Offerings , Festivals, Vows

Today's readings are from Numbers 28, 29, 30

The offerings that are associated with the 7 major festivals linked the sacrificial types with each event. There were seven major festivals in Israel's calendar year. The first four were in the Spring: Passover, then immediately a week long Feast of Unleavened bread, then a Sabbath day, Firstfruits which is then followed by 7 weeks and a day (50 days) to Pentecost, the Feast of Weeks.
Then a gap of about four months took place until the Fall festivals: Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah), the Day of Atonement (Yom Kipput) and Feast of Tabernacles, or Booths (Sukkoth).

The chapter on vows reminded each Israelite that God takes seriously the making of vows. Promises made count, would that we would take that seriously today.

I once heard Dallas Willard - in reply to a question on how he would actually go about "making a disciple - say that the first thing he would train a person in is in "letting your yes be yes, and your no, be no". In other words, teaching the sacredness of your words as promises, or as not agreeing to promise, or vow. That is profoundly important.

Peace

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