2014-08-08
Good Morning Dear Ones,
Last week, I was led to discuss the covenant meals we have with Communion and the Passover seder. God left us with this key promise: EZK 36: 26-27, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you. I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit in you and move you to follow My decrees, and be careful to keep My laws.” Covenant meals are ones we share at regular intervals with our fellow believers or our genetic families.
Sabbath [GN 2: 2-3; EX 20: 8-11] is celebrated weekly in Jewish homes and, hopefully, in Gentile Christian ones as well. I added the word “hopefully,” because of the troubling trend in our present society of moving away from families eating at least one meal a day, usually dinner, together. Sabbath in the Jewish household is from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday. When we attend temple on the Sabbath, we greet each other with “Shabbat Shalom, שַׁבָּת שָׁלוֹם” in Hebrew, which means, “Have a peaceful Sabbath.” If the family is at home, Friday night suppers were always accompanied with wine, Challah [egg twist bread, חַלָה ] and a pair of candles. Blessings are said over each of these, and we eat with the good china, silverware, and water goblets/ wine glasses. If the family has attended temple, then an “oneg Shabbat” or covenant meal is served after the service for the congregation. The women of it normally supply the food for this meal. Blessings are said over the lights, bread, and wine. These practices are intended to remind us that our Covenant Partner is the main honoree at this time. The entire family is expected to be home, if possible, for this ritual meal.
Two other main Jewish holidays that are important archetypes of NT covenant meals are Shavuot and Sukkot. Shavuot, the Festival of Weeks, Hebrew: שבועות, lit. "Weeks,” commemoratesthe giving of the Law, the establishment of the Covenant of the Law (the old covenant) [EX 24: 7-11]. It occurs fifty days after Passover, usually in late May or early June. Song of Songs 4: 11 tells us “The Torah is like milk and honey under the tongue.” There are special temple services for this observance, and they are followed by an “oneg” or covenant meal, after the services. Typically in Kosher Jewish households, dairy (things like blintzes-cheese-filled pancakes and cheese cake, for example) is eaten during the day on Shavuot and meat at night. Kosher [kashut] practice never mixes meat and milk, based on EX 34: 26. The Book of Ruth (מגילת רות, Megillat Ruth) is read on Shavuot because: (1) King David, Ruth's descendant, was born and died on Shavuot [Y Chagigah 2:3-cited from the Mishnah]; (2) Shavuot is harvest time [EX 23:16], and the events of Book of Ruth occur at harvest time. The gematria of the Hebrew word chalav (חלב) is 40, corresponding to the 40 days and 40 nights that Moses spent on Mount Sinai before bringing down the Torah. Had human legalism not supplanted hearts that understood God’s teaching, the new covenant wouldn’t have been so necessary. However God’s need to send His only Son, Jesus, to teach and then atone for our sins was real, as was the compassion of His heart [JN 3: 16; RO 3: 24-25]. That is why we have been given the new covenant or Covenant of Grace [1 COR 11: 23-25], and it’s reminder covenant meal, Communion. It is no accident that fifty days after the Passover is Shavuot, just as fifty days after Easter is Pentecost, the giving of the Holy Spirit [AC 2: 1-12].
1 COR 5: 6-8 helps us see the connection between the lamb sacrificed for the Passover seder and Jesus Christ. If you’re not familiar with it, please read it now. Each main festival of the OT has its counterpart in the NT. Sukkot, (Hebrew: סוכות or סֻכּוֹתsukkōt or sukkos, Feast of Booths, Feast of Tabernacles) is a biblicalJewish holiday celebrated on the 15th day of the month of Tishrei (varies from late September to late October). It is one of the three biblically mandated festivals Shalosh regalim on which Hebrews were commanded to make a pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem. [I have inserted bits from Wikipedia so you can access further information on the Internet, but most of my devotion is my own writing, guided by the Holy Spirit]. A Jewish family builds a sukkah, a fragile, 3-sided booth open to the outside air, large enough to house a table with enough chairs for the family (and occasionally a bed). The children decorate it with pictures of fruit they draw or cut out and leafy branches. The sukkah represents the booths set up next to the fields of ancient Israel at the fall harvest, so people could work quickly and avoid spoilage of the harvest. Throughout the holiday, meals are eaten inside the sukkah (and some people sleep there as well). On each day of the holiday, members of the household recite a blessing over the lulav (closed frond of the date palm tree, bound with boughs and branches of the willow and myrtle trees) and etrog (yellow citron) (Four species).[1] The requirement to do this on rainy days is waived. The book of Ecclesiastes is read during Sukkot, which lasts 8 days. Work is forbidden. ECCL 12: 13-14 encourages reading of the Torah as a worthy pursuit. Zechariah prophesied, in ZECH 14: 16-19, that some day the celebration of Sukkot will be universal. To a large degree, the celebration of Sukkot foreshadows our own celebration of the harvest, Thanksgiving. These covenant meals and the richness of their observances give us wonderful opportunities to offer the Lord the thanks and praise He so deserves. We must remember PS 24: 1, “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it, the world and all who live in it…” To His glory, we offer Him praise and thanks for His unselfishness with us!
PRAYER: O Lord, You are such a loving God, and we are so thankful for all You are and all You do for us. Today, we spend time learning about the Jewish roots of Christianity. We now know the need for rehearsing our history with You. We are doing this corporately, and now we hope to do it individually. This requires us to look back over our own history, to remember the specific lessons and blessings of our own interaction with You. As our Covenant Partner, You call us to seek you out in JER 29: 11-13, and we will do this. PS 95: 6-7, “Come let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Creator; for He is our God and we are the people of His pasture, the flock under His care.” We further acknowledge You by citing PS 86: 9-10. “All nations You have made will come and worship before You, Lord; they will bring glory to Your name. For You are great and do marvelous deeds; You alone are God.” You have commanded us to remember Your deeds and love by calling us to covenant meals. Communion is a privilege, and it is our most intimate contact with You on earth. Thus, we pledge to take it seriously and to work to expunge sins from our lives. We place our trust in You, Your word, and Your leadership in our lives. PR 30: 5, “God keeps every promise He makes. He is like a shield or all who seek His protection.” We acknowledge You with our trust, loyalty, willingness to let You lead, thanks and praise, in the holy/mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: More is coming next week on covenant meals, including a reminder of some important relationships between feasts/rituals of the OT and NT. I am cautioned by the Holy Spirit not to forget to express the importance of our need to take care of this amazing planet upon which we are living. God has allowed us to flourish here, although there are other places where the population isn’t so blessed. Perhaps that brings out one further reminder from the Parable of the Good Samaritan [LK 10: 25-37]. LK 10: 36-37, “’Which of these three do you think was a good neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?’ [Jesus asked]. The expert on the law replied, ‘The one who had mercy on him.’ Jesus told him, ‘Go and do likewise.’” Reforesting after sawing lumber, showing third world countries how to grow much-needed crops and raise animals for food [GN 1: 29-30], working to stop political graft and corruption (which denies help to the needy), supporting good causes (like Feed The Starving Children, for example), using sustainable alternatives like bamboo rather than oak for flooring, and many other ways are possible to demonstrate to our Creator just how much we appreciate the great blessing He has given us. All these make so much sense. And yes, so does rehearsing our personal and corporate histories with Him to please Him and give ourselves a sense of truly belonging to each other—making us one in the family of God. When God knows our worship, awe, and reverence for Him, He doesn’t have to sustain only disappointment and frustration in working out His mission statement [JN 6: 39-40; EPH 1: 4-5] to bring us back to Him (in His perfect time) for eternity. Let us work, side by side as covenant partners to bring His Kingdom to life. He deserves nothing less from us. Praise and thanks be to our God!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2014. All Rights Reserved.
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