Leviticus

Leviticus 23: The appointed feasts of the LORD

Begin in prayer

Before you read Leviticus 23, where God sets out the Sabbath and the yearly feasts of Passover, Firstfruits, Weeks, Trumpets, Atonement, and Booths, bow your heads. Ask the Lord to show us how Jesus fulfils them all.

“If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, and the holy of Yahweh honorable; and shall honor it, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words:

Isaiah 58:13

Father in heaven, please open our eyes as we read Your Word. Show us what each appointed feast taught Israel and how Your Son Jesus Christ fulfilled them all in His death, resurrection, and gift of the Spirit. Make us more like Jesus. And please bless our family as we worship You together. In Jesus' name, Amen.

See where we're going

In Leviticus 23 the LORD proclaims His set feasts as holy convocations. First comes the weekly seventh-day Sabbath of rest. In the first month come the LORD's Passover on the fourteenth day and the seven-day Feast of Unleavened Bread. At the barley harvest, the priest waves the sheaf of firstfruits on the day after the Sabbath. Fifty days later, at the Feast of Weeks, he waves two leavened loaves, while reapers leave gleanings for the poor. Finally, the seventh month holds the blowing of trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the seven-day Feast of Tents.

As you read Leviticus 23, look for the answers:

Reflect together

Key truth

God's appointed feasts pictured redemption, resurrection, atonement, and rest, all fulfilled in Christ.

Leviticus 23 walks through God's calendar of “holy convocations” (verse 2). First stands the weekly Sabbath of rest (verse 3). Next came “Yahweh's Passover” and Unleavened Bread, fulfilled when Christ our Passover was sacrificed (1 Corinthians 5 verse 7). On “the next day after the Sabbath,” the priest waved a sheaf of firstfruits (verses 10 to 14). Christ fulfilled this when He rose as the firstfruits from the dead (1 Corinthians 15 verse 20). Fifty days later came the Feast of Weeks with two leavened loaves and gleanings for the poor (verses 15 to 22). The risen Christ fulfilled Pentecost when He poured out the Holy Spirit (Acts 2 verses 1 to 4). The seventh month brought Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the Feast of Tents (verses 24 to 43). These yearly feasts were shadows of Christ, who atoned for sin and gives living water (John 7 verse 37, Colossians 2 verse 17).

How does Leviticus 23 show us that God's appointed feasts pictured redemption, resurrection, atonement, and rest, all fulfilled in Christ?

The Sabbath, Passover, and Firstfruits point to Christ's rest, cross, and resurrection.

After the weekly Sabbath (verse 3), the first month began with “Yahweh's Passover” and Unleavened Bread (verses 5 and 6). Paul writes that Christ our Passover has been sacrificed, calling believers to walk in truth (1 Corinthians 5 verses 7 and 8). On the day after the Sabbath, the priest waved “the sheaf of the first fruits” (verses 10 and 11). Jesus fulfilled this when He rose on the first day as the firstfruits from the dead (1 Corinthians 15 verse 20).

Fifty days later comes the Feast of Weeks, with care for the poor.

Israel counted seven Sabbaths, “fifty days,” and brought two loaves baked with yeast as firstfruits to the LORD (verses 15 to 17). At Pentecost, the risen Lord Jesus poured out the Holy Spirit on His church (Acts 2 verses 1 to 4). Right in this harvest feast, God commanded Israel to leave gleanings “for the poor, and for the foreigner” (verse 22). Thankfulness for God's grace always shows itself in mercy to the needy.

The seventh month brings Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the Feast of Tents.

The seventh month opened with “a memorial of blowing of trumpets,” followed by the Day of Atonement (verses 24 to 32). Five days later, Israel rejoiced for seven days in “temporary shelters,” remembering the exodus from Egypt (verses 34 and 39 to 43). At that feast Jesus invited thirsty sinners to come to Him and drink (John 7 verse 37). All these ceremonial feast days were shadows whose substance is Christ (Colossians 2 verse 17).

Memorise

Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘The set feasts of Yahweh, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my set feasts.

Leviticus 23:2

Looking to Jesus in my life

Ask yourself in your heart, am I resting in Jesus, who died, rose, and fulfilled God's feasts?

In Leviticus 23, the LORD gave Israel His calendar of “holy convocations.” In the spring came “Yahweh's Passover,” Unleavened Bread, the waved “sheaf of the first fruits,” and “fifty days” later the Feast of Weeks. In the seventh month came the blowing of trumpets, “the day of atonement,” and seven days of rejoicing in “temporary shelters.”

Why did God weave all these feasts into Israel's year? As Colossians 2 verse 17 teaches, they were a shadow of the things to come, and the substance belongs to Christ. Left to ourselves, we are guilty sinners who cannot atone for our sins or conquer the grave. In the fulness of time, Jesus Christ fulfilled God's calendar. At Passover, the sinless Lamb of God died on the cross in His people's place, making atonement once for all. On the day after the Sabbath, He rose from the dead as the firstfruits of all who belong to Him. Fifty days later, at Pentecost, He poured out the Holy Spirit, and His finished work gives eternal rest.

Do not trust in keeping religious days to save your soul. Turn from your sin and trust in the risen Lord Jesus today. Everyone who comes to Him is forgiven, given living water, and promised resurrection life.

Parent's note

Tell your children how Passover pictures Jesus' death, Firstfruits pictures His resurrection, and Pentecost pictures the gift of the Holy Spirit. Please do not tell them they are saved just because they grew up in a Christian home. Call each child to turn from sin and trust Jesus, and pray that God would give them a new heart.

Pray together

Now please close your time together in prayer. Thank God that Jesus is our Passover Lamb, our risen Firstfruits, and the Giver of the Holy Spirit, and bring the heart question to Him. Every child can pray, so let each one say a short prayer if they want to.

Now when the day of Pentecost had come, they were all with one accord in one place.

Acts 2:1

Father in heaven, thank You for the wonderful way Your Word fits together. Thank You that Jesus died as our Passover Lamb, rose from the dead as the firstfruits of the harvest, and poured out the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Please forgive our sins through faith in Jesus, give us true rest in His finished work, and make us generous to the poor. Amen.