Revelation 11
Esther 1
Psalm 105:1-25
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Thoughts and Commentary on Today's Reading
Today
is the fifth day of the Feast of Tabernacles. Today
we’re going to look at the animal sacrifices that used to be performed on
Tabernacles. There is no question that animal sacrifices all pointed to Yahshua’s
death. And now that He has died, animals are no longer sacrificed. But, there
is still meaning in the sacrifices that has purpose and value to us today.
Besides the morning and evening
offerings, typically presented each
day in the sanctuary,
a large number of sacrifices were offering during the eight days of Tabernacles. You can find the list of
animals sacrificed in Numbers 29.
The animal sacrifices requiring a shedding
of blood pointed to our Saviour’s ultimate Sacrifice. The meal and drink
offerings pointed to our thankful response to His Sacrifice. As the meal
offering was consumed, and the drink offering was poured out, so we are to be
totally surrendered to God. As Paul
said, present
your bodies a living sacrifice -Romans 12:1.
More sacrifices were offered during
Tabernacles than all other festivals combined.
During the eight days of this feast, there were a total of 189
animals offered. Obviously, if the message in these sacrifices was only and
simply that Yahshua
would die, there would be no point to this volume nor
in such a diversity of kinds of animals sacrificed. There must be more meaning.
And there is!
First we find a beautiful pattern of sevens. Seven is the number of
Yahweh’s perfection.
No matter how the list of sacrifices are
counted, the group is always divisible by 7.
- 70 bullocks (70 / 7 = 10)
- 14 rams (14 / 7 = 2)
- 98 lambs (98 / 7 = 14)
- 7 kid goats (7 / 7 = 1)
To these were added 336 tenths of ephahs of
flour for the meal offering. 336 is 48 X 7.
And all these offerings were presented in the SEVENTH month.
Not only
does this remind us of the perfection of Yahshua, it also is a beautiful reminder of the
perfection Yahweh will create in His people as He makes them fit Tabernacles
for His Spirit.
On the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles a total of 30 animals were sacrificed. Thirty is a significant number in Scripture. In Exodus 21:32, we find that 30 pieces of silver is the ransom price of a slave.
Yahshua was also sold for 30 pieces of silver. In essence, the Son of God - the most expensive Gift in the universe - was given as a ransom for His servant bride.
In Hebrew gematria (numbers have spiritual meaning), the number 30 means "to teach" and "to learn". These skills are both needed by Yahshua's Bride.
The Brazen altar where the animals were
sacrificed also had meaning. It was
made
of acacia wood – which is flammable. In our mortal state, the Presence of Yahweh is a consuming fire which we
could not endure.
The altar is covered with brass, making
it no longer flammable. We must be hidden in Christ to become
inflammable.
The horns show the strength and power of
the sacrifice
Yahshua made
for us.
The altar was elevated signifying that it
was approaching God.
The Fire
which lit the altar had fallen from Heaven – coming directly from God. This
is like the Lake of Fire in Revelation.
Either
we will have the sin burned out of us now, and be covered with the glorious
robe of Yahshua, or
we will be burned with our sins later.
The bull was the most expensive animal to offer. On Tabernacles there were a
total of 70 bullocks offered.
This
showed that the sacrifice of Yahshua was the most valuable Heaven had to
offer. For
God so loved the world that He gave... John 3:16
But,
why 70 bulls?
Spiritually,
all who accept Yahshua as their Saviour become Abraham’s seed
and heirs according to the promise, as it says in Galatians 3:29. If we are
Abraham’s seed, then we are spiritually considered to be of the loins of Jacob.
In Exodus
1:1-5 The Bible tells us that all
the souls which came from the loins of Jacob were 70...
So, God divided the world into 70 nations
after the flood and Babel. Thus, the offer of 70 bulls showed that Yahshua’s
sacrifice
would be enough to save ALL the nations if
they would only come to Him.
This also fits
with the Harvest theme of this Feast. For the Feast of Tabernacles represented
the gathering in from ALL nations. It
points to the great ingathering at the end of the world, after the gospel has
been preached to every nation, kindred tongue and people.
At Tabernacles, there were also 2 rams offered.
The
word, RAM in Hebrew is ayil,
meaning “upright, strong man, pillar…”
This
sacrifice points to God Himself, the guardian and protector of the flock. As
Abraham said in Genesis 22:7-13, “God will provide Himself a Ram…”
The
shofar was made from the horns of the ram – proclaiming the "horn of salvation.”
As it says in Genesis 22:13, the sound of the Shofar is a
call to repentance,
to do battle against the Enemy, or to assemble to be instructed. This offers
more layers of meaning to the ram
sacrifices.
A
Ram was also sacrificed for
a peace offering, as it says in Numbers 6:17.
It is
the promise, Peace
I leave with you; My peace I give unto you... John 14:27; See also Luke1:76-79; Revelation 6:4; Isaiah 9:6.
Now what
is the significance of 2
rams being offered at tabernacles? – Remember, a ram
means "mighty
men" "righteous" – the two point to the Two Witnesses.
Two
Witnesses have many applications, but first and
foremost, this points to the two Witnesses from Heaven:
I am one that bears witness of Myself,
and the Father that sent Me bears witness of Me. John 8:17.
There were 14 lambs offered on seven days, making a total of 98 lambs offered
during Tabernacles (see Numbers 29:13). 98 is the number value of
“Tabernacle”. In Hebrew Gematria, 98
means “The righteousness of saints, to search for insights of Yahweh,” Finally,
the number 98, literally means “pardon.”
The
lamb as an offering pointed to Yahshua’s purity and innocence. And that we could
be fully pardoned because of His death in our place. Not only were we to be
pardoned, 98 also points to Tabernacle. God would Tabernacle with and in
us.
Last,
let’s talk about the single kid goat sacrificed during Tabernacles. As we can
see plainly in the Day of Atonement, the goat is a representation of sin and Satan.
The
goat also points to the One who would come in the likeness of sinful flesh to
condemn sin for us as it says in Romans 8:3.
Then again in 2 Corinthians 5:21, we find that Yahshua was
made to be sin for us.
The
word “goat” is translated from the Hebrew word sa iyr meaning “hairy, devils, satyrs.” The
Hebrew number value for the word goat is 580. This means “your curse and
rebellion.”
This
brings to mind the beautiful promises in Galatians, where we find that Yahshua hung
on the Cross taking our curses from us.
Summary of the Spiritual Lessons in the Tabernacles Sacrifices:
Thus, we find that this altar teaches us
about the importance of getting rid of sin. Sin is going to burn. We will
either let the Holy Spirit burn the sin out and make us acceptable – covered in
Yahshua –
now, or we will burn with our sin later.
Summary of the Spiritual Lessons in the Tabernacles Sacrifices:
THE ALTAR - Let’s start with the Altar of Burnt Sacrifice, which stood in the Tabernacle
courtyard. This was where the Feast of Tabernacles sacrifices were offered.
The Brazen altar was made of acacia wood – which is flammable.
In our mortal state, the Presence of
Yahweh is a consuming fire which we could not endure. But,
the altar is covered with brass, making it no longer flammable. We must be hidden in Christ to become
inflammable.
The fire on this altar was started by
Yahweh. It was a Heaven fire. The next Heaven fire will be Pentecost. And
when the living sacrifice of our lives is acceptable, Yahweh will send the
fire! If we are not hidden in Christ through being made acceptable in this
first end-time fire, we will be consumed by the Heaven fire called the Lake of
Fire at the end.
THE NUMBER 7 - Now,
let’s turn our attention to the number seven. As we have already discussed the amount
of animals sacrificed is always divisible by 7.
70 bullocks, 14 rams, 98 lambs, 7 kid
goats. To these were added 336 tenths of ephahs of
flour for the meal offering. 336 is 48 X 7.
And all these offerings were presented in the SEVENTH month.
THE NUMBER 30 - On the first day of the Feast of
Tabernacles, there were a total of 30 animals
sacrificed. 3 is the number which represents Yahweh’s Covenant made to
“Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” Ten is the number of Yahweh’s Law, as there are Ten
Commandments, which are the main categories under which all the statutes are
arranged. Thirty is 3x10 showing the Covenant is made to Law Keepers. As Yahshua
said, “…If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham” (John
8:39).
In
Exodus 21:32, Leviticus 27:4, we find that thirty is associated with payment
for a slave and a woman. This is significant because we, who have been slaved
to sin, are ransomed back to become the Bride of Christ. This number was not only shown in our ransom
price at Tabernacles, it was also the amount of silver for which Yahshua was
sold.
THE NUMBER 70 - There were a total of 70 bulls offered during the
Feast of Tabernacles.
When
we accept Yahshua as
our Saviour we become Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise
(Galatians 3:29). This makes us spiritually of the loins of Jacob.
In Exodus
1:1-5 it says that all the souls which came from the loins of
Jacob were 70...
God divided the world into 70 nations.
The offer of 70 bulls showed that Yahshua’s sacrifice would be enough to save
ALL the nations if they would only come to Him.
THE NUMBER 2 - There were two rams offered during Tabernacles.
Two is the number of establishment. In the mouth of no less than two witnesses,
a matter is established, or considered a credible fact. This was the promise
that salvation was assured to all who came to Yahshua.
SPIRITUAL MEANING OF A BULL SACRIFICE - The
sacrifice of the bull showed that Heaven spared no expense in offering us
salvation. And the fact that there were 70 bulls offered during Tabernacles was
to give some concept of just how lavish was Heaven’s offering so that All
Nations could have Eternal Life.
SPIRITUAL MEANING OF A RAM SACRIFICE - The
Ram is a symbol of Yahshua as the protector of the flock. It was a reminder that Yahweh would fulfill
His promise to Abraham, “God Himself shall provide a Lamb” – and immediately a
ram was supplied in the thicket.
SPIRITUAL MEANING OF A LAMB SACRIFICE - The
offering of the Lambs pointed to the perfection and innocence of our Saviour.
It showed that Yahshua would become one of us, who are Yahweh’s
sheep. Yet, He was a Sacrifice without blemish.
SPIRITUAL MEANING OF A GOAT SACRIFICE - The
goats offered at Tabernacles showed that Yahshua took our ugliness and sin upon Himself.
The goat is the symbol of sin and satan. Yahshua died to gain victory over and destroy
the goatishness in us.
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