HAPPY FESTIVE SEASONS!!!
WHAT DOES FESTIVALS
MEANS?
There were seven annual festivals prescribed in the law of
Moses, arranged at three different time slots (a) spring:
Passover (Exod.
12:12-13) “For I will pass through the land of Egypt
on that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man
and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the
Lord. Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And
when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you
to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.” Unleavened Bread, (Exod. 12:17) “So you shall observe
the feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this same day I will have brought your
armies out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day
throughout your generations as an everlasting ordinance.” First fruits; (b) summer: Harvest; (c)
Fall: Trumpets, Day of Atonement, And Shelters. These festivals resolve
around harvest times (Haggai 1:6) “You have sown
much and bring in little; you eat but do not have enough; you drink but, you
are not filled with drink; you clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; and he
who earns wages earns wages to put in a bag with holes.” which was very much in keeping with an
agricultural society. Another festival, Purim, developed during the time of
Esther. In addition other festivals were
held on such occasions as a weaning, a marriage and a family celebration. In
the church, the Lord’s Supper likely centered around a festive meal (Matt.
26:26-29) “And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and
gave it to His disciples and said, “Take eat; this is My body.” Then He took
the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of
you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the
remission of sins. But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine
from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My father’s
kingdom.” But as the world transforms with time keeping the religious
festivals often became empty rituals- celebrated hypocritically rather than sincerely
and thus were criticized by the prophets (1 Sam. 15:20-23) “And Saul said to Samuel, But I have obeyed
the voice of the Lord, and gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me, and
brought back Agag king of Amalek; I have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. But
the people took off the plunder, sheep and oxen, the best of the things which
should have been destroyed, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.” So
Samuel said: “Has the Lord has great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,
as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,
and to heed than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft,
and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the
word of the Lord, He also has rejected you from being king.” See also (Isa. 1:14) “Your New Moon and your appointed feasts My
soul hates; They are a trouble to Me, I am weary of bearing them.” But more important than
keeping the religious festivals is treating one’s neighbor justly, in love and
in mercy (Deut.
1:16-17) “Then I commanded your judges at that time
saying, ‘Hear the cases between your brethren, and judge righteously between a man and his brother or the stranger who is
with him. You shall not show partiality in judgment; you shall hear the small
as well as the great; you shall not be afraid in any man’s presence, for the
judgment is God’s. The case that is too hard for you, you bring to me, and I
will hear it.”
THE LORD’S SUPPER
The Lord’s Supper was the last gathering Jesus held with His
disciples before His death on the cross and He admonish them to do it often in
remembrance of Him and His disciples continued to observe that (Acts 20:7)”Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came
together to break bread, Paul ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and
continued his message until midnight.” Although
the phrase “to break bread” could mean an
ordinary meal, it more likely refers to the observance of the Lord’s Supper in
obedience to Christ’s command. The “first day of
the week” was a special day, celebrating the resurrection of Christ from
the dead. Since the believers in Troas had gathered together to break bread,
they also used the occasion to hear the Word of God expounded by the apostle
Paul. Intending to leave the next day, he had much to say to them for their
instruction and edification. The meeting’s central feature, the breaking of bread, is reminiscent
of what the Gospels tell about the Lord’s institution of this ordinance.
The Supper did not last as long as Paul’s message, but the form of expression
shows it to be the primary purpose of the gathering. From this we learn that
the Lord’s is not a perfunctory addition to a service, but an integral part of
the meeting of the local church. As it is written (1 Cor. 11:26) “For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup,
you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.”
THE FEAST OF PURIM
The feast of Purim or known as Esther and Mordecai’s feast
was introduced on the fourteenth and the fifteenth day of the month of Adar i.
e. the month of December when the Jews armed themselves to defend themselves
against their enemies who were to destroy, kill, annihilate and plunder
their properties; the first decree that was made by Haman who was no more (Esther
8:16-17) “The Jews had light and gladness, joy and
honor. And in every province and city, wherever the king’s command and degree
came, the Jews had joy and gladness, a feast and a holiday. Then many of the
people of the land became Jews, because fear of the Jews fell upon them.”
On the thirteenth day of the month of
Adar the Jews destroyed five hundred men in Shushan the citadel plus ten sons
of Haman. On the fourteenth day the Jews gathered again to defend themselves (9:15-17) “And the Jews who were in Shushan gathered together again
on the fourteenth day of the month of Adar and killed three hundred men at
Shushan; but they did not lay a hand on the plunder. The remainder of the Jews in the king’s
provinces gathered together and protected their lives, had rest from their
enemies but they did not lay a hand on the plunder. This was on the thirteenth
day of the month of Adar. And on the fourteenth of the month they rested and
made it a day of feasting and gladness.”
Because the province was big,
large and wide, they had two days to feast in the city and other provinces (V.18-22) “But the Jews who were at Shushan assembled together on
the fourteenth day; and on the fifteenth of the month they rested, and made it
a day of feasting and gladness. Therefore the Jews of the villages who dwelt in
the enwalled towns celebrated the fourteenth day of the month of Adar with
gladness and feasting, as a holiday, and for sending presents to one another. And
Mordecai wrote these things and sent letters to all the Jews , near and far,
who were in all the provinces of king Ahasuerus, to establish among them that they should
celebrate yearly the fourteenth and the fifteenth day of the month of Adar, as
the days on which the Jews had rest from
their enemies, as the month which was turned from sorrow to joy for them, and
from mourning to a holiday; that they should make them days of feasting and
joy, of sending present to one another and gifts to the poor.”
BEHOLD THE BABY
The birth of Jesus Christ is a day that was marked and
celebrated yearly every twenty- fifth day of the month of Adar (Luke 2:8-14) “Now there were in the same country shepherds living out
in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of
the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and
they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for
behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For
there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the
Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in
swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.” The angel speaks of future joy and
blessing coming to humanity through the birth of a child in Bethlehem. This
place was spoken of as the “city of David” because
David himself was born there. It was fitting that Jesus who was of the house of
David, should be born in Bethlehem, in fulfillment of a prophecy made six centuries
earlier (Mic.
5:2)”But
you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah,
yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose
goings forth are from of old, from everlasting.” The baby is
proclaimed as “a Savior” because that will
be His ultimate work on the Cross, and also as “Christ
the Lord.” The Greek word “Christ” means
“Anointed,” as does the Hebrew word “Messiah.” Hence the divine messenger is stating
specifically that the infant is indeed the long-promised Messiah, who will
usher in the divine kingdom among mankind. As a baby, this Messiah s identified
fully with human beings, but as the Anointed Savior and Lord He will demand the
full royalty of His people. John said (John 3:17) “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn
the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”
FOR UNTO
US, A CHILD IS BORN
“For unto us a Child is born, unto us, a Son is given;
and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. Of
the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne
of David and over His kingdom” (Isa. 9:6-7) In
this triumphant song Isaiah rejoices as though the promised Child of the house
of David has already been born. Beloved, let us join prophet Isaiah in joy and
gladness, feasts and celebrations but only let’s do it wisely and differently
this season by remembering the poor, needy and destitute in our neighborhood.
Let’s forget all the uncertainties and circumstances that we may have gone
through and let us dwell in the present and future. For our God is a faithful
and merciful Father; and He alone hold our tomorrow.
I wish us a Fabulous Festive Seasons with Joy, Gladness,
Peace and Hope!!!
“Grace to you and Favor from God our Father and the Lord
Jesus Christ be with us all. Amen and Amen and Amen.”
5 Comments
I wish you a Fabulous Festive Seasons!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the input. God bless you too
ReplyDeleteThe pleasure is all mine and blessings on your way too.
DeleteGlory be to Jesus Christ in the festive season
ReplyDeleteHallelujah, Amen! The Lord bless you Philip.
Delete