Shalom, everyone! We’re once again entering the season of the annual biblical festivals found in Leviticus 23 and learning how they each point to Yeshua in their fulfillment.
But did you know that so much more can be revealed when you understand what the original Hebrew says and what it really means?
That’s why I’m so excited in this issue of our magazine to introduce you to two new words. In their original Hebrew, they look like this:
Since we read Hebrew from right to left, the first word is pronounced, MEEK-ray and the second is spoken as KO-desh. Said together, these words mean, “Holy Convocation,” and hold major importance for our upcoming spring festivals, because these festivals (as well as the ones that follow in the fall) are all holy convocations.
So what are holy convocations, then? Ahh, here’s where things get really interesting: you can’t read the Bible without seeing that fellowship is of paramount importance to the Lord. In fact, in Acts 2, a revival took place in verse 47, when God added to the number of those being saved, and we notice that all the activities that led up to this had fellowship as their common thread.
Simply put, a MEEK-ray KO-desh, or holy convocation, refers to the act of assembling together (fellowshipping) for the purpose of worshiping and glorifying the Lord. While the word MEEK-ray speaks of coming together in an assembly, adding the word KO-desh is what makes the assembly holy.
Now that you’ve got the basics, let’s go a bit deeper: if we look again at that word MEEK-ray, we see that it also has another meaning—“a rehearsal!” So, putting the pieces together thus far, we have people assembling together to worship God, and as they do, they are engaging in a rehearsal.
Rehearsing…for what?
Actually, it’s rehearsing…for Whom!
While it is often noted that the upcoming spring feasts have already been fulfilled, the more we acknowledge and take note of them, the more we are rehearsing and preparing for the great day when the One they all point to will return. For example, the period from Pesach to Shavuot (Passover to Pentecost) not only reminds us of the death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of Yeshua, but helps us to prepare and look forward to the time when all Believers will be resurrected.
That’s what makes the idea of a rehearsal so important. Actors know very well that after so many rehearsals, they are finally prepared and their lines are deeply imbedded. In the same way, God desires thatour rehearsals of what and Who is to come, cause us to have the Lord and these upcoming times deeply embedded in our hearts as well!
Let us look forward with joy to when all Believers will be resurrected!
