Lesson for April 23, 2025

The Mosaic Law

Lesson 9

The Ordinances

The Feasts of Jehovah

A feast in the Age of Israel was a festival or a celebration. Every year the seven feasts began with Passover which typified Christ’s payment for sin, and they ended with the Feast of Tabernacles, which typified Christ setting up His millennial kingdom. All the feasts typified events in the life of Christ. Since Israel was an agricultural nation, the feasts corresponded to the spring (planting) season and the fall (harvesting) season.

The first feast was Passover. Passover memorialized the time in Egypt when the Angel of Death passed over the houses of those who had put the blood of a lamb on their doorposts. The story is found in Exodus 12, outlining the command from God to take a lamb without spot or blemish and apply its blood to the doorposts. The death angel had been sent to destroy all first-born male children, in response to Pharaoh’s refusal to set the Jews free.

Passover demonstrated the Doctrine of Redemption, Jesus Christ being our Redeemer. The lamb was to be without spot or blemish, an illustration of Christ’s perfection. It was to be eaten, an illustration of faith. It was to be roasted under fire, signifying God’s judgment of Christ on the Cross. And it was to be eaten with unleavened bread and bitter herbs, a picture of Christ’s sinlessness and the bitterness of His death. Christ, therefore, became the Passover Lamb for us. 

Just as the life of the innocent lamb was sacrificed for the Israelites that night, so an innocent Christ was sacrificed for our sin on the Cross. It was this feast that Jesus and His disciples were celebrating the night He was betrayed. It is the “Last Supper” of Scripture and has become the Church Age ritual of Communion. (I Corinthians 5:6-7; I Corinthians 11:23-26)

The second feast was Unleavened Bread. The feast of Unleavened Bread was tied to the Passover in that the Israelites were not to take time to let their bread loaves rise before their departure from bondage in Egypt. The unleavened bread spoke of Christ’s sinless life, fellowship with God, and the spiritual life of believers. The feast became a picture of God’s divine provision for Church Age believers.

The third feast was Firstfruits, typifying the resurrection of Christ. Since Christ has risen, all believers will also be raised. The Feast of the Firstfruits was a celebration of the first harvest of crops – the first to be picked. In this same manner, Jesus is our “firstfruits,” having been the first to conquer physical death by His resurrection. Because He was raised from the dead and conquered death, believers will live forever. If Christ had not come back from the grave, we would have no salvation, no eternal life, and no hope. However, Christ did come back from the grave, securing forever a place for each believer in eternity. The same power (the filling of the Holy Spirit) that raised Jesus from the grave permanently indwells each believer during the Church Age. However, there is no guarantee that believers will use the power, even though it is available to them. (I Corinthians 15:23; I Thessalonians 4:13-18)

The fourth feast was Pentecost and was celebrated 50 days after the Feast of the Firstfruits. This feast celebrated the end of the grain harvest. And they were to leave part of the harvest in the fields for the poor and for strangers. It was at this feast that the Church Age began, according to Acts 2. With the formation of the Church and the baptism of the Holy Spirit placing believers into union with Christ, Pentecost took on new significance. The “harvest” has begun, which is the Church. And when the harvest is complete, Christ will return for it. (Acts 2:1-4; I Corinthians 10:16-17; 12:12-20)

The fourth feast was The Feast of Trumpets and was a prophetical picture of the Second Coming of Christ, when Jews from around the world will be restored to their land and recognize Christ as their Messiah. The people were to hold the feast on the first day of the seventh month, they were to do no hard work, and they were to present an offering to the Lord. It was to be a day of rest. Throughout the day, the Israelites could hear the sound of a trumpet, as a reminder of the holiness of the day. (Leviticus 23:23-25. Numbers 29:1-6)

The sixth feast was the Day of Atonement and was prophetical, referring to a future time of redemption for the nation of Israel. It was the one time a year that the High Priest could enter the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle. He could do this only after a sacrifice had been made for himself, his family, and the nation. It was in the Holy of Holies that blood was sprinkled on the Mercy Seat, as a symbol of God’s saving grace through Christ. Christ, of course, is our atonement, having become our substitute, and completely satisfying the righteousness and the justice of God. Christ atoned for the sins of the entire human race. (Isaiah 66:5-9; Romans 11:25-29; Hebrews 10:3-4)

The seventh feast was Tabernacles and was to be celebrated after the harvest, typifying the Jews being at peace and back in the land, per the Palestinian Covenant. Therefore, it too was prophetical. Israel will be in the Promised Land during the Millennium, when Christ their Messiah is ruling on earth. It was, therefore, a memorial to a future deliverance. As a part of this feast, “booths” or temporary dwellings were constructed as reminders of God’s daily provision for the Israelites, as they wandered in the desert. It was a time of rejoicing before the Lord, as they recalled their deliverance. (Zechariah 14:16-21; Revelation 21:3-6)

The seven feasts of Jehovah were foretold 1500 years before Christ. The four spring festivals, Passover, Unleavened Bread, Firstfruits, and Pentecost were all associated with the first coming of Christ in Hypostatic Union. The three fall festivals, Trumpets, Atonement, and Tabernacles were all associated with Christ’s physical return to earth at the Second Coming. 

The feasts told the story of God’s redemptive plan and should have brought hope to the Jews and the Gentiles alike. Since the promise made thousands of years ago to Abraham (that through him all the nations of earth would be blessed) it was for everyone through Abraham’s “seed,” Jesus Christ. Anyone can appropriate this blessing by faith in Christ. We can see in the typology of the feasts what was planned for Israel in the past and what they have to look forward to in the future (God is not through with Israel). We can also see Christ’s redemptive work for the Church in saving us and giving us a future. The study of the feasts should give us all hope (absolute confidence), reinforce our personal sense of destiny, and make us realize we have a future, as the Bride of Christ in Heaven. (Hebrews 2:14-17; Romans 4:1-5, 13-25; Revelation 21:2, 22:17)