Lev. 23 summarizes the feasts and holy days. It begins with the weekly Sabbath, the significance of which we will consider in Lev. 26. Then there are 7 events. Four (Passover, Unleavened Bread, Firstfruits and Weeks) were in the Spring; three (Trumpets, Atonement and Tabernacles) were in the Fall (7th month).
·
Passover (23:4-5) emphasized salvation,
reminding them of the “passing over” in Egypt when they put the blood on the doorposts. On Passover the lamb was killed and, in the
evening, the meal was eaten.
·
The Feast of Unleavened Bread (23:6-8) began the
next day in the evening and went for a week.
It symbolizes sanctification, the removal of sin depicted by the
removal of leaven from the house. In the
NT note these forms of “leaven”:
o
Mark 8:15: The leaven of the Herodians (worldliness).
o
Luke 12:1: The leaven of the Pharisees (hypocrisy).
o
Matt. 16:6,12: The leaven of the Sadducees (unbelief).
o
Gal. 5:9: The leaven of the Galatians (legalism).
o 1
Cor. 5:6f: The leaven of the Corinthians (moral evil, evil conduct).
·
The Feast of Firstfruits (23:9-14) occurred on
the first Sunday of Unleavened Bread. It
symbolizes stewardship in that it recognized God’s ownership of all our
possessions. However, it also speaks
clearly of “resurrection” since (1 Cor. 15:23) Christ is our firstfruits. Christ was raised from the dead on that
Sunday after the first weekly Sabbath during Unleavened Bread.
·
The one-day Feast of Weeks (23:15-22; also
called Pentecost in the NT, Acts 2) occurred 50 days after Firstfruits. It was the beginning of harvest and signified
service. It was the day the
Church came into existence, the day the ministry of evangelism/discipleship
began for the followers of Christ.
·
The one-day Feast of Trumpets (23:23-25) at the
beginning of the 7th month was like a civil celebration of New
Year. (Israel operated on three
calendars: the religious one beginning just before Passover, the civil calendar
and the harvest calendar). For
Christians it signifies the Second Coming of Christ, the beginning of a “new
calendar.”
·
The Day of Atonement (23:26-32) was not a feast
but a fast. It signified the satisfaction
for sin provided by the shedding of blood.
We considered this in detail in the posts on Lev. 16.
·
The Feast of Tabernacles (23:33-44) was a joyful
celebration. People went camping,
building “booths” (dwellings) with tree branches. It was a reminder of how they lived in the
wilderness after leaving Egypt. It
signified summation, a reminder of the Messianic Kingdom, the
consummation of all things.
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