Expounding on the Feasts of the Lord

[Selihah]

That makes sense to me. Thanks. That's the way I see it according to scripture too. Thanks a again for the confirmation. Now to the offerings of Trumpets and Atonement, concerning the other question I asked.

Sorry for dropping of the map, I'm glad we agree on the times. I would like to continue to expound upon Hag HaMatzot a bit further before we get into anything else seeing as how it will be upon us soon.

 

[just-me]

I just finished studying the feast of tabernacles, and it compares with the walk of salvation. How wonderful the things I have found. hope to post some of those things on this thread shortly.

I was reading today about our Saviors sacrifice. I never remembered reading this profound truth in the following scripture, but it brings the old into the new, rather than shove the new into the old which was never the intent. I will take out the added words for a better understanding, and I quote;

John 12:27-30 (KJV)
[SUP]27 [/SUP]Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour.
[SUP]28 [/SUP]Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, I have both glorified, and will glorify again.
[SUP]29 [/SUP]The people therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered: others said, An angel spake to him.
[SUP]30 [/SUP]Jesus answered and said, This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes.

 

[just-me]

Sorry for dropping of the map, I'm glad we agree on the times. I would like to continue to expound upon Hag HaMatzot a bit further before we get into anything else seeing as how it will be upon us soon.

Thanks, I will try to follow along.

 

[john832]

I think it's wonderful to look and see how the Old Testament feasts point forward to the Person and Work of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Interestingly in Acts, Paul went to the temple to try to present an offering (certainly NOT a supposedly atoning sacrifice, already fulfilled at the Cross).

Most of the OT Feasts have yet to be fulfilled. Passover is fulfilled. Pentecost is partially fulfilled (the giving of the H.S.) but the early harvest at Christ's return has not been fulfilled yet. Trumpets has not been fulfilled. Atonement is not fulfilled. Tabernacles is not fulfilled and the Last Great Day is not fulfulled.

 

[john832]

You are correct the passover has never been a sabbath, the passover is the actual lamb. You are however not correct in saying passover is a Feast, there is no such thing, as I stated already the passover is the lamb. The passover was eaten "between the two evenings" i.e. the first day of the Feast of Unleavened bread.

OK, what do you make of this?

Lev 23:4 'These are the feasts of the LORD, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at their appointed times.
Lev 23:5 On the fourteenth day of the first month at twilight is the LORD's Passover.

 

[john832]

Just want to be clear that the lamb was not killed on the 14th, Leviticus 23:6 states the Feast of Unleavened Bread is "on the Fifteenth Day of this month (Aviv)". From this verse it appears that the passover sacrifice is to be brought at sunset at the end of the 14th and eaten on the night of the 15th. This is confirmed by Dueteronomy 16:4, which commands us regarding the Passover Sacrifice: "and there shall not remain of the meat that you slaughter at evening on the first day until the morning." It is clear then and confirmed that the lamb sacrifice is slaughtered and eaten "at evening on the first day" (the 15th).



getting late I'll finish later

Sure it was. that is unless you think Christ got the Passover wrong...

Luk 22:11 Then you shall say to the master of the house, 'The Teacher says to you, "Where is the guest room where I may eat the Passover with My disciples?" '

Luk 22:15 Then He said to them, "With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer;
Luk 22:16 for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God."
Luk 22:17 Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, "Take this and divide it among yourselves;
Luk 22:18 for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes."
Luk 22:19 And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me."
Luk 22:20 Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.

Now when was Christ taken?

Mat 26:19 So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them; and they prepared the Passover.
Mat 26:20 When evening had come, He sat down with the twelve.

This is the evening of the 14th just after sunset.

Mat 26:27 Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you.
Mat 26:28 For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.
Mat 26:29 But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom."
Mat 26:30 And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

And what happened at the Mount of Olives?

Mat 26:42 Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, "O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done."
Mat 26:43 And He came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy.
Mat 26:44 So He left them, went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words.
Mat 26:45 Then He came to His disciples and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners.
Mat 26:46 Rise, let us be going. See, My betrayer is at hand."
Mat 26:47 And while He was still speaking, behold, Judas, one of the twelve, with a great multitude with swords and clubs, came from the chief priests and elders of the people.
Mat 26:48 Now His betrayer had given them a sign, saying, "Whomever I kiss, He is the One; seize Him."
Mat 26:49 Immediately he went up to Jesus and said, "Greetings, Rabbi!" and kissed Him.

Joh 19:14 Now it was the Preparation Day of the Passover, and about the sixth hour. And he said to the Jews, "Behold your King!"

So Christ is betrayed that night and without writing a book, suffice it to say, He was crucified the next day on the Passover. He was the Passover. He had to be buried quickly that afternoon before sunset. Why?

Joh 19:30 So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, "It is finished!" And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.
Joh 19:31 Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.

Yep, that Sabbath was a high day, the First Day of Unleavened Bread, the 15th day of the first month.

Now it is pretty easily provable that the one who spoke to Israel in Lev 23 was the one who became Jesus Christ. I would reckon He knew which day to keep the Passover on, wouldn't you?

 

[Selihah]

OK, what do you make of this?

Lev 23:4 'These are the feasts of the LORD, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at their appointed times.
Lev 23:5 On the fourteenth day of the first month at twilight is the LORD's Passover.

Lev 23:6 And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the Lord; seven days you must eat unleavened bread.


Well, soon we will begin to hear again much about the "Holiday" of Passover. But in the Hebrew Bible there is no such holiday. Passover is as I have stated before the actual lamb and the holiday is called Feast of Unleavened Bread. Thus in verse 21 of Exodus 12 it is written "Draw out and take a lamb according to your families, and slaughter (KJV: kill) the passover." In this verse the "passover" is the lamb that is to be sacrificed by slaughtering and eating it. Also in Exodus 12:26-27 it is written "...when your children shall say to you, What mean ye by this service? And you shall say, It is the sacrifice of YHWH's passover". The service of slaughtering the lamb and eating it is called "the sacrifice of YHWH's passover".

This is also the meaning of Passover in verse 5 of Leviticus 23: "In the fourteenth day of the first month between the two evenings is YHWH's passover". And again in Deuteronomy 16,1: "Observe the month of the Aviv, and perform the passover unto YHWH your God". To "perform" or "keep" the Passover (in Hebrew literally "do the Passover") means to bring the Passover sacrifice and eat it. It is only in post-Biblical times that the word Passover took on the new meaning of referring to the Holiday on which the sacrifice was eaten and not to the sacrifice itself. Today we often hear of the "Passover Holiday" and "Hag Ha-Pessach" both of which are post-Biblical inventions. In the Tanach the Holiday is called Hag HaMatzot which means: "Feast of Unleavened Bread".


And as I stated earlier too Dueteronomy 16:4, instructs us regarding the Passover Sacrifice: "and there shall not remain of the meat that you slaughter at evening on the first day until the morning." We see that the entire lamb must be consumed on the following night it is slaughtered and none of it may be left over until the morning. The passage in Deuteronomy chapter 16:1-8 is obviously talking about the Feast of Unleavened Bread and there can be no doubt that "the first day" in 16:4 refers to the first day of Unleavened Bread. When we look at Lev 23:5-6 and Dt 16:4 together it becomes clear that the Passover Sacrifice is brought at the end of the 14th of the First Month between the two evenings and eaten that same evening on the 15th of the First Month. The period of "between the two evenings" is reckoned as both the end of the 14th (Leviticus 23:5) and the beginning of the 15th (Dueteronomy16:4)!

What do you think?

 

[KittenofMelchisedek]

I've even had a couple unlikely people chime in about the spring holidays, every culture has one pretty much. I think there's a lot to the feasts, and this is going to be my first experience with the Feast of Unleavened Bread. I'm excited about what God might do.....it's kind of a terrifying excited, you know, like full of reverent fear.

We need to pray for rain.

 

[faroukfarouk]

I've even had a couple unlikely people chime in about the spring holidays, every culture has one pretty much. I think there's a lot to the feasts, and this is going to be my first experience with the Feast of Unleavened Bread. I'm excited about what God might do.....it's kind of a terrifying excited, you know, like full of reverent fear.

We need to pray for rain.

It's good to remember that the Feasts are most definitely fulfilled in Christ.

The Old Testament is indeed full of Christ, and it is always a pointing forward to the New Testament, rather than a looking back in nostalgia to the Old.

This is how I would put it.

Blessings.

 

[Karraster]

Studying the Feasts has made me see the Word in a whole new light. It's like I live in a different world now, my eyes have been opened. I'm so grateful Almighty caused me to ask for more! Everything comes from our Almighty Creator, and it's humbling to finally see how He has instructed His children to live. It's stunning also, to be so aware of what lengths the adversary has gone, to snare and destroy, and lead astray.

I've been so ignorant, and have been living in darkness and didn't know it. Oh what patience and mercy, our loving Father!

Yes Kitten, I'm praying for rain!

Passover is a picture of personal redemption. I want it! Getting ready for Feast of Unleavened Bread will be days of cleaning house and personal evaluation. Messiah will guide me every step of the way. Out with anything not lining up with His teaching, and in with everything He wants to show me. Blessed is His Name! HalleluYah!

I kid you not, just looked out the window, it's raining!

 

[just-me]

There is proof that Jesus entered Jerusalem on the tenth day. Reading in John 12:1 we see “Then Jesus six days before the passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead.” And in John 12:12-13 we see Jesus entering into Jerusalem the next day saying; “On the next day much people that were come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord.” Passover is the fifteenth of the month. Six days before the Passover is when Jesus came to Lazarus’ house at Bethany. Including the fourteenth day of the month, the six days mentioned, would start on the ninth. The day Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a colt of an ass would then be the tenth day of the first month, but for now we will investigate the tenth day in Leviticus 23:27-28, and Numbers 29:7.

Day ten, which I have addressed, Jesus enters Jerusalem and the people shout for salvation as promised by Zechariah 9:9 saying “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.”

These scriptures say; “Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD. And ye shall do no work in that same day: for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the LORD your God. And ye shall have on the tenth day of this seventh month an holy convocation; and ye shall afflict your souls: ye shall not do any work therein.”

This convocation can be described as being encountered by another, and in this case, having a meeting with God. Our Father in heaven called this meeting for us to be involved with His holy purpose called “Atonement.” Now, atonement means to cover, but it is a covering made by God and not man such as Adam and Eve’s covering described in Genesis 3:7 “And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.” In actuality, the first record of atonement is found in Genesis 3:21when God killed an animal, obviously shedding its blood saying, “Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.” It is to expiate, or pardon, and repair by means of propitiation. I would go into the full meaning of propitiation but that might involve writing another book, so I will describe the basics of definition. Breaking it down, “pro” means to go forward, and even though “pitiate” is not a word per se, it is relative to “pitiable” meaning “ the suffering of one person excited by the distress of another. Some might think that the day Jesus cleared the temple, that there was nothing but total anger in His heart, but in truth, pity was actually the catalyst for His fervent disgust, exercising compassion toward those who were being robbed by a religious institution. Matthew 21:12-13 says “And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.” 1 John 2:1b-2 describes One taking pity which is the catalyst of compassion. “And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.”

Knowing the aforesaid as truth instills in us a core belief that gives incentive to “afflict” our souls. Is this self-works? The answer is an emphatic no. It is an attitude toward oneself, striving to see ourselves as God sees us, which is impossible to do without looking into His Word for identification. Therefore, to afflict oneself is not our works but His. In short, we discipline ourselves by holding ourselves accountable for our mistakes that are revealed by the Word of God. We are to give account of our true self in prayer with our heavenly Father, and testify of our true state accordingly. If we see our true self we will also see our dire need to be salvaged from a certain death. Try this some morning right after you climb out of bed. Stare at yourself in the mirror for a minute or two before you do anything else, and thank God that He looks at your heart instead of what you are seeing. Then look at your own heart the way God sees it, and don’t forget what you saw after you walk away. Then ask yourself through the day if you saw someone who needs help. If you see yourself as God sees you, then you are looking into the “law of liberty” as James 1:23-25 puts it. “For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.” Then memorize James 4:10, and 1 Peter 5:6-7 that say; “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.”

 

[Least]

I was reading today about our Saviors sacrifice. I never remembered reading this profound truth in the following scripture, but it brings the old into the new, rather than shove the new into the old which was never the intent. I will take out the added words for a better understanding, and I quote;

John 12:27-30 (KJV)
[SUP]27 [/SUP]Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour.
[SUP]28 [/SUP]Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, I have both glorified, and will glorify again.
[SUP]29 [/SUP]The people therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered: others said, An angel spake to him.
[SUP]30 [/SUP]Jesus answered and said, This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes.

That's wonderful! God's word is just wonderful, you can read a passage a thousand times, and then suddenly you see something that you hadn't seen before. I just love it!

 

[just-me]

That's wonderful! God's word is just wonderful, you can read a passage a thousand times, and then suddenly you see something that you hadn't seen before. I just love it!

For a fact!! AMEN!

 

[Selihah]

Regarding the passover, if your children were to ask why you do this service. What would your answer to them be?

 

[Karraster]

Regarding the passover, if your children were to ask why you do this service. What would your answer to them be?

[SUP]14 [/SUP]“‘This will be a day for you to remember and celebrate as a festival to Adonai; from generation to generation you are to celebrate it by a perpetual regulation.
[SUP]26 [/SUP]When your children ask you, ‘What do you mean by this ceremony?’ [SUP]27 [/SUP]say, ‘It is the sacrifice of Adonai’s Pesach [Passover], because [Adonai] passed over the houses of the people of Isra’el in Egypt, when he killed the Egyptians but spared our houses.’” The people of Isra’el bowed their heads and worshipped. [SUP]28 [/SUP]Then the people of Isra’el went and did as Adonai had ordered Moshe and Aharon — that is what they did.

In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct[SUP][a][/SUP] your paths.

 

[john832]

Regarding the passover, if your children were to ask why you do this service. What would your answer to them be?

This is when you show that the Paschal lamb was the shadow, the schoolmaster, that shows who Christ is and what He did...

Heb 10:1 For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.
Heb 10:2 For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins.
Heb 10:3 But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year.
Heb 10:4 For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.
Heb 10:5 Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me:
Heb 10:6 In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure.
Heb 10:7 Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.
Heb 10:8 Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law;
Heb 10:9 Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second.
Heb 10:10 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Our Egypt today is sin and the hold it has over us. Holding the death penalty over our heads. Christ, as the perfect sacrifice, frees us form the curse of the Law, the death penalty.

 

[Karraster]

This is when you show that the Paschal lamb was the shadow, the schoolmaster, that shows who Christ is and what He did...

Heb 10:1 For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.
Heb 10:2 For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins.
Heb 10:3 But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year.
Heb 10:4 For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.
Heb 10:5 Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me:
Heb 10:6 In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure.
Heb 10:7 Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.
Heb 10:8 Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law;
Heb 10:9 Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second.
Heb 10:10 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Our Egypt today is sin and the hold it has over us. Holding the death penalty over our heads. Christ, as the perfect sacrifice, frees us form the curse of the Law, the death penalty.

We do indeed live in a pagan society surrounded by pagan idol worship. We think we own houses and cars when in reality they own us. We sacrifice much of our lives to them to pay for them and keep them up. I know I have.

 

[Selihah]

[SUP]14 [/SUP]“‘This will be a day for you to remember and celebrate as a festival to Adonai; from generation to generation you are to celebrate it by a perpetual regulation.
[SUP]26 [/SUP]When your children ask you, ‘What do you mean by this ceremony?’ [SUP]27 [/SUP]say, ‘It is the sacrifice of Adonai’s Pesach [Passover], because [Adonai] passed over the houses of the people of Isra’el in Egypt, when he killed the Egyptians but spared our houses.’” The people of Isra’el bowed their heads and worshipped. [SUP]28 [/SUP]Then the people of Isra’el went and did as Adonai had ordered Moshe and Aharon — that is what they did.

In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct[SUP][a][/SUP] your paths.

Yes He will,

We agree then.

 

[just-me]

I learned more about the 7th month. I was concerned about tithing, and how it fits in because I never mentioned it before, so I will give what I have found so far, and then go more into detail about the Bullock, ram and lambs as I find out more, and put it together. Maybe tomorrow.

An eyphah/ephah is a measure of grain equaling close to a bushel or so, and is a dry measure in general. It is an Egyptian derivative, and according to the Hebrew language, this word was derived from the act of harvesting wheat. Knowing that God gives the increase, the farmer cuts the sheaf of grain, separates the chaff from the seed with the wind God creates, and when the work is done, raises his hands to heaven thanking God for the sustenance. Now a certain amount of seed is needed for the next years planting, but that was up to the farmer’s discretion, and would have nothing to do with saving a certain amount such as a given ten percent. When reading about the tenth deal/ephah, our minds will think about tithing ten percent of our income. That concept is truth in part, but by no means presents the complete picture, for tithing has more to do with governing with equity, which cannot be likened unto the equality that the United States federal government endorses with rhetoric. “Federal intelligence” is an oxymoron, and God’s government is the proper balance of perfect equity. Now the word “tithe” means to accumulate but is only used in reference to self-denial as a denominative of ten, denoting responsibility as Deuteronomy 14:22 points out. “Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed, that the field bringeth forth year by year.” There is a subtle difference between “tenth” and “tithe” according to the Hebrew language. The tenth deals for the Bullock, ram, and lambs add the seed/son/heir to the tithe so that the plan established in the beginning will continue to the end. So God endorsed to us in the seventh month adding Christ with our responsibility, enabling our tithe to continue with the seed.

 

[just-me]

Numbers 29:3-4 (KJV)
[SUP]3 [/SUP]And their meat offering shall be of flour mingled with oil, three tenth deals for a bullock, and two tenth deals for a ram,
[SUP]4 [/SUP]And one tenth deal for one lamb, throughout the seven lambs:

The question we all have is why three tenths of an ephah is offered with the Bullock representing the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ. We begin with Deuteronomy 14:28-29 where it says; “At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase the same year, and shalt lay it up within thy gates: And the Levite, (because he has no part nor inheritance with you), and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, which are within your gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do.” According to the commandments of God, the farmers were to bring their tithes that they had accumulated into the city/town closest to their area. In the course of three years God gave abundant increase to the crops and livestock. At the end of three years the farmer had more than enough to sustain the family, and ten percent of that accumulation was hauled to the town, and distributed to the needy by the Levites living there. Please remember that the Levitical tribe was not given an inheritance of land, but were to administer the ordinances of God, governing Israel according to the law. For a more complete picture of this perfect welfare system I present Deuteronomy 26:12-13. “When thou hast made an end of tithing all the tithes of thine increase the third year, which is the year of tithing, and hast given it unto the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat within thy gates, and be filled; Then thou shalt say before the LORD thy God, I have brought away the hallowed things out of mine house, and also have given them unto the Levite, and unto the stranger, to the fatherless, and to the widow, according to all thy commandments which thou hast commanded me: I have not transgressed thy commandments, neither have I forgotten them.” So relating this to Jesus Christ, I will start by quoting a scripture that He quoted from Isaiah 61:1 that is in Luke 4:18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised.” Therefore, in reality, Jesus’ public ministry was this three-year tithe mentioned in the law that was recorded in Deuteronomy. According to John 2:11-13, right after Jesus turned the water into wine at the marriage feast, “This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him. After this he went down to Capernaum, he, and his mother, and his brethren, and his disciples: and they continued there not many days. And the Jews' passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.” We know Jesus entered Jerusalem on the tenth day before the crucifixion, so my conjecture is that He began his public ministry on the tenth day of the first month, three years previous. God distributes the three-year tithe according to His grace.

According to Paul, in Romans 5:2, the grace of God comes to us by His gift of faith. “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” Paul uses himself as an example when he describes a situation of being jerked around by minister of Satan. In 2 Corinthians 12:8-9 he writes; “For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

In the Complete Jewish Bible John 5:7-8 says “There are three witnesses - the Spirit, the water and the blood - and these three are in agreement.” I used that reference to avert any discrepancy that the KJV might produce in our minds. We can also compare these three omers with Isaiah 6:3 that says; “And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.” Jesus describes this principle in Matthew 13:33b revealing to us that; “The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.” Three is a profound number illustrating repentance in the story of Jonah, for he spent three days, and three nights in the belly of the big fish, and finally went to Nineveh and caused them to have a repentant heart. Last of all, Jesus spent three days and three nights in the tomb. His grace, and His gift of faith, that gives us hope, works together as a unit, and the quantity of three represents divine completeness and perfection.