The specific days set aside by the Lord as His appointed times for us to observe are all found in Leviticus 23. There are seven annual feasts and one weekly time….
Once a week, God designed a day for us to completely rest…the Sabbath. (Lev. 23:3,4). A frequent reminder that we need a time set aside to rest. This “rest” is surely a benefit to us physically but God also intended that we prosper spiritually because as we observe this day of rest. While the OT children of Israel were instructed to revere the last day of the week (Saturday), NT Christians began honoring Sunday as our “Sabbath” to commemorate the day Jesus arose from the dead. “Rest” spiritually is symbolic of our salvation - we cannot work to earn it, we just trust Christ to do it all for us. Resting on Sunday from our usual activities gives us the chance to celebrate this glorious truth and to walk in faith that God will work for us in all other ways as well.
The seven annual feasts are viewed in two parts: Spring and Fall. Tied to the agricultural cycle of planting and harvesting, these feasts celebrate physical gifts from the Lord, as well as spiritual truths. Next post will examine in detail the specific dates/timeline, and the historical significance as well as the prophetic fulfillment of the Spring feasts. The last posts will cover the Fall feasts.
The Spring feasts (Leviticus 23:5-22, Numbers 28) are: 1. Passover 2. Feast of Unleavened Bread 3. Feast of Firstfruits 4. Feast of Weeks (Pentecost)
The Fall feasts (Leviticus 23:23-44, Numbers 29) 1. Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashana) 2. Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) 3. Feast of Booths or Tabernacles
We have covered a lot of ground - but this is only the foundation! We aren’t even to the exciting part yet! Stay tuned! If you want to listen to the class that I taught several months ago, all four weeks will be loaded on the website of Watkinsville First Baptist Church (watkinsville.org). You can go to the women’s ministry tab and scroll down to find the Jesus and the Holidays Bible study - the audio file is there. Just FYI