2014-08-15
Good Morning Dear Ones,
For the last few weeks, I’ve been led to write about covenant meals. We’ve seen ones in both the OT and NT. Now, it’s important to look at the connections between the two. When God first created the earth, it took Him six days, and on the seventh day, He rested [GN 2: 2-3; EX 20: 8-11, 12-17]. In LV 23: 3 and DT 5: 12-15, the people were commanded to have a day of rest and contemplation of the Lord one day out of seven—the Sabbath. Observant believers still commemorate the Sabbath today. When the 10 Commandments were given via Moses to the Jews at the base of Mt. Sinai [EX 24: 7-11], that established the Feast of Shavuot, the giving of the law—still celebrated by traditional Jews today. It’s no accident that Shavuot is 50 days after the Feast of Passover, which itself commemorates the exodus of Jews from Egyptian slavery [EX 12: 1-42]. A lamb without spot or blemish is sacrificed, it’s blood is painted on the door posts and lintels of the Jewish households, and no time is given for bread to rise. Instead, unleavened bread “matzah” is eaten. The feast, a “seder,” is still prayed over and eaten today.
Now, let’s see some that these traditionally Jewish covenant meals foreshadow events of the NT. Jesus celebrated the Sabbath, as an observant Jew would today. That’s why it is a part of Christian life today. 1 COR 5: 6-8 shows us the connection between Passover and Easter. “Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast works though the whole batch of dough? Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore, let us keep the Festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth.” Yeast has for a long time symbolized sin, so the sacrifice of the Passover Lamb (Jesus Christ) is associated with the choice being given to the believer to expunge sin from his life. This is only made possible by the sacrificial Atonement of the Passover Lamb, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
As for a connection between Shavuot (the giving of the law) and an event in the NT, it would be the commemoration of the giving of the Holy Spirit, called Pentecost, which is described in AC 2: 1-4. And yes, it is no accident that Pentecost is exactly 50 days after Easter (Christ’s resurrection day). This day is made even more special to me, because I have been studying Hebrew language and look forward to reading AC 2: 1-13 in that language aloud at the Pentecost service in church. I have also done this in Greek in the past. To think that our omniscient Lord can understand all the languages of mankind blows my mind! As for the gift of the Holy Spirit and all it entails, what greater gift can their be on earth than this?
God gave the ancient Jews wandering in the desert manna to eat [EX 16: 14-16]. They learned through suffering from their human weaknesses to rely on God for sustenance from it. Beforehand when Passover, the passing over by God of Jewish homes marked with the blood of the lamb sacrificed when He leveled the tenth plague on the Egyptians, there was no time to allow bread to rise before needing to take it along on the journey. Just as these Jews of yesteryear had to rely on God, so do we need to rely on the Lord Jesus, known as the Bread of Life [JN 6: 47-51]. When we take Communion, we are taking in a symbol of Christ’s body, broken for us; we are taking in the “Bread from heaven,” which leads us to eternal life. While the Jewish observance of Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) [LV 16; LV 23: 26-32; NU 29: 7-11] only granted forgiveness for one year, belief in the Lord Jesus, the Bread of Life, grants us eternal forgiveness for our sins [1 JN 1: 9]. This is not a signal that more sinning is allowed, as the Antinomians believed in Paul’s time, [RO 6: 15-16], but reminds us to cooperate with the Lord in our sanctification by finding and expunging sins from our lives. That is how it should be, as we are under grace and not grace without license or the law.
While I may come across as repetitive, I must repeat my own assertion that sharing at least one meal together, usually dinner, is an essential time for members of a family. Many modern families, even Christian ones, are not doing this. In today’s world, it is leading to trouble in the future, as the trend of breakdown of the family unit continues. What goes on at that shared meal is important to the feeling of harmony and unity of a family or household, a chance for adults to share God-given wisdom with children, and an opportunity for children to share victories and challenges of their day. It should not be a time of competition or stress-inducing conversations. As for those who are single or widowed, they should belong to small groups with people in like situations included, where faith-building, sharing, and edification can take place. God never intended for us to be Christian “Lone Rangers!” As for the ancient Jewish practice of keeping the Kosher (Kasrut) dietary regime [based on EX 34: 26], this should only be done if it helps that family (household) to be spiritually strengthened. We, Christians and Messianic Jews, are under grace, and due to Peter’s vision on Cornelius’ roof [AC 10: 1-16], no longer are forced to live with these restrictions, if we prefer not to do this.
PRAYER: O Lord, we are grateful to You for handing down these wonderful feasts and observances to help us remember Who You are in our lives and what You do for us. Our lives have been made richer for them. As mankind’s medical technology has advanced, You have inspired researchers to find ways to stamp out diseases like Trichinosis, the one that made eating pork in ancient times a danger to our health. You have also given us better ways to prolong the freshness of foods, like produce, fish, and shell fish, as well as faster transfer them to consumers. Thus, keeping a Kosher regime is no longer necessary to the maintenance of good health. However, while we are excused, if we desire, from keeping Kosher homes, we must still acknowledge, remember, thank, and praise You forever. So, as Your human covenant partners, we pledge to continue remembering You by the observances mentioned here, particularly taking Communion [1 COR 11: 23-25] and observing the Sabbath day of rest and reflection. PS 33: 8-9, “Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the people of the world revere Him, for He spoke and it came to be; He commanded, and it stood firm.” We seek to do Your will, O Lord. We pray, HE 13: 20-21, “May the God of peace, Who though the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing His will, and may He work within us what is pleasing to Him, through Jesus Christ, to Whom be the glory forever and ever! Amen.”
NEXT WEEK: I’m commanded to begin a new segment in this “Our Covenant” series called “Social Concerns in Covenant.” However, I have just a little more first about the wedding feast. Those who have studied Revelation know that there is a special wedding feast that will take place in our future. It is the wedding feast of the Lamb [REV 19: 5-10, 19]. This is the celebration of the joining of the bride (the church) with the Bridegroom (the Lamb, Jesus Christ). We who are faithfully obedient to Christ can eagerly anticipate this wonderful feast. Our earthly weddings are great occasions meant to foreshadow the wedding feast of the Lamb to come. They are the making of godly and important covenant commitments for their earthly lives that the couples make with each other. EPH 5: 21-25 and MAL 2: 14 outline a true covenant relationship between the new husband and wife that is meant to last for their entire earthly lives, “for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, until (physical death) do them part.” The wedding feast of the Lamb is forever! In a traditionally Jewish wedding, the couple signs and agrees to the terms outlined in their “ketubah” or marriage contract first. At least two witnesses [DT 19: 15] in addition to the presiding rabbi, the bride, and the groom will sign the ketubah. They are each other’s king and queen that day, and they are married under a flimsy, open-sided structure called a “chuppah.” The latter is meant to indicate their marriage is seen by the community, and that life is fragile-- thus to be cared for and taken seriously. The bride will then circle the chuppah, once each has taken a sip from a shared glass of wine, to indicate that this new household being established will acknowledge God’s presence and leadership of it. The hope is that children will come and be reared in accordance with God’s laws [DT 6: 4-13]. In the Christian wedding, the couple knows they make this pledge of commitment to each other before the Lord Jesus Himself. This couple, as with the Messianic Jewish bride and groom, are under the grace of a covenant given by our Lord [EPH 2: 8-10]. Praise and thanks be to God forever!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15
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