There is a wonderful idea that I read in the book, Walk with Y’shua Through the Jewish Year by Janie-sue Wertheim and Kathy Shapiro.  They suggest playing the game of  “Shamash for a Day” with your children.  Write simple ideas of how to serve one another on slips of paper and put them in a box.  Just put one idea per piece of paper.  They could be things such as: pick up the living room, clear the table, spend time praying for a particular person, or any such idea.  Something beyond your usual chores though.  Then take turns each day being the Shamash and draw one or more slips to do.  This is a good book of ideas for those with children to use in learning how to celebrate the feasts with their true Messianic meaning. 

Jewish people also use this time of year for giving of themselves.  It is a special time of year for what they call tsedekah (charity or good deeds).  They are very creative in finding ways of giving both monetary contributions and volunteer time. 

More Rededication Thoughts

Yesterday we looked at I Kings15: 25-33 and how there might be parallels between what happened when Jeroboam refashioned the worship of  God for his own political purposes, and what happened when the church began to refashion Christian worship, which had in the early years reflected Jewish worship of the first century.  Although God sanctioned both separations because of the hardness of man’s heart, He in no wise authorized the changing of His ordained ways.  In fact to the contrary, the separation was for the purpose of following Him and His ways more fully and obediently.

For instance Jeroboam had been told by a prophet that God was giving him ten of the tribes to rule because under Solomon the nation had become apostate by worshipping false gods. (1 Kings 11: 29-36)  However God warned Jeroboam that His purpose was for His laws to be obeyed again:  “’And if you will listen to all that I command you, and will walk in my ways, and do what is right in my eyes by keeping my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did, I will be with you and will build you a sure house, as I built for David, and I will give Israel to you.  39And I will afflict the offspring of David because of this, but not forever.' " (1 Kings 11: 38-39)  Unfortunately Jeroboam did not heed this.  He drew his people further into idolatry and the Northern Kingdom was the first to be judged. 

In the days of the coming of Messiah a similar thing happened. When many of the Jewish people, especially those in leadership, refused to believe in their Messiah Yeshua, there had to be somewhat of a separation between them and this new Jewish branch which believed that Messiah had come.  Yet the new believers still participated in Jewish life and worship.  Even Paul, who was given great revelation by God to show us many of the ways that Jesus had fulfilled Torah, and who championed the Gentile entry into the congregation of believers, is shown by many verses to have remained devoted to Torah observance.  In other words once again the separation was for the purpose of following God more closely.  In this case there was a change in that by the power of the Holy Spirit in every believer, we are enabled to follow God’s instruction in ever more life-giving ways, even as Jesus modeled for us.  Jesus has filled the Torah to its fullest, because he was the Torah made flesh.  The Holy Spirit gives us revelation of this.

Now we can come to things like God’s appointed times (feasts), which we closed by speaking of last night, and see them filled full of meaning which points us to the very Word of Life, Jesus himself.   To keep the feasts now is to experience even greater joy and revelation than the Old Testament saints enjoyed.  And since we know that God does not change, it is safe to assume that His appointed times remain His appointed times.  Again to quote from Marvin Rosenthal, “because the spiritual realities to which the feasts clearly point are fulfilled in Messiah, all men everywhere have been placed in an opportune position.  All of humanity has been extended an invitation to “meet” with God and receive the blessings toward which these seven feasts unerringly point.  To turn down this unprecedented and gracious invitation is the height of folly.”  (The Feasts of the Lord, p.14)

I think that there is very clearly a matter of intimacy here.  We have heard from so many in recent years that God’s heart cry is for intimacy with his bride.  If a lover appoints a time for an intimate meeting with him, what bride would want to resist?  If these are times when God draws nearer, then who would want to miss out?  And of course this argues against any legalistic keeping of these times.  Make use of the biblical and even the traditional ways of entering in, but keep your heart open to the Holy Spirit to lead you in each observance. Ask the Lord how you can glorify Yeshua that particular time and seek fresh revelation of Him. I believe that a key to greater intimacy with the Lord (which will lead to greater glory outpoured!) is to follow the patterns God has given us.

To come back to our theme of rededicating our temples, we must look at how we have dishonored God by failing to enter into his times and feasts.  Instead we have made up our own calendar and celebrations, which are shot through with borrowings from pagan times, and have ignored God’s clearly given instructions.  I believe we must rededicate ourselves to the feasts of the Lord.  Then the Glory of the Lord can fill this temple!

Shalom,

 Sarah McIlvaine

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