12/15/2017: GOD’S HOLY CONVOCATIONS

GOD’S HOLY CONVOCATIONS
 
PART 1
            God has Seven Holy Convocations that He COMMANDED His People to honor forever, pay close attention to God’s directives and determine if these are something Christ Followers are supposed to do. IN this study I will attempt to draw close attention to the meanings behind each of the Feasts of God. There are Seven Feasts that have been given Commandments to, those seven are: 1. Passover (Pesach, {Seder Meal}); 2. Unleavened Bread (Hag HaMatzot); 3. First Fruits (Yom HaBikkurim); 4. Feast of Weeks or Pentecost (Shavout); 5. Feast of Trumpets or New Year (Rosh HaShannah); 6. Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur);
7. Feast of Booths or Tabernacles (Sukkot).
 
            In the following lessons I will cover these seven feasts and also bring attention to other Holy Convocations and special Gatherings unto the Lord. It is my earnest Prayer and Hopes that the Lord God Jehovah will speak through these studies as to who should follow what. The first of the Seven is the Passover (Pesach). Leviticus 23 basically tells of God’s Redemptive plan for the whole world He created. Again it is not just for the Jewish people, it is for all who follow Christ Jesus, and claim to be seed of Abraham, children of the Promise.
 
LEVITICUS 23:4&5
“These are the APPOINTED TIMES”
(HOLY CONVOCATIONS)
{DIVINE APPOINTMENTS}
“Of the Lord, holy convocations
Which you shall proclaim at the
Times appointed for them.
In the first month, on the fourteenth
Day of the month at twilight is
The Lord’s Passover.
 
            Again this is the Lord’s Passover not to be mis-understood or rejected by Adopted Children as well as His Elected People Israel. The Passover is a meal prepared for the Family and it has a program all it’s own and is used to remind the Children of Israel where they came out of and what they went through. We all know the story of Moses and Pharaoh and how God brought His people out of Egypt; but what we don’t look at is our own salvation and where God brought us out of and through.
 
            The name Egypt is a title that can be used to identify where we came from, a place of confusion, deceit, troubles, and many other events that kept us from God. For some it may have been military service, for some maybe prison, bad relationships, or maybe even slavery of some kind. We all had a past, and maybe we are ashamed of it or maybe we aren’t but either way there it was and now we have to look at it in light of where we are wanting to get to. So, you see, the Seder Meal is also pertaining to us.
 
THE SEDER PLATE
 
 The Seder Plate is used during the Seder Service and as you see here it has 6 positions on it each position carries a special meaning and a routine to bring understanding and knowledge to the Believer.
Proverbs 1:7
THE FEAR OF THE LORD IS THE BEGINNING
OF KNOWLEDGE; FOOLS DESPISE KNOWLEDGE.
 
            # 1. A roasted shank bone: In remembrance of the Passover Lamb. (Often times a chicken bone is used.)
            # 2. A sprig of Parsley, to symbolize the coming of spring and new life.
            # 3. Salt water to speak of the tears of the Jewish people under Egyptian bondage.*
            # 4. Roasted egg (hard boiled) as a memorial of the SACRIFICE of the Passover Lamb.
            # 5. Bitter herbs (horseradish), to symbolize the bitterness of Egyptian bondage.
            # 6. Haroset (mixture of chopped apples, chopped nuts, and cinnamon), to symbolize the mortar used by the Israelites in   building for Pharaoh.
           
            Along with the Seder Plate there are 8 more items to be set before each person:
 
            # 1. Four cups of wine per person.
            # 2.The Haggadah: (means “showing forth”), one per person. It is the book used to tell the story of the Passover.
            # 3. Three Matzohs, each wrapped in a separate linen cloth or placed in the compartments of a unity bag, sometimes called an afikomen bag.
            # 4. A cup of Elijah: filled with wine but left untouched in the hope that Elijah will come to herald the coming of the Messiah.
            # 5. Two candles and holders.
            # 6. Pillow for the Leader.
            # 7. Extra Matzoh.
            # 8. An empty chair, in expectation of Elijah.
 
 In PART 2 I will explain the Seder service in detail.  
 
by Pastor Larry Pinkerton