Leviticus 23:1-22

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TALKS FOR GROWING CHRISTIANS

The First Four of the Seven Annual Feasts

BACKGROUND NOTES



DOCTRINAL POINT(S)

  1. The Hebrew feasts have both a historical aspect and a future aspect.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

  1. Don’t forget the poor and needy!

QUESTIONS

  1. How could you simply answer the question, “What is the book of Leviticus all about?”

  2. Recall the five offerings in Israel’s sacrificial system.

  3. List the seven annual feasts in Israel’s religious calendar described in Leviticus 23.

  4. The five sacrifices each pictured the Person and Work of Christ in some way. What do the seven feasts picture?

  5. Why was the weekly Sabbath included in the descriptions of Leviticus 23?

  6. When did the first four feasts fall in the Hebrew calendar?

  7. What were the historical and eschatological aspects of the Feast of Pentecost?

ANSWERS

  1. Offerings and Feasts

  2. The Burnt offering, the Grain or Meal offering, the Peace offering, the Sin offering, the Trespass or Guilt offering

  3. Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of First Fruits, Pentecost, Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the Feast of Tabernacles

  4. Christ and His redemptive program for His people

  5. 1. The Sabbath formed the basis of the whole sabbatical system of worship under the Law. 2. The Sabbath day of rest was to remember the redemption out of Egypt. 3. The Sabbath had prophetic meaning as a type of the rest yet to come when redemption is consummated.

  6. The Passover Lamb was sacrificed on the 14th day of Nisan, the first month of the Hebrew religious calendar. The Feast of Unleavened Bread began the day after Passover and continued for a week. During the week of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of First Fruits was celebrated on the first day of the week. The feast of Pentecost, also known as the Festival of Weeks, was celebrated 50 days from the Feast of First Fruits.

  7. Pentecost was a day of Thanksgiving to the Lord for the harvest and it looked forward to the coming of the Holy Spirit and the formation of the Church.

DISCUSS/CONSIDER

  1. Discuss the historical aspect of the Passover – a time to look back on the redemption of the firstborn and the reception of the nation out of Egypt. Discuss this in light of the eschatological (future) aspect of the Passover.

  2. In the historical aspect, the Feast of Unleavened Bread looks back on the separation of Israel from the evil and pagan ways of Egypt. How can New Testament believers remain mindful of the need to separate ourselves from sin and unto the Lord?

  3. The Feast of First Fruits looked forward to the resurrection of Christ, who would rise on the first day of the week. The Lord’s resurrection foreshadows the harvest to come at the rapture. Why is it important that we as believers have this hope of resurrection? See 1 Corinthians 15:20-23.

CHALLENGE

  1. The Children of Israel were not to forget the poor and needy when God blessed them with an abundant harvest. So we should not forget to share with the poor and needy out of the abundance God has given us.

KEY VERSES

  • “These are the feasts of the Lord, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at their appointed times.” Leviticus 23:4

  • “It shall be a statute forever in all your dwellings throughout your generations.” Leviticus 23:21

Ron ReidLEVITICUS 23:1-22