of Jerusalem and still exists to this day. We have lost YHVH’s government and blessings by our missing or not obeying the message of what we were destined for (1 Peter 2:9). Today, we are returning to YHVH’s ways and keeping the Rosh Chodesh/New Moon festival at the first sighting of the crescent moon each month and celebrating the feasts at their appointed, Scriptural times (Colossians 2:16). Many manmade feasts celebrated today, like Christmas, Easter or Halloween, are not Biblical, but have come from pagan origins. YHVH’s feasts are eternal and are to be celebrated by all who believe and walk in His ways.

Leviticus 23:4-5 The Passover ~ Pesach

“YHVH’s Passover begins at twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month.” The first month is also called Nissan, Aviv or Abib. The Passover is a memorial of the Israelite flight from slavery and Egyptian rule. Lambs were to be slaughtered at twilight on that day, the blood of which was smeared on the doorposts and lintels of the Israelite homes, saving them from the angel of death, who passed over the homes that had the blood of the lamb on them, allowing those Israelites to flee from slavery into freedom that night.

The Passover is also prophetic of the coming of the Messiah when Yeshua became our Passover Lamb. Yeshua was slaughtered at the exact time as the Passover lambs were being slaughtered in the Temple, on the fourteenth day of the first month. When Yeshua’s blood was shed, the curtain in the Temple tore in two from top to bottom. Through this torn veil (or, through Yeshua) the House of Israel and the House of Judah have been given access to the Father, obtaining forgiveness and the way into the realm of life, and causing the Living Torah to be written on our hearts.  Now it is us who have the blood smeared on our doorposts (hearts) so the angel of death has no power over us (Jeremiah 31:31-33; Hebrews 8:8-10).

We are to remember this day of Passover throughout our generations at the appointed time by eating lamb, bitter herbs and bread made without yeast. We recite the story of the Exodus and pass it on to our children. This is a prophetic meal, a rehearsal for the Wedding Supper of the Lamb to come (Revelation 19:9).

Leviticus 23:6-8 The Feast of Unleavened Bread ~ Chag Ha Matzah
The Seven-Day Consecration of the Priesthood (Bride) of Messiah

“On the fifteenth day of that month [Nissan] YHVH’s Feast of Unleavened Bread begins; for seven days you must eat bread made without yeast. On the first day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work. For seven days present an offering made to YHVH by fire. And on the seventh day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work."

The very next day after the memorial Passover is the seven-day Feast of Unleavened Bread. YHVH’s people are to come together to celebrate on the first day and on the last day. Those two days are to be kept as High Holy Sabbaths where we do not work but instead rest and eat bread made without yeast. Seven, in scripture, is a reference to spiritual completion. Yeast represents sin; when the sin is taken out, there is consecration of YHVH’s people, the priesthood especially. This seven-day period is a time of purity and holiness before YHVH. What happened in history to the Israelites when they kept this seven-day feast? It is reported that on the seventh day of the feast of Unleavened Bread the Red Sea parted and Pharaoh’s army was defeated. Also on this last day of the feast the walls of Jericho fell down. If we are struggling with challenges in our lives and praying for a break through, keeping this Feast of Unleavened Bread and all of YHVH’s feast days can bring blessings of deliverance and freedom into our lives.

Leviticus 23:9-14 The Feast of Firstfruits ~ Yom Ha Bikkurim

“When you enter the land I am going to give you and you reap its harvest, bring to the priest a sheaf of the first grain you harvest. He is to wave the sheaf before YHVH so it will be accepted on your behalf; the priest is to wave it on the day after the Sabbath.

Which Sabbath? The seven day Feast of Unleavened Bread has two Sabbath days in the week. The first day of Unleavened Bread is a Sabbath and the last day of Unleavened Bread a Sabbath. The wave offering is to be made after the last day/Sabbath of Unleavened Bread and is separate from the weekly Sabbath as scripture here is talking about moedim/Feast days.

"But Yeshua has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep" (1 Corinthians 15:20). Yeshua is our wave offering!

During the Feast of Unleavened Bread, Yeshua fulfilled the sign of Jonah and rose from the dead after three days and three nights in the tomb as our firstfruits from the dead. The added celebration of Easter, the Babylonian pagan feast of the fertility goddess Ishtar, was man’s way of separating himself from the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Man lifted up this pagan celebration as worship before a Holy God. Idolatry like this led the children of Israel into captivity. Bunnies and colored Easter eggs were fertility symbols of the goddess Ishtar. The tradition of painting eggs and egg hunts came from the practice of coloring the eggs by dipping them into the blood of babies sacrificed to Ishtar. The eggs were then hidden for children who would later hunt for them. This all seems like innocent fun today but how many of us realize the background of our traditions that can harm us? May we be a people who keep the feast of Unleavened Bread in holiness and righteousness.

For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth (Matthew 12:40).

Leviticus 23:15-16 Counting the Omer ~ Sefirat Ha Omer

"From the day after the Sabbath (the last day of Unleavened Bread), the day you brought the sheaf of the wave offering, count off seven full weeks. Count off fifty days up to the day after the seventh Sabbath."

(See complete Lunar calendar from Rosh Chodesh/Nissan 1 to Shavuot  www.sheepfoldgleanings.com)

Count the Omer or wave offering of new grain starting the day after the last day/Sabbath of Unleavened Bread seven full weeks up to the day after the seventh Sabbath arriving at Mt Sinai the same day and month the Israelites did in Exodus 19:1 when using YHVH’s 28 day lunar calendar (not counting non-moon days). “In the third month after the children of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on the same day (15th), they came tothe Wilderness of Sinai” (Numbers 33:3). 

The counting of the Omer leads to the feast of Shavuot/Pentecost. This seven-week count is the call of all Israel to come before YHVH from the north, south, east and west to worship Him on His Holy Mountain. There Israel betrothed herself to YHVH. It is a holy consecration time for all Israel being called from the Diaspora to come in from exile and make straight our path for YHVH. May our hearts be made pure before Him and may we come out to meet Him at His Holy Mountain at His appointed time (Exodus 19:8).

Leviticus 23:17-22 The Feast of Weeks ~ Shavuot/Pentecost

After the counting of fifty days, or seven weeks, the day after the seventh Sabbath on 15th day of the third month  the children of God stood before YHVH at His holy mountain and brought a wave offering. On the day of Shavuot, YHVH had His people come together as a holy sacred assembly, washed and consecrated, ready to receive His spoken Word. This was to be the time of Israel’s betrothal and a time she received her Ketubah, her marriage covenant from YHVH.

When Moses received the marriage covenant, the Word written on stone tablets on the Mountain of YHVH, he returned to camp to find the people adulterating themselves before a foreign manmade god. Three thousand people lost their lives at that time. Generations later, the Lamb of YHVH, Yeshua, fulfilled the Torah requirements on our behalf and became The Passover Lamb. In doing so, He renewed the covenant that had been broken by our ancestors through their disobedience so long ago. Acts 2 records a gathering of believers who joined together in one place on the Mountain of YHVH (Jerusalem), in eager expectation to celebrate the feast of Shavuot. Scripture goes on to describe how they were suddenly filled with tongues of fire. YHVH’s Word was no longer written on stony heart (tablets), now His Word was renewed and written on new hearts of flesh. Three thousand were redeemed that day as spoken through the prophet Jeremiah 31:31-34 and recorded in Hebrews 8:8-10.

Leviticus 23:23-25 The Feast of Trumpets ~ Yom Teruah/ Day of Blowing

The feast of Yom Teruah falls on the first day of the seventh month of the Biblical lunar calendar. Yom Teruah is the only feast of YHVH that is on the Rosh Chodesh, the first sighting of the New Moon. This seventh month is considered the most sacred month of the Biblical calendar. When the New Moon was sighted, they were commanded to blow two silver trumpets. This was the call of the Bridegroom to His Bride for her wedding. The doors open and the trumpets sound like a shout, to wake the Bride from any slumber, to call them to trim their lamps and come forth to meet their Bridegroom. The two trumpets represent the two witnesses of the Messiah, the House of Israel and the House of Judah. On this day they were to celebrate Yom Teruah as a Sabbath and do no work. Today, we hear the trumpets calling us to prepare (Revelation 3:20-21; 4:1).

Leviticus 23:26-32 Day of Atonement ~ Yom Kippur

The tenth day from Yom Teruah is the Feast of Yom Kippur. The ten days between Yom Teruah and Yom Kippur are called the Ten Days of Awe as the doors will be opened “And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband” (Revelation 21:2 ). This is the holiest day of the year, to be kept as a Sabbath. On the day of Yom Kippur the High Priest offered a sin sacrifice to atone for the unintentional sins of all Israel. Yeshua’s sacrifice fulfilled the atonement requirement for the unintentional and intentional sins of all Israel (Hebrews 3:1,11-12; 1 Peter 1:18-19).Yeshua has offered Himself as the unblemished sacrifice on our behalf and said “it is finished.” (John 19:30). Therefore, we must be finished with any defilement or contaminants in our lives as sin separates us from YHVH.  The fruit of the sinful nature and the characteristics of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil must be far from the Bride of Yeshua as His is looking for a Bride made in His likeness; holy as He is Holy. The Bride has clothed herself in immortality and incorruption. The day of Yom Kippur is the day the bride enters with her bridegroom and the doors will close behind them (1 Corinthians 15:51-58; Matthew 25:1-13).

Leviticus 23:33-44 The Feast of Tabernacles ~ Sukkot/Booths

The Feast of Tabernacles is celebrated five days after Yom Kippur on the fifteenth day of the seventh month. This feast is the seventh Feast of YHVH and is celebrated for seven dayswith one extra day, the eighth day called Shemini Atzeret, to be kept only unto YHVH. The first day and the eighth day are holy Sabbaths. No work is to be done on these two days. Each year we are called to build booths and live in them during the feast to remind us of the time in the Wilderness when YHVH sustained the Children of Israel (ourselves included) and blessed them and us with His mercy. We are also commanded to wave branches made of choice fruit trees, palm and leafy branches and poplars in celebration before YHVH. We are commanded to keep this feast, as are the nations (Zechariah 14:16-21). This feast is prophetic of the return of the Messiah to dwell with His people. After the wedding we celebrate with those who have come in from the Nations at the Wedding Supper of the Lamb.

Leviticus 24:1-9 Bread and Oil Set Before YHVH

The Bride of Yeshua is the one who is obedient to His Word, the Bread of Life, the Torah, and who has the Messiah in her heart. The wise Bride carries extra oil she receives while meeting with her Bridegroom at His appointed High Holy Feast days and is prepared for her Bridegroom. Her lamp is full of oil and her light does not go out at night. The flame of Yeshua, the Menorah, burns continually in her heart and lights her path (Matthew 25:1-13; Psalm 119:105).

For in union with the Messiah, you are all children of God through this trusting faithfulness; because as many of you as were immersed into the Messiah have clothed yourselves with the Messiah, in whom there is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor freeman, neither male nor female; for in union with the Messiah Yeshua, you are all one. Also, if you belong to the Messiah, you are seed of Abraham and heirs according to the promise (Galatians 3:7, 26, 29 CJB).

Shabbat Shalom,
Carl and Julie Parker

References:
Mishpatim: www.sheepfoldgleanings.com

The Sons of Zadok by C.R. Oliver

Elijah Spirit © Copyright 2006 Simchat Torah Beit Midrash®, “The Seder Service” pps.19-20 (Colorado STBM Publishing 2006) – used by permission.

The Church and The Jews by Daniel Gruber

Complete Lunar calendar from Rosh Chodesh/Nissan 1 to Shavuot www.sheepfoldgleanings.com

Redeemed Israel: Reunited and Restored by Batya Wootten

CJB: Complete Jewish Bible by David Stern

Past Parshot: www.messianicisrael.com/sheepfold-gleanings/
Sheepfold Gleanings written by Carl and Julie Parker: www.sheepfoldgleanings.com
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