Leviticus 23: Feasts of Remembrance
"I CAN'T COME to class tomorrow," Tanya told me. "It's my mother's birthday, and we're going to lay flowers on her grave." A birthday is not a time we normally think of visiting a grave, and we certainly wouldn't miss an entire day of school to do it. Tanya, however, was one of my students in Ukraine, where both birthdays and visits to graves are momentous occasions—times of remembrance. From the flow of the Israelites' year God carved out regular celebrations of remembrance so they would never forget who they were and where they came from.
Warming Up to God
What observances help you most to celebrate your history with the Lord? (They may be ones common to all Christians, such as Christmas and Easter, or your own private remembrances, such as the date of your salvation or baptism.)
Read Leviticus 23. »
Discovering the Word
- What are the various feasts ordained by God?
- There are variations in the feasts, but what features do they have in common?
- Notice the place offerings have in the feasts (vv. 8, 12-13, 16-19, 27, 36-37). Why do you think they included offerings?
- What value would the feasts have in the yearly cycle of life for Israel?
- How would giving common dates of remembrance to all Israel help ensure their observance?
Applying the Word
- What do we gain from regular—even enforced—remembrance of our past?
- What is the value of celebrating what God has done "by the calendar" and not just whenever we feel like it?
- How can you commemorate some particular act of God on your behalf? (Remember these feasts were joyful parties!)
Responding in Prayer
Thank the Lord for his faithfulness to you and to all his people. Ask him to bring to your mind some of his acts for you that you have forgotten.
For Further Study
Knowing God by J. I. Packer