Daily Bible Portion (Friday)
Daily Bible Portion – 6 of 7
"SAY"
(Weekly Reading>>Leviticus 21:1-24:23, Ezekiel 44:15-31, Galatians 3:26-29)
A true priest or prophet of Yahweh today is to teach the people about clean and unclean, holy and unholy and Yahweh's moedim – His Feast Days, Sabbath and New Moon. This is the Gospel of the Kingdom of Yeshua (Ezekiel 22:26; 44:23-24).
As a royal priesthood and holy nation we are to keep the eternal order and universal pattern of Yahweh's Feasts - the Sabbath being the first feast - and to teach His people to honor them perpetually. Doing what He has asked us to do is our praise offering before Yahweh (1 Peter 2:9).
The Sabbath
Yahweh says for us to do all our common work for six days and then set aside the seventh day. This Sabbath day is holy unto Him. There are blessings that flow for keeping this day holy and undefiled.
We can shabbat with Yahweh any day of the week, but there is only one Sabbath day, which is the seventh day. The word day can also be counted as years in Scripture and prophetically this Sabbath day represents the seven thousandth year period of time called the millennial – the restoration of the House of David. Today we are in the 7000-year period of time where Messiah is restoring His people to rule and reign as priests in the order of Melchizedek. The reunification and ingathering of the whole House of Israel (the House of Judah and the House of Israel) back to the Garden has begun (Psalm 90:4; 1 Peter 3:8).
The first month is called Aviv or Abib. The Passover is a memorial commemorating Yahweh's firstborn flight from slavery and oppressive rule. Lambs were to be slaughtered at twilight (the 9th hour/3 PM) on that day and the blood smeared on the doorposts and lintels of the Israelite homes. This protected them from the angel of death who passed over the homes marked with the blood of the lamb allowing those Israelites to flee from slavery into freedom.
The Passover is also prophetic of the coming of the Messiah who became our Passover Lamb. Yeshua died at exactly the same time as the Passover lambs were being slaughtered in the Temple on the fourteenth day of the first month. When Yeshua's side was pierced and His blood shed, the curtain in the Temple tore in two from top to bottom. Through this torn veil (or, through Yeshua ) the House of Israel and the House of Judah have been given access to the Father, obtaining forgiveness and the direction to eternal life. With the sprinkling of His blood and the Living Torah now written on the believer's heart we are now given the ability to be delivered from the power of sin and death (Jeremiah 31:31-33; Hebrews 8:8-10, 1 Peter 1:2).
The memorial of Passover is only for believers. It is to be remembered throughout each generation at its appointed time by eating lamb, bitter herbs and bread made without yeast. That evening the story of the Exodus is to be recited with our children – the next generation – so they will never forget to walk in the Gospel of Yeshua. Passover is a prophetic meal, a rehearsal for the Wedding Supper of the Lamb to come (Revelation 19:9).
(The Seven-Day Consecration of the Priesthood (Bride) of Messiah)
Right after the Passover, on the very next day is the beginning of the seven-day Feast of Unleavened Bread. Yahweh's people are to come together to celebrate the first day of the feast and on the last day of the feast. Those two days are to be kept as High Holy Sabbaths where believers are not to do any common work but instead rest in His Presence. We are to eat only bread made without yeast during those seven days. Seven, in Scripture, is a reference to spiritual completion. Yeast represents the sin of dishonor. When dishonor is removed there is a consecration of Yahweh's people, the priesthood especially. This seven-day period is a time of purity and holiness before Yahweh.
What happened in history to the Israelites when they kept this seven-day feast? It is referenced that on the seventh day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread the Red Sea parted and Pharaoh's army was defeated. Also on this last day of this Feast the walls of Jericho fell. If we are struggling with challenges in our lives and praying for a break through, keeping this Feast of Unleavened Bread can bring blessings of deliverance and freedom into our lives.
Yeshua is our wave offering! During the Feast of Unleavened Bread, Yeshua fulfilled the sign of Jonah and rose from the dead after three days and three nights in the tomb as our firstfruits from the dead.
Easter
The celebration of Easter came from worship of the Babylonian pagan worship of the fertility goddess Ishtar. Man chose to celebrate this as a way of separating themselves from the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Easter is a blending of a pagan celebration with Messiah's death and resurrection believing this to be an acceptable worship before a Holy God. Mixing idolatry with holiness led the children of Israel into captivity. Hot cross buns, Easter bunnies and colored Easter eggs are all fertility symbols of the goddess Ishtar. The tradition of painting eggs and egg hunts came from the practice of coloring the eggs by dipping them into the blood of babies sacrificed live by fire to Ishtar. The eggs were then hidden for children who would later hunt for them. This all seems like innocent fun today but how many believers realize the background of Easter traditions have nothing to do with Yeshua and can harm us? May we be a people who keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread in holiness and righteousness (Matthew 12:40).
continues tomorrow...
"SAY"
(Weekly Reading>>Leviticus 21:1-24:23, Ezekiel 44:15-31, Galatians 3:26-29)
A true priest or prophet of Yahweh today is to teach the people about clean and unclean, holy and unholy and Yahweh's moedim – His Feast Days, Sabbath and New Moon. This is the Gospel of the Kingdom of Yeshua (Ezekiel 22:26; 44:23-24).
Ezekiel 22:26 "Her priests have violated My law and profaned My holy things; they have not distinguished between the holy and unholy, nor have they made known the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they have hidden their eyes from My Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them."
Ezekiel 44:23-24 "And they [the priests] shall teach My people the difference between the holy and the unholy, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean. In controversy they shall stand as judges, and judge it according to My judgments. They shall keep My laws and My statutes in all My appointed meetings, and they shall hallow My Sabbaths."
Matthew 22:1-14 And Jesus/ Yeshua answered and spoke to them again by parables and said: " The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, and sent out his servants [prophets] to call those [believers] who were invited to the wedding; and they were not willing to come. Again, he sent out other servants, saying, 'Tell those who are invited, see, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fatted cattle are killed, and all things are ready. Come to the wedding.' But they [believers] made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business. And the rest seized his servants, treated them spitefully, and killed them. But when the king heard about it, he was furious. And he sent out his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. Then he said to his servants, 'The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy [dishonorable]. Therefore go into the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding.' So those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good. And the wedding hall was filled with guests. But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. So he said to him, 'Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?' And he was speechless. Then the king said to the servants, 'Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few are chosen [few choose]'"
Colossians 2:16 "So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or Sabbaths."
As a royal priesthood and holy nation we are to keep the eternal order and universal pattern of Yahweh's Feasts - the Sabbath being the first feast - and to teach His people to honor them perpetually. Doing what He has asked us to do is our praise offering before Yahweh (1 Peter 2:9).
The Sabbath
Leviticus 23:3 "Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of rest, a holy convocation; ye shall do no work therein: it is the Sabbath of Yahweh in all your dwellings."
Yahweh says for us to do all our common work for six days and then set aside the seventh day. This Sabbath day is holy unto Him. There are blessings that flow for keeping this day holy and undefiled.
Exodus 20:8-11 "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
Exodus 31:13-17 "You are to speak to the people of Israel and say, 'Above all you shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the LORD, sanctify you. You shall keep the Sabbath, because it is holy for you. Everyone who profanes it shall be put to death. Whoever does any work on it, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the LORD. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall be put to death. Therefore the people of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, observing the Sabbath throughout their generations, as a covenant forever. It is a sign forever between me and the people of Israel that in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.'"
We can shabbat with Yahweh any day of the week, but there is only one Sabbath day, which is the seventh day. The word day can also be counted as years in Scripture and prophetically this Sabbath day represents the seven thousandth year period of time called the millennial – the restoration of the House of David. Today we are in the 7000-year period of time where Messiah is restoring His people to rule and reign as priests in the order of Melchizedek. The reunification and ingathering of the whole House of Israel (the House of Judah and the House of Israel) back to the Garden has begun (Psalm 90:4; 1 Peter 3:8).
The Passover – Pesach
(The Called Out Ones – The Firstborn)
(The Called Out Ones – The Firstborn)
Leviticus 23:4-5 "Yahweh's Passover begins at twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month."
The first month is called Aviv or Abib. The Passover is a memorial commemorating Yahweh's firstborn flight from slavery and oppressive rule. Lambs were to be slaughtered at twilight (the 9th hour/3 PM) on that day and the blood smeared on the doorposts and lintels of the Israelite homes. This protected them from the angel of death who passed over the homes marked with the blood of the lamb allowing those Israelites to flee from slavery into freedom.
The Passover is also prophetic of the coming of the Messiah who became our Passover Lamb. Yeshua died at exactly the same time as the Passover lambs were being slaughtered in the Temple on the fourteenth day of the first month. When Yeshua's side was pierced and His blood shed, the curtain in the Temple tore in two from top to bottom. Through this torn veil (or, through Yeshua ) the House of Israel and the House of Judah have been given access to the Father, obtaining forgiveness and the direction to eternal life. With the sprinkling of His blood and the Living Torah now written on the believer's heart we are now given the ability to be delivered from the power of sin and death (Jeremiah 31:31-33; Hebrews 8:8-10, 1 Peter 1:2).
The memorial of Passover is only for believers. It is to be remembered throughout each generation at its appointed time by eating lamb, bitter herbs and bread made without yeast. That evening the story of the Exodus is to be recited with our children – the next generation – so they will never forget to walk in the Gospel of Yeshua. Passover is a prophetic meal, a rehearsal for the Wedding Supper of the Lamb to come (Revelation 19:9).
The Feast of Unleavened Bread
(The Seven-Day Consecration of the Priesthood (Bride) of Messiah)
Leviticus 23:6-8 "On the fifteenth day of that month. Yahweh's Feast of Unleavened Bread begins; for seven days you must eat bread made without yeast. On the first day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work. For seven days present an offering made to Yahweh by fire. And on the seventh day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work."
Right after the Passover, on the very next day is the beginning of the seven-day Feast of Unleavened Bread. Yahweh's people are to come together to celebrate the first day of the feast and on the last day of the feast. Those two days are to be kept as High Holy Sabbaths where believers are not to do any common work but instead rest in His Presence. We are to eat only bread made without yeast during those seven days. Seven, in Scripture, is a reference to spiritual completion. Yeast represents the sin of dishonor. When dishonor is removed there is a consecration of Yahweh's people, the priesthood especially. This seven-day period is a time of purity and holiness before Yahweh.
What happened in history to the Israelites when they kept this seven-day feast? It is referenced that on the seventh day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread the Red Sea parted and Pharaoh's army was defeated. Also on this last day of this Feast the walls of Jericho fell. If we are struggling with challenges in our lives and praying for a break through, keeping this Feast of Unleavened Bread can bring blessings of deliverance and freedom into our lives.
The Feast of Firstfruits
Leviticus 23:9-14 "When you enter the land I am going to give you and you reap its harvest, bring to the priest a sheaf of the first grain you harvest. He is to wave the sheaf before Yahweh so it will be accepted on your behalf; the priest is to wave it on the day after the Sabbath . On the day you wave the sheaf, you must sacrifice as a burnt offering to Yahweh a lamb a year old without defect, together with its grain offering of two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil - an offering made to Yahweh by fire, a pleasing aroma - and its drink offering of a quarter of a hin of wine. You must not eat any bread, or roasted or new grain, until the very day you bring this offering to your God. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live."
1 Corinthians 15:20 "But Yeshua has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep."
Yeshua is our wave offering! During the Feast of Unleavened Bread, Yeshua fulfilled the sign of Jonah and rose from the dead after three days and three nights in the tomb as our firstfruits from the dead.
Easter
The celebration of Easter came from worship of the Babylonian pagan worship of the fertility goddess Ishtar. Man chose to celebrate this as a way of separating themselves from the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Easter is a blending of a pagan celebration with Messiah's death and resurrection believing this to be an acceptable worship before a Holy God. Mixing idolatry with holiness led the children of Israel into captivity. Hot cross buns, Easter bunnies and colored Easter eggs are all fertility symbols of the goddess Ishtar. The tradition of painting eggs and egg hunts came from the practice of coloring the eggs by dipping them into the blood of babies sacrificed live by fire to Ishtar. The eggs were then hidden for children who would later hunt for them. This all seems like innocent fun today but how many believers realize the background of Easter traditions have nothing to do with Yeshua and can harm us? May we be a people who keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread in holiness and righteousness (Matthew 12:40).
continues tomorrow...