6 - The Feasts of the Lord
Continuing with Leviticus chapter 23
we find the seven Feasts of the Lord, which Israel is commanded to
observe. They are,
1. Passover
2. Feast of Unleavened Bread
3. Feast of Firstfruits
4. Feast of Weeks
5. Feast of Trumpets
6. Day of Atonement
7. Feast of Tabernacles
Each of the seven feasts shares similar
characteristics. Each is a commemoration of God's act of redemption of
his people and the events of Israel's exodus from Egypt. Each feast is
a living observable picture of the original events.
Not only are these feasts commemorations of past
events, but are also yearly reminders, or pictures, to teach the people
about God and his mighty hand. They are a continual reminder of his
love and grace which he poured out on his people, not only at the time
of the exodus but for each current generation who also receive the
redemption of God from death.
Each of the feasts, with the exception of one,
is identified as a lasting ordinance (olam huqah). Again we have the
same Hebrew word "olam" as discussed in chapter 4.
The
Passover
The LORD's passover begins at twilight on
the fourteenth day of the first month. (Leviticus 23:5).
The first Passover was observed the night before
Israel left Egypt.
The LORD said..."each man is to take a lamb for
his family... Slaughter them at twilight. Then they are to take some of
the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the
houses where they eat the lambs. That same night they are to eat the
meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made
without yeast...On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike
down every firstborn... The blood will be a sign for you on the houses
where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. (Exodus
12:1,3,6-8,12,13)
Then God instructs Israel to commemorate this
event each year as an everlasting ordinance.
"[The Passover] is a day you are to commemorate;
for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the
LORD - a lasting ordinance (olam huqah). (Exodus 12:14)
Each year Israel observes the Passover with a
meal of lamb, bitter herbs and unleavened bread, all of which are
symbols of God's deliverance of Israel from Egypt. The lamb symbolizes
the sacrifice of a lamb and its blood for the redemption of the
firstborn. The bitter herbs symbolize the bitterness of slavery which
Israel endured for 400 years and the unleavened bread symbolizes the
haste in which they left Egypt, because there was no time to let yeast
rise, the bread was made without yeast (leaven).
The Feast
of Unleavened Bread
On the fifteenth day of that month (Nisan)
the LORD's Feast of Unleavened Bread begins; for seven days you must
eat bread made without yeast. (Leviticus 23:6)
Immediately following the Passover was the Feast
of Unleavened Bread. This was a seven-day feast commemorating the day
Israel left Egypt.
"Celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread, because
it was on this very day that I brought your divisions out of Egypt.
Celebrate this day as a lasting ordinance for the generations to come".
(Exodus 12:17)
Again we see that this Feast is to be celebrated
as an eternal ordinance for the generations to come.
The Feast
of Firstfruits
The LORD said to Moses, "Speak to the
Israelites and say to them: 'When you enter the land I am going to give
you and you reap its harvest, bring to the priest a sheaf of the first
grain you harvest... This is to be a lasting ordinance for the
generations to come, wherever you live. (Leviticus 23:9,10,14)
Again we see that this Feast is to be celebrated
as an everlasting ordinance for the generations to come. We also see
added here that the feast is to be celebrated "Wherever you live". The
feasts are not only to be observed throughout all time, but throughout
the whole earth.
This feast is a celebration of God's gift of the
land and of its harvest.
The Feast
of Weeks
"From the day after the Sabbath, the day you
brought the sheaf of the wave offering, count off seven full weeks.
Count off fifty days up to the day after the seventh Sabbath, and then
present an offering of new grain to the LORD. This is to be a lasting
ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live." (Leviticus
23:15,16, 21)
Again we see that this feast is to be celebrated
as an "everlasting ordinance, wherever you live".
This feast is also a harvest festival which is
to be celebrated seven weeks (hence the name - feast of weeks) after
the Feast of firstfruits. Jewish tradition holds that the Torah was
given to Israel seven weeks after the deliverance from Egypt, therefore
the feast of weeks is also a celebration to commemorate the giving of
the Torah to Israel.
The Feast
of Trumpets
The LORD said to Moses, "Say to the
Israelites: 'On the first day of the seventh month you are to have a
day of rest, a sacred assembly commemorated with trumpet blasts.
(Leviticus 23:23,24)
This feast is the only feast that the scriptures
do not identify as an everlasting covenant, but since all the other six
feasts are everlasting ordinances, we can conclude that this one is
also.
Whenever Israel was called to assemble before
the Lord or for war, the trumpet was blown. The first time the trumpet
was blown for the assembling of Israel was when they first arrived at
Mount Sinai and God blows the trumpet.
Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the
LORD descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke
from a furnace, the whole mountain trembled violently, and the sound of
the trumpet grew louder and louder. (Exodus 19:18-19)
This feast is to commemorate the holy assembly
when God's covenant was received.
The Day of
Atonement
The LORD said to Moses, "The tenth day of
this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. Hold a sacred assembly and
deny yourselves, and present an offering made to the LORD by fire. Do
no work on that day, because it is the Day of Atonement, when atonement
is made for you before the LORD your God... This is to be a lasting
ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live. (Leviticus
23:26-28, 31)
Again this feast is to be celebrated as an
"everlasting ordinance wherever you live".
The Day of Atonement is a commemorative holy day
of God's act of grace and forgiveness to his people (Israel and the
other nations). The covenant God made with his people at Mount Sinai
requires that his people obey him. God knew that not one of them could
do that completely and therefore he provided a means to cleanse the
assembly of their sins through the sacrifice of a goat to cover the
sins in order that he might forgive them.
"on this day atonement will be made for you, to
cleanse you. Then, before the LORD, you will be clean from all your
sins." (Leviticus 16:30)
The Feast
of Tabernacles
The LORD said to Moses, "Say to the
Israelites: 'On the fifteenth day of the seventh month (Tishri) the
LORD's Feast of Tabernacles begins, and it lasts for seven days...This
is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. Live in
booths for seven days: All native-born Israelites are to live in booths
so your descendants will know that I had the Israelites in booths when
I brought them out of Egypt.'" (Leviticus 23:33,34,41,42)
After Israel left Mount Sinai they spent 40
years wandering in the wilderness. During this time they lived in tents
called booths or tabernacles while God taught Israel his Torah. This
feast is to be observed as an everlasting ordinance to remind Israel of
the 40 years in the wilderness. This is a reminder to obey God and his
Torah. This feast also reminds Israel that their body and the earth are
only temporary dwellings, just as the tabernacles are, and one day they
will receive their eternal home.
Conclusion
We can see two major purposes for the weekly
Sabbaths and the seven yearly feasts. First, as we have discussed
earlier, God's people are set apart from the other nations through
God's commands. The Sabbaths and feasts are one of the ways that God
has made them different then the other nations. Secondly, the Sabbaths
and feasts are symbols and pictures of God's acts of creation, grace,
redemption and forgiveness of his people. When the weekly Sabbath is
observed and the holy days are celebrated throughout the year, Israel
is continually reminded of God's love, grace and covenant which he as
given to his people.
Chapter
Summary
The seven Feasts of the Lord
are,
1. A commemoration of God's redemption of Israel
2. Yearly reminders of God's love, grace and mercy
3. An everlasting ordinance to be kept forever
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