Today is Rosh Hashanah. The words mean “Head of the Year.” It is the Jewish New Year and the Feast of Trumpets.
I am not Jewish by birth; I am a Gentile. But through the new birth in Jesus Christ, I was “grafted in” and am Jewish, spiritually.
In recent years, a lot of Christians have become interested in Jewish culture and heritage, including the biblical feasts and observances. Earlier this year, my husband and I traveled to an adjoining state to take part in a Christian Passover celebration. The minister who hosted it explained both the Jewish significance and the Christian significance of each of the elements of the feast.
The same minister invited us to participate in the Rosh Hashanah celebration that was held last night – as the day began at sundown – but we were unable to attend. Instead, I looked up information about the holy-day in my Bible dictionary this morning, and read some scripture in which it is referenced.
Rosh Hashanah begins the “Days of Awe,” which are 10 days extending from the New Year to Yom Kippur – the Day of Atonement. During this time, Jews generally reflect on the year past and repent of their sins. The Day of Atonement is the only designated annual day of fasting, according to Old Testament law. It was the day in which the high priest entered the Holy of Holies dressed in white linen. Animal sacrifices were made, and the blood was sprinkled on the mercy seat and on certain other articles in the temple.
When Jesus, the Messiah, shed his blood on the cross as the Lamb of God, his blood made permanent purification. The heavy curtain that hid the Holy of Holies from common eyes ripped in two that day. There is no more separation when the blood of Jesus is applied to the soul of a man or woman.
In Romans 2:28, 29, Paul writes:
For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh, but he is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart – in the spirit, not in the letter – whose praise is not from men but from God.
There are Christians who consider the Old Testament totally non-applicable to them as New Testament believers. There are others who have embraced Judaism so thoroughly as to no longer be saved through the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. And there are many on the middle ground – blessed by the symbolism of the Old Testament and its obvious fulfillment in the New.
I believe in these last days, we are seeing the two being grafted together. Throughout the Bible, we see the symbolism of two in one Hand.
Of the many feasts and observances in Jewish law, only for 3 of them did God require all the males among his people to present themselves at the temple: Passover, Pentecost, and the Feast of Booths. Passover was the passing over of the Death Angel in Egypt, but also symbolized the passing over the Death Angel when a person is covered by the blood of the Lamb of God – fulfilled when Jesus died (at Passover) on the cross. Pentecost celebrated the writing of the law at Mt. Zion, but also symbolized God writing his law on our hearts – fulfilled with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at the first Pentecost celebration following the crucifixion of the Messiah. The third feast – the Feast of Booths – commemorated the provision for God’s people in the Wilderness.
The Feast of Booths, also known as the Feast of Tabernacles or "Sukkot," comes just after these Ten Days of Awe. This year it will be from Thursday evening, Oct. 9 through Thursday evening, Oct. 16. People will live in tents and outdoor shelters and remember God's miraculous provision in the wilderness. The symbolism is of God providing again for his covenant people during a time of isolation.
The Feast of Booths is yet to be fulfilled.
I am not Jewish by birth; I am a Gentile. But through the new birth in Jesus Christ, I was “grafted in” and am Jewish, spiritually.
In recent years, a lot of Christians have become interested in Jewish culture and heritage, including the biblical feasts and observances. Earlier this year, my husband and I traveled to an adjoining state to take part in a Christian Passover celebration. The minister who hosted it explained both the Jewish significance and the Christian significance of each of the elements of the feast.
The same minister invited us to participate in the Rosh Hashanah celebration that was held last night – as the day began at sundown – but we were unable to attend. Instead, I looked up information about the holy-day in my Bible dictionary this morning, and read some scripture in which it is referenced.
Rosh Hashanah begins the “Days of Awe,” which are 10 days extending from the New Year to Yom Kippur – the Day of Atonement. During this time, Jews generally reflect on the year past and repent of their sins. The Day of Atonement is the only designated annual day of fasting, according to Old Testament law. It was the day in which the high priest entered the Holy of Holies dressed in white linen. Animal sacrifices were made, and the blood was sprinkled on the mercy seat and on certain other articles in the temple.
When Jesus, the Messiah, shed his blood on the cross as the Lamb of God, his blood made permanent purification. The heavy curtain that hid the Holy of Holies from common eyes ripped in two that day. There is no more separation when the blood of Jesus is applied to the soul of a man or woman.
In Romans 2:28, 29, Paul writes:
For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh, but he is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart – in the spirit, not in the letter – whose praise is not from men but from God.
There are Christians who consider the Old Testament totally non-applicable to them as New Testament believers. There are others who have embraced Judaism so thoroughly as to no longer be saved through the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. And there are many on the middle ground – blessed by the symbolism of the Old Testament and its obvious fulfillment in the New.
I believe in these last days, we are seeing the two being grafted together. Throughout the Bible, we see the symbolism of two in one Hand.
- · The “Beauty and Bonds” that Zechariah held in his hand, in Zechariah 11:7.
- · The “natural branches” and “wild branches” of the olive tree, in Romans 11.
- · The “two witnesses”, in Revelation 11.
Of the many feasts and observances in Jewish law, only for 3 of them did God require all the males among his people to present themselves at the temple: Passover, Pentecost, and the Feast of Booths. Passover was the passing over of the Death Angel in Egypt, but also symbolized the passing over the Death Angel when a person is covered by the blood of the Lamb of God – fulfilled when Jesus died (at Passover) on the cross. Pentecost celebrated the writing of the law at Mt. Zion, but also symbolized God writing his law on our hearts – fulfilled with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at the first Pentecost celebration following the crucifixion of the Messiah. The third feast – the Feast of Booths – commemorated the provision for God’s people in the Wilderness.
The Feast of Booths, also known as the Feast of Tabernacles or "Sukkot," comes just after these Ten Days of Awe. This year it will be from Thursday evening, Oct. 9 through Thursday evening, Oct. 16. People will live in tents and outdoor shelters and remember God's miraculous provision in the wilderness. The symbolism is of God providing again for his covenant people during a time of isolation.
The Feast of Booths is yet to be fulfilled.