Leviticus 23

CHAPTER 23THEME: The holy seasons of the Sabbath; the holy season of Passover; the holy season of Unleavened Bread; the holy season of Firstfruits; the holy season of Pentecost; the holy season of Trumpets; the holy season of the great Day of Atonement; the holy season of TabernaclesThis is a remarkable chapter of God’s solemn festivals. The holy holidays were times of joy. There was mourning on only one of them, the great Day of Atonement. The others were to be times of joy and rejoicing. God never wanted a weeping people to come before Him; He wanted a rejoicing people. These festivals provide God’s calendar for all time. John Peter Lange gives the meaning of the so-called feasts as “a fixed, appointed time.” It is sometimes translated a “set time.” Perhaps “holy seasons” would be the most appropriate translation. Details for most of these feasts are given elsewhere in Scripture. Here they are given in an orderly and purposeful arrangement. There are seven feasts, excluding the Sabbath Day, which is given first. The Sabbath Day was not a feast day, but is included because it furnishes the yardstick for the measuring of time. The number seven is as prominent in this chapter as in the Book of Revelation. It is the dimension of time. The Sabbath Day is the seventh day. Pentecost is the feast of the seventh week; the seventh new moon with its following Day of Atonement and Feast of Tabernacles is the feast of the seventh month. In the twenty-fifth chapter we will have occasion to consider the sabbatic year and the year of Jubilee, all adjusted to the number seven. There were seven days of unleavened bread, and seven days of dwelling in tabernacles in the Feast of Tabernacles. These days of holy convocation served a twofold purpose: a practical purpose and a prophetic purpose. On the practical plane they served both a social and commercial purpose. They brought the twelve tribes together in worship and fellowship. All males were required to go to Jerusalem to worship on three occasions: at the feasts of Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles (Deu_16:16). You can see that this would have a tendency to unite the nation and knit the tribes together. The people would come from all sections of the kingdom and exchange ideas as well as merchandise. Failure to follow these instructions was one of the contributing factors in dividing the nation into northern and southern kingdoms. Most of these feasts were geared into the agricultural life of the land, especially the harvesting of the crops. This was especially true of the feasts of Firstfruits, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. This brought the worship of Jehovah down to the grain field, the vineyard, and the fig orchard. Praise to God was united with the work of the people. The sweat of their brow became a sacred thing. The primary purpose of these feast days was to give a prophetic picture of all future time. Each one of these feasts has found or will find a fulfillment in time. Most of them have been fulfilled. We will point this out as we go along. We are no longer to observe days and seasons because Christ has fulfilled them. “Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ” (Col_2:16-17). I should mention that all the festivals and observances are not included in this chapter. The Sabbatic year and the year of Jubilee are found in chapter 25, and the New Moons in Num_28:11-15.

Leviticus 23:1

THE HOLY SEASONS OF THE SABBATHIf you will notice, as we go through this book, God always directs His instructions to certain people, and it is well to note the ones to whom He is directing the instructions. He tells Moses as the lawgiver, and he in turn is to tell the people. Even though the feasts will involve the tabernacle, the priests are not specifically mentioned. The people were to come together, and the feasts were to fit into the yearly calendar of Israel. Passoverthe crucifixion and death of Christ Unleavened Breadthe fellowship we have with Christ because of His death Firstfruitsthe resurrection of Christ Pentecostthe beginning of the church TrumpetsIsrael brought back into the land (future) Great Day of Atonementthe work of Christ upon the Cross for us Tabernaclesthe time when Israel is in the land (future) The weekly Sabbath cannot properly be labeled one of the feast days. It is pre-Mosaic and goes back to the original creation. It was repeated to Israel, and in Deuteronomy an additional reason for its observance is given. “And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day” (Deu_5:15). When they were slaves down in Egypt, they had to work every day. The Sabbath Day is tied in with their deliverance. Now that they have been delivered from Egypt, they are to set aside one day to worship God. There is to be cessation from all labor and activity. When the early church set aside a day of the week to come together, they chose Sunday, the first day of the week, because it was the day our Lord came back from the dead. That is the day full deliverance was given to us. “Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification” (Rom_4:25). The Sabbath Day belongs to the old creation. We belong to the new creation. “…if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature [creation] …” (2Co_5:17). We honor Christ by setting aside the first day of the week. The Sabbath was a yardstick of time for Israel. It spoke of cessation from all labor and activity and looked forward to a new week when there would be a new creation. It was also prophetic in that it looked forward to redemption. Man lost his rest in the first creation, but now rest is his through redemption. “There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief” (Heb_4:9-11).

Our rest comes through redemption and redemption only. There is a rest for the people of God. What is it? Our sins are forgiven. “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Mat_11:28). Rest and redemption are the twofold aspect of the Sabbath Day. The Sabbath Day was not a feast day. It is geared to the week and not to the year. It was not a feast, but a set time.

Leviticus 23:4

THE HOLY SEASON OF PASSOVERThe description of the feast was given to us back in Exodus 12, but here it is placed in the calendar of God. This verse makes it clear that the feasts begin properly with the Passover and not the Sabbath. In Exo_12:2 God said, “This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you.” This holy season represents the sacrificial death of Christ and the value of His blood. “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” (1Co_5:7). The Passover originated in the historical event of the last plague in Egypt by the slaying of the firstborn. Israel was instructed to slay a lamb and put the blood of the lamb on the doorposts of their homes. They were to stay inside, roast the lamb, and eat it. The angel of death would pass over every door which was marked with the blood. When we get to Numbers 9, we will find that Israel kept the Passover when they were encamped at Mount Sinai. The Passover was brought to its fulfillment the night of the arrest of the Lord Jesus Christ after He had observed the Passover with His disciples, and had instituted a new feast on the dying embers of the old. Then we see the Lamb slain in Rev_5:6. I think the Passover will be observed again in the Kingdom. “For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God” (Luk_22:16).

Leviticus 23:6

THE HOLY SEASON OF UNLEAVENED BREADAlthough this is considered a separate feast, it is closely aligned with the Passover. Passover was observed one day, and the next daythe first day of the weekbegan the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Its historical origin is in direct connection with the Passover (Exo_12:14-28). Unleavened bread was to be eaten for seven days beginning on the day after Passover. In Matthew and Mark the Passover and Unleavened Bread are considered as one feast. Leaven here, as elsewhere, is the symbol of evil. The unleavened bread speaks of fellowship with Christ based on His redemption and maintained by the holy walk of the believer (1Co_5:7-8). No servile work was to be done. On those days the participants were to rest from their daily occupations. There were to be offerings made by fire which refer to burnt offerings, meal offerings, and sin offerings. The first and the seventh days of the week of Unleavened Bread were the particular days of an “holy convocation.” The Passover speaks of the death of Christ for our sins. After that, we are now to maintain fellowship with Him on the basis of the fact that He died for us. We are to remain clean by confessing our sins as we go along. Our Lord said to His men, “…If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me” (Joh_13:8). It signifies that the value of the blood of Christ continues for the believer after he is saved. “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1Jn_1:7). The blood of Jesus Christ keeps on keeping us clean. That is the meaning of the feast of Mazzoth, Unleavened Bread.

Leviticus 23:9

THE HOLY SEASON OF FIRSTFRUITSThis feast could not be observed until Israel got out of the wilderness and into the Promised Land. When they had sowed their grain in the land, they were to watch for the first heading of the barley. When they would see a stalk here and there, they would cut each one down and put them together to make a sheaf. This was then brought to the tabernacle, and the priest would offer it to the Lord. The exact day that he did this is not stated. It may have been the first day of Unleavened Bread or the last day of that feast. The important item to note is that it was done on the first day of the week. This is so important because Christ is called the firstfruits. “But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept” (1Co_15:20). “But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming” (1Co_15:23). The time of His resurrection is clearly stated in Mat_28:1: “In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.” On the first day of the week, Christ, “the firstfruits” was resurrected from the dead. Someday the church will be included in resurrection, but so far He is the only One who has been raised in a glorified body. At the rapture of the church, we shall all rise. There will be a coming out of the graves just as Christ did. He is the firstfruits, afterwards they that are Christ’s at His coming. “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit” (Joh_12:24, italics mine). You see, the offering of the firstfruits indicated that there would be a harvest to follow. Believers are that harvest.

Leviticus 23:12

Offerings accompanied the celebration of this day. No sin offering was included because that was included in the death of Christthat is where He settled the sin question. These offerings are a sweet savor. “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2Co_5:21). “…because I live, ye shall live also” (Joh_14:19). This is a glorious truth that we have here. The new crop of grain could not be enjoyed until this offering was waved before Jehovah. For the believer, the death and resurrection of Christ brings us into new relationships and blessings. “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2Co_5:17). That doesn’t mean that just a few habits change. It means we are taken out of the old Adam, and we are joined to the Lord Jesus Christ. Now we have a new purpose, a new goal, a new joy, and new lifeand that would affect a few old habits, would it not? He makes all things new.

Leviticus 23:15

THE HOLY SEASON OF PENTECOSTNotice the orderly, chronological sequence that we have here. Passover tells us that Christ, our Passover, is sacrificed for us. Unleavened Bread is sharing the things of Christ, fellowship with Him. Then Firstfruits signifies Christ’s resurrection, the firstfruits from the dead. Now we come to Pentecost. There are several things we need to note about Pentecost because there is so much being made of it today that is absolutely unscriptural. The Feast of Pentecost always fell on the first day of the week. They counted seven Sabbaths, which would be seven weeks or forty-nine days, then the fiftieth day, the day after the seventh Sabbath, the first day of the week, was Pentecost. This was fifty days after the offering of the wave sheaf of firstfruits. The church was born on the first day of the week. It was on the first day of the week that our Lord arose. Doesn’t that tell us something? Wouldn’t it be rather odd for the church to go back and observe the old Sabbath which belonged to the old creation when the church is a new creation? When the church meets on the first day of the week, we are celebrating our Lord’s resurrection and the birthday of the church. This festival is also called the Feast of Weeks. The typical meaning of Pentecost is not left to man’s speculation. “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place…. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Act_2:1, Act_2:4). “When the day of Pentecost was fully come” doesn’t mean at twelve noon or at six in the evening. “The day of Pentecost was fully come” means the fulfillment of that for which it was given in Leviticus. It denotes the coming of the Holy Spirit to baptize believers into the body of Christ and to begin the calling out of the church. Pentecost is the birthday of the church. It was fifty days after the resurrection of Christ that the Holy Spirit came. God was running according to His calendar and on time. They were to offer a new meal offering. That is a type of the church. The church is something new. Christ didn’t say that He would give us an old garment and patch it up. He came to bring a brand new robe of righteousness. To be in Christ is to be clothed with His righteousness. That is how God sees us. We need to note the time sequence. After the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, He showed Himself alive for forty days. Then, just before He ascended into heaven, He said to His own that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father. He told them they should be endued with power from on high (Luk_24:49). In Act_1:5 it states: “…but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.” Ten days later, on the day of Pentecost, the Spirit of God came upon them.

Leviticus 23:17

Do you notice anything startling about this verse? We have said that leaven is the principle of evil and that it was not to be in the offerings. Here is the exception. This is typifying the church, and it is a new offering in that it is a meal offering with leaven included. What does it mean? It means there is evil in the church. This is obvious to the most casual observer. I was a pastor for forty years. I have served in four different states from the Atlantic to the Pacific. I have been in some wonderful churches, and I look back on those years with a real joy. I’ve had wonderful fellowship with the members of these churches. They have loved me and I have loved them; we have been very close. However I happen to be able to testify that there is evil in the church. That is why leaven is included in this offering. This speaks of the visible church down on earth, the church as you and I see it and know it. There is evil in it. The Lord knew that long before the church even existed!

Leviticus 23:18

All the offerings are to be made at this time. All that Christ is and all that He has done have been made over to the church. Believers can draw upon Him for everything. You can come to Him for salvation, first of all. You can come to Him for help and for mercy, for sympathy and for comfort. You can come to Him in all the situations of life. All the offerings were made at this time. Isn’t it interesting how the Lord, in these pictures, is giving to you and me some of the greatest truths? He uses pictures rather than cold, theological terms.

Leviticus 23:21

They were to rest on that day and cease from their own works. That is what you and I are to do when we come to Christ. “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost” (Tit_3:5).

Leviticus 23:22

The holy day was adapted to the land. In the midst of the celebration they were to remember the poor and the stranger. That is the practical side of the work of the church and of all believers today. We have been saved by grace, but we should attempt to get the Word of God out to folk and be helpful to them. I do not believe the church has any right to engage in any social service in which they do not present the gospel. We are to feed people and reach out to them in their need, but along with this we must present the gospel to them. We should remember that a man with an empty stomach is not going to be very eager to listen to the gospel. James has some things to say about that (Jas_2:14-20). This also looks forward to the great harvest at the end of the age, after the rapture of the church, when God will remember the Gentiles. Jas_1:18 says, “Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.” The early church was Jewish and was firstfruits, but it was to be followed by a great company of Gentiles. Our Lord tells about the end of the age: “The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; the enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels” (Mat_13:38-39). This is the judgment at the end of the age. Angels are not connected in any way to the Rapture. This is the judgment that is coming that is in mind here. “Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles” (Isa_42:1).

Leviticus 23:23

THE HOLY SEASON OF TRUMPETSThe date here is important. Three feasts take place in the seventh month. It is sort of a sabbatic month, just as there is a sabbatic day and a sabbatic year. This marked the beginning of the civil year as Passover marked the beginning of the religious year. The blowing of two silver trumpets was used in moving Israel through the wilderness (Num. 10). The trumpets were blown seven times to get them on the march. There are seven trumpets in the Revelation which cover the Great Tribulation period and which will see Israel restored to the land for the Kingdom Age. “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the great trumpet shall be blown, and they shall come which were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the LORD in the holy mount at Jerusalem” (Isa_27:13). “And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other” (Mat_24:31). Before the restoration of Israel the church will have left the earth already. They will hear the voice of the Lord like a trumpet. These are now the people left on earth who will hear the sound of the trumpet. “Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O LORD, in the light of thy countenance” (Psa_89:15). The trumpets are connected with the coming judgment.

Leviticus 23:26

THE HOLY SEASON OF THE GREAT DAY OF ATONEMENTThe great Day of Atonement was fully covered in chapter 16. Three times Scripture says, “Ye shall afflict your souls.” It was a solemn day rather than a feast day, which was different from all the others. In contrast to this, it is interesting to note that the trumpet of Jubilee was sounded every fifty years on the Day of Atonement, and that it denoted joy and rejoicing (Lev_25:8-9). There is deliverance when the price is paid for your salvation and mine. That is the year of Jubilee. What a glorious year that must have been!

Leviticus 23:33

THE HOLY SEASON OF TABERNACLESThis is the third feast in the seventh month. It was both a memorial and a prophetic holy season. It followed the great Day of Atonement by only a few days. As a memorial, it spoke of their days of wandering in the wilderness when they dwelt in booths. It points prophetically to the time when God will have fully removed their sin, and they will dwell again safely in the Promised Land. “And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn” (Zec_12:10). “In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness” (Zec_13:1). “But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the LORD of hosts hath spoken it” (Mic_4:4).

Leviticus 23:37

This is a special emphasis on the feast days to revel in what God delights for the benefit of His people.

Leviticus 23:39

After the great Day of Atonement when there was made a full expiation of their sins, and the harvest and fruit of the land were gathered in, there was observed this very joyful occasion. They were to dwell in booths to remind them of the wilderness wanderings, but also to point them to the future. Hebrews 11 tells us that they all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off. They were persuaded of them and they embraced them. They were looking forward to that day when they would not dwell in booths as in the wilderness, but they would be in the millennial age. That is the hope for this earth. This holy season will be observed during the Millennium: “And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles. And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain. And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there shall be the plague, wherewith the LORD will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles” (Zec_14:16-18). You will find it interesting to read that whole chapter of Zechariah 14. This feast is not only prophetic of the Millennium, but also points to eternity and the everlasting Kingdom. “And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God” (Rev_21:3). This is the fulfillment of the great Feast of Tabernacles. For seven days in the seventh month they were to rejoice. This speaks of the final and full rejoicing of God’s earthly people. (His heavenly people will be with Him in the New Jerusalem.) Friends, there is a great future ahead for us!