Exegesis and Exposition of zephaniah 3: 17-18
Zephaniah 3:18 “I will gather those who grieve about the appointed feasts— They came from you
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- Zephaniah 3:18 “I will gather you who have suffered mental anguish because of the appointed feasts. They are a cause of distress, because of them, a cause of shame.” (Author’s translation)
- I hate your new moons and your appointed feasts; they have become a burden to Me. I am weary of bearing them
| Zephaniah 3:18 “I will gather those who grieve about the appointed feasts— They came from you, O Zion; The reproach of exile is a burden on them.” (NASB95)
“They came from you, O Zion; The reproach of exile is a burden on them” I composed of the following: (1) preposition min (מִן), “about” (2) second person feminine singular pronominal suffix ʾat (אַתְּ), “you” (3) third person plural qal active perfect form of the verb hāyâ (הָיָה), “they came” (4) feminine singular noun maśʾēt (מַשְׂאֵת), “burden” (5) preposition ʿǎl (עַל), “on” (6) third person feminine singular pronominal suffix hîʾ (הִיא), “them” (7) feminine singular noun ḥerpâ (חֶרְפָּה), “reproach.” The verb hāyâ means “to become” since the word pertains to entering into a change of state or condition. The third person plural form of this verb is pointing back to the masculine singular noun môʿēd (מוֹעֵד), “the appointed feasts.” The object of this verb is the noun maśʾēt which means “a cause of distress.” Therefore, this verb and the noun maśʾēt are expressing the idea that these appointed feasts have become a cause of distress for the remnant of Israel. The qal stem is stative expressing a state or condition and here it is expressing the idea of these appointed feasts entering into the state or condition of being a cause of distress for the remnant of Israel. The perfect conjugation of this verb is speaks of a present state resulting from a previously completed action. The present state is the appointed feasts being a cause of distress for this faithful remnant. The completed action is God judging the nation of Israel and exiling her to foreign lands. Therefore, the perfect conjugation is expressing the present state of distress among the faithful remnant because of not being able to worship God during the seven great feasts as a result of God judging the nation as a whole. The noun ḥerpâ means “reproach” since the word pertains to the state of experiencing dishonor or disgrace or shame. The third person feminine singular pronominal suffix hîʾ (הִיא) means “them” referring to the appointed feasts or in other words, the seven great feasts of Israel. This word is the object of the preposition ʿǎl which means “because of” since the word is functioning as a marker of cause expressing the reason for the remnant of Israel experiencing reproach or shame. Therefore, this prepositional phrase expresses the fact that the remnant of Israel experienced shame because of not being able to worship God during these appointed feasts. Translation of Zephaniah 3:18 Zephaniah 3:18 “I will gather you who have suffered mental anguish because of the appointed feasts. They are a cause of distress, because of them, a cause of shame.” (Author’s translation) Exposition of Zephaniah 3:18 The prophet Zephaniah is once again employing the figure of asyndeton in order to emphasize the prophetic declaration contained in Zephaniah 3:18 for the purpose of causing the reader to make an application, which would be repentance. In Zephaniah’s day, the application for the unregenerate Jew would be repentance expressed by the rejection of their idols so as to trust in the God of Israel. The application for the unregenerate Jew living during the seventieth week would be repentance as well but expressed by the rejection of their idols so as trust in the God of Israel, Jesus Christ. For the unfaithful regenerate Jew living during the seventh century B.C. repentance would involve the confession of sin to be restored to fellowship with God and obedience to the Mosaic Law to maintain that fellowship. For the unfaithful regenerate Jew living during the seventieth week, repentance would be the confession of sin to be restored to fellowship with God but obeying the gospel of Jesus Christ to maintain that fellowship. The application for the faithful Jew in Zephaniah’s day would be to continue remaining faithful in their obedience to the Mosaic Law while for the faithful Jew living during the seventieth week the application would be to continue remaining faithful to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Here in Zephaniah 3:18, the prophet Zephaniah is once again quoting the God of Israel directly rather than speaking on His behalf as His representative to the Jewish people. In this verse, God states that He will gather the remnant of Israel. This is speaking of restoring this remnant to the land God promised to the progenitors of the nation in the Abrahamic and Palestinian covenants. The purpose of which is to worship Him in the land and in the temple in Jerusalem. God describes this remnant as suffering mental anguish because of the appointed feasts, which is a reference to the seven great feasts God commanded Israel in the Mosaic Law to observe in order to worship Him. The remnant was grieving because they could not observe these feasts and they could not observe these feasts because God removed them from the land promised to the progenitors of the nation. He removed them because the majority in the nation were unrepentant rebellious sinners. The inability to observe these feasts was a cause of distress for this faithful remnant and a cause of shame. This faithful remnant refers to the faithful Jews from the southern kingdom of Judah who lived during the seventh and sixth centuries B.C. and were exiled to Babylon. It also refers to the faithful Jews in Israel who will be dispersed throughout the nations during the last three and a half years of the seventieth week of Daniel because of the persecution of Antichrist. Therefore, this prophecy in Zephaniah 3:18 was fulfilled in a near sense when God brought back a remnant from Babylon and they rebuilt the temple and restored the worship of the God of Israel. It will be fulfilled in a far sense when Jesus Christ brings back to the land promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their descendants, a regenerate remnant who will worship Jesus Christ in this land and in a temple during Jesus Christ’s millennial reign. Now, we must remember that these feasts were prescribed in the Mosaic Law. However, the Mosaic Law has been fulfilled in Jesus Christ. He is the substantive reality of these feasts according to Colossians 2:17. Therefore, since this prophecy in Zephaniah 3:18 will be fulfilled in a far sense with the remnant of Israel living during the seventieth week, it would indicate that these seven great feasts will be observed during the millennial reign of Jesus Christ. This is further supported by Zechariah 14:61-21 which predicts that a faithful remnant in Israel will worship the Lord Jesus Christ during His millennial reign by observing the feasts of Tabernacles. Warren Wiersbe writes “Why would the Lord restore religious practices that have now been fulfilled? Possibly as a means of teaching Israel the meaning of the doctrine of salvation through Jesus Christ. The feasts described in Leviticus 23 picture ‘salvation history,’ from the slaying of the Passover lamb (John 1:29) to the Day of Atonement (the cleansing of Israel) and the Feast of Tabernacles (the Kingdom Age). The Prophet Ezekiel describes in great detail the structure and services of a great temple in Israel (Ezek. 40–48), and this includes the offering of the levitical sacrifices. Just as the Old Testament types looked forward to the coming of the Savior, perhaps during the Kingdom Age these rituals will look back to His finished work.”12 Wiersbe could very well be correct. However, it would appear that the observance of these feasts will simply be the means by which this remnant will worship Jesus Christ. They will all be regenerated. Thus, they already know about salvation and how to get saved. Therefore, the observance of these feasts would simply be one of the means by which this remnant experiences sanctification. The twenty-third chapter of the book of Leviticus gives us an account of the seven great feasts of the Lord. They were a prophecy and foreshadowing of future events, part of which have been fulfilled, and part are yet to be. They are the “shadow of things to come,” of which Christ is the “body” or substance (Col. 2:16-17). They were “holy convocations” of the people. The Lord instituted them. The people had no say in the matter. God promised that if the males went up at the appointed time to Jerusalem to keep these Feasts, He would look after their families. When the people became legalistic and arrogant, the Lord said, “I hate your new moons and your appointed feasts; they have become a burden to Me. I am weary of bearing them” (Isa. 1:14). Therefore, Jesus called them the “feasts of the Jews,” rather than the “feasts of the Lord.” The “feasts of the Lord” are seven in number. If we include the Sabbath, there are eight. But the Sabbath stands by itself. It was to be observed “weekly,” the other feasts “annually.” The Sabbath was to be observed at “home,” the other feasts at “Jerusalem.” The seven feasts may be divided into two sections of four and three. The first section includes the following feasts: (1) Passover (2) Unleavened Bread (3) First-Fruits (4) Pentecost. Then there was an interval of four months followed by the second section which includes the following feasts: (1) Trumpets (2) Atonement (3) Tabernacles. The three great festivals were the following: (1) Passover (2) Pentecost (3) Tabernacles. They extended from the fourteenth day of the first month (Nisan) to the twenty-second day of the seventh month Tishri or Ethanim. These seven feasts were given only to Israel to be observed and not the Church. The following Feasts were literally fulfilled by the Lord Jesus Christ during the dispensation of the hypostatic union: (1) Passover: His voluntary death on the cross (2) Unleavened Bread: His impeccability as a Person. (3) Pentecost was literally fulfilled when the Baptism of the Spirit took place in June of 33 A.D., which marked the beginning of the church age. The following Feasts are eschatological in nature and thus have yet to be literally fulfilled: (1) Trumpets: Rapture or resurrection of the Church terminating the Church Age. (2) Atonement: Second Advent of Christ ending the seventieth week of Daniel dispensation. (3) Tabernacles: Millennial Reign of Christ on planet earth. Passover: Leviticus 23:4-5; 1 Corinthians 5:7; Unleavened Bread: Leviticus 23:6-8; 1 Corinthians 5:7-8; First Fruits: Leviticus 23:9-14; 1 Corinthians 15:23; Pentecost: Leviticus 23:15-22; Acts 2:1-4; Trumpets: Leviticus 23:23-25; 1 Corinthians 15:52; Day of Atonement: Leviticus 23:26-32; 1 John 2:2; Tabernacles: Leviticus 23:33-44; John 7:2. The Passover is documented in Exodus 12 and Leviticus 23. Exodus 12:1 Now the Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, 2 “This month shall be the beginning of months for you; it is to be the first month of the year to you. 3 Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, ‘On the tenth of this month they are each one to take a lamb for themselves, according to their fathers’ households, a lamb for each household. 4 Now if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his neighbor nearest to his house are to take one according to the number of persons in them; according to what each man should eat, you are to divide the lamb. 5 Your lamb shall be an unblemished male a year old; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats. 6 You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month, then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel is to kill it at twilight. 7 Moreover, they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. 8 They shall eat the flesh that same night, roasted with fire, and they shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. 9 Do not eat any of it raw or boiled at all with water, but rather roasted with fire, both its head and its legs along with its entrails. 10 And you shall not leave any of it over until morning, but whatever is left of it until morning, you shall burn with fire. 11 Now you shall eat it in this manner: with your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste—it is the Lord’s Passover. 12 For I will go through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments—I am the Lord. 13 The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live; and when I see the blood I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.’” (NASB95) In verses 1 and 2, we have the Lord telling Moses and Aaron when they should observe the Passover. This feast was to mark a new age in the history of Israel. The events recorded in chapter twelve took place in the seventh month according to the civil year which began in September-October. However, the month in which the events recorded in this chapter took place would constitute the first month in Israel’s religious calendar. This month is called Abib, which means “fresh young ears.” Barley was harvested in March-April. This new calendar was designed to give the Israelites an identity distinct from the heathen nations of the earth. The historical event of the Lord delivering the Israelites from Egyptian bondage was to determine the calendar of the Israelites and mark the beginning of their history as a nation. Interestingly, Moses and Aaron were from the tribe of Levi and were the recipients of these legal instructions from the Lord. This corresponds with the fact that the responsibility of Levites and priests throughout the generations of Israel was not only to observe the Law but also to enforce it and teach it to the citizens of the nation. Therefore, the first two Levitical priests in Israel’s history, Moses and Aaron serve as an example for subsequent generations of Levitical priests. Verses 3 and 4 stipulate that each household in Israel was to have a lamb. Each person in Israel had to take part in the Passover in order to avoid the coming judgment of God. The first-born in every household of Egypt was to be slain if there was not blood from the sacrificed lamb on the doorposts. The blood spoke of Christ's spiritual and physical deaths on the cross which would be the payment for sins. Putting blood on the doorposts was to have faith in Christ and His future work on the cross. In verse 5, the Lord instructs Moses and Aaron that the lamb in each household was to be perfect since the Lord Jesus, which the Passover lamb typified was sinless. The unblemished lamb represented our Lord Jesus Christ's perfect sinless humanity (Heb. 9:14; 1 Pet. 1:18-19). Verse 6 records that the lamb was to be sacrificed on the fourteenth day of the month of Nisan at twilight. Thomas Constable writes, “Some of the ancient rabbis taught that God wanted the Jews to sacrifice the Passover lamb exactly at sunset because of the instructions in verse 6 and Deuteronomy 16:6. However ‘at twilight’ literally means ‘between the two evenings.’ The more widely held Jewish view was that the first evening began right after noon and the second began when the sun set. In Josephus' day, which was also Jesus' day, the Jews slew the Passover lamb in mid-afternoon.205 The Lord Jesus Christ died during this time (i.e., about 3:00 p.m., Matt. 27:45-50; Mark 15:34-37; Luke 23:44-46; 1 Cor. 5:7).”13 The Lord Jesus Christ fulfilled this completely when He died on the fourteenth of Nisan, 33 A. D. The lamb that each family in Israel killed led to each family being spared from the Lord killing the first born. This typifies Christ who was sacrificed to deliver not only Israel but all people. The Passover lamb taught the Israelites and subsequent generations in Israel that deliverance and redemption is through a sacrifice, the substitutionary death of Christ on the cross. In verse 7, the Israelites are instructed to put some of the blood of the lamb on the two doorposts and on the lintel of their homes. The blood on the doorposts and lintel protected the household from God killing the first-born in the family. It represents Christ’s redemptive work protecting the believer from the judgment of God which will come upon all those who will not believe in Christ. Therefore, the blood had the power to deliver the Israelites’ first born children from death which typified Christ’s death which has the power to deliver from the bondage of sin and Satan. The blood symbolizes a sacrifice as a substitute in which one life is laid down for another (see Leviticus 17:11). Therefore, Israel would escape the judgment to fall on Egypt through the mediation of a sacrifice (see Hebrews 9:22; 1 John 1:7). In verse 8, the Israelites were commanded by the Lord to eat the flesh of the lamb that night and that the lamb was to be roasted with fire and it was to be eaten with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. The bitter herbs represented the bitterness of slavery in Egypt. The believer in Christ is no longer a slave in the world but has been set free by Christ to serve Him. The unleavened bread represents the impeccability of Christ who gave Himself for all of sinful humanity. Then, in verse 9, the Lord instructs Moses and Aaron that the Israelites were not to eat any of the lamb raw or boiled in water. It was not to be roasted with first typifying the judgment of Christ in their place. The Lord in verse 10 tells the two brothers that the Israelites were not to leave any of the animal until morning. Whatever was left over was to be burned with fire. The sacrifice was to be roasted with fire because fire spoke of the judgment of Christ. In verse 11, the Lord instructs Moses and Aaron and the Israelites as to the manner in which they were to eat the Passover meal, namely, with their loins girded and sandals on their feet and with their staff in hand, eating the meal in haste. This was to express their faith that the Lord would deliver them out of Egypt as a result of this tenth plague. This readiness to leave Egypt is a picture of what should be the attitude of every believer with regards to the cosmic system of Satan, namely we should always be ready live according to godly standards found in the Word of God rather than living by the standards of Satan’s cosmic system. This readiness to leave Egypt typifies the Christian readiness to leave behind the devil’s world in order to execute God’s plan for their life. In verses 12 and 13, the Lord instructs Moses and Aaron that on the night in which he was giving them these instructions, He would kill the firstborn in every home in Egypt, both man and beast. This would constitute the tenth and final plague. The Lord also says that He will execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt. The blood would serve as a sign for the Israelites. The Lord would see the blood and would pass over their home and thus this tenth plague would not strike their Israelite home because of this blood of the lamb, which spoke of Christ. Thus, this instruction typified the death of Christ as delivering the one who has faith in Him from eternal condemnation and the judgment of God. This tenth and final plague was against the Egyptian god Min who was the god of reproduction. It was also against the Egyptian Heqet who was the goddess who attended women at childbirth. This tenth plague was also against Isis who was the goddess who protected children. Lastly, it was against Pharaoh’s firstborn son, who was considered a god by the Egyptians. Exodus 12:14 ‘Now this day will be a memorial to you, and you shall celebrate it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations you are to celebrate it as a permanent ordinance. 15 Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, but on the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses; for whoever eats anything leavened from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel. 16 On the first day you shall have a holy assembly, and another holy assembly on the seventh day; no work at all shall be done on them, except what must be eaten by every person, that alone may be prepared by you. 17 You shall also observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this very day I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt; therefore, you shall observe this day throughout your generations as a permanent ordinance. 18 In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread, until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. 19 Seven days there shall be no leaven found in your houses; for whoever eats what is leavened, that person shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is an alien or a native of the land. 20 You shall not eat anything leavened; in all your dwellings you shall eat unleavened bread.’” (NASB95) In Exodus 12:14, the Lord tells Moses and Aaron that the day in which He strikes Egypt with this tenth plague was to be celebrated with the Passover festival annually in Israel forever. In Exodus 12:15-20, the Lord gives Moses and Aaron instructions with regards to the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which was to be a national celebration of Israel’s redemption from Egypt. The Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread were closely connected and constituted a single unit. The Feast of Unleavened Bread was to be for seven days according to Exodus 12:15, from the fifteenth to the twenty-first of the month (Lev. 23:6; Num. 28:17). The removal of leaven from each home signifies the removal of evil. It speaks of sanctification. Leaven was not to be found in the house. It is a substance such as yeast that is used to produce fermentation in dough. It produces a gas that lightens dough or batter. Leaven in the word of God speaks of evil (1 Cor. 5:6b-8; Gal. 5:9). Evil is anything that denies the grace of God such as legalism. The person with leaven in their house represented someone who adds works to salvation and therefore tramples on the Work of Christ and refuses the grace of God, which is God’s unmerited favor towards man. It is extended to us based upon His justice being satisfied at the cross by Christ’s spiritual and physical deaths on the cross. The Israelites were to separate themselves from the evil standards of the rest of the heathen world in order to serve the Lord exclusively. Failure to do so would result in a loss of the covenant privileges and rights and also death. The Feast of Unleavened Bread began on the day after the Passover, and continued for seven days (Lev. 23:6-8). It began immediately after sunset, which was the beginning of the fifteenth day of Nisan. Thus there was no interval between the Passover and this feast. The Feast of Unleavened Bread immediately followed the Passover and lasted seven days, from the fifteenth to the twentieth Nisan (or Abib). On each of those days, after the morning sacrifice, a sacrifice in connection with the feast was presented; unleavened bread alone was eaten (Ex. 12:15-20; 13:6-7; Deut. 16:3-8). The usual morning and evening sacrifices, with their grain and drink offerings. Two young bulls, one ram, seven lambs of the first year, with their grain and drink offerings. These were presented after the morning sacrifice (Num. 28:19-24). The first and seventh days of the feast were celebrated by a holy convocation and resting from work, with the exception of preparing food. On the intervening days work might be carried on unless the weekly Sabbath fell on one of them, in which case the full strictness of Sabbath-keeping was observed, and the special feast sacrifice was not presented until after the Sabbath offering. On the second feast day (sixteenth Nisan) the first sheaf of the new harvest (barley) was symbolically offering to the Lord by waving-not burning on the altar-accompanied with a lamb of the first year for a burnt offering, with its grain and drink offerings. Previous to this offering neither bread nor roasted grain of the new harvest was allowed to be eaten (Lev. 23:9-14). Those attending presented freewill, burnt, and holy offerings of sheep and oxen (Ex. 23:15, 19; Deut. 16:2), and sacrificial meals were eaten. The feast closed on the twenty-first, with rest from work and a holy convocation. Scripture records that the Passover was kept on the evening before the Israelites left Egypt (Ex. 12:28), the second year after the Exodus (Num. 9:1-5), and then not again until they entered Canaan (Ex. 13:5; Josh. 5:10). Only three instances are recorded in which the Passover was celebrated between the entrance into the Promise Land and the Babylonian captivity, namely, under Solomon (2 Chron. 8:13), under Hezekiah when he restored the national worship (30:15), and under Josiah (2 Kings 23:21; 2 Chron. 35:1-19). But the inference that the Passover was celebrated only on those occasions seems less warranted, that in later times it was so punctually and universally observed. After the return of the Jews from captivity the celebration of the Passover, like that of other institutions, became more regular and systematic; and its laws, rites, manners, and customs have been faithfully transmitted to us. These were the same as those in the time of Christ and His apostles, and therefore, of the utmost importance and interest to us in understanding the New Testament. The Lord Jesus Christ was crucified on the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Mark 14; Luke 22). The application of the Feast of Unleavened Bread for us here in the church age is that it portrays experiential sanctification (John 17:17; 1 Cor. 5:6-9). In verse 16, the Lord stipulates that the Israelites were not to do any work on the first day and the last day of the Feast Unleavened. Instead they were to use these two days to worship the Lord together as a corporate unit. These two days were to be days of celebration and a time to bring into remembrance their deliverance from the bondage of Egypt. In verse 17, the Lord says that like the Passover festival, the Feast of Unleavened Bread was a permanent ordinance to be observed forever by the Israelites. Then, in verses 18-20, He reiterates with Moses and Aaron the instructions He gave them as recorded in verse 15. In these verses, the Lord repeats the instructions He gave in verses 15 and 16 in order to emphasize the importance of the Israelites observing this Feast of Unleavened Bread annually as a permanent ordinance. Exodus 12:21 Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go and take for yourselves lambs according to your families, and slay the Passover lamb. 22 You shall take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood which is in the basin, and apply some of the blood that is in the basin to the lintel and the two doorposts; and none of you shall go outside the door of his house until morning. 23 For the Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to come in to your houses to smite you. 24 And you shall observe this event as an ordinance for you and your children forever. 25 When you enter the land which the Lord will give you, as He has promised, you shall observe this rite. 26 And when your children say to you, ‘What does this rite mean to you?’ 27 you shall say, ‘It is a Passover sacrifice to the Lord who passed over the houses of the sons of Israel in Egypt when He smote the Egyptians, but spared our homes.’” And the people bowed low and worshiped. 28 Then the sons of Israel went and did so; just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did. (NASB95) The instructions that appear in Exodus 12:1-20 were given by the Lord to Moses and Aaron and not the Israelites. However, in Exodus 12:21-27, Moses and Aaron communicate these instructions to the elders or leaders of the Israelites who were to pass along these instructions to the Israelites. The instructions that appear in verses 1-20 are given in abbreviated form in verses 21-27. However, Moses does add warnings and clarifications in order that no one in Israel would die needlessly. Verse 22 repeats Exodus 12:7 but with the added detail that a basin was to be used by the Israelites to collect the blood of the sacrificed lamb and that a hyssop branch could be used for smearing the blood on the doorframe. Also, in verse 22, Moses adds that the Israelites were not to go outside for the rest of the evening but wait till morning to go outside. Verse 23 echoes verses 12 and 13. Verse 24 echoes verses 14 and 17. In verses 26-27, the Israelites are commanded to communicate to their children and future generations, the reason why they celebrated this festival. They were to instruct their children and grandchildren with regards to the reason for the observance of the Passover meal and Unleavened Bread in order to invoke faith in their offspring. Verse 28 records that the citizens of Israel obeyed the Lord’s instructions that were communicated to them by their elders, which they received from Moses and Aaron. This obedience was the result of their faith in the Word of God which they received through Moses and their elders. Exodus 12:42 It is a night to be observed for the Lord for having brought them out from the land of Egypt; this night is for the Lord, to be observed by all the sons of Israel throughout their generations. 43 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the ordinance of the Passover: no foreigner is to eat of it; 44 but every man’s slave purchased with money, after you have circumcised him, then he may eat of it. 45 A sojourner or a hired servant shall not eat of it. 46 It is to be eaten in a single house; you are not to bring forth any of the flesh outside of the house, nor are you to break any bone of it. 47 All the congregation of Israel are to celebrate this. 48 But if a stranger sojourns with you, and celebrates the Passover to the Lord, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near to celebrate it; and he shall be like a native of the land. But no uncircumcised person may eat of it. 49 The same law shall apply to the native as to the stranger who sojourns among you.” 50 Then all the sons of Israel did so; they did just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron. 51 And on that same day the Lord brought the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their hosts. Verse 42 is speaking of the night of Israel’s exodus from Egypt. It was a night that the Israelites were to bring into remembrance throughout all their subsequent generations. The Israelites were to forever remember what the Lord did for them that evening with the tenth and final plague. In verses 43-49, the Lord gives Moses and Aaron instructions with regards to the observance of the Passover ordinance. Notice in verse 46, the Lord stipulates that the bones of the Passover lamb must not be broken. The reason for this is that the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, who is portrayed by the Passover Lamb would not have a bone of his body broken while dying for the sin of the world (John 19:36). These instructions in verses 43-49 were as a result of the mixed multitude which accompanied the Israelites from Egypt. The Lord stipulates that these Gentiles could eat the Passover meal if they were circumcised. They could not eat the Passover if they were uncircumcised. This regulation pertains to the slave as well. By submitting to circumcision, these Gentiles would be identifying with the promises the Lord made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The failure to be circumcised indicated that you were not identifying with these promises and thus the Israelites. Also, circumcision was a sign that one had exercised faith in the Lord. Circumcision signified membership in the covenant people of God. Verse 50 records that the Israelites obeyed the Lord’s instructions. Interestingly, there would be a 39-year interval between the Passover celebrated at Sinai (Numbers 9) and the one celebrated in the land of Canaan under Joshua (Joshua 5:10). The implication is obvious, the Exodus generation, i.e. those who saw the plagues and left Egypt under Moses and Aaron, observed only one Passover. The Hebrew word pesah (from pasah, to “leap over,” figuratively to “spare, show mercy”) denotes: (1) an overstepping (2) the paschal sacrifice by virtue of which the passing over was effected (Ex. 12:21, 27, 48; 2 Chron. 30:15). The paschal meal was on the evening of the 14th day of Nisan (post-exilic; Abib, exilic), and the seven days following are called the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Lev. 23:5-6). Hence the expression “the morrow of the Passover” for the 15th day of Nisan (Num. 33:3; Josh. 5:11). The whole feast, including the paschal eve, is called the festival of Unleavened Bread (Ex. 23:15; Lev. 23:6; Ezra 6:22; Luke 22:1, 7; Acts 12:3; 20:6); but the simple name “Passover” (Hebrew: pesah) is the one commonly used by the Jews to the present day for the festival of Unleavened Bread (2 Chron. 30:15; 35:1, 11; Mark 14:1; Greek: pascha). The Passover commemorated the final plague in Egypt in which the 1st born of the Egyptians died, but the Israelites were spared by the blood on the doorposts and lintel (Ex. 12:11, 21, 27, 43, 48). Thereafter the event was observed as a feast to the Lord (12:14). The 2nd Passover was observed in the wilderness of Sinai (Num. 9:1-5). The Passover marked the birth of Israel as a Client Nation to God (Ex. 12:2) and was to be observed by them forever as a memorial. It was observed in the 1st month (Abib; Deut. 16:1; the 1st month is called Nisan in post-exilic times: Neh. 2:1; Esth. 3:7) on the 14th day at twilight between 3-6pm (Lev. 23:5). The head of every Jewish family chose a male lamb without blemish on the 10th Abib (Ex. 12:3l 1 Pet. 1:18-19) and killing it on the 14th Abib (12:6) with none of its bones broken (literally fulfilled at the cross by Christ). The lamb typified Jesus Christ who was proclaimed by John the Baptist as “the lamb of God” (John 1:29). The blood was to be sprinkled on the doorposts and lintel of the house with hyssop (typifying the sinner being cleansed from sin through faith alone in Christ alone since hyssop was a symbol of purification), so that when the Lord passed over that night and saw the blood He would spare the first-born in the house. The lamb was to be roasted and served up whole (portraying the perfect obedience of Christ to the Father’s plan for the Incarnation which was the cross), and eaten with unleavened bread (typifying the impeccability of Christ) and bitter herbs (portraying the bitterness of slavery in Egypt), and none of it left until the morning. Those who ate of it were to do so with their loins girded, their shoes on their feet, and their staff in their hand, ready to leave Egypt (12:8-11). Neither the uncircumcised person nor the hired servant could eat (Ex. 12:48). The shedding of the blood of the lamb typified the substitutionary spiritual and physical deaths of Jesus Christ, which was to take place approximately 1400 years later at Calvary. The application of the blood of the animal to the doorposts and lintel demonstrated the Jew’s faith in the yet future work of the coming Messiah on the cross thus portraying faith alone in Christ alone. The historical Personage of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is our literal Passover (1 Cor. 5:7). Egypt typified the cosmic system of Satan and eschatologically, the world during the Tribulation period. This night was followed by 7 days (hag hammassot) in which unleavened bread was eaten (Ex. 34:18-19; Lev. 23:6; cf. Ex. 12:31-34). For this reason, the NT speaks of the entire season as the “days of unleavened bread” (Acts 12:3; Luke 22:1). The feast of Unleavened Bread began on the day after the Passover, and continued for seven days (Lev. 23:6-8). The lamb was slain on the fourteenth day at sunset, which ended the day. The Feast of Unleavened Bread began immediately after sunset, which was the beginning of the fifteenth day of Nisan. Thus there was no interval between them. The feast of Unleavened Bread immediately followed the Passover and lasted seven days, from the fifteenth to the twentieth Nisan (or Abib). On each of those days, after the morning sacrifice, a sacrifice in connection with the feast was presented; unleavened bread alone was eaten (Ex. 12:15-20; 13:6-7; Deut. 16:3-8). The usual morning and evening sacrifices, with their grain and drink offerings. Two young bulls, one ram, seven lambs of the first year, with their grain and drink offerings. These were presented after the morning sacrifice (Num. 28:19-24). The first and seventh days of the feast were celebrated by a holy convocation and resting from work, with the exception of preparing food. On the intervening days work might be carried on unless the weekly Sabbath fell on one of them, in which case the full strictness of Sabbath-keeping was observed, and the special feast sacrifice was not presented until after the Sabbath offering. On the second feast day (sixteenth Nisan) the 1st sheaf of the new harvest (barley) was symbolically offering to the Lord by waving-not burning on the altar-accompanied with a lamb of the first year for a burnt offering, with its grain and drink offerings. Previous to this offering neither bread nor roasted grain of the new harvest was allowed to be eaten (Lev. 23:9-14). Those attending presented freewill, burnt, and holy offerings of sheep and oxen (Ex. 23:15, 19; Deut. 16:2), and sacrificial meals were eaten. The feast closed on the twenty-first, with rest from work and a holy convocation. Scripture records that the Passover was kept on the evening before the Israelites left Egypt (Ex. 12:28), the second year after the Exodus (Num. 9:1-5), and then not again until they entered Canaan (Ex. 13:5; Josh. 5:10). Only three instances are recorded in which the Passover was celebrated between the entrance into the Promise Land and the Babylonian captivity, namely, under Solomon (2 Chron. 8:13), under Hezekiah when he restored the national worship (30:15), and under Josiah (2 Kings 23:21; 2 Chron. 35:1-19). But the inference that the Passover was celebrated only on those occasions seems the less warranted, that in later times it was so punctually and universally observed. After the return of the Jews from captivity the celebration of the Passover, like that of other institutions, became more regular and systematic; and its laws, rites, manners, and customs have been faithfully transmitted to us. These were the same as those in the time of Christ and His apostles, and therefore, of the utmost importance and interest to us in understanding the NT. The Lord Jesus Christ was crucified on the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Mark 14; Luke 22). Leaven in the Bible portrays evil (1 Cor. 5:6; Gal. 5:9). There was no evil present in the humanity of Christ in hypostatic union because He remained impeccable even while receiving the imputation and judgment for our sins. The application of the Feast of Unleavened Bread for us here in the Church Age is that it portrays experiential sanctification (John 17:17; 1 Cor. 5:6-9). The Passover took place on the fourteenth day of the month, the Feast of Unleavened Bread on the next day, which was the Sabbath, and the following day, which was the day after the Sabbath, the Feast of Fruit-fruits was to be celebrated. This feast could not be observed until Israel got out of the wilderness and into the Promised Land. When they had sowed their grain in the land, they were to watch for the first heading of the barley. When they would see a stalk here and there, they would cut each one down and put them together to make a sheaf. This was then brought to the tabernacle, and the priest would offer it to the Lord. It was to be followed by burnt, meat and drink offering but no sin offering. The burnt offering was to be a male lamb without blemish of the 1st year, which portrays the impeccable humanity of Christ in hypostatic union (1 Pet. 1:18-19). This was done on the first day of the week or Sunday, which is the day after the Sabbath, which occurred on Saturday. This is so important because Christ is called the firstfruits (1 Cor. 15:20). The time of His resurrection is clearly stated in Matthew 28:1. The feast of First-Fruits is therefore a type and foreshadowing of the resurrection of Christ. Christ is the literal first-fruits. He arose on the morning after the Sabbath on the first day of the week. He was the literal corn of wheat buried in the ground (John 12:24). Our Lord was buried in Joseph’s tomb and His resurrection was the first-fruits of the harvest, which is the church who will be given resurrection bodies at the rapture (1 Cor. 15:23). When the priest on the day of Christ’s resurrection waved the sheaf of First-Fruits in Herod’s Temple, it was before a veil that was torn from top to bottom by the omnipotence of God. It was but an empty form, for the Substance (Christ) had come and the shadow had passed away and the empty tomb of Joseph of Arimathea proclaimed that the Great First-Fruits Sheaf had been reaped and waved in the Heavenly Temple. There will be no Feast of First Fruits in the millennium because it has been literally fulfilled by Jesus Christ. Fifty days after the Feast of Passover, the Feast of Pentecost was observed. This was literally fulfilled on the day of Pentecost in the city of Jerusalem in June of 33 A.D. The church age began on the day of Pentecost. The space between the feast of Passover and the day of Pentecost was fifty days. Pentecost is also called the Feast of Weeks (Ex. 34:22; Deut. 16:10, 16; 2 Chron. 8:13). It was called this because it was celebrated seven complete weeks, or fifty days, after the Passover (Lev. 23:15-16). It was also called the Feast of the Harvest (Ex. 23:16) because it concluded the harvest of the latter grains. Pentecost was also known as the day of the first fruits (Num. 28:26) because the first loaves made from the new grain were then offered on the altar (Lev. 23:17). Pentecost began with the offering of the First-Fruits of the barley harvest and ended with the ingathering of the wheat harvest. The first day of the feast of the First-Fruits, the last day was the feast of Pentecost. Only the first and last day were celebrated. At the feast of First-Fruits stalks of grain were to be offered and waved, but at the feast of Pentecost the grain was to ground and made into flour, from which two loaves were to be baked with leaven. The feast of Pentecost had its literal fulfillment in June of 33 A.D. in the city of Jerusalem. The first occurrence of the Baptism of the Spirit took place on that day and continues throughout the church age placing the believer in union and permanently identifying him with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection (1 Cor. 12:13). Between the Feast of Pentecost and the Feast of Trumpets there was an interval of four months during which the harvest and vintage were gathered in. There was no convocation of the people during those busy months in the fields. The Feast of Trumpets was observed on the first day of the seventh month and ushered in the second series of the set feasts. It fell on a Sabbath day, at the time of the new moon, and ushered in the Jewish new year. It was followed by the day of Atonement on the tenth day of the month, a Sabbath day, and ended on the twenty-second day of the month, which was also a Sabbath day. It was ushered in with the blowing of trumpets. During the wilderness wandering of Israel two silver trumpets made of the atonement money of the people were blown for the calling of the Assembly, and for the journeyings of the camps (Num. 1:10). The feast of trumpets will be literally fulfilled at the rapture of the church since it falls between the feast of Pentecost which was fulfilled when the church began and the Day of Atonement which will be fulfilled at the Second Advent of Christ. The rapture is the next major prophetic event that takes place between the beginning of the church and the Second Advent. Download 360 Kb. Share with your friends:
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