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| Photo Credit to Roman Grac, on Pixabay |
Of late, my studies have focused on trying to assimilate in my head the whole of the Bible, what psychologists call (a German term) the gestalt of it. I don't know about your religious experiences; but, as a lifelong Baptist, I was taught that much of the Old Testament was, at best, not edifying to the Christian. Preachers preached from parts of it, but much of it was obscure or even deemed obsolete. Even though first century Christians relied on the Old Testament scriptures almost entirely, along with letters and the gospels, today's Christians have relegated much of the Old Testament to the shelf.
One of the hindrances to understanding the Old Testament is that it is not presented chronologically. So, it is hard to follow the big-picture story of the history of the Jewish people.
Another hindrance is that, as modern-day Gentiles, we have little connection to the Jewish culture which undergirded much of what was going on. Actually, that can also be said about the New Testament, which is full of Jewish idioms we often miss.
Poor translations of original texts abound (how many translations ARE there?!); this is yet another issue.
Case in point: Hosea 6:3
If you look at it in the NKJV and the NIV, you read the following:
Let us acknowledge the LORD; let us press on to acknowledge him. As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; he will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth."
Hosea 6:3 (NIV)
Let us know, Let us pursue the knowledge of the LORD. His going forth is established as the morning; He will come to us like the rain, Like the latter and former rain to the earth.
Hosea 6:3 (NKJV)
The few times I had even read that verse, I read the part about the rains and thought, "oh what lovely poetic language". So did some of the translators. Take for instance these two: (Hosea 6:3)
So let us know—let us press on to know the LORD. As surely as the sun rises, He will appear; He will come to us like the rain, like the spring showers that water the earth.
Berean Study Bible (BSB)
"So let us know, let us press on to know the LORD. His going forth is as certain as the dawn; And He will come to us like the rain, Like the spring rain watering the earth."
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
But look. Did you know that, in Israel, there are two rainy seasons, one in the fall and one in the spring. The spring rains are called "the latter rain" and the fall "the former rain". Oh, but it gets better.....
Look at the verse again. "He will come to us like the rain, like the latter rain and former rain to the earth." These two divisions are intentionally mentioned by the prophet, because they picture, they foretell, the two appearances The Messiah would make on the Earth.
I've written previously about how Jesus' last few weeks on Earth, particularly His Passion Week, fulfilled (and that's a poor word, but the best I can come up with) the plans of God as pictured in the Spring Festivals - Pesach (Passover), Feast of Unleavened Bread (Hag haMatzah), First Fruits of the Barley Harvest (Yom Habikkurim), and Shavuot (Pentecost). You can read those posts at the1 links in the Sources section. I never cease to be amazed at how Jesus met every marker - - every, single one. I was reading aloud about this to my husband a couple of days ago and it brought me to tears. I exclaimed, "How can anyone, Jew or Gentile, look at His work during His last days and NOT believe He is the promised Messiah?!" It's just...astounding.
I have come to understand and believe that, through the seven Festivals of Leviticus 23, "God explains, defines, demonstrates and reinforces Himself and His plan"2 of redemption and restoration of mankind. The Spring Festivals were fulfilled by Jesus Christ literally to the day and, in so doing, have much to teach us about God's divine plan.
Likewise, there are many, many indications that, when Jesus the Messiah (Yeshua HaMashiach) returns, He will at that time fulfill the foreshadows contained in the Fall Feasts (Rosh HaShanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot), the time of "the former rain". It is on that topic I am going to share with you in the next few days, as we approach the season of the Fall Festivals. This year (2019), they begin on the evening of Sunday, September 29th.
Sources:
1 https://resplendentdaughter.blogspot.com/2018/03/10-days-that-changed-world-passion-week.html
https://resplendentdaughter.blogspot.com/2018/03/monday-of-holy-week.html
https://resplendentdaughter.blogspot.com/2018/03/passion-week-tuesday.html
https://resplendentdaughter.blogspot.com/2018/03/passion-week-wednesday-not-so-silent.html
https://resplendentdaughter.blogspot.com/2018/03/jesus-passion-preparation-day-through.html
https://resplendentdaughter.blogspot.com/2018/03/first-fruits.html
https://resplendentdaughter.blogspot.com/2018/05/shavuot-and-pentecost.html
2 Good, J. (1998). Rosh HaShanah and the Messianic Kingdom to come: an interpretation of the Feast of Trumpets based upon ancient sources. Nederland, TX: Hatikva
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