Leviticus 23

“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’” (Leviticus 23:2, Scriptures from NASB).”

— Ray Charlton

The twenty-third chapter in Leviticus sets out for the Israelites, through Moses, the holy days, the times, and the seasons as they were appointed by God. Each of these holy days had a special meaning to the Jewish Nation and provides lessons for Christians today.

The Sabbath

“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” (Leviticus 23:3).

The Israelites had six days in which to provide for their families and the seventh day was set aside to worship the Almighty. It is interesting that other feasts were to be observed in the sanctuary, the tabernacle, or the temple. The Sabbath was to be, as a day of rest, observed wherever they were on that day including private homes or even while travelling.

The Lord’s Passover

“In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight is the LORD’s Passover” (Leviticus 23:5).

This was firstly to remind the Israelites how the Angel of death had passed over the first born of Israel, but killed the first born of both man and beast of the Egyptians. On entering into the promised land, it was changed to remembering when Jehovah had led them out of Egypt, from bondage to freedom. The lamb was slain on the fourteenth day at 3:00 PM.

Feast of Unleavened Bread

“Then on the fifteenth day of the same month there 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 laborious work. But for seven days you shall present an offering by fire to the LORD. On the seventh day is a holy convocation; you shall not do any laborious work” (Leviticus 23:6-8).

The fifteenth was the day that the Jews left Egypt, a joyous occasion which would be remembered throughout the years ahead, right through to the time of Jesus. The lamb was eaten on the 15th day. It is interesting that they were not to do laborious work on the first and the seventh day. They were not to work in agriculture, manufacturing, or equipment repairs. They could bake bread, boil, or roast meat and travel, things that they could not do on their Sabbath day.

Feast of Weeks

“You shall also count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day when you brought in the sheaf of the wave offering; there shall be seven complete Sabbaths. You shall count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall present a new grain offering to the LORD” (Leviticus 23:15-16).

In Exodus this festival is explained. “You shall celebrate the Feast of Weeks, that is, the first fruits of the wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the turn of the year” (Exodus 34:22). At the Passover it was the time of the barley harvest while the festival of weeks was at the start of the wheat harvest. It was also called the feast of ingathering because at this time the fruits of the earth, the corn, wine, and oil, and all others, were gathered in; and this was at the close of the old year, and at the beginning of the new year (Exodus 23:16). Similar to the feast of unleavened bread, the command was “You shall do no laborious work.” “It is to be a perpetual statute in all your dwelling places throughout your generations” (Leviticus 23:21).

An interesting point is brought out in verse 17. “You shall bring in from your dwelling places 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 the LORD” (Leviticus 23:17). All the offerings to Jehovah were to be first born males without blemish, or the first fruits of the harvest. The bread at the Passover was unleavened as well as for the feast of unleavened bread, that is without fermentation. However, for this offering they were allowed to bring loaves made with wheat and leaven.

Feast of Trumpets

“Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘In the seventh month on the first of the month you shall have a rest, a reminder by blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. You shall not do any laborious work, but you shall present an offering by fire to the LORD’ ” (Leviticus 23:24-25).

This took place on the first day of the seventh month, Tishri (September, October), which was the commencement of the civil year. The blowing of trumpets called the sons of Israel together for a solemn holy convocation. It is suggested that this time was a period of ten days for self-examination and repentance, leading up to the Day of Atonement.

Day of Atonement

Ten days after the sounding of the trumpets, God again spoke to Moses saying, “On exactly the tenth day of this seventh month is the day of atonement; it shall be a holy convocation for you, and you shall humble your souls and present an offering by fire to the LORD. You shall not do any work on this same day, for it is a day of atonement, to make atonement on your behalf before the LORD your God. If there is any person who will not humble himself on this same day, he shall be cut off from his people” (Leviticus 23:27-29). This not only included Jews, but any alien that sojourned among them.

The rules and the penalties on this day were strict, there was to be no work at all, as the penalty was death. It was to be a perpetual statute throughout their generations wherever they lived. Earlier in Leviticus the purpose of the day is set out. “It is on this day that atonement shall be made for you to cleanse you; you will be clean from all your sins before the LORD” (Leviticus 16:30). The whole of chapter sixteen is devoted to setting out the procedures that the high priest had to carry out to atone for the sins of the people during the previous year.

The Feast of Tabernacles (Booths)

Five days after the Atonement Day sacrifices, Jehovah instructed Moses to tell the people, “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, On the fifteenth of this seventh month is the Feast of Booths for seven days to the LORD. On the first day is a holy convocation; you shall do no laborious work of any kind. For seven days you shall present an offering by fire to the LORD. On the eighth day you shall have a holy convocation and present an offering by fire to the LORD; it is an assembly. You shall do no laborious work” (Leviticus 23:34-36).

The feast of tabernacles was for seven days unto the Lord; the design of which was, partly to give thanks for the fruits of the earth, now all gathered in; but chiefly to remember the dwelling of the children of Israel in tents and booths during their forty years’ abode in the wilderness. Verse 36 states that there would be seven days of continuous offerings, but the nature of those offerings was not given. “You shall live in booths for seven days; all the native-born in Israel shall live in booths, so that your generations may know that I had the sons of Israel live in booths when I brought them out from the land of Egypt. I am the LORD your God” (Leviticus 23:42-43).

What purpose do these instructions have for the Christian? “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

Paul, writing to Timothy, reminded him that the scriptures were inspired by God and was not only profitable then, but for students today.

Other scriptures give us further insight into what this meant. “When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having cancelled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross” (Colossians 2:13-14).

The feast days were part of the laws that were to bring the Jewish nation to Christ. They were to remind them of their sinful condition as well as the mercy that Jehovah showed them while they were in Egypt and during the journey to the promised land.

The Law Covenant

These feast days, the ten commandments, the many laws that set out how they were to function as a nation, were all set out for them by Moses. When Moses was given the laws, the Israelites made promises to God. “Then Moses came and recounted to the people all the words of the LORD and all the ordinances; and all the people answered with one voice and said, ‘All the words which the LORD has spoken we will do!’” (Exodus 24:3). Moses read the book of the covenant in front of all the people and Moses reminded them, “Behold the blood of the covenant, which the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words.”

There are people that feel that Christians should be under the Ten Commandments. For the Jews it was a matter of keeping the letter of the Law. The Apostle James sets out the problem of the law. “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all” (James 2:10). Only one person was able to perfectly follow the law, and that was Jesus Christ. When one looks at the Ten Commandments, they were very negative, with many “shall nots.” Jesus taught the disciples the spirit of the Law with the statements “YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.” And “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF. On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 22:37, 39, 40).

The Sabbath Day

Through Christ’s sacrifice, Paul tells us, “But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter” (Romans 7:6). There are Christians that still stipulate that we must keep the Sabbath. Like the Pharisees, they add burdens for followers of Christ in the keeping of the Sabbath. Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. So, the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27-28).

Br. Russell wrote, “Every day is a Sabbath; God’s consecrated people rest as God rests — in faith, hope, and trust. But also, ‘there remaineth a rest for the people of God’ (Hebrews 4:9), a different rest from that which we now enjoy — an actual rest after the resurrection change” (R4996:4). Jesus assures us, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).

The Passover

Passover was observed by Jesus during His life on earth. The last Passover was observed on the evening that Jesus was betrayed. At the end of this Passover meal Jesus signaled that a change was to happen. It was now that the memorial of His great sacrifice ending in His death on the cross is remembered. “And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’ And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, ‘This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood’” (Luke 22:19-20).

The Passover was a commandment that the Jews had to observe. The memorial was a request, one that we keep in remembering the great sacrifice that was made on our behalf. “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes” (1 Corinthians 11:26).

Feast of Unleavened Bread

The Jews were required to clean out all the leaven in their houses. Leaven symbolized sin and this feast pictures a life where malice and wickedness are put away. For Christians, there is no requirement to keep the literal feast. However, it characterizes a life without sin. “Therefore, let us celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (1 Corinthians 5:8). Br Russell writes that it “Represented the joy, the peace, the blessing which resulted to the first-borns of Israel; typifying the joy and peace which every true Christian experience through a realization of the passing over of his sins through the merit of Christ” (R5642:3).

Feast of Weeks

The feast of weeks was fifty days after offering the wave-sheaf. This is precisely the period between the resurrection of Christ and the baptism of the holy Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4). Various pictures can be drawn from this Old Testament feast. The wave-sheaf, picturing Christ, had no leaven, as he was perfect without sin — while the leavened loaves represented Church members, still sinners, but covered by Christ’s righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21). Another picture can be the bringing of the two loaves, the Jews and the Gentiles, both groups sinners to be presented to the Heavenly Father and His son though the merit of Christ’s sacrifice. Br Russell gives this thought: “Two wave loaves — Typifying the Little Flock and the Great Company at the time of their acceptance through the merit of the great High Priest, indicated by the anointing of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost” (R2271:1).

Feast of Trumpets

The feast of trumpets was to make the people aware, a call for Jews to prepare for the Atonement Day, a time to reflect. This was ten days before the Atonement Day. One picture drawn from this is the call of John the Baptist to Israel. “John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ For this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet when he said, ‘THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, MAKE READY THE WAY OF THE LORD, MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT!’ ” (Matthew 3:1-3). They were to prepare for the coming of the Messiah. Sadly, not all heeded the call with the right heart condition. “But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, ‘You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?’” (Matthew 3:7).

The Atonement Day

The Atonement Day was separated from the Passover by six months. It corresponded to the time that Jesus presented himself to John the Baptist at the Jordan to be baptized. John recognized Jesus and announced, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29) Jesus’ baptism was not for the remission of sins but an outward sign of his commitment to do his Father’s will. He laid aside all worldly ambitions and started his three-and-a-half-year period as a sacrificing priest culminating in his death on the cross. He “emptied Himself, taking the form of a bondservant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:7-8).

As Christians, we too must make the decision to give up worldly ambitions and to use our talents and our finances to do God’s will. Our Baptism is the outward show of our heart condition. We are not perfect, as we still have our old body, the flesh, which is at war with our new creature. “Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” (Galatians 5:24).