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But there is one more reference to the feasts of Israel that is not so obvious. In
I Cor. 16: 2 we read:--
"Upon the first (day) of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath
prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come."
It will be observed that there is no word for "day" in the original, although it may be
implied by the feminine mia (one). Literally the passage reads, "On the first of
sabbaths", as in John 20: 1, with the difference that the latter passage has "the sabbaths"
and refers to the first day of the feast of weeks. Reference to Lev. 23: 15-17 shows
that this first day is the day from which the seven weeks leading to Pentecost was
reckoned, the day of the firstfruits and of the Lord's resurrection. On this day--not on
every Sunday--the Corinthians were enjoined to lay by "as God hath prospered", just as
Israel were told to do--"according as the Lord hath blessed thee".
The passage in the Law that best sets out the feasts of the Lord and the place of
Pentecost is Lev. 23: The passage is too long for quotation here, but the following
outline will help to keep the whole festal year before the reader. While the length of
Israel's year was the same as our own, there are only seven months noted in the calendar
of their feasts. These feasts are prophetic, and set forth in type and shadow the whole
course of Israel's history from the day that they became a nation (Ex. 12: 2) until the
great future day of ingathering at the time of the end. The fact that the Lord has used
seven months only in which to show this typical unfolding is but further evidence that the
number seven is intimately associated with the purpose of the ages. The fact that creation
occupied six days, followed by a Sabbath of rest, indicates that at the very beginning,
God had this "rest" in view (Heb. 4: 9).
To save space we will, without comment or detail, briefly indicate this close
association of seven with Israel's typical history:--
SEVEN DAYS.--"The seventh day is a sabbath of rest" (Lev. 23: 3).
SEVEN WEEKS.--"Seven sabbaths shall be complete" (Lev. 23: 15).
SEVEN MONTHS.--"In the seventh month" (Lev. 23: 24).
SEVEN YEARS.--"The seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest" (Lev. 25: 4).
Seven times seven YEARS.--"It shall be a Jubilee unto you" (Lev. 25: 8-13).
Seventy times seven YEARS.--"Seventy weeks are determined" (Dan. 9: 24).
At once we realize that Pentecost cannot be understood if it be taken out of its place in
this series of typical periods. To attempt to fit Pentecost into the "church" destroys both
the typical character of the feast, and the distinctive character of the "church".