Sei sulla pagina 1di 2

Why the Three Pilgrimage Feasts?

By Rabbi Edward Levi Nydle-Revised 7-4-03

“Three times in the year ALL your males are to appear before the Master Yahweh.” Shemot 23:17

“ Three times a year ALL your males appear before Yahweh your Elohim in THE PLACE which HE chooses:
at the Festival of Unleavened Bread, and at the Festival of Weeks, and at the Festival of Booths.And NONE
should appear before Yahweh empty-handed, but each one with the gift of his hand, and according to the
blessing of Yahweh your Elohim which He has given you.” Devarim 16:16-17

“My being thirsts for Yahweh; for the living El.When shall I enter in to appear before Yahweh? Tehillim 42:2

Many people new to the Torah life-style are just now learning about the Feasts of YHWH, and their purpose in their
lives as followers of the Messiah. Many desire to perform these mitzvoth, but do not know how to observe them. The
Feasts of YHWH are Shabbat, Pesach, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits, Shavuot, Yom Teruah, Yom Kippur, and the
Feast of Booths (Wayyiqra 23). Of these eight feasts, three are called ascension or pilgrimage Feasts. The three are
Passover, Shavuot, and Booths or Tabernacles. These Feasts are the times that the Yisraelite males were to make a
journey to Yerushalayim to appear before YHWH in the Temple with an offering from their labors. Three times a year
ALL MALES were to make this pilgrimage, however, most took their families with them .We read in Luke 2:41-48
that Yosef and Miriam went to Yerushalayim for Passover and took their son Yahshua with them. In the “Four Good
News”, we find Yahshua Himself making these pilgrimages for the Feast days of His Father (see Yochanan 7). All
Torah observant Yisraelites made these Feast Days journeys

What it means to “appear” before YHWH

The word “appear” in these verses is #7200 in Strong’s and means: RA’AH – to see, self, appear, gaze upon, take
heed of, look upon another, to be near, be in the sight of others. Yahweh was COMMANDING ALL MALES to come
in to His presence so HE, as their Father, could gaze upon them, see them, and pay attention to them. He was testing
them, as a Father, to see who would ascend to His Holy Mountain and enter into His House. Which one of His sons
would want to visit Him on His moadim He had established? He was calling all His sons into His presence on these
Feast days. Not only that, they were to see each other. It was a time of a family reunion. They were to look upon each
other. These were THE TIMES the Father and His family met together in His House on His Mountain.
To go UP to Yerushalayim was called “to ascend” or ALAH in the Hebrew. The word means “to arise, to go, to carry
up, to come up, to go from a lower place to a higher, to go to a sacred place, to bring up the tithe, or to climb.”

• “Who goes UP into the mountain of Yahweh? And who does stand in His set-apart place? He who has
innocent hands AND a clean heart. Who did not bring his life to naught, and did not swear deceivingly.
He receives a blessing from Yahweh...” Tehillim 24:3-5

When you came up to the Father’s House, it was the time to get a “heart check-up” .It was a time of self-examination
and allowing the Great Physician and the Torah do “open heart-surgery” on you with the two-edged knife of the Torah
. It was a time of self-evaluation.
None of them were to come empty-handed before their Father and King. It was time for them to give an account of
their stewardship to Father, and offer back to Him part of His blessings He had given them. How embarrassing it was
for one of His sons to come without a gift to present to their Father. The Torah made provision so that even the poorest
of the poor could bring something to set before Yahweh (Devarim 26).

1
The place He chooses and places His Name-the Name of Yahweh

• “But SEEK the place which Yahweh your Elohim chooses, out of all your tribes, to put HIS NAME
there, for His Dwelling Place, and there you shall enter. And there you shall take your burnt offerings,
and your offerings, and your tithes, and the contributions of your hand, and your vowed offerings, and
the firstlings of your flock. And there you shall eat before Yahweh, and shall rejoice in all you put your
hand to, you and your households, in which Yahweh your Elohim has blessed you.” Devarim 12:5-7

This Scripture is speaking of the Temple in Yerushalayim. The question is asked, “How can we as Brit Chadasha
Yisrael observe this mitzvah if the Temple is no longer standing? Do we quit paying tithes because it was destroyed in
70CE? Are not we to give offerings? How and where, then can we do this command? Do we cease to offer sacrifices,
offerings, contributions, vows, and firstfruits because we are not in the Land of Yisrael? Do we stop gathering for the
three Feasts and the other moadim because of the lack of a Dwelling Place? I do not believe this is the Father’s will for
Yisrael.

• “Or do you not know that your body IS the Dwelling Place of the Set-Apart Spirit who is in you...”
1Cor.6: 19
• “Do you not know that you are a Dwelling Place of Elohim …” 1Cor. 3:16

Rav Shaul teaches that the assembly or congregation of Yisrael is the Dwelling Place of Elohim. Yahweh has always
wanted to dwell in His people Yisrael as a Body. “A Body you have prepared for Me”.”And you shall make Me a Set-
Apart Place, and I shall dwell in their midst.” (Ex.25: 8) Elohim NOW dwells in each individual by His Ruach and
also in all Yisrael corporately as a Body! He has given us His Name-Yahweh, and placed it on His congregation-Yis-
ra-EL! It is the Assembly of the First-Born. We are the Brit Chadasha Temple or Dwelling Place of Yahweh.

As Messianic Yisrael

As Messianic Yisrael, can still gather together at various set-apart places where Yahweh has placed His Name, and
has chosen for His pilgrimage Feasts, until the time the Temple is rebuilt and restored in the Messianic Kingdom. We
know that in the Messianic Kingdom we will make our pilgrimages to Yerushalayim (Zekaryah 13: Yechezqel 40-
48). Until that time comes ALL the males of Yisrael can NOW make pilgrimages with their households to these
gathering places for Passover, Shavuot, and Tabernacles. We can appear before each other and gather together to
celebrate as the family of Yahweh.
During Passover and Unleavened Bread we celebrate our redemption by our Passover Lamb Yahshua.At Shavuot
we can celebrate the giving of Torah, the beginning of the wheat harvest, and the establishment of the portable
Dwelling Places by the pouring out of His Ruach. And finally, at Tabernacles we can celebrate the In-Gathering of the
whole House of Yisrael in the Messianic Kingdom to come! Each of the pilgrimage Feasts give us great pictures of our
redemption and deliverance in Messiah Yahshua. But most important, as sons of the Living Elohim we can come UP
to the presence of our Father and King to be seen by Him with our offerings of praise, worship, prayers, good works,
and tithes. These are the moadim of Yahweh your Father. You are being summoned. Will you come?

• “Yahweh, who does sojourn in Your Tent? Who does dwell in Your set-apart Mountain? He who walks
blamelessly, and does righteousness, and speaks truth in his heart. He who has not slandered with his
tongue, and has not done evil to his neighbor, nor lifted up reproach against his friend; In whose eyes
the reprobate one is despised, but he esteems those who fear Yahweh; Who swears not to his own hurt
and does not change; He has not put out his silver at interest, and has not taken a bribe against the
innocent. He who does these is never moved.” Tehillim 1

Potrebbero piacerti anche