Worship in the Wilderness #23: Something to Celebrate!

 Read Leviticus 23

Background:  Having described the day to day operations of the Tabernacle and responsibilities of the priests, God now gives instructions about special celebrations throughout the year.  Some of these have already been alluded to, but here they are reviewed, put on the calendar, and prepared for in advance. The Sabbath was a weekly time of rest to focus on God and His goodness as creator and provider. The Passover was held annually to commemorate God delivering them from bondage in Egypt to bring them out to worship and serve Him.  It began and ended with days of "convocation" - a holy gathering of all to worship Him.  This was followed by the Feast of Firstfruits, celebrating the promised provisions they were beginning to see, the beginning of the harvest.  Like most of the celebrations, it involved both offerings and fellowship meals.  The Feast of Weeks we know better as Pentecost, 50 days after Firstfruits.  It commemorated the conclusion of the harvest. It also served as a reminder to care for the poor by allowing them to glean the fields.  The Feast of Trumpets was actually the beginning of a month of celebrations, including the Day of Atonement. This day was the only day of the year the High Priest, and only he, could enter the Holy of Holies.  It was a day for everyone and everything for unconfessed sins collected throughout the year.  The following week they would commemorate the Feast of Booths, when they would stay in temporary shelters, which would recall this present time of them wandering in the wilderness. Like all of these feasts, there was a mixture of celebration with solemn reflection of their call to be God's holy people.

Key Verses: 41 You shall celebrate it as a feast to the Lord for seven days in the year. It is a statute forever throughout your generations; you shall celebrate it in the seventh month. 42 You shall dwell in booths for seven days. All native Israelites shall dwell in booths, 43 that your generations may know that I made the people of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.”

Thought: God gave Israel, and He still gives us today, every opportunity to remember His calling us to be His people, and to look around and see His blessings still today.