Well, we are crunched for time this week folks! So instead of giving you a theological discourse now, I'm going to again give you my notes to work with and save our discourse for class! Please do though consider the questions at the bottom of this blog as you read this week.
Leviticus 23:
Note that we’ve seen how the Tabernacle is made holy, how priests are made holy, how sacrifices are made holy, holy the Israelites are made holy, and now how time is made holy. Do you see a pattern here? (We'll talk about this Sabbath in class as a "Tabernacle in Time" . . . think about how the Tabernacle as holy sets the stage for all the land being holy, as the Sabbath being holy sets the stage for all time being made holy . . .)
Passover is celebrated in the first month (v.5) . . . this is a big-time symbol! Israel’s calendar- Israel’s counting of time- begins with God’s work to free them from slavery (We might then say all their time is derived from God's work and belongs to Him!). Every year they would be reminded that their time belongs to God because of His actions to free them. Note also that Passover begins (and is celebrated) at twilight . . . the Israelites counted days beginning at sundown. So Jesus is eating the Last Supper with His disciples at the transition between the Day of Passover and the first day of Unleavened Bread.
Festival of Unleavened bread (v.7): A reminder of God’s provision for Israel as they left Egypt.
The Festival of First Fruits begins the day after the day after the final day of Unleavened bread (v.11). So you have nine festival days consecutively which marks the beginning of Israel’s calendar, and also marks the preparation for the harvest season agriculturally. (Note that this is not coincidental . . . the two “beginnings” are aligned to communicate something to Israel!)
Note the drink offering of wine here in v.13 . . . the symbol here of God drinking wine with the people!
The Festival of Weeks (v.15-21) is celebrated 50 days (7 weeks, an important symbol!) after First Fruits and that is why it’s called “Pentecost” in Greek and now English. This festival marks the beginning of the harvest season for grain.
Note the connection between the celebration of the Lord’s generosity with the Israelites and the injunction for them to be generous to the poor who live among them (v.22).
Don't miss that it’s the SEVENTH month which is the holiest month! This is not a coincidence!
Festival of Trumpets (v.23-25): Note that trumpets were primarily used for military purposes in the ancient world (the Israelites called themselves and God into battle with trumpets). The Israelites also used trumpets to call for the camp to move in the wilderness.
Note the Day of Atonement (vv.26-32) here is the tenth day of the seventh month. We’ve covered already but again you see the warnings against failure to participate in it in verses 29-30.
The Festival of Booths (vv.33-36, 39-43) is the final festival in the ancient Hebrew calendar and in terms of agriculture would come after crops were planted and before the fall rains. Booths lasts eight days (again, in the seventh month). The Israelites are commanded to build “booths” (literally “Tabernacles”) out of “majestic” trees to live in for a week. This is to remind the Israelites of the days when they lived in the wilderness and God provided for them.
Some Questions to Ponder:
How might Sabbath keeping change the way we keep time? What would we have to do to ensure we had one full day apart from “work”? (think first-fruits!)
How might the Sabbath form us as God’s people?
How would the festivals have formed Israel? Why were the festivals so important?
Do our Christian holidays function as formative to our faith? Or are they a distraction? In general, do we use the calendar to form us well?
How do we see the relationship between God and our time?
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