23 Leviticus

23 Leviticus, Holy Convocations

Convocation = a collective gathering of people for a purpose, in our case, a religious purpose.

· the setting aside of time to be spent with GOD. Now for His sake but for our own.

· A Feast

· A time set aside to focus on God

Introduction:

“Chapters 23, 24 and 25 introduce us to yet another aspect of God’s provision through the law. You will recall that the book of Leviticus began by describing five different types of offerings, the burnt, grain, peace, sin and trespass. We then watched as Aaron and his sons were consecrated for the work in the Tabernacle, only to see two of them Nadab and Abihu lose their lives. From there we learned about foods the Israelites could eat and those they could not, the ritual concerning childbirth, then laws concerning leprosy. From there we were given a section on sexual purity, the Day of Atonement, and the sanctity of blood. This in turn led to ceremonial laws on holiness for the priesthood on down to the common man. Now we are going to learn about convocations, or Feasts of the Lord. Days and times set aside by God for the sole purpose of bringing Israel together as one body, and to spend time focusing their minds on Him. It is worth mentioning once again just how far God is willing to go to get the hearts and minds of Israel focused on living for Him. The common Israelite living at this time would have no concept of just how important these holy days were to become. But God knows man, and He knows that if we don’t purposely set aside days and times to do nothing else but focus on Him, we will all too soon begin to take on the appearance of those living around us. Something that God was doing His best to ensure didn’t happen to Israel!” (Lunsford, J. (2006). Leviticus 101 (p. 189).)

Holy Convocations – Special days of convocation. We will look at 5 of them.

1. V.1-3 – The Sabbath Day

· The seventh day; a weekly reminder of their dependency on God.

· Exodus 31:15-17

· How can we expect to maintain a proper relationship with God if we can’t even set aside one day a week to spent time with Him?

2. V. 4-8 – The Feasts of the Lord, the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread (one event)

· V.4 – not an option, but rather a commandment.

· Passover – 14th day of the 1stmonth

o Exodus 12:5-13 - When I see the blood

o John 1:29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. Jesus Christ, the spotless Lamb of God.

o In the Exodus, the blood was applied to the door of one’s house. Today, the blood is applied to the door of your heart, thereby cleansing your form all unrighteousness.

· Feast of Unleavened Bread – 15th day of the 1st month

o Meant to remind Israel of God’s provisions.

o 1 Corinthians 5:7-8 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

3. V.9-14 The Feast of Firstfruit, on the day after the Sabbath – (the second day of the feast of unleavened bread) – the first day of the week. 16th day of the 1st month

· A wave offering of a sheave of barley = representing total dependency on God for His provisions.

· The Feast of Firstfruit is a picture of the resurrected Christ.

o 1 Corinthians 15:20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. Christ being the first one resurrected unto eternal life, never to die again.

4. V.15-22 Feast of Weeks (Kept 50 days after the Wave Offering) Last of May, first of June

· The Day of Pentecost

· “So we find that Jesus Christ our Passover died on the same day that the Passover lamb was to be eaten and slain. Then on the first day of the week when the firstfruits were to be waved, we find that Jesus Christ arose victorious over sin! Then fifty days later as the Feast of Weeks was brought to a close, the Bible tells us that God sent His Holy Spirit into the hearts of man, and thus a new order began! Now we can do all things through Christ, which strengthens us! Even dedicating our lives to seeing souls saved from sin!” (Lunsford, J. (2006). Leviticus 101 (p. 196).)

What follows next is basically a month long celebration.

5. V.23-25 The Feast of Trumpets – September / October

· 1st day of 7th month, same month as the Day of Atonement and the Year of Jubilee

· The blowing of the shophar horn announcing the coming of the Day of Atonement

· We are to be the Shophar of today, announcing that salvation is full and free and the sin of the world has been paid or atoned for.

6. V.26-32 The Day of Atonement

· 10th day of the 7th month, the beginning of the New Year

· “They were told to “afflict their souls” meaning that they were to make themselves aware of just how far they had strayed from God, and how dependant they were on Him to provide a way back. No work was to be done on the Day of Atonement, and if anyone was found working, they were to be held accountable to God.” (Lunsford, J. (2006).)

· V.32 – A Day of Solemn Rest.

7. V.33-44 Feast of Tabernacles or Feast of Ingathering

· Called for in Exodus 23:14-16

· 15th day of the 7th month / last for 7 days

· 5 days after the Day of Atonement (All their sins forgiven)

· Sort of a Thanksgiving celebration

o 203 animals in 7 days, plus all the grain, oil, and wine

o Deuteronomy 16:13-15 – it was a family affair.

· They were to live in tents on top of their houses for 7 days – a cause of remembrance

· All to bring honor and praise to GOD regardless of your personal situation

My concern is that in all that we do, we don’t really know how to truly celebrate, honor, and worship God. The children of Israel gave of themselves to the worship of God. We on the other hand take unto ourselves and only truly thank God for what we perceive to be His blessings. Perhaps we should thank Him for the speed bumps as well.