God's Joyful Feasts

So today I want to share a number of details that are new to me about God's feasts that I didn't know before. So we never exhaust all the information and knowledge that we can have about these feasts. And this has to do with several main words in the Scriptures about the feasts, which some are in Hebrew and some are in Greek. But basically what they have in common is that they mean joy, the Hebrew word for joy and also the Greek word for joy. Now there are numerous words because joy is one of the very common points and subjects in the Bible. And these are very important words, for it is where we get the connection to describe these festivals as God's joyous feasts. In the Hebrew, one of the main words for joy is simka. It's pronounced simka. That's the noun and its verb form is samak. S-A-M-A-C-H. Samak. Where we get the word rejoice. So the word for joy, simka, is the noun and then we have the word samak, which is the verb to have joy. Now this relationship between these words and God's feasts is linked in Numbers 10 verse 10. This relationship between these words, this is what we read in Numbers 10 verse 10. It says also, in the day of your gladness, there's that Hebrew word simka, in your appointed feasts and at the beginning of your months you shall blow the trumpets. And then they shall be a memorial for you before your God, I am the Lord your God. So this is something that is applied and you see the word here, the day of your gladness. This days of rejoicing, simka, means your joyful feasts. So as time went on, simka became synonymous with the feast days. And even today the Jews can say, we are going to a simka. We're going to the joyful feasts of the Lord.

Can also be a wedding. Simka, it's a joyful occasion. The NIV version says also at your times of rejoicing, and then it says which are they? Your appointed festivals and new moon feasts, you are to sound the trumpets. Then it finalizes and they will be a memorial for you before your God. I am the Lord your God. So God listens. He is aware of his people coming to worship him and celebrate these festivals. So you have the connection between these feasts of joy and the words simka and samakh. And we're going to see them in scripture now. The origin of these two words, the verb and the noun, according to the Briggs, the brown driver in Briggs Hebrew definitions in Strong's dictionary as well. What does that word simka and also the verb samakh, what do they mean? They mean to brighten up the face as in lighting up a smile before God and others that attend. It's a shining from within. It's not just something on the outside. It comes from the inside. That's what simka and samakh are all about. So let's look at Leviticus 23, verses 39 through 40. Leviticus 23, 39 through 40, where God is talking about the Feast of Tabernacles.

It says, also on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, that's going to be this next Sabbath, When you have gathered in the fruit of the land, you shall keep the feast of the Lord for seven days. On the first day there shall be a Sabbath rest, and on the eighth day a Sabbath rest. And what we have this year is a double Sabbath. It's a weekly Sabbath, but also it's the annual Sabbath. And you shall take for yourselves on the first day the fruit of beautiful trees, branches of palm trees, and boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook. And it says, you shall rejoice, the verb, samakh, before the Lord your God for seven days. So it is something very important to God. Gary mentioned about the feast fever. Well, this is where it comes from. It's not something that we are creating. It's something that God has established in His Word.

Then in Deuteronomy 16, verses 10 and 11, talking about Pentecost or the Feast of Weeks.

It says in Deuteronomy 16, verses 10 and 11, it says, Then you shall keep the Feast of Weeks to the Lord your God, with the tribute of a free will offering from your hand, which you shall give as the Lord your God blesses you. That's the offering that we take up. You shall rejoice, samakh, before the Lord your God, you, your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, the Levite who is within your gates, the stranger and the fatherless and the widow who are among you, at the place where the Lord your God chooses to make His name abide. So notice this isn't just about us rejoicing. It's about sharing that rejoicing with others around us.

So it's, yes, part of the family, those involved, the Levite who didn't have any property of himself, they had to live off of the tithes, the stranger who came to worship God, and the fatherless, means the orphans, maybe they don't have father and mother at church, and the widow who are among you. And that has to do with widows or widowers, because it can be a male or a female, at the place where the Lord your God chooses to make His name abide. So it is a family that extends out to all the believers of faith. So it's not a personal rejoicing only, but also church-wide. There's an atmosphere of joy, of sharing blessings with those needy or lonely members that are there. And that atmosphere of joy is what I call the spiritual bubble that God sets up around His people. We've had hurricanes that have headed straight for that place, and Rike and Debbie Vidal can tell you they were there in Puerto Vallarta when the hurricane came, and they were removing all the furniture from the first floor, because it was coming in to that bay, and we just prayed. We were very earnest, and guess what? The hurricane all of a sudden went north, and we avoided it. And we've had that several times in those thirteen years that Cady and I served as a feast coordinator there. Many things that God provided.

And as a young man, I still remember I came in the church like a spiritual orphan, because I didn't have father or mother or any family member. And so when I went to Big Sandy, the campus there, and I was by myself, this was the first year, and then the feast came, and there were several thousand people, and they had this area called Piney Woods, which they had just cleared, and it was just pine trees, and all the people set up tents, and then there was barbeque everywhere. And here it's this skinny kind of... I wasn't feeding myself very well, and boy, we came, and, hey, sonny, come over here! And they'd have steaks and everything else. And so I went to another place, and every day I visited Piney Woods, and I always got very well fed. But I remember I was the orphan. I didn't have anybody else, but boy, that family that came in, they stepped up to the plate.

Now let's notice just a little farther down in Deuteronomy 16, verses 14 and 15, talking about the Feast of Tabernacles and Samach, the joy that God wants us to have. Notice in Deuteronomy 16, in verse 14, it says, And you shall rejoice in your feast, Samach, and you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant.

That's if you got somebody that works for you at the house, employee. And the Levite, the stranger and the fatherless and the widow, who are within your gates.

Seven days you shall keep a sacred feast to the Lord your God in the place which the Lord chooses, because the Lord your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that you surely rejoice. Yes, the term Samach. And when it says surely, it says that is the focus, that is the principle thing to come in. Now, does that mean that everyone that comes has had a wonderful year and everything's gone very well? Or how about people that are afflicted, that there are illnesses, perhaps accidents, serious problems? Most people have those during the year. Now, the word that we're using joy or rejoicing doesn't mean there aren't problems. But to remember who is on our side and what he is doing and will do about it. As Psalm 31, verse 7 says, David talking here, he says, I will be glad and rejoice, Samach, in your mercy, for you have considered my trouble. You have known my soul in adversities and have not shut me up into the hand of the enemy. You have set my feet in a wide place. In other words, a peaceful place. That's the God that we have. I like what the Expositor's Dictionary of the Bible Word says about the term joy. It says tracing the concepts of joy through the Bible helps us realize that our happiness, like our hope, is founded on realities that are unaffected by conditions in this world.

It reminds me again of a definition of joy in the New Testament. It's like the ocean that we have out here, the Pacific Ocean, so broad and deep. And we have all kinds of storms that come up, and we had just recently a type of hurricane that came over and brought all that hot water and air into our area. But you know what? Deep underneath, there's always calmness. And those submarines that are special, deep-diving vessels, they go down. Nothing affects that. And so as the torments and life and things that go up and down, these things will pass. But deep inside, there's this abiding peace and joy that comes from knowing God, knowing His will, and everything that He is doing in our lives. So this spiritual rejoicing is a deep, heartfelt joy connected to God, His presence in our lives, His plan of salvation that He's carrying out. Just think about when that happens, that we just saw in the video, when Satan is bound no longer. What joy there will be when people will have their minds open and to the truth.

And also, rejoicing for His wonderful commandments that guide us. It's a profound, abiding joy based on God's character. He cannot change. He can never do something evil, rather than a passing mood or of material belongings. Is that where a person's joy depends on? On material belongings? No. They can certainly help, but they don't change a person's true character. As a result, part of going to the feast is to worship God based on our relationship with Him, having fellowship with the brethren, and finding comfort. We have joy because we have been invited to this wonderful feast. Billions of people are not being invited now. We have. What a privilege. We have our names written in the Book of Life when we receive God's Spirit. And we're so looking forward to that coming kingdom and being an eternal, spirit-composed member of God's family in that first resurrection. I mean, is that good enough to find joy? If we can't find it there, we'll never find it anywhere else. So as Paul said in Romans chapter 8, Romans chapter 8, in verse 18, he knew what tribulations were. Just have to read 2 Corinthians 11 about everything that he went through. He could have gotten depressed. He could have started complaining about all the things that he was suffering. But he said in Romans 8, in verse 18, He says, For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. That's the spirit of the feast. It's not that we don't have problems and that there are difficulties, but guess what? All of those things are going to be so insignificant when Christ's kingdom comes. We're not going to be thinking about our current problems that we have. And then he also finds comfort in verse 28. And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. So God has a purpose. We're going to be tested. But He's always supervising, making sure we're not tempted beyond what we can handle.

As we can read in Psalm 118 verse 24, Psalm 118 verse 24, He uses the word, Samach, joy. He says, This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice, Samach, and be glad in it.

So this is a conscious decision to be glad in response to God's presence and His actions in our lives. This is the day to rejoice in God. And the Sabbath day is also a day of joy as well. So we saw the Old Testament and these special words.

Now let's go to the New Testament. In the New Testament, the words for Simcha and Samach, the noun and verb of joy, Simcha is Kara. Kara. C-H-A-R-A. And actually the H is silent. Just like in Spanish, we don't pronounce the H. It comes from the Latin and from the Greek. It's Kara. C-A-R-A.

Kara. That's the noun for joy. And for Samach and the Hebrew, it is the Greek kairo. Kairo. C-H-A-I-R-O. Again, you don't pronounce the H. Kairo. It's the verb in the New Testament for rejoicing. So again, the noun is joy. But how do you say joy as a verb? Rejoice. It's a way of expressing joy to others. Notice in John chapter 15 verse 11, John chapter, Christ used the term here, Kara. He was telling his disciples, this was during the Passover meal.

He says, these things I have spoken to you that my joy, Kara, may remain in you and that your kara, your joy, may be full. So Christ's joy, which he had to the very end of his life, he was still thinking of others, asking God to forgive those who were torturing him at that time.

So he uses that term. Now there is an element that is added to the definition here of joy in the New Testament that we don't find exactly the same way in the Old Testament. And that is that going through trials and sufferings should be understood as a way of developing a stronger and firmer type of joy. So it's not just superficial. It's something that after we go through trials, we look back and say, well, it wasn't very good and it wasn't very easy to do, but you know what?

I'm a better person for it. I was tested. Notice in 1 Peter 1. 1 Peter 1. Verse 6. Peter knew about suffering, believe me. According to the church historians of the first couple of centuries, Peter was arrested in Rome. And when they gave him the decree of being guilty, he was going to be crucified. And then he said, crucify me, but feet up, because I'm not worthy to have the same type of crucifixion as Jesus Christ.

And so that's not in the scriptures, but that could be the case. But he certainly suffered in his life and in his death, too. Notice what it says in verse 6 of 1 Peter 1. It says, In this you greatly rejoice. Now here, that is a term that's even more powerful than Kara, which is Agali'o, A-G-A-L-L-I-A-O. And this means exceedingly joyful. This term is using like leaping for joy. Now, how can you do that with the trials that you go through? Well, he says, In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom, having not seen, you love.

Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy. The term here is the Agali'o. He says, With joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith, the salvation of your souls. So that's our aim. That's our goal, to be able to do it, to persevere to the end, whatever the trials are. And then in chapter 4, Peter continues with this thread. He says in 1 Peter 4, verse 12, Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you.

So sometimes people say, well, why me? Why did I have to go through this? And he says, well, don't think it is something strange. And Satan's very active. He wants to discourage us. And we realize there are people that are elderly, that have health problems, and it is not recommendable for them to go to the feast if their health can deteriorate. They can have a...it's almost like testing God, in which you're not supposed to test God. You're supposed to have at least adequate health to go. And of course, also for the Day of Atonement, there are people, elderly people, or people with various sickness.

Make sure you take your medicines. Be able to do whatever it takes to...for your health to not have a fast where you can go into a diabetic coma or something like this. Remember that there are these oxes in the ditches that you have to take into account that people sometimes just don't have the health to have a full fast. God understands that. It's just an expression, an attitude. We do the best we can. And so he goes on to say, But rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.

Using the term here again, uses Kara as well as Agali'au. But it's mentioned, it says, verse 14, if you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you for the spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part, He is blaspheme, but on your part, He is glorified. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, or an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people's matters.

Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter. For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God. We are being spiritually judged now. And if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?

In other words, if this doesn't work out, then God's calling all these firstfruits and nobody makes it, what end is that for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And so He's saying we have to give the example that, yes, we are going to make it and persevere into the kingdom of God. It's interesting that the Apostle Paul uses the term here rejoice in a way that hearkens back to the way God talked about the feasts and that you shall rejoice.

It is something that we understand is a spiritual state. Joy is one of the fruits of God's Spirit, and we need to develop it. Notice what it tells us in Philippians chapter 4 verse 4. He says, Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say rejoice in these terms has to do with Kara and with rejoicing. The topical lexicon says, Paul commands rejoice in the Lord always.

An imperative, which means a command, echoing Deuteronomy's festival calls when people were being called to go to the feast and to rejoice. It means to rejoice always in God's feasts. That's why we build up our excitement. And even if a person stays at home, you're still going to be able to keep the feast. Make sure you see the services you can.

Stay close to God in prayer and rejoice because of that coming kingdom and what God is doing in our lives today. So let's go to the final rejoicing in Revelation chapter 19. Revelation 19 verses 6 and 7. This sums up the fullness of God's joyful feasts as the bride, which is the church, marries Jesus Christ, a joy based on God's covenant. It's an attitude and a witness to God's glorious presence in one's life satisfies forever.

Revelation 19 verse 6. Of course, Satan has already been confronted. Let's go a little bit before this. Let's go to verse 1 of chapter 19. And these things I heard a loud voice, a great multitude in heaven. These are angelic multitudes saying, Hallelujah, salvation and glory and honor and power belong to the Lord our God. For true and righteous are His judgments, because He has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication, and He has avenged on her the blood of His servants shed by her.

And then they said, Hallelujah, her smoke rises up forever and ever, so all false religions will eventually be destroyed. And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God, who sat on the throne, saying, Amen, Hallelujah. Then a voice came from the throne, saying, Praise our God, all you His servants, and those who fear Him, both small and great. And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings and these are again the angelic choirs.

Hallelujah, for the Lord God omnipotent reigns. Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory. And there's the term, rejoice, kairah, and give Him glory. For the marriage of the Lamb has come and His wife has made herself ready. And to her it was granted to be a raid and fine linen, clean and bright. Of course, that's the perfecting of the saints. Every sin, everything is just coming. There's nothing there to remember. It says, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Yes, they are obedient, but they know God is the one who forgives sin. Then He said to me, write, blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb.

And He said to me, these are the true sayings of God. Blessed are those who are called. That's part of our rejoicing now and forever. And why these feasts are so wonderful, just remember those two words, simka and samak. Kara, which is the noun in kairos. Those are the words that we can remember as we remember God's joyful feasts.