Thurs.’s Devo - The Feasts of Israel

Read Ex. 23:14-19 God reveals his total plan in pictures throughout the Bible, but I don’t know a more clearer precise picture than the feasts. They are the plan from beginning to end. There were three times a year that the children of Israel were to set aside for God. These were rehearsals for scheduled appointments God had with earth. The first time of feasting was the in the month Abib which was the same month they came out of Egypt. Abib means “green; a young ear of grain”. This would represent God’s people - young and green. They were to eat unleavened bread for 7 days. The second time would be a time of harvesting the first fruits, and the last would be the feast of ingathering at the end of the year. These three times the men of the house were to appear before the Lord for their families. During these feasts they were not to offer sacrifices with blood but with unleavened bread. All the fat was to be eaten and not left till the next day. Everyone should bring the first fruits of their land to God. These feasts are broken down in Levitcus 23. There are 7 of them in all. The first 3 have to do with what Jesus did for us on Calvary - unleavened bread, passover, and first fruits. In a nutshell: unleavened bread had to do with cleaning out their hearts and repenting of their sins to be able to receive the gift of Jesus’s blood. They were to clean their house and diet of all leaven. John the Baptist came preaching repentance before Jesus could come on the scene and show them the way to salvation. The next feast was the next day - passover. This looked back to when the children of Israel put blood on the doorposts so that they would be saved from the death the angel was bringing. It looked forward to when Jesus would hang on the cross and his blood would save us from eternal death. The third feast was two days later called the feast of first fruits. It was the day they were to bring their first fruits of their fields to the temple. It looked forward to when Jesus would be the first of the earth to raise from the dead and appear before God. These three feasts appear during the spring harvest. I’ll explain the rest tomorrow. Lord, thank you for always being faithful to your plan. You are dependable and true and we can always trust in your kindness and mercy.