THE LORD SPOKE (February 19)

Daily Reflections from Scripture:

Old Testament: Leviticus 22-23

Everybody celebrates holidays. In every land and in every generation mankind has identified certain days as special for a variety of reasons, many of them good. But never has there been a better motivation than that given in Leviticus 23 for the seven “feasts of the Lord”. These seven holidays literally belong to Him, in contrast to men’s holidays.

The Hebrew word translated “feasts” in Leviticus 23:4 is mo’edim and comes from a root word for “time” or “signal”. Thus the meaning is closer to “appointed times”. It’s like something you’d write down in your date book as an appointment you didn’t want to miss. Imagine that! God wants to keep certain appointments with His people on a regular basis.

The seven holidays are each treated elsewhere in Scripture but this is the only place where all seven are discussed together and in sequence. These “holy convocations” (mikra’im, another name for them used in the Bible) tell a story and their order and timing is significant. Indeed, it has been orchestrated by God Himself.

Here are several observations to help you see the significance of these holidays:

1. They are given by the Lord to the Jewish people, God’s chosen nation.
2. They are based on a lunar year and were closely related to the agricultural cycle. Several of the holidays focus on the spring and fall agricultural seasons.
3. The seven feasts have great typological significance in the major events of the story of redemption. They foretell the story of Jesus! Beginning at the Cross where He died for our sin (Passover) and ending at the glorious establishment of His kingdom at the second coming (Tabernacles), they all relate sequentially to specific events in the Messianic story.
4. Because of the spiritual realities to which these feasts point, their significance transcends the Jewish context. Gentiles too are invited to “meet” with God, for every blessing we anticipate has come out of the Abrahamic, Davidic, and New Covenants. These feasts all point to that very fulfillment of the Savior’s purpose and love for us. To deny this, or even to neglect this, is a great spiritual blunder.

The rapture of the Church, the judgment of the wicked, the salvation of Israel, and the establishment of the messianic Kingdom are portrayed in close detail in these holidays. That’s good reason to study them with care.


New Testament: Luke 6

They were out to get Him. If it hadn’t been this, it would have been something else. But getting Him on Sabbath-keeping seemed to be an easy way. After all, if His disciples were picking grain (harvesting), rubbing it in their hands (threshing), and eating the whole kernels (grinding), that’s three strikes against them already. It shouldn’t be hard to catch Him too.

But all He did that week was talk. They weren’t expecting the David thing. No quick answers came to mind when He pulled that one out and turned it into a question for them. And who could possibly say that the Son of Man (i.e. the Messiah) was not the Lord of the Sabbath. Of course the Messiah would keep the Sabbath perfectly.

So, they should have seen it coming. As they prepared their trap for the next Sabbath, they “were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus” (vs. 7) and they planted a crippled man in the synagogue. Then they “watched closely to see if he would heal on the Sabbath.” But He turned things around again. Instead of debating what was unlawful on the Sabbath (they were good at that part), He asked them what was lawful. Was it right to do good? to save life?

“He looked around at them all” (vs. 10), but all He saw was sullen silence because they knew the right answer but couldn’t bring themselves to say it. They were so caught up in their resistance to Him that they could no longer support true truth if it came from His mouth. They’d become blind in their sinful opposition.

What really blew them away was that He healed this man without lifting a finger. It He’d only reached out and touched him, or made mud to put on him, or told him to take up his mat and walk - anything like that - they could have condemned Him for “breaking” the Sabbath (or at least their rules about the Sabbath). But He did it by His words alone and it made them furious.

Their fury blinded them all the more. Instead of rejoicing with the man whose hand was restored, they went straight back to plotting. Ugly isn’t it? So tell me, why do people still come into the Lord’s presence week after week with malice in their hearts. How can they see His handiwork and still bear grudges, squabble over non-essentials, and criticize others who are doing something right?

Let’s look deeply into God’s Word, ask for His help, and determine to be different.