Bible Talks

From: Messages of God's Love: 1937

Narrator: Chris Genthree

Feasts of the Lord Part 2 Leviticus 23:15-44¹⁵And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be complete: ¹⁶Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the Lord. ¹⁷Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals: they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baken with leaven; they are the firstfruits unto the Lord. ¹⁸And ye shall offer with the bread seven lambs without blemish of the first year, and one young bullock, and two rams: they shall be for a burnt offering unto the Lord, with their meat offering, and their drink offerings, even an offering made by fire, of sweet savor unto the Lord. ¹⁹Then ye shall sacrifice one kid of the goats for a sin offering, and two lambs of the first year for a sacrifice of peace offerings. ²⁰And the priest shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits for a wave offering before the Lord, with the two lambs: they shall be holy to the Lord for the priest. ²¹And ye shall proclaim on the selfsame day, that it may be an holy convocation unto you: ye shall do no servile work therein: it shall be a statute for ever in all your dwellings throughout your generations. ²²And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not make clean riddance of the corners of thy field when thou reapest, neither shalt thou gather any gleaning of thy harvest: thou shalt leave them unto the poor, and to the stranger: I am the Lord your God. ²³And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, ²⁴Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation. ²⁵Ye shall do no servile work therein: but ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord. ²⁶And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, ²⁷Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord. ²⁸And ye shall do no work in that same day: for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the Lord your God. ²⁹For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people. ³⁰And whatsoever soul it be that doeth any work in that same day, the same soul will I destroy from among his people. ³¹Ye shall do no manner of work: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. ³²It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath. ³³And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, ³⁴Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the Lord. ³⁵On the first day shall be an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein. ³⁶Seven days ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord: on the eighth day shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord: it is a solemn assembly; and ye shall do no servile work therein. ³⁷These are the feasts of the Lord, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord, a burnt offering, and a meat offering, a sacrifice, and drink offerings, every thing upon his day: ³⁸Beside the sabbaths of the Lord, and beside your gifts, and beside all your vows, and beside all your freewill offerings, which ye give unto the Lord. ³⁹Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the Lord seven days: on the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a sabbath. ⁴⁰And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days. ⁴¹And ye shall keep it a feast unto the Lord seven days in the year. It shall be a statute for ever in your generations: ye shall celebrate it in the seventh month. ⁴²Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths: ⁴³That your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God. ⁴⁴And Moses declared unto the children of Israel the feasts of the Lord. (Leviticus 23:15‑44)

FROM the time of the bringing of the sheaf of the first fruits to wave before the Lord, the people were to count 50 days (the fourth feast, verses 15:22), which speaks to us of the 50 days from the resurrection of Christ to the day of Pentecost, when God began to gather out a people to form the Church, and when this work is ended, Christ will come and take the Church, comprising all the saved people of this time, to Himself in the glory.

Dear reader, do you know the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour? If you do, you are not only saved, but you belong to the Church of God, and are looking for Him to come.

In the next feast (verses 23-25) we have the memorial of the blowing of trumpets, which reminds us of the glad tidings that John the Baptist preached that Christ was coming to reign as king over all the earth for a thousand years (the Millennium). He will gather again the twelve tribes of Israel into their own. land (Palestine).

The next feast (verses 26-32) was the day of atonement in which the people were to afflict their souls. They will learn what they did in turning away from Christ, saying, “Crucify Him! crucify Him!” “They shall look upon Him whom they pierced.” They will then accept Him as their Saviour.

During the feast of Tabernacles (verses 33-44) the people were to spend a week living in booths (or tents) to remind them that they had lived in such houses when God brought them out of Egypt. In the Millennium this redeemed people will rejoice in all that God has done for them, and they will praise Him throughout eternity.

“The eighth day shall be a Sabbath” (verse 39) carries us on to the new heavens and new earth where will be eternal joy, the rest of God, with the redeemed.

“He will rejoice over thee with joy: He will rest in His Love,” Zeph. 3:17¹⁷The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing. (Zephaniah 3:17).

“There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.” Heb. 4:9⁹There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. (Hebrews 4:9).

ML 09/05/1937

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