Numbers 29 – Make Christ our priority in life.

In Numbers 28:16-25, the Lord gave instructions on the celebration of the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. This as we know was to commemorate the deliverance of their firstborn from the angel of death in Egypt. The Feast of Unleavened Bread came immediately after the Passover. During this period of seven days, the children were forbidden to partake of anything with leaven. Besides, no leaven was to be found in their dwelling places. This feast was to be a reminder that they were a people separated from the world.

Then in Numbers 28:26-30, the Lord gave instructions on the celebration of the first fruits and the Feast of Weeks or better referred to as the Feast of Pentecost.  These were mandated by God for the people of Israel. They would take place 49 days after the Passover. The First Fruits celebration would kick off the celebration of the Feast of Weeks of Pentecost. In these celebrations, God, the Lord of the harvest was preparing them to harvest and receive the fruit of the land. So in the New Testament on the Day of Pentecost, God sent His Spirit on the church to get her ready to harvest the fruits of the Kingdom.  

In Numbers 29, we have a fairly detailed descriptions and instructions of the Feast of the Tabernacles. From the length of the instructions God gave on how this feast was to be celebrated, we surmise that this would be the most important of the feasts of the Lord for Israel. It took the whole chapter of Numbers 29 for God to instruct them on how he wanted the Feast of Tabernacles to be celebrated. This elaborate feast was to take place on the seventh month of the Jewish calendar. The whole celebration had three components. First would be the celebration of the Feast of Trumpets that would take place on the first day of the seventh month. The second would be the Day of Atonement which would take place on the tenth day of the seventh month. Third and a major component of this celebration was the Feast of Tabernacles. This was to be kicked off on the fifteenth day of the seventh month.

These celebrations, seven in total namely, the Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of  First Fruits, the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost, the Feast of the Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the Feast of Tabernacles are collectively referred to as the Feasts of the Lord. They were celebrated with lots of sacrifices, each at its appointed time. The pertinent issue to us is what do these seven celebrations mean to us? They each portray different aspects of Christ and His works for us. In the Passover, we see Christ as the Passover Lamb. The Feast of Unleavened Bread points us to Christ's sinless life. His Resurrection is being portrayed by the Feats of First Fruits. The Feast of Pentecost portrays His sending of the Holy Spirit and the great harvest of souls of both Jews and Gentiles. The Feast of Trumpets signals to us the impending rapture when Christ will come to receive the church, His bride. The Day of Atonement is said to be prophetically pointing to the Second Coming of Christ. It will be the day when the remnant of the Jews realize that Jesus, whom they had crucified, is in truth their Messiah. It will be a day of repentance when they will receive Him into their lives. The Feast of Tabernacles anticipates the time Christ will be ruling and reigning as King.  

What do all these mean for us? The focus of the Feasts for us is Christ. In Him, we live and move and have our being. Like Paul said in his letter to the Colossians, we must give Him priority and first place in everything in our life. Let us seek to glorify Him in everything that we think, do, or say! Only in Him can we be truly secure!