the bookends of the year

Posted at a little perspective Apr 28 2008.

Today is the 7th and last day of Unleavened Bread for us. There were all total 5 special days or feast meals in this week that began with Passover 8 days ago: 1) Passover and the Passover meal; 2) the first day of Unleavened Bread and a Sabbath; 3) the regular Sabbath; 4) the Feast of the Waving of the Barley Sheaf and Resurrection Day; and 5) the 7th day of Unleavened Bread and a Sabbath. We did a lot more this year than last and it has kept me busy all week, as the lack of posts attests! But we have had such a joyful and wonderful time, with lots of family and lots of food! Yesterday was my favorite day so far; it was Resurrection Sunday, and we got to spend the entire day with all our children and grandchildren.

Something I noticed this year that I didn't notice last year: the biblical festival year begins and ends with week- long festivals: Unleavened Bread at the start of the festival year and Tabernacles at the end of the festival year. Then there is an extra 8th day associated with each week- long festival: the Passover meal at the beginning of Unleavened Bread, and "The 8th Day" at the end of Tabernacles. Passover, which begins the festival year, is the reminder of our Lord's delivery of us from slavery! And The 8th Day, which ends the festival year, is the foreshadow of our eternity with the Lord! They are just two beautiful "bookends" of YHVH's plan of salvation and love for us and all of humanity!

Now, what I saw in 2009, is that the feast days themselves throughout the year form a chiastic structure:

1A Passover;
  1B Week of Unleavened Bread;
    1C Feast of Firstfruits;
      1D Feast of Weeks (Pentecost);
        --> X The Sabbath;
      2D Feast of Trumpets;
    2C Day of Atonement;
  2B Week of Tabernacles;
2A The 8th Day of Assembly.

The Sabbath is the central axis, being the only weekly feast day, set apart from all the others (Lev 23:1-3), and also, the Messiah is the central axis, who is our Sabbath, because all the feast days are foreshadows of Him (Col 2:16-17)!