Bible Lessons

From: Messages of God's Love: 1936

Ezekiel 45:18-25¹⁸Thus saith the Lord God; In the first month, in the first day of the month, thou shalt take a young bullock without blemish, and cleanse the sanctuary: ¹⁹And the priest shall take of the blood of the sin offering, and put it upon the posts of the house, and upon the four corners of the settle of the altar, and upon the posts of the gate of the inner court. ²⁰And so thou shalt do the seventh day of the month for every one that erreth, and for him that is simple: so shall ye reconcile the house. ²¹In the first month, in the fourteenth day of the month, ye shall have the passover, a feast of seven days; unleavened bread shall be eaten. ²²And upon that day shall the prince prepare for himself and for all the people of the land a bullock for a sin offering. ²³And seven days of the feast he shall prepare a burnt offering to the Lord, seven bullocks and seven rams without blemish daily the seven days; and a kid of the goats daily for a sin offering. ²⁴And he shall prepare a meat offering of an ephah for a bullock, and an ephah for a ram, and an hin of oil for an ephah. ²⁵In the seventh month, in the fifteenth day of the month, shall he do the like in the feast of the seven days, according to the sin offering, according to the burnt offering, and according to the meat offering, and according to the oil. (Ezekiel 45:18‑25)

At the beginning of the year the sanctuary (temple) is to be purged, and on the seventh day of the month there will be a repetition of the sacrifice for everyone that erreth, and for the simple. A week later the passover is to be celebrated as of old (Exodus 12:14-20¹⁴And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the Lord throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever. ¹⁵Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel. ¹⁶And in the first day there shall be an holy convocation, and in the seventh day there shall be an holy convocation to you; no manner of work shall be done in them, save that which every man must eat, that only may be done of you. ¹⁷And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this selfsame day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt: therefore shall ye observe this day in your generations by an ordinance for ever. ¹⁸In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even, ye shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth day of the month at even. ¹⁹Seven days shall there be no leaven found in your houses: for whosoever eateth that which is leavened, even that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he be a stranger, or born in the land. ²⁰Ye shall eat nothing leavened; in all your habitations shall ye eat unleavened bread. (Exodus 12:14‑20)), only that the prince is to offer for himself and all the people, a bullock for a sin offering, and during each of the seven days a burnt offering-and a sin offering, together with a meat (or meal) offering. The passover as then observed will be a remembrance, not of the deliverance of Israel from Egypt so much as it will be of the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, and this, no doubt, explains the offering of seven bullocks, and seven rams daily for seven days—telling of the infinite worth of His death in the sight of God.

Verse 25 renews the feast of tabernacles (or booths) reminder then of the centuries when Israel was without a home.

Leviticus 23 names the seven fixed “feasts of Jehovah”, given by Him to Israel. Four of these are omitted in the Millennium.

There is to be no feast of the first fruits, because that foreshadowed the resurrection of Christ (1 Corinthians 15:23²³But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming. (1 Corinthians 15:23)).

The feast of weeks or Pentecost had its fulfillment on what has been called the Church’s birthday (Acts 2), when the Church of God was formed at the descent of the Holy Spirit to indwell all who believe in the Lord Jesus, receiving the present message of God’s unfathomable grace which is offered to Jew and Gentile without distinction.

The feast of trumpets will have been fulfilled in the great ingathering of all Israel in their land.

And the day of atonement could not have a place after the cross of Christ. (see Hebrews chapters 9, 10) bearing in mind that redeemed Israel in the Millennium will not have all the blessings and privileges that are the Christian’s.

There will be a visible priesthood, which God will own, to come between the people and Himself, and there will be constant sacrifices, not in view of a redemption to be accomplished, but having a memorial character, looking backward to the atoning death of Christ.

ML 04/19/1936

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