What were the annual feasts kept by Israel? Are variations on Passover and Pentecost still observed by Christians? How has wave sheaf Sunday during the Days of Unleavened Bread become the central Christian feast? Let’s look at Leviticus 23.
What was the weekly feast and what was not to be done on it?
The Lord said to Moses: Speak to the Israelites and say to them: These are my appointed times, the Lord’s appointed times, which you will declare to be holy occasions: Work can be done for six days, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of special rest, a holy occasion. You must not do any work on it; wherever you live, it is a Sabbath to the Lord. These are the Lord’s appointed times, holy occasions, which you will celebrate at their appointed times: (Leviticus 23:1-4 CEB)
What was the first of the annual feasts? Were two of those days to be sacred assemblies? The Hebrew word “miqra” meaning convocation or assembly, included a public reading.
These are the appointed feasts of the Lord, the holy convocations, which you shall proclaim at the time appointed for them. In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight, is the Lord's Passover. 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. On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall not do any ordinary work. But you shall present a food offering to the Lord for seven days. On the seventh day is a holy convocation; you shall not do any ordinary work. (Leviticus 23:4-8 ESV)
What was observed on the Sunday during the feast of unleavened bread? Could this hint at Jesus and His resurrection?
The Lord spoke to Moses: “Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When you enter the land I am giving you and reap its harvest, you are to bring the first sheaf of your harvest to the priest. He will wave the sheaf before the Lord so that you may be accepted; the priest is to wave it on the day after the Sabbath. On the day you wave the sheaf, you are to offer a year-old male lamb without blemish as a burnt offering to the Lord. Its grain offering is to be four quarts of fine flour mixed with oil as a fire offering to the Lord, a pleasing aroma, and its drink offering will be one quart of wine. You must not eat bread, roasted grain, or any new grain until this very day, and until you have brought the offering to your God. This is to be a permanent statute throughout your generations wherever you live. (Leviticus 23:9-14 HCSB)
From which day during the Feast of Unleavened Bread was the Feast of Weeks to be counted? Was it also a Sunday?
Starting the day after the Sabbath, count for yourselves seven weeks from the day you brought the sheaf of the wave offering. They are to be complete. Count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath, then bring a new meal offering to the Lord. Bring two loaves of bread from home as wave offerings made from two tenths of fine flour baked with leaven as first fruits to the Lord. Along with the loaves of bread, bring seven lambs (each of them one year old and without defect), one young bull as an offering, and two rams as offerings to the Lord—along with your gift and drink offerings—and present them as an offering made by fire, a pleasing aroma to the Lord. Prepare one male goat for a sin offering and two one year old rams for peace offerings. Then the priest is to wave them—the two lambs with the bread of first fruits—as raised offerings in the Lord’s presence. They’ll be sacred to the Lord on account of the priest. On the same day, proclaim a sacred assembly for yourselves. You are not to do any servile work—and this is to be an eternal ordinance wherever you live throughout your generations. Furthermore, when you harvest the produce of your land, you are not to harvest all the way to the corners of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and resident alien. I am the Lord your God. (Leviticus 23:15-22 ISV)
The name Feast of Weeks is obvious from the counting, but how did the Greek name Pentecost, meaning count fifty, get applied to this feast?
And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be complete: Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the Lord. (Leviticus 23:15-16 KJV)
Was it also a festival that included firstfruits in the offering?
You shall bring in from your places of habitation two loaves of bread for a wave offering, made of two-tenths of an ephah; they shall be of a fine flour, baked with leaven as first fruits to Yahweh. Along with the bread you shall bring near seven one year old male lambs without blemish and a bull from the herd and two rams; they shall be a burnt offering to Yahweh, with their grain offering and their drink offerings, an offering by fire of a soothing aroma to Yahweh. You shall also offer one male goat for a sin offering and two male lambs one year old for a sacrifice of peace offerings. The priest shall then wave them with the bread of the first fruits for a wave offering with two lambs before Yahweh; they shall be holy to Yahweh for the priest. (Leviticus 23:17-20 LSB)
Was this annual feast to be a rest day including a sacred assembly? How were they to provide for the poor in their midst?
On this very day you shall make a proclamation as well; you are to have a holy convocation. You shall do no laborious work. It is to be a permanent statute in all your dwelling places throughout your generations. When you reap the harvest of your land, moreover, you shall not reap to the very edges of your field nor gather the gleaning of your harvest; you are to leave them for the needy and the stranger. I am the Lord your God. (Leviticus 23:21-22 NASB)
What was the Feast of Trumpets? Was it an annual rest day and what month did it begin?
The Lord said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites: ‘On the first day of the seventh month you are to have a day of sabbath rest, a sacred assembly commemorated with trumpet blasts. Do no regular work, but present a food offering to the Lord.’” (Leviticus 23:23-25 NIV)
What annual holy day was observed on the tenth day of that seventh month? Was it also a fast day?
And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: “Also the tenth day of this seventh month shall be the Day of Atonement. It shall be a holy convocation for you; you shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire to the Lord. And you shall do no work on that same day, for it is the Day of Atonement, to make atonement for you before the Lord your God. For any person who is not afflicted in soul on that same day shall be cut off from his people. And any person who does any work on that same day, that person I will destroy from among his people. You shall do no manner of work; it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. It shall be to you a sabbath of solemn rest, and you shall afflict your souls; on the ninth day of the month at evening, from evening to evening, you shall celebrate your sabbath.” (Leviticus 23:26-32 NKJV)
How many days of holy assembly were contained within the feast of tabernacles?
And the Lord said to Moses, “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. Begin celebrating the Festival of Shelters [feast of tabernacles or booths] on the fifteenth day of the appointed month—five days after the Day of Atonement. This festival to the Lord will last for seven days. On the first day of the festival you must proclaim an official day for holy assembly, when you do no ordinary work. For seven days you must present special gifts to the Lord. The eighth day is another holy day on which you present your special gifts to the Lord. This will be a solemn occasion, and no ordinary work may be done that day. (Leviticus 23:33-36 NLT)
Whose feasts are these? Were they in addition to regular offerings and weekly sabbaths?
These are the appointed feasts of Yahweh which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire to Yahweh, a burnt offering, a meal offering, a sacrifice, and drink offerings, each on its own day— in addition to the Sabbaths of Yahweh, and in addition to your gifts, and in addition to all your vows, and in addition to all your free will offerings, which you give to Yahweh. (Leviticus 23:37-38 WEB)
Are there some further instructions regarding the feast of tabernacles? Because they were already in a wandering community, was this a pilgrim festival for them or did they all live in leafy huts?
Note that on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered the land’s crops, you will celebrate the Lord’s festival for seven days. The first day and the eighth day are days of special rest. On the first day you must take fruit from majestic trees, palm branches, branches of leafy trees, and willows of the streams, and rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days. You will celebrate this festival to the Lord for seven days each year; this is a permanent rule throughout your future generations. You will celebrate it in the seventh month. For seven days you must live in huts. Every citizen of Israel must live in huts so that your future generations will know that I made the Israelites live in huts when I brought them out of the land of Egypt; I am the Lord your God. So Moses announced the Lord’s appointed times to the Israelites. (Leviticus 23:39-44 CEB)
How many annual holy days included a rest and sacred assembly? Are variations on Passover and Pentecost still observed by Christians? How has wave sheaf Sunday during the Days of Unleavened Bread become the central Christian feast? You decide!
