Today, we’re going to learn about the thanksgiving feasts that the Israelites observed. On these feasts, they remembered God’s blessings and grace of redemption, and for providing rain over the past year. They also prayed and praised God together as they looked forward to another year of great blessings in God.

The 7 Feasts of Israel that God commanded them to observe every year are:
(1) Passover
(2) Feast of Unleavened Bread
(3) Feast of First Fruits (Feast of Ingathering)
(4) Feast of Weeks
(5) Feast of Trumpets
(6) Day of Atonement
(7) Feast of Booths (Tabernacle)

The Jewish men were to go up to Jerusalem 3 times a year to observe these feasts, these assemblies are known in Hebrew as mikrah. (Deuteronomy 16:15–17)

The mikrah serves four purposes:
(1) To remember God’s saving work in Egypt and the wilderness.
(2) Reminders for the people to give thanks to God in time of harvest. Mikrahs are concentrated during harvest seasons.
(3) As a prophecy of the Messiah’s work, they become signs to look for in Jesus.
(4) To outline the times in redemptive history.

These holy days (holidays) were already appointed by God during creation.

Genesis 1:14 Then God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years”
“seasons” (môʿēd): appointed time, designated days

God’s creation and redeeming work both take place in this physical world, which means that He works within the realm of time and space. That is why God first introduced the concept of time.

Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Therefore, appointed times are very important because we are living in an age called “the end times”. In other words, mo’ed contains God’s administration of redemption; God’s schedule for His redemptive work.

All the Jewish feasts are called Mo’ed , meaning that they are God’s appointed times. Today we will focus on the 3 feasts that take place during Tishri, the seventh month in the Hebrew calendar.

1. Feasts of Tishri

This harvest season includes the Day of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the Feast of Booths (tabernacle). It is the harvest in which all the final harvest is gathered.

1. Feast of Trumpets (Lev 23:24) – 1st day of the 7th month

a. Trumpets were used to signal wars, convocation, and alarming events (Josh 6:5, 20; Job 39:25; Jer 4:19, 49:2).
b. The coming of the Lord was announced by the sound of trumpets (Exod 19:16-19, Rev 11:15, 1 Thes 4:16).
Blowing the trumpet was seen at Mt. Sinai and is also prophesied in the book of Revelations. It signifies the proclamation of the Word. Thus, it is a very important sign of the end time.
c. Trumpet sounds gathered God’s people (Num 10:1-10).

2. Day of Atonement (Lev 23:27-32) – 10th day of the 7th month

This is the day on which the people of God afflicted themselves  lest they be cut off.

It is the day when all sins and transgressions were atoned for.
This is also the day Moses came down from Mt. Sinai with the second/final set of the stone tablets. This is a type of the final day when God will engrave His living Word upon the tablets of our hearts and cleanse away all of our sins. Ezekiel 36:26-27

 It refers to the day when our spirit, soul, and body will receive complete salvation.

3. Feast of Booths (Lev 23:33-43) – 7 days from the 15th day of the 7th month

This is very important in terms of harvest and the commemoration of the wilderness journey. This is the day when the Israelites began to build the tabernacle according to the instruction that Moses had received from God at the mountain. The tabernacle is where God promised that He would come and dwell with them. It is also the same week when Solomon completed the construction of the temple and gave dedication offering to God (2 Chr 7:1-10).

Thus, the Jews called the last day of this feast “Hoshana Rabbah” (the great day of salvation).

➀ This is celebrated at the turn of the year.
Exodus 34:22 (NASB95) — 22 “You shall celebrate the Feast of Weeks, that is, the first fruits of the wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the turn of the year.
The turn of the year is the autumn season, or end of the cycle (circuit).
➁ “Celebrate”  “they were to celebrate for seven days”Deuteronomy 16:15
➂ There will be punishment for those who do not go up to celebrate. Zechariah 14:19

2. Redemptive significance of the Tishri Feasts

(1) Beginning and end (Alpha and Omega)

(2) Season of forgiveness and jubilee
➀ Beginning of the Sabbatical year
➁ Beginning of Jubilee (Lev 25:8-55, 27:17-24)

The Sabbath year and Jubilee all begin on this month. The blessing of the Sabbath year and Jubilee is that God gives you 3 times the harvest. Even slaves are freed. All our debts are forgiven.

Right now is not the Sabbath year, it is not the Jubilee, but if we believe, the day when we receive Jesus into our hearts, and begin to walk with Jesus, that is the beginning.

Conclusion

Revelations 21:1-4, 1 Corinthians 15:51–52
The trumpet is blown during bible studies, sermons. Only after we receive the Word can our sins be forgiven. Only when our sins end that we can enter into the eternal New Jerusalem. This refers to transfiguration.

The book of Daniel speaks of the first 69 weeks, then the Messiah will come. When Jesus resurrected and ascended to heaven, on the 50th day after the resurrection, that is the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came.

Just as in the final 1 week of the book of Daniel, when the Word of God comes to make a covenant, to put an end to sin. The Lord will come bring us to heaven.

May this be the day of thanksgiving when we receive all 3 blessings of the Trumpet, blessing of Atonement and the blessing of Transfiguration.

AMEN.