These are the commands, decrees and laws the L-RD your G-D directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess… Hear, O Israel: The L-RD our G-D, the L-RD is one. Love the L-RD your G-D with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. (Deuteronomy 6:1, 6:4,5)[New International Version by the Zondervan Corporation, 1989]
A birth, a sacrifice, a promise kept - these three elements are integral components of G-D's plan of redemption for His people. Not accidentally do the Jewish festivals of Sukkot, Pesach, and Shavuot illustrate each of these ideas. These holidays were meant to serve as a reminder of what G-D was doing for His people. But because many Americans have grown up attending a westernized church, the richness of the meaning of the Scriptures through the perspective of the feasts of the Hebrew culture has been neglected.
Jesus Himself declared that He came not to end the Law (which included the commands to celebrate the various feasts), but to fulfill it (Matthew 5:17). The Gospels record many instances in which Jesus observed the feasts. The biblical feasts of Sukkot, Pesach, and Shavuot provide unique insights into G-D's plan of redemption for His people.
Sukkot, which means "huts, booths or tabernacles", is celebrated on the fifteenth day of the seventh month of the Jewish calendar. This celebration is also known as the Feast of Tabernacles and was instituted by G-D (Leviticus 23:33-44). "We dwell in the booths because G-D sheltered the Israelites in the wilderness on the way to the promised land" (Trepp, p.125). On the first day "we" (the Jews) are directed to build a booth made from foliage, palm branches, and beautiful trees. For seven days the people are to live in these booths and tabernacle with G-D.
It was John, an apostle of Jesus the Messiah, that stated "the Word became flesh and dwelt among us" (John 1:14). This Word was also known as Immanuel, which means "G-D with us" (Matthew 1:23). For the first time G-D came to dwell with man in human flesh.
A second festival of significance in G-D's plan of redemption is Pesach. Pesach means "to pass over" or "skip" which is how we derive the more familiar name "Passover" for the holiday. The festival begins on the fourteenth day of the first month and is to last seven days (Deuteronomy 16:13,14). "Pessah commemorates the Exodus wrought by G-D…" (Trepp, p.173). "It celebrates the liberation of Israel from Egyptian slavery" (Trepp, p.168). In the original Passover seder ceremony, the blood of the lamb was used to protect the Israelites from the judgment of the Angel of Death by spreading the blood over the door posts of each house. The Angel of Death was the last plague on the Egyptians and was the means for ushering in the liberation and redemption of the Israelites. Likewise if we have the blood of Jesus placed over the door posts of our hearts G-D's judgment will pass over us (Romans 5:17).
The contemporary seder ceremony is comprised of several elements. Matzah is unleavened bread (bread with no yeast) that is to remind all who partake that the Israelites left Egypt in such haste that their bread didn't have time to rise. A hard-boiled egg represents Pharaoh's hardened heart and also symbolizes a voluntary peace offering. The roasted shank-bone of a lamb represents the old Temple sacrifice since proper sacrifices can no longer be made. The salt water represents the tears of the Hebrew slaves as they cried out to G-D for freedom. The greens (parsley or celery) symbolize a new nation, and safety across the Red Sea. The bitter herbs(horseradish)are a reminder of the misery of slavery. Charoset (chopped apples and nuts) resembles the clay/mortar used by the slaves to build the great projects for the Pharaoh. Elijah's cup represents the hope for the coming/return of Messiah. The afikomen shows the death, burial, and resurrection of the Messiah.
The L-RD's Supper is the Passover feast celebrated by Jesus and his disciples (Luke 22:7-20). The celebration of the Passover feast is a beautiful feast that not only celebrates being free of the bondage of slavery, but also celebrates being free of the bondage of sin.
Shavuot [Pentecost] is celebrated on the sixth day of the third month, in accordance with the Jewish calendar. "Shavuot is the Hebrew word for 'weeks'… Shavuot celebrates the first fruits of the wheat harvest seven weeks later [after Pesach]" (Zimmerman, p.104). The first fruits is a time to give G-D the first fruits of the spring harvest to commemorate when the Israelites entered the land that G-D had promised and reaped the harvest (Leviticus 23:9-14, Exodus 34:22-26).
"In Acts 2 the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost [Shavuot] to fulfill the prophecy of David (Acts 2:33-36) so that Christ would be recognized by Israel and known as the Son of the living G-D." (Zimmerman, p.106) In this particular celebration of First Fruits, the twelve disciples themselves became the first fruits of G-D's harvest (the Church).
Sukkot is a time to tabernacle with G-D and it is during this time one remembers that G-D sent His Son to dwell with mankind. Likewise, Pesach reveals the redemption of humanity through G-D's self-sacrifice. Finally, Shavuot reveals the gift of G-D's Spirit to complete the redemption of His people.
Many Churches in the United States look only to the New Testament deeming the Old Testament to be outdated and perhaps not as applicable for today.
"You cannot bypass the Old Testament and go straight to the New. Those who try not only misinterpret most of what the Bible has to say, they also sadly miss it" (Card, 1989).
The point of observing the Old Testament customs is not to obtain righteousness, but to discover what is behind the roots of the New Testament. In doing so one will have a greater depth of understanding and appreciation for all the Scriptures.
