Rehearsing the Feasts in the wilderness

In Genesis 17.9-14 Abraham is given the covenant of circumcision. It is to be done when a child is eight days old. If a stranger wants to crossover he must be circumcised no matter what his age.

In Exodus 12.1 God changes the calendar. Aviv/Nisan becomes the first month. Tishri now becomes the seventh month. The Hebrew Civil or Creation calendar (Gen 1.1 to Ex 12) began with Tishri. The Sacred calendar (Ex 12 thru Rev) of the feasts begins with Aviv/Nisan. In Jewish thought the world was created on Tishri One--the first day. This is the Civil or Creation calendar. This is Rosh Hashanah or “the head of the year.” The Sacred or Feast Calendar was established by the Lord in Exodus 12. That is the official calendar through the Bible and the Book of Revelation.

In Exodus 12 the first Passover is established at the deliverance from Egypt. In Ex 12.48-51 the strangers who are going out with Israel are instructed to become circumcised as one who is Hebrew. It is the same law for the stranger as the homeborn. No one can eat the Passover until they are circumcised. Passover is a covenant meal and circumcision is a covenant. To crossover one must be circumcised--to eat Passover you must be circumcised.

We assume all or most of Israelites are circumcised prior to leaving Egypt based on the command to Abraham. If they weren’t Ex 12.48-51 makes sure. Those verses, however, are primarily directed to the strangers that are crossing over.

Later in Leviticus 12.2-3 the circumcision law is repeated. The Feast of Passover in not in itself a circumcision rite. It celebrates deliverance from Egypt. In order to eat the Passover one must have become a Hebrew and crossed over. This required circumcision. A person was not allowed to eat the Passover until they were circumcised. The two major incidents were the first Passover when the strangers where told to circumcise before eating and leaving with the Hebrews from Egypt. The next incident was prior to eating the first Passover in the land--all those born in the wilderness who had not been circumcised had to be circumcised before Israel could eat the Passover. These are the two incidents concerning Passover and circumcision. This issue was basically then put to rest.

In Exodus 30.10 Aaron is commanded to make Atonement for the people once a year in the tabernacle in the wilderness. This was observing/rehearsing/practicing the Day of Atonement in the wilderness.

The people did not have the material to fully observe the feasts in the wilderness. They would have most likely spent the day rehearsing for the day they would be in the land. Each year on the annual dates of feasts they probably would have practiced--a dry run if you will. Trumpets and the Day of Atonement would not require any grains, etc. This makes sense for several reasons.

The Lord had changed the calendar and that would take time getting used to. If the people did not watch the calendar and rehearse the feasts while wandering for 38 years they would have forgotten about them. This is what happened in Nehemiah 8 when the captives returned and read the book of the law. They realized they had forgotten about the feasts. In 2 Chronicles 34 and 35 Josiah reads the law and sees the people have forgotten to follow the law. He reinstitutes the Passover. These two examples are proof the Israelites would have forgotten the feasts if they had not been rehearsing while in the wilderness.

In Deuteronomy 6.1-3 Moshe reminds the people these are the commandments and statures the Lord had me teach you in the wilderness. This indicates that they would have been taught about the feasts and rehearsed each year while wandering. Even though they did not have the material, grains, lambs, etc they could still rehearse. This also is born out in that they conducted a Passover seamlessly when entering the land in Joshua 5.

One final personal example. When I first began learning about the feasts of the Lord I studied them. I didn’t even know the exact order. I first learned what they meant, then in the order they were observed. Then I had to get a calendar that had both the Gregorian calendar and Hebrew calendar. The first year I just tried to be aware of what time of year they were happening. The next year I began to study the prophetic meaning of the feasts in relation to the Book of Revelation. Then I spent the next year actually taking time to meditate on each feast and do something on those days. The final step was to actually go and rehearse them at a place of worship for a year and forever after. This entire process took me three years. How long would it have taken the Israelites, a huge multitude, to process, rehearse, and remember them in the wilderness? It makes sense they paid attention to the details while wandering.

I am not adding or subtracting anything. I am trying to make sense out of what must have happened in that day. This seems clear to me when read in context and looking at the overall picture and how man forgets and falls away. If the Israelites didn’t rehearse in the wilderness it makes no sense that they would remember.