The observance of these 7 festivals was mandatory but intended to be times of great joy, celebration, remembrance, and community. Each one commemorated something God had done for the Israelites; remembering their deliverance from Egypt (Passover), God's protection over them while living in the wilderness (Feast of Tabernacles), gratitude for the harvest (Firstfruits), Day of Atonement, etc. Two additional celebrations occurred not annually, but regularly. The Sabbath year was observed every 7 years and resulted in the canceling of debts, the freeing of slaves, and the land lying fallow for the year. We will read later that the Israelites never obeyed this command and it led to their deportation to Babylon and Assyria. The land was vacant for 70 years during the babylonian captivity, which corresponds to the 70 Sabbath years that went unobserved between the exodus and captivity.
An even greater celebration occurred every 7th Sabbath year on the Year of Jubilee. During this celebration, slaves were freed and debts were cancelled, but additionally, land ownership was reverted to the original owners. The purpose of this was to teach the Israelites to hold on loosely to their possessions, for none of it actually belonged to them. An Israelite could buy a field, but during the Year of Jubilee it would be taken from him. Verse 25:23 says, "The land must never be sold on a permanent basis, for the land belongs to me. You are only foreigners and tenant farmers working for me". The very same principle applies to us and our worldly possessions, though we hold on to them far too tightly to ever imagine rejoicing at the coming of a Jubilee.
Tomorrow's reading: Leviticus 25:24-26
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I think that Lev. 23 is one of the most informative and instructive in the Hebrew Scripture. In this chapter God presents the annual feastg of Israel. But it is more that a list of holy days, it is a outline of God's plan from eternity to eternity. There are seven appointed feast, four are past:
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2. The Feast of Unleavened Bread (vs.6-8)
3. The Sheaf of Firstfruits (vs. 9-14) the early church changed the name of this feast to Easter.
4. The Feast of Pentecost (The Feast of Weeks) (vs. 15-21).
These four feast were fulfilled exactly as they are described in Lev. 23. There are three feast yet to be fulfilled:
5. The Feast of Trumpets (vs. 23-25) points to the appearance of Christ in the Heavens and the Rapture of the church.
6. The Day of Atonement (vs. 36-32) the church will not be involved in fulfillment of this feast. Yom Kippar is the day Israel as a nation will be restored to God, when they come to trust in Jesus Christ.
7. The Feast of Tabernacles (vs. 33-34) speaks of the time when the Lord will return to this earth and reign rfrom Jerusalem for one thousand years. Then we will have the rest,peace and justice that all believers look forward to.