“Go have a celebration.” That’s basically what God is commanding His people in chapter 23. But before we rush off to plan a party, let’s look at why the people were celebrating. Maybe we can incorporate some of those ideas not only into our worship but into our daily lives.
The first celebration mentioned is the weekly Sabbath. This celebrates God’s creation of the world, and honors His intention that all living things follow His example of six days of work and one day of rest (Genesis 2:2-3; Exodus 20:8-11). God’s Old Testament people also rested each week to celebrate the fact that they were no longer slaves in Egypt (Deuteronomy 5:15). Just so, most Christians now celebrate the weekly Sabbath on Sunday, the Lord’s Day, commemorating God’s recreation of the world through Christ’s resurrection from the dead, and remembering how He has set us free from bondage to sin and death.
In fact, the Person and Work of Christ lie at the heart of the way we continue to observe all these Old Testament festivals. The Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread took place at the time of the barley and wheat harvests. They were a celebration of how God saved the firstborn of His people who put the blood of a lamb on their doors (Exodus 12:12-13), releasing them from slavery so quickly that they didn’t even have time for their bread to rise (Exodus 12:33-34). Just so, our Easter celebrations (which take place about the same time of the year) remember how God sacrificed His Firstborn so that we might be saved from sin and death.
The Feast of Weeks took place fifty days later, and celebrated the ingathering of the grape harvest. Today, as we celebrate Pentecost, we remember how the Holy Spirit his filled the Church, not with new wine (Acts 2:13), but with the power to bear witness to the Person and Work of Christ (Acts 2:4, 17-18).
The Feast of Booths took place in the fall, about the time of the olive harvest. God’s people were to gather around the Tabernacle and live in shanties for a week, remembering how God had led them out of Egypt into a land of safety and plenty. Today, our celebration of Christmas remembers how Christ took on human flesh, pitching His tent in our midst (John 1:14).
All of God’s Old Testament festivals thus combined thanksgiving for God’s material provision in the present with remembrance of His salvation and redemption in the past. May such joyful, grateful remembrance mark not just our feasts and festivals, but every day of our lives.
Leviticus 23:1-4 (NASB)
The LORD spoke again to Moses, saying,
2 “Speak to the sons of Israel, and say to them, ‘The LORD’s appointed times which you shall proclaim as holy convocations– My appointed times are these:
3 ‘For six days work may be done; but on the seventh day there is a sabbath of complete rest, a holy convocation. You shall not do any work; it is a sabbath to the LORD in all your dwellings.
4 ‘These are the appointed times of the LORD, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at the times appointed for them.
