LESSON1

THECEREMONI
ALLAWS

Youar
ewelcometoanot
heredi
ti
onofI
nsight
sfr
om God'
sWord,aBibl
eStudyPr
ogr
ammet
hat
i
scommit
tedtoshar
ingGod'
sWordbyall
owingt
heBibl
etospeakf
oritsel
f.

Inthi
sedit
ion,wecont i
nuewithourseri
esonTheLawofGod.I
nourpr evi
ousstudy
,we
consi
deredvari
ousl awsthatGodgavethepeopl
eofanci
entI
srael
throughHisserv
antMoses.
TheselawsincludedCivi
lLaws,Healt
hLaws,Cer
emonial
Lawsandt heTenCommandment s.

Friends,
f r
om thet eachingsofChri
standt heapostl
esintheNewTest ament,welear
nclearl
y
thatsomeoft hecivill
awst hatgui
dedt hecustoms,pr
acti
cesandreli
giousli
feofthepeopleof
ancientI
sr ael
( suchasl evi
rat
emar r
iages,l
etter
sofdivor
ce,puni
shmentbyst oni
ngand
circumcisi
on)ar enol ongermandatorypracti
cesbytheChrist
ianChurchtoday(seeMatthew
5:31-32;
Act s15: 1-
31).

Unlikesomeoft hecivi
llawsthatarenotmandat or
ytoday ,t
heNewTest amentgi vesample
evidencet hattheHealt
hLawst hatGodgav et
hepeopl eofanci entIsraelaresti
llbi
ndingupon
God' speopl et
oday.Incasey ouhav eanyquestioninrelat
iont ot hesubjectofhealthin
Scripture,youcanrequestforourser iesonhealthwhichisdubbed: Howt oProsperinHealth
throughanyofourcont actnumber satt heendofthi
sst udy.I
nt hisseri
esonheal th,youwil
l
discov ercl
earBibl
e-basedanswer sf oryourper
plexi
ngquest ionsont hesubjectofhealth.

Bel
oved,
besidestheCi
vi
candHealthLaws, Godalsogavethepeopl
eofanci
entI
srael
Cer
emonialLawsandMoralLaws.I
nthisstudy,IwantustofocusontheCer
emonialLaws
whi
lewetackletheMor
alLawsinournextstudy.

Fri
ends, whent hepeopleofancientIsraelmadetheirj
ourneythroughthewilder
nesstothe
promisedl and,GodcommandedMosest obuil
dHi m asanctuarysoHewoul ddwellamong
them (Exodus25: 8).
Thelawsthatwer egiventothepeopleinrelati
ontothesanctuary,
its
servi
cesandf eastsaregener
allyknowni nChri
stendom asCer emonialLaws.Godgav ethe
Ceremoni alLawst otheIsr
ael
itestot eachthem t
hewayorpl anHewasgoi ngtofoll
owt osav
e

1
mankindfrom thet
err
ibl
eresultsofsi
n(Psalm 77:13).Throught
herit
esandceremoniesofthe
sanctuar
yservi
ce,GodtaughtthepeopleofancientIsrael
abouttheatoni
ngsacr
if
iceofthe
Redeemert ocome(seeLevit
icus1;Levi
ti
cus4; Levi
ticus5;Levi
ti
cus23;John1:
29;1Peter
1:19)
.

Beloved,i
ti scl earf rom Scri
pturethatt hecer emoni all
awshadt odowi t
hsev eralordinances
whichwer er elatedt othesanctuaryser vice.Theseor dinancesincl udedv ari
oussacr i
ficesand
off
eringssuchasbur ntoff
eri
ng,peaceof f ering, sinof feri
ng,t
respassof feri
ng, meatof f
eri
ng
anddr i
nkof ferings( seeLevit
icus1, 2,3,4, 5,6, 7, 23).Besidetheseof feri
ngs, t
hesanct uary
servi
cesalsoi ncludedv ari
ousfeastsandhol iday st hatwerecel ebratedbyt hepeopl e.Feast s
suchast hePassov er,Unl
eavenedBr ead, Firstf ruits,Pentecost,Trumpet s,DayofAt onement
andTaber nacl es( seeLev it
icus23)wer ecel ebr atedbyt hepeopl eofanci entIsraelev eryyear.
Mostoft hesef east swer eassociatedwi thhol yconv ocati
onsthatwer eknownassabbat hsor
sabbathday s.Ev erythingthatwasassoci at edwi tht hesanctuar y;bei tsacri
fi
cesf orsi ns,
vari
ousof ferings, feastsorhol i
dayswer eal l descr ibedast ypes, shadowsorf igurest hat
point
edf orwar dt ot heGr eatAntit
ypet ocome, ev enJesusChr ist(seeHebr ews9: 1-15) .

Fri
ends, thesanct uaryser
vicerit
uals,
itsordi
nancesanddi ver
sefeastswer epract
icedbyGod' s
peopleunt ilthedeathoftheRedeemer .Infact,
atthedeathofChr ist,
thev eilt
hatsepar at
edthe
hol
ypl acef rom themosthol yplaceinthetempleatJerusalem wast ornfrom thetopt othe
bott
om, signify
ingtheendoft hesanctuarysacri
fi
cialsyst
em (seeMat thew27: 50-51).Theveil
whichcov eredtheShekinahGl oryofGodinthemosthol yplaceoft hesanct uar
ywast ornaway
byanunseenhand, l
ayi
ngbar ethesacreddwelli
ngplaceofJehov ah.Thisdi vi
neactionwast o
makei tv erycleartothepeopleofancientIsr
aelthatthesanctuar
ysacr if
icialsyst
em hadcome
toanend.

ThelessonGodwantedtoteachHispeoplewassimple.TheOnewhom all
thesymbols
repr
esentedhadfi
nal
lyshedHisbloodonCalvar
y'
scrossforther
emissi
onofthesi
nsof
mankind.TheLambofGodwi thoutblemi
shhaddied(John1:
29;1Peter1:
19)
.Forthi
sreason,
theapostl
ePaulcoul
dmaket hestatement
:

"
Havingabol
ishedinhisf
leshtheenmity
,event
heLAW OFCOMMANDMENTSCONTAI NEDIN
ORDI
NANCES; fortomakei nhi
mselfoftwai
nonenewman,somaki
ngpeace"
(Ephesi
ans2:
15;
Capi
talEmphasisAdded)
.

2
Belov
ed, i
tisimportanttonot ethatinEphesians2:15,
Paul referstoal awofcommandment s
thati
scont ai
nedinor di
nances.Thekeywor d'ordi
nances'wasut i
li
zedbytheapost lePault
o
descri
bethelawst hatwer eassociatedwiththesanctuaryserv i
ce.Thusf r
iends,anyti
meyou
comeacr ossthewor d'ordinances',
especial
lyasusedinr elat
iontot helaworcommandment ,
youmustr ecognisethattheScr i
ptureistr
y i
ngtoident
ifyorpoi ntouttheCer emonialLawsthat
wererelat
edt othesanctuar y(r
eviewHebr ews9:1-15,
particul
ar l
yverses1-5and10) .

Besidesthetexti
nEphesians2:15,wecomeacrossot
herpassageswher
ePaulut
il
izest
hekey
word'ordi
nances'todescr
ibeceremoni
all
awsthatwerer
elat
edt ot
hesanct
uar
y.Fr
om
Colossi
ans2:14-17,wereadthefol
lowi
ng:

"
2:14Bl
ott
ingouttheHANDWRITINGOFORDINANCESthatwasagai
nstus,
whi
chwascont
rar
y
t
ous,andtookitoutoft
heway
, nai
l
ingi
ttohi
scr
oss;

2:
15Andhav i
ngspoi
l
edpr
inci
pal
i
tiesandpower
s,hemadeashewoft
hem openl
y,t
ri
umphi
ng
ov
erthem i
nit.

2:
16Letnomanther
efor
ejudgeyoui
nmeat
,ori
ndr
ink,
ori
nrespectofanhol
yday
,oroft
he
newmoon,oroft
hesabbat
hdays:

2:
17Whi
char
eashadowoft
hingst
ocome;
butt
hebodyi
sofChr
ist
."

(
Col
ossi
ans2:
14-
17;
Capi
tal
Emphasi
sAdded)

Inthepassageabov e,Paulutil
izest heterm'thehandwr iti
ngofordinances'todescribetheki nd
oflawhei sdescri
binginthepassage.Thi skeyexpr essionhelpsust oquickl
yrecogniset hat
Paulismakingreferencetothecer emoniallawsoft hesanctuary.AccordingtoPaul ,t
he
ceremoniall
awsoft hesanct uarywer enail
edt othecr ossatthedeat hofChr i
st(r
eview
Mat t
hew27:50-51).Asar esult,sanctuaryservi
ceor dinancessuchasmeat s,dri
nks,holidays,
newmoonsandsabbat hdayswer enol ongerbindinguponGod' speople.AsPaul r
ightl
yput
them, t
heywereallashadowoft hi
ngst ocome( compar eColossians2:15-16withHebr ews9: 9-
10).

3
Beloved,wemustbecar efultonot ethattheitemsment ionedbyPaul i
nCol ossi
ans2: 16are
sanctuaryser vi
ceor di
nancest hatarenott obeconf usedwi t
hther equi
rement sofGod' sMor al
Law.Fori nstance,manyofGod' schildreninChr i
stendom todayreadCol ossians2:16f r
om
dynamicmoder ndayt ranslati
onssuchast heNI V,RSV,GWT, andGNTamongot hersand
concl
udet hatthi
sPaul i
net extgiveslibert
ytot heChrist
iantotakeinanyf oodordr inkwithout
anyrestri
ct i
onsaswel laspossesst hel i
bert
yt odisr
egardthekeepi ngofthesev enth-day
Sabbathasf oundi nGod'sTenCommandmentLaw.Let 'sseehowt heNIV,RSV, GWTandGNT
tr
anslateCol ossians2:16:

NewInter
nat
ionalVer
sion:"
Theref
oredonotl
etanyonejudgey
oubywhatyoueatordr
ink,
or
wit
hregardt
oar el
igi
ousfesti
val
,anewmooncelebrat
ionorasabbat
hday
."

Revi
sedStandar
dVer si
on:"
Therefor
eletnoonepassj
udgementony
oui
nquest
ionsoff
ood
anddri
nkorwithregardtoafest
ivaloranewmoonorasabbath.
"

GodsWordTranslat
ion:
"Ther
eforel
etnoonejudgey
oubecauseofwhaty oueatordr
inkor
aboutt
heobserv
anceofannual hol
yday
s,newmoonf est
ival
s,orweekl
yworshi
pdays."

GoodNewsTransl
ati
on:
"Sol
etnoonemakerul
esaboutwhaty
oueatordr
inkorabouthol
y
daysort
heNewMoonFestiv
alort
heSabbat
h."

Fri
ends, acasual r
eadi ngoft hesefourtranslati
onswi ll
stronglysuggesttoanypersonthatPaul
i
sexpr essingthet houghtt hattheChr i
sti
anChur chhast hel i
bertyt
oconsumeanyki ndoffood
ordri
nk, aswel lasdisregar dtheSeventh-daySabbat hbecauseChr i
sthasnail
edthel awor
commandment stot hecr oss.Butbeloved,ifwet akeourt i
met ocrit
ical
lyexaminetheitems
Paulenumer at
edinCol ossians2:16,wewi l
l r
eali
zet hattheyareallrel
atedtothesanctuary
servi
ceor dinancesandassuchnott obeconf usedwi thGod'sTenCommandmentl aw.The
KingJamesVer sion( KJV)capt uresthesanct uaryservi
cet er
mi nol
ogiesinCol
ossians2:16
corr
ectlyasf oll
ows:

"
2:16Letnomanther
eforej
udgeyoui
nMEAT,
ori
nDRI
NK,
ori
nrespectofanHOLYDAY,
orof
t
heNEW MOON, oroftheSABBATHDAYS:

4
2:
17Whi
char
eaSHADOW oft
hingst
ocome;
butt
hebodyi
sofChr
ist
."

(
Col
ossi
ans2:
16-
17;
Capi
tal
Emphasi
sAdded)
.

Beloved,
from thebookofHebr ews,Paulusessi
mil
art
erminologi
esinrel
ati
ont
othesanct
uar
y
servi
ceordinances.From Hebrews9:9-
10,wereadt
hefol
lowingfrom t
heapost
lePaul
in
rel
ati
ontot hesanctuaryordi
nances:

"9:
9WhichwasaFI GUREfort
heti
methenpr
esent
,inwhichwereoff
eredbothGIFTSAND
SACRIFI
CES,thatcoul
dnotmakehi
mthatdi
dtheserv
iceper
fect,
aspertai
ningt
ot he
consci
ence;

9:
10Whi
chstoodonl
yinMEATSandDRI NKS,
andDIVERSWASHI
NGS,
andCARNAL
ORDI
NANCES,i
mposedonthem unt
ilt
heti
meofref
ormati
on.
"

(
Hebr
ews9:
9-10;
Capi
tal
Emphasi
sAdded)

Fri
ends,areyouseeingsomesi milari
ti
esbetweent het
erminologi
esusedinColossi
ans2:16-
17
andHebr ews9:9-
10?Iknowy oucan' tmisstheclearsi
milar
it
ies.Youseebel
oved,forusto
appreci
atethesanctuar
yserviceterminologi
esthatPauluti
l
izedinHisepi
stl
estothe
Colossi
ansandHebr ews,wehav et ogobackt otheOldTestamentandgetsomecl uesabout
thesanctuaryser
viceor
dinances.

From Levi
ti
cus23:37,wereadt hefoll
owingfr
om Moses, theserv
antofGod,i
nr el
ationt osome
oftheordi
nancesofthesanctuar y:
"ThesearethefeastsoftheLORD,whichyeshall proclai
m
tobeholyconvocati
ons,t
ooff eranofferi
ngmadebyf i
reuntotheLORD,aburntoffering,anda
MEATOFFERI NG,asacrif
ice,andDRI NKOFFERI NGS,everythi
nguponhisday"(Capital
EmphasisAdded;seealsoLev it
icus23:18)
.

Bel
oved,
Ibel
i
evey
ounowseecl
ear
lyt
hatt
hemeatordr
inksi
nCol
ossi
ans2:
16donotr
efert
o

5
every
dayf oodordr inksthatweuset osati
sf yourhungerbutr athersanctuar
yserv i
ce
ordi
nances.Thus, i
ti scleart hatthepassageofCol ossians2:16cannotbeusedt oj usti
fyt
he
eati
ngofev eryt
hing, especiallyuncleanf ood.The' meat s'or'
dri
nks',
aswehav ediscovered
fr
om Scriptur
e,basical l
ydenot esanct uar
yser viceordinancesthatcamet oanendatt hedeath
ofChrist
.Mor eover,accor dingt oPaul '
swor dsinCol ossians2:16,i
tiscleart
hatthecel ebr
ati
on
ofthemont hl
ynewmoonf estival
s(see1Chr onicl
es23: 31;2Chroni
cles2:4;Nehemi ah10:33)
,
whichwer ealsorelatedt othesanct uarycamet oanendwhenChr i
stdiedont hecross.

Friends, anotherimpor tantsanctuar yor dinancet hatcamet oanendatt hedeat hofChristwas

theobser vat
ionoft heYear lySabbat hDay s.I ti
simpor t
anttonot ethatthesey earl
ysabbaths
wer edifferentfrom theweekl ySev enth-daySabbat haswef indst i
pulat
edint hefourth
commandmentoft heDecal ogue.Theweekl ySabbathhadi tsoriginri
ghtaftercreati
onwhen
sinhasnoty etsurfaced( seeGenesi s2: 1-3).Thus, t
heSev enth-daySabbathcannotbe
describedaspar toft hesanct uaryor dinanceswhoseser v
icespoi ntedfor
war dtothesacr i
fi
ce
ofChr i
stf ort hesinsofmanki nd.TheSabbat hcannotber ef
erredt oasaf i
gureorshadowof
thi
ngst ocome.I twasi nsti
tut
edr ightaf tercr eati
ontobeaper petualmemor ialofGods
creatorship( revi
ewGenesi s2:1-3).Inf act,itisasar esul
tofitsear l
yorigi
nthatGodcoul dsay
concer ningtheSev enth-daySabbat ht hef ollowing:

"
20:
8REMEMBERt
hesabbat
hday
,tokeepi
thol
y.

20:11Fori
nsi
xdayst
heLORDmadeheav enandeart
h,t
hesea,andal
lthati
nthem i
s,and
restedt
hesev
ent
hday:wher
efor
etheLORDblessedt
hesabbat
hday ,
andhall
owedit.
"

(
Exodus20:
8,11;
Capi
tal
Emphasi
sAdded)
.

Ir
respectiveoftheseclearwordsofScr i
ptur
e,manyofGod' speopleareledt obel i
evethatthe
Sev ent
h-daySabbathisnomor ebindi
ngbecausei ti
sclassi
fiedasapartofi temsdescr ibedas
ashadowoft hi
ngstocomei nColossians2:16-17.Whatt hi
sclassofbelieversar enotawar eof
i
st hatGodi nsti
tut
edv ar
ioussabbathday si
nr elati
ontothefeastsofthesanct uarysacr
ifi
cial
system.I twasthecelebrat
ionofthesesabbat hsoft hesanctuar
ythatcamet oanendatt he
deat hofChristonthecrossandnott heSevent h-daySabbathwhichwasi nstitutedbyGodr ight
aftercreati
on.

6
Thekeytounder standPaul'
swor dsinrel
ati
ontot
heceremoni
alsabbathsoft
hesanct
uaryl
i
es
i
nt heOldTestament .Fr
om Lev i
ti
cus23,wecomeacrosssomeimportantpoi
ntsi
nrel
ati
onto
theseceremonialsabbaths.Letusconsideraf
ewofthem:

1)Inr
elat
iontothefeastoftrumpets,wereadthefoll
owi ng:
"23AndtheLORDspakeunt o
Moses,sayi
ng,24Speakunt ot hechi
l
drenofIsrael
,saying,I
NTHESEVENTHMONTH, I
NTHE
FI
RSTDAYOFTHEMONTH, SHALLYEHAVEASABBATH, AMEMORI ALOFBLOWI NGOF
TRUMPETS, anholyconvocation.25Yeshalldonoser vi
leworkther
ein:buty
eshal
l of
feran
off
eri
ngmadebyf ireuntotheLORD"( Lev
iti
cus23:23-25;Capit
alEmphasisAdded)
.

Fri
ends,unli
ketheSev enth-daySabbat h,
thi
sparti
cularsabbathwasnotcel ebr
atedev er
yweek
butrat
heroncei nay ear(specif
ical
l
y, onthefi
rstdayoft heSevent
hmont h).Unli
kethesev ent
h
-daySabbath,theobser v
anceoft hi
ssabbat hcouldfallonanydayoftheweek.I tisalso
i
mpor t
antlytonotethatthissabbathwasnotobser v
edf oramemor ialofcreat
ion,butrat
her,
foramemor ialofbl
owi ngoft r
umpet s,aceremonywhi chwast ousherinthefeastof
atonement.

2)Mor eover
,inrel
ati
ontot
hefeastoftaber
nacles,
wereadthefoll
owing:"
Alsoint
he
FIFTEENTHDAYOFTHESEVENTHMONTH, wheny ehavegat
heredinthefrui
toft
heland,ye
shallkeepafeastuntot
heLORDsev endays:ONTHEFI RSTDAYSHALLBEASABBATH, AND
ONTHEEI GHTHDAYSHALLBEASABBATH"( Levi
ti
cus23:
39;Capit
alEmphasisAdded).

Beloved,
t hefi
fteent
hdayoft hesevent
hmont hwastheFeastofTaber
nacles.I
nthe
observat
ionoft hisf
east,t
heLordcommandedt heIsr
aeli
testokeepafeastunt
oHi m sev en
days.Thef i
rstdaywasasabbat h,andtheei
ghthdaywasalsoasabbath.Onceagain,these
sabbathsar especif
ical
l
ydiff
erentfr
om theweekl
ySabbathintheTenCommandment swhi ch
fal
lonev eryseventhday(seeExodus20:10)
,andservesasamemor i
alofGod'screat
or ship.

Thusbelov ed,Paul'
swor dsinColossi
ans2:14-16,wer
ebasicall
yabouttheceremoni all
awsof
thesanctuaryt hatcamet oanendwhenChr istdiedonthecross.Paul
'smessagei nthistext
hasnothingt odowi tht
heLawsofHeal t
hort heTenCommandment s.Unfort
unately,many
modernBi bletranslator
shavenotbeentrueinbr i
ngi
ngouttheunderlyi
ngtextualbasisofthe
texti
nCol ossians2: 16,
thusleadi
ngmanypeopl etobeli
evediff
erent
lyconcerni
ngt heclear
messagei nt hetext.

7
Exhortati
on:"16Al lt
hepeopl eofthel andshal lgi
vethi sobl
at i
onfort
heprinceinI sr
ael
.17And
i
tshal lbetheprince'sparttogiveburntof fer
ings,andMEATOFFERI NGS,andDRI NK
OFFERI NGS,intheFEASTS, andint heNEW MOONS, andint heSABBATHS, inallsol
emniti
esof
thehouseofI srael:heshallpreparethesi nofferi
ng,andt heMEATOFFERI NG, andtheburnt
off
ering,andthepeaceof fer
ings,tomaker econcili
ati
onf orthehouseofIsrael
.18Thussai th
theLordGOD; I
nt hef i
rstmonth,inthef i
rstdayoft hemont h,t
houshaltt
akeay oungbull
ock
withoutblemish,andcl eansetheSANCTUARY"( Ezekiel45:
16-18;Capi
talEmphasi sAdded).

"Andheshal
lconf
ir
mt hecov
enantwi
thmanyf
oroneweek:
andinthemidstoft
heweekhe
shal
lcauset
heSACRIFICEANDTHEOBLATIONTOCEASE"(Dani
el9:
27;
Capital
Emphasi
s
Added).

"
50Jesus,whenhehadcriedagainwit
haloudvoice,
yiel
deduptheghost
.51And,behold,
the
v
eiloft
hetemplewasrentintwainf
rom t
hetoptothebottom;
andtheeart
hdidquake,andthe
r
ocksrent
"(Matt
hew27:50-51).

Inournextstudy,wewi l
lconsiderthet opi
c: TheTenCommandment s.TheBi blestudy
ref
erencesforthi
sst udyareExodus20: 3-
17, Romans4:15,Matthew22:37-40, Psalm 111:
7-8,
Psalm 19:
7-11,Mat t
hew5:17-19, John14: 15,James2:8-12,Rev
elat
ion14:12, Revelati
on22:14
andDaniel7:25.Pleasedowel ltogot hrought hesepassagesbefor
ethenextst udyisrel
eased.

St
aybl
essedandkeepshi
ningf
orKi
ngJesus.

Mar
anat
ha!

Power
edbyWhi
teThr
oneMi
nist
ri
es