Feasts of the Lord
Leviticus 22-23
Feasts of the Lord, Leviticus 22-23. The Feasts of the Lord which were celebrated throughout the year were a constant reminder of God's presence and care for His people.
1 The Lord spoke to Moses,
saying, 2 “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, These are the
appointed feasts of the Lord that you shall proclaim as holy
convocations; they are my appointed feasts.
3
“Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of
solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work. It is a Sabbath
to the Lord in all your dwelling places.
5
In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight, is
the Lord's Passover. 6 And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the
Feast of Unleavened Bread to the Lord; for seven days you shall eat
unleavened bread.
10
“Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you come into the
land that I give you and reap its harvest, you shall bring the sheaf of
the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest.
15
“You shall count seven full weeks from the day after the Sabbath, from
the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering. 16 You shall
count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath. . . . 21 And you
shall make proclamation on the same day. You shall hold a holy
convocation. You shall not do any ordinary work. It is a statute forever
in all your dwelling places throughout your generations.
24
“Speak to the people of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, on the
first day of the month, you shall observe a day of solemn rest, a
memorial proclaimed with blast of trumpets, a holy convocation. . . . 27
“Now on the tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. . .
. On the fifteenth day of this seventh month and for seven days is the
Feast of Booths to the Lord.
excerpts from Leviticus 23, English Standard Version
Feasts of the Lord
Leviticus 22-23
The Feasts of the Lord which were celebrated throughout the year were a constant reminder of God's presence and care for His people. Besides observing the Sabbath on the 7th day of each week, the Israelites observed the Passover, the Feast of Firstfruits, the Feast of Weeks, the Feasts of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, the and the Feast of Booths.
Like
our holidays today, the Feasts were often reminders of some historical
events. The Passover, followed by the Feast of Unleavened Bread, was a
reminder of the time when the Death Angel passed over the Israelites in
Egypt, finally allowing the Israelites to flee.
At
the time of the Passover, during the Feast of Unleavened Bread, Christ
Jesus came to Jerusalem to celebrate, culminating in His death on the
cross and resurrection on the 3rd day. His blood was the final sin
offering made to God for the sins of His people, and His resurrection
conquered death and gave us hope that we, too, will be resurrected and
be with Him forever.
The
Feast of the Firstfruits and the Feast of Weeks were in celebration of
the harvest, reminding the Israelites of God's blessing upon them.
The
last three events, the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the
Feast of Booths were held in the seventh month of the Jewish calendar.
The Passover celebration reminds of us our celebration of the Easter holiday, remembering Christ's crucifixion and resurrection. Our hope, our
rest, and our joy were fully purchased for us when Christ conquered
death once and for all.
How
do you celebrate Easter? Is it really a time of chickens, bunnies, and Easter eggs? The world has found a way to celebrate Easter without
acknowledging our Lord who died and rose for us, just as the world has found a way to celebrate Christmas without acknowledging the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ in a manger in Bethlehem.
As
you think of the Feasts of the Lord, pray that you will, by God's
grace, be especially conscious of God's marvelous grace to you especially during holidays such as Christmas and Easter. Truly, we serve a risen Savior who came to this earth as a lowly babe born in a manger with the sole purpose of purchasing salvation for His people.
What an amazing God we serve!
New! Comments
Have your say about what you just read! Leave me a comment in the box below.