Sabbath and Feast Keeping: “You Shall Have a Holy Reading.”
“You Shall Have a Holy Reading.“
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Do You Believe In Keeping The Seventh-day Sabbath Holy? There Is A Possibility That You Are Not Obeying This Sabbath Commandment That Was Affirmed By The First Church Council At Jerusalem, Recorded in Acts 15. |
By
Stephen W. Kraner
Dedication.
“12. Blessed [is] the man whom thou chastenest, O YHWH, and teachest him out of thy Torah;” Psalm 94:12.
“1. ALEPH. Blessed [are] the undefiled in the way, who walk in the Torah of YHWH.” Psalm 119:1.
“25 But whoso looketh into the perfect Torah of liberty, and continueth [therein], he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.“ James
1:25.
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“You Shall Have a Holy Reading.” (1)
By
Stephen W. Kraner
Several noted scholars, including Meredith G. Kline, Treaty of the Great King,(2) have shown parallels between the ancient suzerain treaties and the covenants made with
Abram and with Israel in Exodus and Deuteronomy. In his paper, Treaty of the Great King, Meredith G. Kline shows that just as other Middle Eastern suzerain treaties required
cyclical reading of the terms of the covenant, so too, did YHWH require a cyclical reading of the covenant. Kline specifically notes that Deuteronomy 31:9-13 required the
cyclical reading of the full covenant every seven years during the Feast of Tabernacles:
- “9. And Moses wrote this law, and delivered it unto the priests the sons of Levi, which bare the ark of the covenant of YHWH, and unto all the elders of Israel.
- 10 And Moses commanded them, saying, At the end of [every] seven years, in the solemnity of the year of release, in the feast of tabernacles,
- 11 When all Israel is come to appear before YHWH thy Elohim in the place which he shall choose, thou shalt read this law before all Israel in their hearing.
- 12 Gather the people together, men, and women, and children, and thy stranger that [is] within thy gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear YHWH your Elohim, and observe to do all the
words of this law: - 13 And [that] their children, which have not known [any thing], may hear, and learn to fear YHWH your Elohim, as long as ye live in the land whither ye go over Jordan to possess it.” Deuteronomy 31:9-13.
But, there are further provisions in the Torah for the cyclical reading of the covenant. They are found in the King James Version’s phrase: “holy convocation.”
- “1 And YHWH spake unto Moses, saying,
- 2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, [Concerning] the feasts of YHWH, which ye shall proclaim [to be] holy convocations, [even] these [are] my feasts.
- 3 Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day [is] the sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; ye shall do no work [therein]: it [is] the sabbath of YHWH in all your dwellings.
- 4 These [are] the feasts of YHWH, [even] holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their seasons.” Leviticus 23:1-4.
The above verses begin the twenty-third chapter of Leviticus. The whole chapter is about YHWH’s feasts, the first of which is the seventh-day Sabbath. A “holy convocation”
is required for the observance of the seventh-day Sabbath. “Holy convocations” are also required for the rest of YHWH’s feasts. For the first and last days of the Feast of
Unleavened Bread (the 15th and 21st of the first Hebrew month, Abib (Nisan)) Leviticus 23:7, 8 requires a “holy convocation.” At Pentecost, Leviticus 23:21 requires a “holy
convocation.” On the seventh new moon, the Feast of Trumpets, Leviticus 23:24 requires “an holy convocation.” On the tenth day of the seventh Hebrew month, the Day of
Atonement, Leviticus23:27 requires an “holy convocation.” And, for the first and last days of the Feast of Tabernacles, the 15th and 22nd of the seventh Hebrew month, Leviticus
23:35, 36 requires “an holy convocation.”
When I first began to study about the Biblical feasts, I assumed that an “holy convocation” was a “sacred gathering,” a “sacred assembly.” As we shall shortly see, this meaning
is only by extension.
The Hebrew word translated as “convocation” is Strong’s H4744:
- Strong’s H4744 miqra> {mik-raw’} from H7121; something called out, i.e. a public meeting(the act, the persons or the place); also a rehearsal: – assembly, calling, convocation, reading.
- Strong’s H7121 qara> {kaw-raw’} a primitive root [rather identical with H7122 through the idea of accosting a person met]; to call out (i.e. properly to address by name, but used in a wide variety of
applications): – bewray [self], that are bidden, call (for, forth, self, upon), cry (unto), (be) famous, guest, invite, mention, (give) name, preach, (make) proclamation, pronounce, publish, read, renowned, say.
Take note that in Leviticus 23:2, we find the command, “the feasts of YHWH, which ye shall proclaim [to be] holy convocations, [even] these are my feasts.” The Hebrew
word translated as, “proclaim,” is Strong’s H7122:
- Strong’s H7122 qara> {kaw-raw’} a primitive root: to encounter, whether accidently or in a hostile manner: – befall, (by) chance, (cause to) come (upon), fall out, happen, meet.
Take note that the Hebrew word, miqra, has among it’s meanings the idea of reading. Thus, all of the above commands to have a “holy convocation” or, to “proclaim an holy
convocation,” are actually commanding to annunciate (voice aloud) a “holy reading.” Thus, Israel was commanded to have a “reading” of that which was “holy.” The natural
question that follows is: “What was the “holy reading” that was to be read?” Several texts assist our understanding about what was to be “read.”
- “7 And he [Moses] took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that YHWH hath said will we do, and be obedient.” Exodus 24:7.
Here, we learn that Moses “read” the book of the covenant to the people. But, we still do not have sufficient information to appreciate whether this same book of the covenant
was to be read every seventh-day Sabbath and also on the festival sabbaths of the Biblical feasts.
Deuteronomy 32:11, 12 partially solves the question as to what was the “holy reading” that was to be read. But first, the following quotation is important in order to appreciate
the Deuteronomy 31:11 quotation that follows.
- “16 Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before YHWH thy Elohim in the place which He shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles:
and they shall not appear before YHWH empty:” Deuteronomy 16:16.
Three times each year (at the appointed times of YHWH’s feasts) the males of Israel were to appear before YHWH their Elohim “in the place which He shall choose.” “The
place that He shall choose” was first Shiloh and then later, Jerusalem.
- “11 When all Israel is come to appear before YHWH thy Elohim in the place which he shall choose, thou shalt read this law before all Israel in their hearing.
- 12 Gather the people together, men, and women, and children, and thy stranger that [is] within thy gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear YHWH your Elohim, and observe to do all the
words of this law:” Deuteronomy 31:11, 12.
In light of the commands in Leviticus 23 to have a “holy convocation,” a “holy reading” at the various feasts of YHWH, Deuteronomy 31:11, 12 teaches us that the law (Torah)
was to be read to all Israel assembled together at the three annual feasts.
In the following text, Josiah reads to all Israel all the words from the book of the covenant:
- “2 And the king [Josiah] went up into the house of YHWH, and all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the people, both small and great: and
he read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant which was found in the house of YHWH.” 2Kings 23:2. See also 2Chronicles 34:30.
The book of Daniel mentions several times a “holy covenant.” But, Luke specifically defines what the “holy covenant” was:
- “67. And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying,
- 68 Blessed be YHWH Elohim of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people,
- 69 And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David;
- 70 As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began:
- 71 That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us;
- 72 To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember His holy covenant;
- 73 The oath which he sware to our father Abraham,
- 74 That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear,
- 75 In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life.” Luke 1:67-75.
Take note of the words, “that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear” and compare them with the following:
- “25 And ye shall serve YHWH your Elohim, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee.
- 26 There shall nothing cast their young, nor be barren, in thy land: the number of thy days I will fulfil.
- 27 I will send my fear before thee, and will destroy all the people to whom thou shalt come, and I will make all thine enemies turn their backs unto thee.” Exodus 23:25-27.
The covenant that was made with Abraham was renewed with Isaac and with Jacob. That covenant included the promise of the land of Israel. Upon the exodus from Egypt,
YHWH made a covenant with Israel as a nation, in anticipation of keeping the earlier covenants with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. These are the “fathers” referred to in Luke
1:72. The words, “Ye shall serve YHWH your Elohim,” and “I will send my fear before thee, and will destroy all the people to whom thou shalt come, and I will make all thine
enemies turn their backs unto thee,” found in Exodus 23:25, 27, are the basis for Zacharias statement, “that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him
without fear.” Therefore, the “holy covenant” is the covenant that was made with Israel. It was this “holy covenant” which was to be the “holy reading” every seventh-day
Sabbath and on the festival sabbaths of the Biblical feasts.
The conclusion of these verses is that, per Leviticus 23, on every seventh-day Sabbath and on the festival sabbaths of the commanded feasts of YHWH, the “holy covenant”
was to be read. This is the scriptural basis as to why the Jews have a weekly Torah reading every Sabbath.
| The conclusion of these verses is that, per Leviticus 23, on every seventh-day Sabbath and on the festival sabbaths of the commanded feasts of YHWH, the “holy covenant” was to be read. This is the scriptural basis as to why the Jews have a weekly Torah reading every Sabbath. |
In Revelation 1:3, we read:
- “3. Blessed [is] he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time [is] at hand.” Revelation 1:3.
Scholars believe that the book of Revelation was to be read in relationship to the cyclical reading of the book of Ezekiel. I quote Revelation 1:3 and the following from Acts 15 to
show that under the New Covenant, believers were expected to continue the cyclical reading of the “holy covenant.”
- “21 For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day.” Acts 15:22.
Regarding the question of the observance of the Mosaic Law, it was the determination of the council at Jerusalem, (recorded in Acts 15), that the new Gentile converts were to
be in the synagogues every Sabbath to learn the law of Moses that was read according to the commandment to have a “holy convocation,” a “holy reading.”(3)
Comprehending this, 1Timothy 4:13 takes on a fuller meaning:
- “13 Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.” 1Timothy 4:13.
Romans 10:17 says:
- “17 So then faith [cometh] by hearing, and hearing by the word of Elohim.” Romans 10:17.
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“21 For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every By these words we learn that the leadership of the early Christian Church ruled that, The Gentile believers were not to “keep” the law of Moses in order to be saved. |
—That is, faith cometh by the hearing of the words of the covenant which are read at the Divinely appointed times for the reading of the holy covenant.
Endnotes.
1. This little booklet presumes that the reader is, at minimum, aware of YHWH’s feasts, His set appointments to meet with Him. The objective of this booklet is
to educate the reader that cyclical reading (and hearing of said reading) of a “holy reading [of the Holy Covenant] is required of those in covenant relationship
with YHWH. This booklet assumes that the reader has already learned that the New Covenant, as referred to in Hebrews 8:6-13, actually quotes Jeremiah
31:31-34, where it is specifically said that the whole Torah (the Mosaic Law) would be written upon the hearts of the New Covenant believers. Hence, this
booklet assumes that the reader is at least beginning to learn to observe the Torah, including the Biblical Feasts.
2. Meredith G. Kline, The Treaty of the Great King, Eerdmans Publishing, Grand Rapids, MI, copyright 1963.
3. Remember. In Acts 15:1, 5, certain Pharisee New Covenant believers from Jerusalem had stirred up controversy as to whether the new Gentile converts
should be circumcised and be required to keep the law of Moses “in order to be saved.” The decision of the council was that the Gentile believers did not have
to be circumcised and that only four minimal requirements were to be laid upon the new Gentile believers:
- That they abstain from pollutions of idols;
- They abstain from fornication;
- They abstain from [eating] things strangled; and,
- That they abstain from [eating or having contact with] blood.
In the Talmud, written prior to the birth of Yahushua ha’Messhiach (Jesus Christ), the Jews had written that these exact same four requirements were first
necessary in order for a non-Jew to sit down together with a Torah observant Jew.
Because the promise of about the Messiah was that He would “save His people from their sins” (sin being defined as transgression of the law), and, because the
New Covenant promise was that by and through the ministry of the Holy Spirit, the Torah was to be written upon the hearts of the New Covenant believers, the
leadership of the early Christian church decided that the Gentile believers were to be in the synagogues every seventh-day Sabbath to hear and to learn the law of
Moses, the very law which was to be written upon their hearts by the ministration of the Holy Spirit.
