Feasts, Time, and Seasons- The Goodness in the Unity of God's Creation

A Plan from Creation

Genesis 1:11–19 ESV

And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the third day. And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.

fast forward a bit through the rest of creation

Genesis 2:1–3 ESV

Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.

These three parts of creation: produce-yielding plants, time and seasons, and the rest of God’s creation, all funnel down to cultivate in one type of event which we as humans celebrate: and that’s our festivals and holidays.

Nothing is better at displaying God’s goodness or the unity of his creation than the special holidays which we as humans partake in.

Establishing Festivals

Context:

Deuteronomy 16:1 ESV

“Observe the month of Abib and keep the Passover to the Lord your God, for in the month of Abib the Lord your God brought you out of Egypt by night.

Deuteronomy 16:9–12 ESV

“You shall count seven weeks. Begin to count the seven weeks from the time the sickle is first put to the standing grain. Then you shall keep the Feast of Weeks to the Lord your God with the tribute of a freewill offering from your hand, which you shall give as the Lord your God blesses you. And you shall rejoice before the Lord your God, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, the Levite who is within your towns, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow who are among you, at the place that the Lord your God will choose, to make his name dwell there. You shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt; and you shall be careful to observe these statutes.

Pentecost- meaning 50th day after Passover -> Feast of Weeks

Pentecost has a significant meaning for us as Christians … its the time when the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the church. The church was the place the Lord had chosen to make his name dwell. It’s also an important reminder to us, spiritually, that we once were slaves … slaves to our own passions and desires, and that because of Christ, we have been set free. And because of Christ, the harvest is plentiful, not just in a physical sense in the times and seasons, but in a spiritual sense where there are many who have come to know the Lord.

For us, this means much more beyond what we can see. Yes, the entire world of ours revels in the change of the seasons and in pumpkin pies, pumpkin lattes, pumpkin spice cakes … the things in creation are evident to all. But to those whom Christ has made spiritually alive, it is evident that God’s provision reaches far beyond what is visible, to the things that are unseen: the hidden secrets of the soul and to the spiritual realm. We need to remember that just as in our world the sun and the rains were sent so that the harvest may be collected, it is God who prepares the hearts and minds of men and women to ripen to full maturity in faith so that the Lord may bring them in to himself. And just as there is much rest and feasting and celebration once the full harvest is brought in, there will be much rejoicing and celebration in heaven. We look forward to the penultimate feast and festival celebrating the harvest, the unification of the Lord’s church from all past, present, and future … all seated at the table of Christ. God’s provision in his new creation leads to much rejoicing.

It’s a truth the angels already know:

Luke 15:10 ESV

Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

When a sinner repents, when we turn from our sin and submit our lives to Christ as Lord, then there is much cause for joy and celebration, because the harvest has been collected.

So the Feast of Weeks is about celebrating God as Lord of the Harvest.

But there was another feast of harvest.

Whereas Pentecost, or the Feast of Weeks, was slated to take place during the summertime, another festival was scheduled in the Fall: The Feast of Booths.

Deuteronomy 16:13–15 ESV

“You shall keep the Feast of Booths seven days, when you have gathered in the produce from your threshing floor and your winepress. You shall rejoice in your feast, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow who are within your towns. For seven days you shall keep the feast to the Lord your God at the place that the Lord will choose, because the Lord your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that you will be altogether joyful.

Feast of tabernacles was laid out to be the 11th-21st of the seventh month.

For those who are more visual, I included a picture of the Jewish calendar here:

As you can see, our calendar year is in the middle here with the months you are accustomed to … January, February, March, so on and so forth. But the months that the Jews observed were based on the phases of the moon, so they varied on the exact start day each and every year. Our calendar is what’s known as a solar calendar. All of our months are pushed into one solar year, which is the amount of time it takes for the earth to rotate around the sun. The Jews held what is called a lunasolar calendar, meaning they had a solar year calendar- they celebrated the equinoxes and the change of seasons, but they also had significant feasts tied to the changing of the months. Their months revolved more around the harvest season, so the start of their year is at a different place than we would say a new year begins. So as you can see, their first month starts somewhere halfway in March, which is when Passover would be celebrated. The Feast of Weeks is a few months later at the end of May, and the Feast of Tabernacles is in the seventh month, which is the end of September and the beginning of October.

Passover and The Feast of Tabernacles are exactly opposite from each other on this picture. That’s because each takes place during the respective equinox, the time when the light is just as equal to the dark.

So again we have a festival that is to be celebrated by the Lord for the harvest that is made, in which all people of the land are to participate and to celebrate before the Lord at the place that he would choose.

And we ask ourselves the reasons why these festivals are so important.

I think firstly, these festivals and markings in the year give the people a chance

To Remember the Lord’s Work

Who is it who sends the rains over the land? Who created the sun to shine forth its light and to provide nutrients for plants? Who designed the cells of plants to photosynthesize and to take in the sun’s rays and to create food for themselves in order that they may grow? Who implemented the system of plants to yield and produce fruit and seeds? - The Lord did. Think back to creation. God is the one who made all the plants and trees yielding seeds and fruits. God is the one who established the sun and the moon in their respective orbits. God is the one who established rest from harvest and the celebration of the fruits of labor, not only of man but of the land.

For Israel, God is the one who set the people free around the time of Passover, whereby they are now able to live prosperous lives and not live as slaves. Each of the times of the harvest were supposed to point to this fact, that the Lord is the one who is relationally sustaining the people and their produce in their land.

And its an easy thing to forget if you don’t stop and take time to commemorate that. That’s one of the reasons why the principle of rest, the principle of Sabbath, is so important … not just on a weekly basis, to help ground yourself in the things of the Lord, but on a macro-scale also, in the change of the seasons, in the markings of the year.

In some ways, we do that as a culture already. We have a holiday, Thanksgiving, to commemorate the Lord’s provision and to give thanks to him. We celebrate Christmas, the arrival of God’s son to the world. And we celebrate Easter, the time when Jesus died for our sins and was dead for three days, but rose again on the third day defeating sin and death for all eternity. We have these holidays. But there are additional times in the year that our culture points out to us as significant- the spring and fall equinoxes, the summer and winter solstices, the bringing in of the harvests, the commercialization of whatever product is prominent during that period of time. Its important to remember the transformed perspective God gives to his people, to view these times as a sign, a reminder, of the Lord’s provision. Its funny that our culture receives and welcomes the blessing, but does not know who to attribute it to. Let us be those who not only are reminded of the Lord ourselves, whenever we see pumpkins or apples from the harvest, but also let us remind others and tell others of the goodness of God in creation.

So that’s one reason why I think God implemented these festivals for Israel- to give them rest and in doing so, the opportunity to remember the Lord’s work.

Secondly, I think the Festivals were very directional in the sense that they culminated in worship.

To Culminate in Worship

The rest of our verses give us a key to understanding this.

Deuteronomy 16:16–17 ESV

“Three times a year all your males shall appear before the Lord your God at the place that he will choose: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Booths. They shall not appear before the Lord empty-handed. Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord your God that he has given you.

Where is our praise and direction due?

For Israel, it was not to be confused as to where praise and glory was to be given. The Lord’s presence was to dwell among the people, and the people were to appear before his presence with their offerings.

As God has given the strength and the energy to mankind to produce good things, we are to bring the best of those good things before the Lord.

The Lord doesn’t require a flat tax from everyone - he doesn’t require an unfair burden from someone who is unable to labor due to a handicap, but as each is able, according to the blessing that the Lord has given.

One day we will all stand before the Lord and give an account for our lives. For some it will be a somber day. For others, a joyful one. But what will we appear before him with? Shall we appear before him empty-handed?

The Lord asks that you give as you are able so that you may be altogether joyful. Yes, it is wonderful that you are saved and that through Christ you are able to enter into heaven. But what treasures have you stored there that you might bring an offering to the Lord? Remember the words of Christ, “Do not store for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal”, and also “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also?”. If our treasures are stored up for heaven, are they not stored up in worship of the Lord our God, to commemorate him and what he has been able to accomplish through the transformation in our lives?

We live in the time of growth. The full harvest has not yet come. We still have time to bloom and blossom and reach a full richness in our spirit, that’s one of the blessings of the Lord, for every minute, for every hour you are alive on earth you have that much longer to fight sin, to store further riches in heaven for the Lord. But also, just as the plant reaches full maturity and it grows, and its fruit dies and falls to the ground, it plants more seeds. Seeds that are ready to be watered, tended to, to grow to yield more fruit.

Even in your dying years there are still seeds to be planted. Often those seeds are the ones that will take the furthest root. But all the growth, all the resulting work that takes place is done in directional worship to the Lord. It is he who guides the process and tends to and cares for the plants in his field.

So that’s the second reason why I think the Lord gave the harvests- to culminate in worship.

And I think of that day when we will all stand before the Lord and celebrate in a huge festival with him - at the full harvest of his people, remembering what it is that the Lord has saved us from, and worshipping him for his great deeds of salvation.

“When we all get to heaven

What a day of rejoicing that will be!

When we all see Jesus,

We’ll sing and shout the victory!”

(pause)

On that day, the full harvest of the Lord will be had, and we shall celebrate eternal rest.

God’s plan for creation is unified and directional. It points forward to the greater world that is to come and the full harvest that is to be had. And through the growth and time and seasons, God is working good. He is working good in the world, here and now. He is reaching the lives of those who are lost through his message here and now. Just because one part of the field lays fallow doesn’t mean that he’s not preparing it to be bountiful in the next season.

And as way of review of today’s sermon,

God has had a plan from the start of creation, in the unity of the world that he created and in the feasts that not only recognize God as Lord of the harvest, but as the one who set forth the moon and the sun and the stars to tell seasons and the one who set forward the principle of rest and enjoyment in creation.

And God set Festivals for his people Israel in order to remember the Lord’s work on the earth and to culminate in worship of Him.

For us as Christians we see God’s plan in creation, not only in the physical things that we see but also in the spiritual sense, that his seeds have been planted, that throughout history there have been different seasons of growth for God’s people and times when he has brought his people home, but that one day the final day of the harvest will come. Christ shall return and the full bounty of God’s work shall be brought in. In that day, there shall be a new festival, a feast, that commemorates the harvest of God’s people and of their good works done for him, in praise and worship of him.

What will you bring to that banquet, to lay before the Lord’s feet?

Let us pray.