As we read in the introduction to this volume of "Spiritual Foundations", approximately three months into Israel's journey from Egypt to the land that God promised them, God called Moses up to Mount Sinai to give him and the nation of Israel His Laws. In addition to the moral law, that is the ten commandments, God also gave the ceremonial law. Embedded within the ceremonial law was the establishment of various feasts. Each feast was to be celebrated at a specific time of the year in commemoration of a specific event. One of the main purposes of these feasts was that they were to serve as vivid reminders for the people of Israel of who God is and all that He did for them. However, the most important purpose of the feasts was to point to the time when the Christ, that is the Messiah or Anointed One, would come to this earth to save us from our sins. To see this let us read from,

Thus, our study of these feasts will encompass all of the above elements.

Since there are eight feasts of interest, Part I of this volume is composed of the following eight chapters, that is one chapter for each feast:

One day each week of the year the people of Israel were to rest from their labors. This Sabbath was instituted to not only serve as a reminder that on the seventh day God rested from His work of creation; but, also was to be a reminder that it was God who delivered them from their labors in Egypt. In our study we will see that the weekly Sabbath was also a foreshadowing to teach us about the Sabbath rest that the born again believer now has in Jesus Christ.

On the fourteenth day in the first month of each year the Passover supper was to be observed. This feast was instituted to remind the people of how God's wrath "passed over" them when the destroying angel came to slaughter all the first born of Egypt. As we review the New Testament we will find that the Passover was also a foreshadowing to teach us about the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made on our behalf. He did this so that God's wrath, which we deserve for all our sins and trespasses, would "pass over" those who are born again believers in Him.

The Feast of Unleavened Bread began with Passover, that is on the fourteenth day of the first month, and lasted for seven days. The absence of leaven (which for this feast is symbolic of sin and worldly desires) was to bring to remembrance that God delivered the Israelites from the Egyptians and the Egyptian culture to a new life in which they were to worship and follow Him in holiness. This chapter will reveal that this feast is a foreshadowing of the new life of purity that Jesus Christ came to give to all those who are born again believers in Him.

The Feast of First Fruits occurred during the time of Passover. At this time the nation of Israel was to present to God a portion of the first fruits from their fields. In addition to thanking God for the harvest, this feast was also to serve as a reminder of the time when the nation of Israel first entered the promised land and first ate of its fruit. Along with the customary burnt offering, this feast also required to be celebrated by waving before the Lord a sheaf of the first grains reaped from their fields; thus, signifying the beginning of harvest. As we explore the Scriptures we will find that this feast also points to the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ who is the first fruit of the promised resurrection, that is the harvest of souls from the dead to eternal life.

Fifty days after the sheaf of first fruits from the barley harvest was presented to God during the Feast of First Fruits, the people of Israel were instructed to hold another sacred feast titled the Feast of Weeks. During the Feast of Weeks, which in the Greek language is called the Feast or Day of Pentecost, two of the first loaves of bread made from the wheat harvest were to be presented to God. This chapter will reveal that this feast was a foreshadowing to teach us about the time when God would fulfill His promise to send the Holy Spirit upon mankind, that is both Jew and Gentile alike, represented by the two loaves of bread.

In the Old Testament we find that in addition to being an instrument used in the praise and worship of God, the trumpets were also used to: (1) assemble the people of God, (2) warn the people of eminent danger, (3) initiate the attack against their enemies, (4) announce the arrival of their king and (5) usher in the Year of Jubilee. This study will reveal to us that in addition to the praise and worship of God, the Feast of Trumpets was also a foreshadowing to teach us about the events that will surround the return of our Lord Jesus Christ and the establishment of His one thousand year reign upon this earth.

Once a year on the tenth day of the seventh month, which was only nine days after the Feast of Trumpets, the high priest was to enter into the most holy place of the Tabernacle. It was then and there that atonement or amends was made for all the transgressions that were committed against the Laws and Statutes God gave on Mount Sinai. In this chapter we will find that this feast was a foreshadowing to teach us about the atonement Jesus Christ made once and for all for all ours sins and transgressions against God.

During this feast the people of Israel dwelt in shelters made from leafy branches of various types of trees. This feast was to be a vivid reminder of their wilderness journey from Egypt to the promised land of Canaan and how God miraculously provided bread, that is manna, and water for their sustenance. As we study the New Testament we will see that this feast points to the time when Jesus Christ came from Heaven to provide for all our spiritual needs.