Introduction: We are in the middle of a bunch of ‘haligdæges’ as they were called in Middle English. They were celebrations but they were all religious, consecrated times, combining worship and feasting. In the Bible there were sacrifices to be made for sin but many of the offerings became the food for enjoyment. They were offered first to God in thankfulness. We have in practice changed the concept from holy days to holidays by keeping the personal sense of enjoyment and whilst not removing the religious name having ignored the worship concept. This is not true for all but I think for the majority! The Israelites had seven feasts as ordered by Moses. These have been altered a little in their customs but as Gentile Christians we are not tied to every aspect of the Jewish Law even though we can learn, very profitably, from their practices. The book of Acts show how these aspects were dealt with in the early church.
The Sabbath
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. This was the primary feast, and went back to the Creation story. Sadly, although essential in concept and very profitable for both spiritual and physical wellbeing it is almost totally ignored as a religious day in Australia at least!
The Passover
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. – This corresponds to our Good Friday, Easter Holy Days. At that feast the lamb as described in Exodus was killed and eaten in remembrance of their delivery from slavery in Egypt. For Christians Easter-time remembers when Jesus, the Lamb of God, was killed on the Cross to deliver people from the slavery and penalty of sin and to restore a Father/child relationship between Believers in Jesus and our Creator God.
The Feast of Firstfruits
9 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 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, 11 and he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, so that you may be accepted. – this corresponds to the Resurrection as Jesus was raised from the dead to New Life – the First of many who at the end of time will have their bodies raised – in the meantime God takes care of the person who has temporarily shed the physical body!
The Feast of Weeks
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. Then you shall present a grain offering of new grain to the LORD….. “And when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, nor shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the LORD your God.” –Comment:This equilibrates with Christian Pentecost, the coming of the Holy Spirit in a special way into Christ’s followers. For the Jews it celebrated the beginning of Harvest whereas for the Church it means the official beginning of the Church as a viable body. There were true believers before that and even in the OT the Spirit of God entered some special people. This celebrated the new relationship of humans to God, made possible by the work of Christ! It is very interesting that their crops were to be shared with the rest of the community (they had to leave portions not totally gleaned for others, the needy), to personally harvest! So we are called upon to be practically considerate of others.
The Feast of Trumpets
23 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 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. 25 You shall not do any ordinary work, and you shall present a food offering to the LORD.” – This was the first of the civil New Year and therefore is similar to our New Year’s Day. There was a major religious element to the celebration, and unusually no eating (feasting) was ordered. The offerings were all to be burnt in sacrifice to God! The next two ‘Feasts’ followed on closely. I will look at them more fully tomorrow.
The Day of Atonement
26 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 27 “Now on the tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. – We will look at it tomorrow!
The Feast of Booths
33 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 34 “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, On the fifteenth day of this seventh month and for seven days is the Feast of Booths to the LORD.
Exodus 20: 8 – “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Prayer: Thank You for giving us so many reasons to be thankful and rejoice!
As I read it! 