A look at Leviticus chapter 23
The Book of Leviticus has as its central theme holiness. 'Be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy' (Leviticus 19:2). Every aspect of our lives must be submitted to God’s holiness. We are called to be a holy people.
This call to holiness is expressed in the early chapters of Leviticus first through the sacrificial system, then through the instructions for the priests. In chapter 23, this same call to holiness is demanded in the annual cycle of holy feasts. What this chapter is saying, in effect, is 'even time is holy'. The Jewish year has a cycle of seasons and festivals, in just the same way as the Christian year. The people are being told, 'Keep the holy days; remember that God is with you at all times and in all places.’ We Christians can learn from these OT festivals. The message of Leviticus is that the whole of life is holy - not just the times that we spend in church. The Jews integrate faith and daily life far more completely and easily than we are accustomed to do. They made no division between worship and normal daily living, which can so easily occur in our thinking.
The feasts described in Leviticus 23 take us right through the Jewish year. They are still kept to this day and serve as a reminder of the importance of offering our time to God. Some of our Christian festivals are based upon them, whilst others remain distinctly Jewish. But all have something to say to us.
The chapter begins by describing these feasts as 'holy convocations'. Holy because they have to do with God, and because, as visual aids, they were literal reminders of the importance of remaining holy; and convocations because they were times to meet together. Christian Festivals serve the same purpose. They must never be considered as ends in themselves, which is what they can easily become when they are treated simply as secular festivals, as occasions to have a special event - a party, or a get together. The right use of these festivals serves as a way of instructing us about the full meaning of our faith and bringing us close to God, and ensures that within every calendar year, we recognise the full extent of faith and doctrine. They serve to make our faith a living and active faith.
So what are the festivals of the Jewish year, which we see in this chapter? There are seven of them:
The Sabbath; The Passover; The First Fruits; Pentecost; the Feast of the Trumpets; The Day of Atonement; The Feast of Tabernacles.
The Sabbath (Leviticus 23:3) is given foremost place. This was a perpetually recurring feast to be kept throughout the whole year on every seventh day. It celebrates the finished work of creation: 'on the seventh day God rested', so it is a day for rest, but also a day for worship. 'It is a Sabbath to the Lord'. So the Sabbath is a day to remind the people of their dependence upon God. A seventh day rest ensured time to remember the centrality of God in their lives. It was a day for spiritual renewal - a chance to be still, and to listen to the word of the Lord. It was a day when the people were free to assemble together, to hear the law read aloud, and to offer their corporate worship to the Lord.
Luke 4:16 – 21 describes to us the events of one Sabbath day in Nazareth. Jesus himself kept the Sabbath.
The Sabbath was an essential aspect of life for the nation of Israel. It served as a reminder to the people that time itself is holy. When we consider our priorities, we must always remember to put the Lord first in all that we do.
This principle of one day in seven to be kept holy to the Lord is one which has carried on into the Christian church. However, we must remember that Sunday is not the Sabbath. Christians celebrate not the seventh day of the week, but the first day of the week. On this day we recall the resurrection: the finished work of redemption, and the beginning of the new creation, rather than the finished work of the first creation. But the principle remains the same: it is good to reserve one day in the week for the worship of the Lord, and to treat it as different from the other six.
The Feast of the Passover and Unleavened Bread (Leviticus 23:5-8) is described in great detail in the book of Exodus. It speaks of the redemption of the people from slavery in Egypt to new life of freedom. And from the Passover narrative is drawn much of the imagery which makes Easter the pivotal event in the Christian story. It is as we recall the sacrifice of Christ, the Lamb of God and the significance of His blood, shed for us, that we appreciate the full meaning of the new life which God offers to all who believe in him.
We see Jesus sharing in a Passover meal in Matthew 26. Although St. John’s Gospel doesn’t use the word Passover, we can infer from the narrative that John, chapters 13 – 16 is also a Passover meal. Jesus adapts the traditional Passover narrative and uses this time instead as a chance for some final teaching for his disciples. The festival lasts for a week.
The Feast of the First Fruits (Leviticus 23:9-14), falls during the week of Unleavened bread, ‘the day after the Sabbath’ either the day after the normal Sabbath, or after the Passover Feast itself (which counts as a Sabbath). This day marks the first harvest of the year – the beginning of the grain harvest. The first of the barley harvest is brought as an offering to God. If God is faithful with this early harvest, then it surely reminds His people that he will be faithful with the later harvest. This day marks the beginning of the ‘counting of the sheaves’ a fifty day countdown until the next agricultural festival – Pentecost (literally the 50th Day festival). This is a time of year to remember God’s faithfulness and blessing.
For Christians, this day is highly significant. It is the day of resurrection. It offers the background to St. Paul’s analysis of the Resurrection:
But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own turn: Christ, the first fruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. (1 Corinthians 15:20-23)
The term ‘first fruits’ implies that there will be more, so Jesus’ resurrection from the dead on the feast of the first fruits portends the promise that many more will be raised from the dead – all who confess with their mouths that Jesus is Lord, and who believe in their hearts that God has raised Him from the dead.
We see the New Testament interpretation of these three spring festivals - Passover, Unleavened Bread and First Fruits in the writings of St. Paul, sometimes put together and known as the Easter Anthems:
Christ our Passover has been sacrificed for us:
so let us celebrate the feast,
not with the old leaven of corruption and wickedness:
but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
(1 Corinthians 5.7b, 8)
Christ once raised from the dead dies no more:
death has no more dominion over him.
In dying he died to sin once for all: in living he lives to God.
See yourselves therefore as dead to sin
and alive to God in Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6.9-11)
Christ has been raised from the dead:
the first fruits of those who sleep.
For as by man came death:
by man has come also the resurrection of the dead;
for as in Adam all die: even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
(1 Corinthians 15:20 – 22)
The Feast of Pentecost (or ‘Weeks’ Leviticus 23: 15-22) falls fifty days after the First Fruits. Pentecost literally means ‘Fiftieth Day’. It was the time of year when the Israelites celebrated the wheat harvest. According to Exodus 23:16,19, this festival represents the Feast of the Harvest of first fruits of the labours of what is sown by hand.
In course of time, this festival also became an occasion to mark the giving of the Law to Moses on Mount Sinai, so it becomes the anniversary of the covenant between God and his people. This twin background helps us in our understanding of the Christian Pentecost. The harvest of the ground, becomes, in Christian understanding, the harvest of the fruit of the Spirit, whilst the giving of the law under the Old Covenant is supplanted by the giving of the Spirit under the New Covenant. Paul contrasts the old law with the law of the Spirit: 'In Christ Jesus the life-giving law of the Spirit has set you free from the law of sin and death'. The Feast of Pentecost continues to be one that is central to our Christian faith.
The remaining festivals don't correlate quite so easily with the Christian year, yet they still have an important message for us.
The Feast of the Trumpets, (Leviticus 23: 23-25) marking the beginning of the spiritual New Year for the Israelites, is one with three emphases. It is marked by the sounding of a trumpet.
· It is a day to honour the kingship of God and His authority over creation. ‘The heavens declare the gloryof God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands’ (Psalm 19:1). The start of a new year is the appropriate occasion to remember the Lordship of God.
· It is a day to remember - to consider one's place in the universe and our place in the universal schemes of God for the world. So it is a day for old memories, and a form of personal stocktaking. There are many biblical references to the importance of 'remembering what the Lord has done’, highlighted, most significantly, in the words of our Lord at the Last Supper, who said, 'Do this in remembrance of me'.
· It is a day to consider the revelation of God. The call of the trumpet is a symbolic sign of re-awakening: of spiritual new birth. The trumpet offers a call to follow. So again, as we consider the Old Covenant in the light of what we know of the New Covenant, it is an occasion to remember the new revelation of God in Jesus Christ and to remind ourselves that in Christ, all things are made new, and that he will one day return to judge the world and inaugurate the new kingdom. The Christian equivalent festival is Advent, with the message, 'Awake, sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.'
Ten days later comes the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 23: 26-32). Verse 27 instructs us to 'humble our souls'. Yom Kippur, as it is called, is the day, par excellence, for confession and repentance. It parallels the Christian Ash Wednesday, with its message, 'Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return. Turn away from your sin and be faithful to Christ'. This is the day when the High Priest entered the Holy of Holies, the central part of the Temple, and offered sacrifice for the sins of all the people. It is from this day that the letter to the Hebrews draws its imagery, when it speaks of Christ as being our 'Great High Priest', who sacrificed himself for the sake of our sins. It is a day to celebrate our 'at one-ness’ with God.
And then, to complete the cycle, comes another pastoral festival, which forms a trilogy with Passover and Pentecost. Five days after Yom Kippur comes a seven-day festival - the Festival of the Booths (Leviticus 23: 33-43), described in Leviticus as the Lord's pilgrim festival. Three times a year the people are called to visit the Temple in Jerusalem to present sacrifices. This feast remembers the story of the Exodus. For 40 years the people were nomads, without a permanent home. At the Festival of Booths, or Succoth, they are instructed to build a temporary shelter and to live in it. This action is a reminder of the faith of the people, as they trusted in God to bring them to their ultimate destination. For Christians today we remind ourselves that God has promised to keep us safe, and to guide us to our permanent home, in heaven.
The booth is also a reminder of the temporary nature of everything on earth. We are 'sojourners' - a lovely biblical word which reminds us that we may be here for a time, but ultimately, only as long as God decrees, and that one day we will move on to a better place.
St John’s gospel (1:14) tells us that Jesus dwelt amongst us. The word ‘dwelt’ literally means, ‘he tabernacled amongst us’. The Lord of heaven made his temporary dwelling amongst us, here on earth. It is not even too fanciful to suggest that Jesus was born during the Festival of the Booths.
The final day of this festival was the most significant, and was called ‘the great day'. It was a day of prayer for winter rain to replenish the land. The priest would take a pitcher of water from the pool of Siloam and carry it up to the Temple, where it would be poured over the altar. Symbolically, this was a picture of the waters of redemption being poured over the people with the coming of the Messiah. And it was on this day that Jesus went into the Temple and proclaimed, 'If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as the Scriptures said, "From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water"'(John 7: 37 -39). Here is a clear statement of his claim to be Messiah.
And finally, this festival also marks a final harvest thanksgiving. It is held 'when you have gathered in the crops from your fields' (Lev 23:39). The final day of this feast is a day to remember what God has given to us, to ask his blessing, and then to look forward to the final harvest, when we shall one day be with the Lord. It is a day for rejoicing in the truth of God's word and remembering its importance for teaching and instructing us. We look forward to the day when God will tabernacle with his people for ever.
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. (Revelation 21: 1-3)
___________________________________________________________________
The Jewish festivals, rather like our Christian festivals, punctuate the year, offering to each season a different feel, combining a reminder of the inter-relationship between faith and daily life, and offering, through our celebration of God's goodness to us, a permanent picture of our spiritual hope, for redemption, Christian community and our ultimate hope of glory.
Comments