Ezekiel 45:18-25 – Celebrating our redemptive journey.

In Ezekiel 45:18-25 we find instruction on the celebration of three important feasts. They are the Feats of the Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and the Feast of Tabernacle. The first two are to be celebrated at the beginning of the year and the third is to be celebrated midway through the year. These feasts had been stipulated in Leviticus 23.

On the 1st day of the 1st month of the year, cleansing of the temple must be conducted. Verse 19 specifies that “The priest shall take some of the blood from the sin offering and put it on the doorposts of the house, on the four corners of the ledge of the altar and on the posts of the gate of the inner court.” This cleansing was also to be done on the seventh day of the month for everyone who had erroneously or ignorantly sinned.

On the 14th day of the 1st month, the Passover shall be celebrated. It would last for seven days when unleavened bread would be eaten. Verses 22 - 24 stipulate what the prince must do. This is how the Living Bible translated these verses. “On the day of Passover, the prince will provide a young bull as a sin offering for himself and the people of Israel. On each of the seven days of the feast, he will prepare a burnt offering to the Lord, consisting of seven young bulls and seven rams without defects. A male goat will also be given each day for a sin offering. The prince will provide a basket of flour as a grain offering and a gallon of olive oil with each young bull and ram.”

The Feast of the Tabernacle is the feast referred to in Ezekiel 45:25. It would be celebrated on the 15th day of the 7th month. The prince shall provide the same things as he had contributed to the Passover celebration for seven days.

These feasts tell us that Life with God is an ever-advancing journey of holiness. Walking with the Holy God is not a monotonous but a joyful one. Every experience we can have with Him should inspire us to lift Him up with our praise. Unlike the Israelites who were given instructions to celebrate these feasts, for us, they point us all to what God through Christ has accomplished for us. We refresh ourselves in Him and through Him offer a life of thanksgiving and praise. He is worthy of it all!