"Three times a year you
are to celebrate a festival to me.” (Exodus 23:14)
God identified three times in the year that His people would gather
as one body before Him to demonstrate their common ground of faith in
Yahweh as the one true God. Although the names of these three times
of assembly may vary, they are most commonly identified as Passover,
Pentecost, and Tabernacles. Ancient Israel is a foreshadowing of the
church. The lesson to be learned in this for the church today is to
acknowledge our need for a public demonstration of community (common-unity)
in Jesus, and to acknowledge the lordship of Jesus over His body, the
church. God is very concerned that His people faithfully demonstrate
collective unity in Him regardless
of tribal affiliation (denomination). Yahweh clearly stated that He
wanted these festivals to be celebrated by His people in perpetuity,
that is “forever” (Exodus12:14, Leviticus 23:21, Leviticus
23:41, Hebrews 13:8). These celebrations are happening in Huntsville,
Alabama, and in our Tennessee Valley region!
Unity at Passover: The
festival of Passover began the annual cycle of corporate celebration
in unity. In John 13:35 Jesus, having celebrated the Passover with His
disciples, said “By this all men will know that you are my disciples,
if you have love for one another." To what is Jesus referring?
He is encouraging a meaningful demonstration of corporate unity and
love through the Passover meal. In 2 Chronicles 30, King Hezekiah commanded
something very similar and for the same reason of unity. After 40 years
of neglect, the king ordered the tribe of Judah to lead the way in restoring
the corporate celebration of Passover in unity.
An invitation was sent to the ten revolted tribes to stir them up to
come and attend this festival, not with any political design to bring
Judah and Israel back together, but with a design to bring them back
to the Lord God of Israel. This can be a prophetic lesson to the politically/denominationally
divided Christian community of today. We should set aside differences
that we might corporately celebrate the Lamb of God through whom we
have redemption by His blood. 2 Chronicles 30:10 records that some scorned
the invitation but many came from all tribes to celebrate the Passover.
Unity at Pentecost:
The common-unity and corporate relatedness of God's people is
established in these words from the Lord in Exodus 19:5-6. “Now
therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then
ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the
earth is mine: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an
holy nation.” It is well established in Jewish tradition that
this declaration, and the giving of the Ten Commandments, occurred on
the original day of Pentecost at Sinai. The feast of Pentecost should
be celebrated in the Tennessee Valley as the birthday of the Church
(the priesthood of believers). It is a special time to cry out for fresh
anointing upon every member of the body of Christ. Pentecost celebrates
our unity through the anointed word and spirit. The fire that fell on
Sinai at Pentecost (Exodus 19:18) is the same fire that fell in the
upper room at Pentecost as recorded in Acts 2:1-3, “And when
the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one
accord (unity) in one place.” God works where there
is unity in righteousness. The power of Pentecost was due in great part
to the unity of these saints and the bond of their peace through the
Holy Spirit.
Unity at Tabernacles:
Both Old and New Testaments identify the feast of Tabernacles as a time
for corporate celebration (John 7:2). The lesson of unity is found in
Nehemiah 8:1, 9-18, “When the seventh month came and the Israelites
had settled in their towns, all the people assembled as one man in the
square before the Water Gate. They told Ezra the scribe to bring out
the Book of the Law of Moses, which the LORD had commanded for Israel.
This day is sacred to the LORD your God. Do not mourn or weep. Go and
enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have
nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for
the joy of the LORD is your strength. So the people went out and brought
back branches and built themselves booths on their own roofs, in their
courtyards, in the courts of the house of God and in the square by the
Water Gate and the one by the Gate of Ephraim. The whole company that
had returned from exile built booths and lived in them. From the days
of Joshua son of Nun until that day, the Israelites had not celebrated
it like this. And their joy was very great. They celebrated the feast
for seven days.” Again it is stated of the festival of Tabernacles;
“And when the seventh month was come, and the children of Israel
were in the cities, the people gathered themselves together as one man
to Jerusalem. They kept also the feast of tabernacles, as it is written,
and offered the daily burnt offerings by number, according to the custom,
as the duty of every day required;" (Ezra 3:1,4). A corporate
Celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles in the Tennessee Valley is an
acknowledgement that all of us together represent the “Tabernacle
of God” among men (Revelation 21:3).
Three times a year in the Tennessee Valley:
“If not us, who? If not now, when?” --Hillel