Meeting Times [מוֹעֵד H4150] – (Seasons)
The sun, moon, and stars indicate set appointments when Yahweh will show up to interact with His people. The Older Covenant feasts, Yahweh's meeting times (seasons), are determined by the cycles of the moon. The word translated feasts is the Hebrew word, מוֹעֵד Moed. Moed means a divine appointment. In other words: a fixed time or season, specifically a festival.
Moed [מוֹעֵד H4150]
• At this set time – Genesis 17:21, 21:2; Exodus 9:5
• At the appointed time – Genesis 18:14
• An appointed season – Exodus 13:10; Numbers 9:2, 9:3, 9:7, 9:13; Deuteronomy 16:6
• An appointed place (tabernacle / tent of the congregation) – Numerous Exodus, Leviticus passages.
In Greek: Chronos [χρόνος G5550] -- time either long or short – time.
Kairos [καιρός G2540] – a fixed and definite time – season.
"It is not for you to know the timesG5550 or the season G2540 . . ." – Acts 1:7
"But of the times and the seasons . . ." – 1 Thessalonians 5:1
The Moedim were times when Yahweh appointed a מִקְרָא Miqrao. A miqrao is something called out. In other words: a public meeting, an assembly, a holy convocation, a reading, or a rehearsal. In other words, the feasts are a dress rehearsal for the coming of Yeshua. The moedim of Israel have a practical, a symbolic, and a prophetic application.
Miqrao [מִקְרָא H4744]
• A holy convocation – Exodus 12:16; Leviticus 23:2-8; Numbers 28:18, 28:25, 29:12
• An assembly – Numbers 10:2; Isaiah 1:13, 4:5
• A reading – Nehemiah 8:8
The Three Commanded Moedim
Deuteronomy 16:16 – "Three times in a year all your males shall appear before the LORD your God in the place which He chooses, at the Feast of Unleavened Bread and at the Feast of Weeks and at the Feast of Booths, and they shall not appear before the LORD empty-handed."
The Three commanded Moedim are:
• Pesach (Passover), including Chag Ha'Matzoth (Unleavened Bread) and Reishit Katzir (First Fruits)
• Shavuot (Pentecost)
• Sukkoth (Tabernacles)
The Seven Moedim are:
• Pesach (Passover) Began sunset Monday, April 14, 2014 and ends at nightfall Tuesday, April 22, 2014.
• Chag Ha'Matzoth (Unleavened Bread) Begins sunset Tuesday, April 15; ends at nightfall Wednesday, April 16.
• Reishit Katzir (First Fruits) Begins sunset on Wednesday, April 16, ends nightfall Thursday June 17th, 2014 on the third day after Pesach.
• Shavuot (Pentecost) Begins at sunset Tuesday, June 3, 2014 and ends at nightfall Wednesday June 4.
• Yom Teruah (Trumpets)
• Yom Kippurim (Day of Atonements)
• Sukkoth (Tabernacles)
The Second Holy Day
Exodus 12:17 – "You shall also observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this very day I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt; therefore you shall observe this day throughout your generations as a permanent ordinance."
Exodus 13:7 – "Unleavened bread shall be eaten for seven days; no leavened bread shall be seen with you, and no leaven shall be seen with you in all your territory."
Deuteronomy 16:4 – "No leaven shall be seen with you in all your territory for seven days, nor shall any of the flesh that you sacrifice on the evening of the first day remain all night until morning."
Exodus 34:18 – "You shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread. For seven days you are to eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the appointed time in the month of Abib, for in the month of Abib you came out of Egypt."
The second holy day is called Chag Ha'Matzoth, or the Festival of The Unleavened Bread. According to the book of Exodus, the Israelis hastily departed from the tyranny of Egyptian ruler Ramses II and they could not wait for bread to be leavened and rise. So to observe the festive occasion, bread baked without yeast was eaten during the seven days of the feast. The unleavened bread eaten during Passover festival is also known by the name matzoh.
Historical Background
During the period preceding Pesach and Chag Ha'Matzoth the Jews would entirely cleanse their homes of any trace of leaven, called chametz. This cleansing would include the removal of any bread products that had been made with leaven. The feast symbolizes their inability to cook leavened bread as they made their exodus from Egypt.
The earliest celebrations show a distinct observance of Pesach on the 14th day of Nissan, followed the next day by the observance of Chag Ha'Matzoth on the 15th thru the 21st. While not so clearly described as separate celebrations in the Bible, the Book of Jubilees clearly indicates that these were separate events. Jubilees 49:22 puts it this way: "And you, Moses, command the children of Israel so that they shall keep the ordinance of the Passover just as it was commanded to you so that you might relate to them its annual (occurrence) each year, both its period of days and the feast of unleavened bread . . ."
The feasts of Pesach and Chag Ha'Matzoth were only observed three times until they entered the Promised Land, and then again, only three times between entering the Promised Land and the Babylonian captivity. It was only after the return of the Jews from Babylon that the feasts were more regularly observed.
Modern Background
Jews today continue to observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, called Chag Ha'Matzoth in the Hebrew tongue. All forms of leaven are cleansed from their homes. During the Passover Seder meal, three matzos are used. There has been much debate about who or what the three Matzos represent. Some Rabbis say they represent the Kohens or Priests, the Levites, and the Israelites. Others say they represent Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The middle matzo, therefore, would correspond to Isaac, the miraculously born son of Abraham, who was taken to what would become the Temple Mount to be offered as a sacrifice! (Genesis 18:13-14, 21:1-2, 22:1-18 and 2 Chronicles 3:1). But we know that they represent El Elyon B The Father Almighty God, Yeshua Ben Elohim B the Son of God, and the Ruach Ha'Kodesh B the Holy Spirit of God. The middle matzo is called the Afikoman.
The Afikoman
The Greek meaning of the word Afikoman can be understood as "that which is coming"
• In the Passover Seder meal the middle matzo is taken and broken in two. This is the portion that Yeshua broke during the Last Supper when He said, "This is my body that is broken for you".
• One half of the broken Matzo is wrapped in a white cloth and hidden, to be found later in the meal, so that the children will stay awake. This portion is called the Afikoman. We remember that Jesus three times asked his disciples to "stay awake" (Matthew 26:36-46).
• The middle person of the Godhead was broken for us at Passover, and we remember that hiding the middle matzo is a picture of His burial.
• Later in the meal, when the children find the Afikoman, we remember that Jesus is risen, no longer hidden in the belly of the earth.
The Jews have been taking the middle matzo, the Afikoman, not understanding that the Matzo that is broken, wrapped in a cloth, buried, and found is symbolic of Yeshua their Messiah.
Prophetic Fulfillment
Chag Ha'Matzoth declares that Yahweh's people are to be set apart from sin, just as Yeshua was sinless.
Date Of Moed: 15th Day of 1st Month
Key Word: Holiness
Prophetic Fulfillment: This moed was fulfilled in Yeshua's Burial on the day after Pesach, just as the Feast of Chag Ha'Matzoth began..
Key Scriptures:
1 Peter 1:15‑16 – "Instead, as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct; for it is written, 'You shall be holy, for I am holy'."
1 Corinthians 5:7-8 – "Purge out therefore the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, as you are unleavened. For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven . . . but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth."
Conclusion
There is a pattern of dress rehearsals that are represented by the Moedim of Yahweh. This Moed, Chag Ha'Matzoth (Feast of Unleavened Bread), was fulfilled in Yeshua's burial just as the Feast of Chag Ha'Matzoth began on the day after Pesach. The nation of Israel and the Jews have been celebrating Chag Ha'Matzoth for almost three thousand years, understanding that it symbolizes their inability to cook leavened bread as they made their exodus from Egypt, but failing to understand its greater symbolism that Yeshua their Mashiach has been broken, wrapped in a cloth, buried, and has risen to everlasting life.
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