9.8 The Ceremonial Law - 2
by Hubert F. Sturges, www.everlastingcovenant.com, September 24, 2010
Topics:
Sacrifices by the Patriarchs
The Ceremonial Law at Sinai
The Festivals
The Worship Form for Israel
How Did it Start?
The ceremonial law began as simple animal sacrifices which pointed to a Sin Bearer to come. In the Garden of Eden, immediately after Adam sinned, God made coats of skins for Adam and Eve. Only by the death of an animal could they be covered (Genesis 3:21). While not called a sacrifice, this action was highly symbolic of the sacrificial system that God instituted.
The first formal sacrifice recorded is that of Cain and Abel. Able offered a lamb which was accepted by God. This reinforced the special significance of the shedding of blood, for "without shedding of blood is no remission" (Hebrews 9:22). The sacrificed lamb pointed forward to the Messiah whose death on Calvary made it possible for sins to be forgiven.
"And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord.
"And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering:
"But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell" (Genesis 4:3-5).
"By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh" (Hebrews 11:4).
The sacrifice of fruit by Cain was not accepted. Cain chose to go his own way. His sacrifice might have been of more value than a lamb, but it could not represent the substitutionary death of a Redeemer. All it could represent was an attempt to earn salvation by his own works. The record does not say, but how could they offer sacrifices if they were not instructed? By not bringing a lamb, Cain in effect rejected the sacrifice of Christ on Calvary and showed rebellion, which in a short time ripened into the murder of his brother, Abel.
Sacrifices by the Patriarchs
During the Patriarchal age the sacrifices were relative simple, usually burnt offerings. After the flood, Noah offered sacrifices (Genesis 8:20) from among the surviving clean beasts. God was pleased, and gave the covenant of predictable seasons and no more world-wide flood. During the patriarchal age the record of making sacrifices is sparse and intermittent. Quite likely, sacrifices were offered much more frequently than the record shows.
Ten generations later we have the record of Abraham, the "friend of God" (James 2:23) who built a series of altars (7) for the worship of God. To Abraham was given the everlasting covenant in more detail than to any other single person. God promised "an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee" (Genesis 17:7). See article #6 on Abraham.
Abraham was tested severely for his faith, including even the supreme test to sacrifice "his only son Isaac" on Mr. Moriah (Genesis 22:2, 8, 12, 13). This story is an acted parable, giving a special insight into the reason for the sacrificial system. This showed that God will provide the sacrifice and that it is His only begotten Son that will be provided. This covenant was repeated to Isaac and Jacob.
The Passover, instituted in Egypt on the eve of the Exodus, was the first important addition. This ceremony emphasized that it is only through the blood of the sacrificial lamb (pointing forward to Jesus Christ) that lives were saved. On this last night in Egypt, they were to kill a lamb for a sacrifice and sprinkle the blood on the posts and lintel of the door. With this sign the house and the first-born in the house were under the protection of the Lamb, Jesus Christ. In those houses not marked with the blood of the lamb, the firstborn died.
"For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD.
"And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt" (Exodus 12:12, 13).
In spite of all these instructions, God was not interested in the sacrifice of animals unless it was a sign of a changed life and a willingness to obey Him (8).
The Ceremonial Law at Sinai
We don’t know how often people offered sacrifices before Sinai, but the ceremony of making sacrifices was well established by that time. At Sinai, the ceremonial law was given in detail. When a sin was committed the sinner was required to make a sacrifice and the blood of the sacrifice carried into the sanctuary. This symbolically removed the sin from the sinner.
To break one of the ten commandments required forgiveness. Animal sacrifices could not atone for sin but they illustrated the Sin Bearer, Jesus Christ, through whose death sins were forgiven. It was only through a blood sacrifice that sins could be forgiven (Hebrews 9:22); through the symbolic sacrifice of an animal in the Old Testament time, pointing to the reality of Jesus’ sacrifice at Calvary. When a person sinned, having to sacrifice an animal impressed on him the seriousness of sin, and taught obedience to the law.
The full spectrum of the ceremonial law was established when Israel camped at Sinai. Sacrifices were expanded to include not just sin offerings, but thank offerings, peace offerings, ........
The Sanctuary was built as the center for these activities and as the location for the physical presence of God. Priests were appointed. A number of rituals to promote cleanliness and holiness were detailed. And there was a schedule of yearly feasts and ceremonial Sabbaths.
The Festivals -- Joy and Love to God
There are the major festivals commanded by the Torah, and the minor festivals that were added later. The Torah festivals include the three pilgrimage festivals (Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot), Rosh Hashanah, and Yom Kippur. Those festivals added later are Purim and Hanukkah and there are at least five others.
"Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the LORD empty:
"Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD thy God which he hath given thee" (Deuteronomy 16:16-17, KJV).
The Jewish Calendar:
| Month | Time of Year | Days | Festivals and Fasts |
| Nisan | March-April | 30 | 14th: with Passover the first day |
| 27th: Yom ha-Shoah | |||
| Iyar | April-May | 29 | 5th: Yom ha-Atzmaut |
| 18th: Lag ba-Omer | |||
| 28th: Yom Yerushalayim | |||
| Sivan | May-June | 30 | 6th: Shavuot (first day) |
| Tammuz | June-July | 29 | 17th: a Fast day |
| Av | July-August | 30 | 9th: Tisha b’Av |
| 15th: Tu b’Av | |||
| Elul | August-September | 29 | Selichot (variable date) |
| Tishrei | September-October | 30 | 1st: Rosh Hashanah (new year) |
| 3rd: Tzom Gedalyah | |||
|
19th: Yom Kippur |
|||
| 15th: Sukkot (first day) | |||
| 22nd: Shemini Atzeret | |||
| 23rd: Simchat Torah | |||
| Heshvan | October-November | 29-30 | None |
| Kislev | November-December | 29-30 | 25th: Hanukkah (first day) |
| Tevet | December-January | 29 | 10th: a Fast Day |
| Shevat | January-February | 30 | 15th: Tu b’Shevat |
| Adar | February-March | 29 | 13th: Fast of Esther |
| 14th: Purim |
Passover began with the choice of a lamb on the tenth day of the month, a male without blemish of the first year. On the evening of the 14th day the lamb was killed, and the blood stricken on the posts and lintel of the door. The lamb was then roasted and eaten together with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. It must be completely eaten, any remainder burnt with fire. As they ate, they must be prepared to leave with haste. They must then eat unleavened bread for seven days after the Passover (Exodus 12:1-20). The ecclesiastical new year began on the first of Nisan.
The Passover sacrifice more clearly than most typifies the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on Calvary that men might have their sins forgiven and live with Him for ever.
Shavuot, the feast of weeks, or Pentecost, was also a spring festival. It came at the end of the barley harvest and the beginning of the wheat harvest. Pilgrims would bring of their first fruits, and bread baked with leaven. Two loaves were waved before the Lord.
Rosh Hashanah marked the Civil New Year. Preparation for Yom Kippur began at this time.
Yom Kippur represented the Day of Atonement. It was a day of judgment, when the sanctuary was cleansed of all the sins confessed and forgiven throughout history. In actuality, the Day of Atonement is the time when Jesus Christ in the heavenly sanctuary cleanses and blots out the confessed and forgiven sins of His people from all time. When this work is done, His people are sealed, and He will shortly come again to take them to Heaven.
Sukkot, or the Feast of Tabernacles, was the fall harvest festival. This was a joyful feast of thanksgiving, lasting seven days.
Sabbaths: The weekly Sabbath is discussed in another article. There were also a number of ceremonial Sabbaths, during which people were to do no work. The weekly Sabbath is a memorial of Creation. The ceremonial Sabbaths had ritual significance according to the associated festival.
The Worship form for Israel
All these activities were symbolic of a spiritual reality. They were given to illustrate the covenant, the gospel, the plan of salvation. Rightly understood, the same gospel preached by the apostles in the New Testament was illustrated by these symbols in the Old Testament. Both were a means of communicating grace to the people.
The detailed instructions regulating the sacrifices, ceremonies, rituals, feasts, the priesthood and the sanctuary, pointed forward to the coming Messiah and made up the ceremonial law. By its very nature this law was temporary. When Messiah came and the true sacrifice was made, the ceremonial law was fulfilled and was no longer in effect. At that time "the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom" (Matthew 27:51; Mark 15:38; Luke 23:45), marking the end of sacrifices and oblations (Daniel 9:27).
These ceremonies made up the worship form for Israel. With constant repetition these ceremonies became the focus of worship in the minds of many. It is ironic that the very means ordained to point forward in faith to the coming Redeemer, Jesus Christ, should replace in the minds of many people the purpose for which Jesus came (9)
It must be emphasized that the sacrificial system was not the covenant or even a part of the covenant. It was an illustration of the covenant and the plan of salvation. In the extensive literature describing the ceremonies and the sacrifices, no covenant language is used. As the worship form, it was temporary and came to an end when the true sacrifice, Jesus Christ, died on Calvary (Colossians 2:14).
The ten commandment law was central to the covenant and the guide by which God would make of Israel "an holy nation" (Exodus 19:4-6; 20:2-17). The Ten Commandment law on the two tables of stone was kept in the ark under the mercy seat (10). All the words of Moses, making up the ceremonial law, were written in a book that was kept in the side of the ark (11).
The New ("everlasting") covenant was ratified by the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross. The sacrifice of Christ on the cross gave power to the covenant promises, made the covenant effective (Hebrews 9:15) for every man and brought to an end the sacrifices and rituals (Daniel 9:27). His death ensured, ratified and made possible the fulfillment of the promises of God.
