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Learning About Biblical Feasts

©2019, Daily Skill Building

Written by: Write Bonnie Rose

Cover Design: Richele McFarlin, Pretty Perfect Printables

All verses taken from the King James Version.

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Learning About Biblical Feasts

Learning About Biblical Feasts

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction

Feast of Lots - Purim

Passover - Pesah or Pesach

Feast of Weeks - Shavuot or Pentecost

Feast of the Trumpet - Rosh Hashanah

Day of Atonement - Yom Kippur

Feast of Tabernacles - Sukkot

Feast of Dedication or Feast of Lights - Hanukkah

What Does it All Mean?

A Prayer

Answers

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Holiday 2019 2020 2021 2022

Feasts of Lots (Purim ) March 20-21

March 9-10 February 25-26

March 16-17

Passover (Pesah or Pesach) April 19-27

April 8-16 March 27-April 4

April 15-23

Feast of Weeks (Shavuot or Pentecost) June 8-10 May 28-30 May 16-18 June 4-6

Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah) September 29-Octo-ber 1

September 18-20

September 6-8

Septem-ber 25-27

Day of Antonement (Yom Kippur) October 8-9

September 27-28

September 15-16

October 4-5

Feast of the Tabernacles (Sukkot) October 13-20

October 2-9

September 20-27

October 9-16

Feast of Dedication or Feast of Lights (Hanukkah)

December 22-30

December 10-18

November 28-December 6

December 18-26

BIBLICAL FEASTS CALENDAR

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God loves symbols, pictures of things that point to greater truths. It’s one of the ways He helps us un-derstand things that are beyond our ability to understand on our own. Another way He does this is by taking something we need to learn and comparing it to something we know. It helps our mind build a bridge between the two. When Jesus says He is the Living Water, we may be confused. However, we

understand what water is and how our bodies need it to survive, so it helps us start to understand that when Jesus says He is the Living Water that He is talking about something our spirits need to survive. Water is a symbol He uses to help us understand something much bigger.

Some of the symbols we are going to learn about in this study are from feasts God ordered the ancient Israelites to keep. He knew they would need help remembering His promises, just like we do today, so He created these feasts to help them. They all pointed to Jesus, who would be greater than all the symbols put together. Today, we don’t celebrate the ancient feasts the same way. They involved sacrifices, and they pointed to when Jesus would come. Now that Jesus has come, there is no more sacrifice needed. Jesus paid for every sin anyone has ever com-mitted or ever will commit. We just need to seek Him and make Him the Lord of our lives so that His sacrifice will take away our sins and make us new. We’ll learn more about that as we learn the story of some of these special feasts and symbols. Let’s see what we can discover and find ways we can celebrate what Jesus has done for us.

IMPORTANCE OF LEARNING ABOUT JEWISH FEASTS AS CHRISTIANS

INTRODUCTION

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Throughout the history of the Jewish nation, people have tried to destroy it. The devil knew that God was going to bring a Savior who would rescue the entire world through His people Israel, and he did everything he could to try to stop it. Purim is a story of one of these times. Xerxes was ruler of the kingdom of Persia, which included the area of Palestine and a great deal of land stretching from parts

of India almost to Greece and down into Egypt. After his wife, Queen Vashti, disobeyed him, he threw her out and later made Esther his new queen. Esther was a Jew, but she kept this a secret from the king. The only one who knew Esther’s background was Mordecai, the man who had raised her as his own daughter.

Mordecai was faithful to God, and when the king ordered that people bow down to his favorite royal official named Haman, Mordecai would not. This made Haman furious, and Haman decided he would kill Mordecai. But he didn’t decide to kill Mordecai alone. He knew Mordecai was a Jew, and that this was why he would not bow down to him, so Haman developed a plan to kill all the Jews in the kingdom. Haman tricked King Xerxes into go-ing along with the plan, but Xerxes didn’t know that would mean his queen would be killed, too.

When Mordecai learned of this plan, he told Queen Esther she had to do something to stop Haman and the king. At first, Esther was scared. If she did the smallest thing wrong, the king could have her killed. Mordecai remind-ed Esther that God had put her in the palace for a reason. She had to do what God commanded. Esther prayed and fasted and asked God what to do. God showed her a plan that rescued the Jewish people and took care of Haman once and for all.

After they had been delivered from their enemies, the Jews celebrated and feasted. Mordecai told the people to celebrate in remembrance of their deliverance every year with feasting, joy, giving presents of food to each other, and giving gifts to the poor. This is how Purim began.

Today, we remember that Jesus is the one who delivers us from death and destruction. He has freed us from the power of sin. Everything that the enemy plans to hurt us, God uses for good. He has rescued us and given us life.

FEAST OF LOTS PURIM

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HOW YOU CAN CELEBRATE TODAY

The first thing to do is read the Book of Esther with your family. It’s not long, only 10 chapters, and you can each take turns reading short sections. The story of Esther is incredible, and it is amazing to see God’s hand at work in every detail.

You can also give presents of food to each other. The Jewish people today give baskets of food that is prepared and ready to eat. You could put together a snack basket or a basket of ready-to-cook meals and bless friends and family with them.

Giving gifts to the poor is another way you can celebrate God’s provision for His people. Talk to your family about a way you can share God’s love with people who are in need.

Lastly, you can throw your own big party or feast to remember the joy of the Jewish people when they were de-livered and the joy Jesus brings to each of us today.

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QUESTIONS

1. Who was king of Persia when Purim was first celebrated?

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2. How big was the kingdom of Persia?

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3. What secret did Esther keep from the king?

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4. What did Mordecai remind Esther of?

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5. What are some of the things Jesus delivers us from today?

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FEAST OF LOTS PURIM

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WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?We’ve talked a lot in this book about sacrifices and a relationship with God, but what does it all mean? In the very beginning, God created a perfect world. He created the first man and woman, Adam and Eve, and put them in the Garden of Eden, a perfect paradise where nothing was broken or sad or painful. They walked and talked with God face to face. The knew His perfect love for them, and they loved each other perfectly. But one day, the devil introduced an idea to Eve. God had given Adam and Eve one command—don’t eat the fruit of a particular tree. It was the only rule. But the devil got Eve to wonder if God’s rule really mattered. Maybe she could eat it and noth-ing would happen. Maybe God just made that rule to be mean. So, she ate the fruit, and so did Adam. What they discovered, though, was that nothing the devil said was true. What God said did matter. The rule wasn’t made to be mean; it was made to protect them. They had disobeyed, and when they did, they broke God’s perfect world. They also broke their relationship with Him. He could no longer walk and talk with them as He used to. He was perfect and holy, and He couldn’t allow sin in His presence.

But God loved Adam and Eve. He had to punish them, but it broke His heart, too. He wanted to be with them. He had created them to live with Him forever. He had given them His heart. Now they had broken His heart and theirs. Life and death. It was that important of a choice. They had chosen death, and He had to put them out of His perfect garden and be separated from them. But He couldn’t bear to live without them forever, so He made a promise. He would make a way that they could live again with Him forever. One day, He would show their de-scendants the way.

All through the centuries He showed them, through the sacrifices and the rules He gave them to follow, what He was planning. A Savior would come. One day, Jesus did come. He lived and grew and never made a single wrong choice. He never sinned and had a perfect, unbroken relationship with God. Because He was perfect, He could offer the perfect sacrifice for our sins—Himself. He chose to die so that we could live. Except, there was one thing no one expected. Because Jesus was a man, He could die. But because He was also God, He didn’t have to stay dead. He beat death by rising from the dead.

Jesus is the way we can have a relationship with God again. By believing that He is the Son of God, by asking Him to live with us in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, and by choosing to follow Him and do our best to obey Him as Lord, we can know God. We can talk to Him by prayer. We can read His words to us in the Bible. And one day, Je-sus promises that He will take us to live with Him forever, just as we were always meant to live. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die.” ( John 11:25-26).

So, what do you choose? God says, “I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life” (Deuteronomy 30:19).

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If you’ve never talked to God before, it might seem scary, but it isn’t. As a matter of fact, God is waiting for you to talk to Him. He says He is so happy when one person who doesn’t understand about Him trusts in Him that the angels in Heaven rejoice. If you’ve never asked Jesus to be your Savior, you can do that right now by saying something like this: “Jesus, I know I make lots of mistakes. I believe You came to die for me and that You are alive forever. I need You to save me. Please forgive me and live in my heart like You promised. Help me do what is right, and help me talk to You each time I make a mistake. Help me remember that You will always forgive me, no matter what. Help me live for You today and live with You forever in Heaven. Thank You. In the Name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.”

It is important to remember that these are not magic words and repeating a prayer will not save you. Repentance (seeking forgiveness for your sins) and putting your faith in Christ is what brings about salvation. To repent means to feel or express sincere regret or remorse about one’s wrongdoing or sin. There is no salvation without being sincerely sorry for your sins and asking the Lord to forgive you.

If you just prayed that prayer, tell someone who believes in Jesus that you do, too! You could tell a parent, a grandparent, a pastor, or anyone who loves Jesus! And remember, you just made God smile and the angels in Heaven rejoice.

A PRAYER