Skip to main content

Festivals of Celebration and Commemoration

Today's readings are from Leviticus 22 & 23

I love the 23rd chapter as it outlines the 7 annual feasts of Israel. While we in the church generally celebrate two, maybe three: Christmas, Easter (sometimes Lent is included) and sometimes Pentecost (this is what most Evangelical protestant churches); but God gave many more weeks of celebration for his people...a sign that God loves holidays!

The basics of those days and weeks of celebration were these:

1. Passover (celebrating their deliverance from Egypt - 1 day usually)
2. Feast of Unleavened bread (remembering when they left Egypt in haste and also that leaven in bread is a bit like sin in us). This was a week long festival bracketed by Sabbath celebrations.
3. First Fruits (giving prayers and thanks to God for the ability to see the first of the potential harvest coming up).
4. Pentecost or "Feast of Weeks" (50 days after first fruits it serves as a thank you for the early harvest, but foretells the coming of the Spirit of God who is signifies in the church first fruits and eventual harvest of souls).
5. Feast of Trumpets or "Rosh Hashanah" (comes in early Fall and in the blowing of the trumpets the nation is called to seek God's face and receive his atonement for the forgiveness of sins. It is a ten day period of reflection, repentance and restoration).
6. Day of Atonement or "Yom Kippur) (at the end of the ten days a solemn assembly of worship sees the High Priest enter the holy place to sprinkle the blood upon the mercy seat thereby signifying the forgiveness of sins for the nation).
7. Feast of Tabernacles or Booths also called Sukkoth (at the end of the Day of Atonement the final celebration gives thanksgiving for the Fall harvest and God's provision for the gifts of God). During Sukkoth the children of Israel live in booths, temporary shelters that caused them to remember that they once lived in booths in the desert.

These 7 annual festivals are outlined in chapter 23 and frame the year for worship, celebrating God's provisions: materially and spiritually for his people. While we don't have these (sadly so) they can serve as reminders for us of the kind of "intentional" worship that God so loves from his people.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hands Full of Parcels

"A Man whose hands are full of parcels can't receive a gift."   - C. S. Lewis Romans 4:13-16 (ESV) 13  For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. 14  For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. 15  For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression. 16  That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all... The last four days have been best described by the word "fatigue".  It's not an uncommon word in our vocabulary.  Listless, tired, sore.  1300 miles of car travel, being sick, not sleeping well, and eating poorly all add up to the word - fatigue.   Someone onc...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Tabernacle

The readings today are Exodus 36, 37, 38 I wanted to post some pictures of what these various parts of the Tabernacle looked like. It's not the easiest read in the world, but if you persevere through it, you can get a picture of all the different pieces that made up the tabernacle. It is a replica of the various parts of the Tabernacle in the Wilderness: First thing in the chapter listed is the outside of the tabernacle which consisted of curtains tied together and put on cross bars through loops. Next at the beginning of 37 is the table and lampstand: Also, the altar of incense: And, the altar for the burnt offering which was in the courtyard: Finally, the courtyard which made it all come together: Hope that helps with what it might have all looked like. Most importantly, this was their "place" of worship they were building. I hope you have a great day of worship. - Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
1 comment
Read more

The difference between defending and explaining

The news of recent has focused the suffering of Christians in the middle east who have been martyred for their faith in Christ at the hands of Islamic Terrorists. Through the centuries many Christians have lost their lives as a result of their faith. For us, who live in America, there is little chance that we would have this happen here - but it's entirely possibly that terrorism will strike out at Christians sometime.  But, for many Christians in the western world - especially here in the U.S. - being a Christians who believes God's word there is a form of persecution that is defined by words like "ostracized", "passed over", "ridiculed", and more. What do we do in the face of opposition to faith? When the Apostle Peter writes to the early believers who are undergoing great pressure, even persecution for their faith in Jesus, he gives them this charge. 1 Peter 3:8-18 8  Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly lov...
1 comment
Read more