Reference: Feasts
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God appointed several festivals, or days of rest and worship, among the Jews, to perpetuate the memory of great events wrought in favor of them: the Sabbath commemorated the creation of the world; the Passover, the departure out of Egypt; the Pentecost, the law given at Sinai, etc. At the three great feasts of the year, the Passover, Pentecost, and that of Tabernacles, all the males of the nation were required to visit the temple, Ex 23:14-17; De 16:16-17; and to protect their borders from invasion during their absence, the shield of a special providence was always interposed, Ex 34:23-24. The other festivals were the Feast of Trumpets, or New Moon, Purim, Dedication, the Sabbath year, and the year of Jubilee. These are described elsewhere. The observance of these sacred festivals was adapted not merely to freshen the remembrance of their early history as a nation, but to keep alive the influence of religion and the expectation of the Messiah, to deepen their joy in God, to dispel animosities and jealousies, and to form new associations between the different tribes and families. See also Day of EXPIATION.
In the Christian church, we have no festival that clearly appears to have been instituted by our Savior, or his apostles; but as we commemorate his death as often as we celebrate his supper, he has hereby seemed to institute a perpetual feast. Christians have always celebrated the memory of his resurrection by regarding the Sabbath, which we see, from Re 1:10, was in John's time commonly called "the Lord's day." Feasts of love, Jude 1:12, were public banquets of a frugal kind, instituted by the primitive Christians, and connected by them with the celebration of the Lord's supper. The provisions were contributed by the more wealthy, and were common to all Christians, whether rich or poor, who chose to partake. Portions were also sent to the sick and absent members. These love-feasts were intended as an exhibition of mutual Christian affection; but they became subject to abuses, and were afterwards generally discontinued, 1Co 11:17-34.
The Hebrews were a hospitable people, and were wont to welcome their guests with a feast, and dismiss them with another, Ge 19:3; 31:27; Jg 6:19; 2Sa 3:20; 2Ki 6:23. The returning prodigal was thus welcomed, Lu 15:23. Many joyful domestic events were observed with feasting: birthdays, etc., Ge 21:8; 40:20; Job 1:4; Mt 14:6; marriages, Ge 29:22; Jg 14:10; Joh 2:1-10; sheep shearing and harvesting, Jg 9:27; 1Sa 25:2,36; 2Sa 13:23. A feast was also provided at funerals, 2Sa 3:35; Jer 16:7. Those who brought sacrifices and offerings to the temple were wont to feast upon them there, with joy and praise to God, De 12:6-7; 1Sa 16:5; 2Sa 6:19. They were taught to invite all the needy to partake with them, De 16:11; and even to make special feasts for the poor, De 12:17-19; 14:28; 26:12-15; a custom which the Savior specially commended, Lu 14:12-14.
The manner of holding a feast was anciently marked with great simplicity. But at the time of Christ many Roman customs had been introduced. The feast or "supper" usually took place at five or six in the afternoon, and often continued to a late hour. The guests were invited some time in advance; and those who accepted the invitation were again notified by servants when the hour arrived, Mt 22:4-8; Lu 14:16-24. The door was guarded against uninvited persons; and was at length closed for the day by the hand of the master of the house, Mt 25:10; Lu 13:24. Sometimes very large numbers were present, Es 1:3,5; Lu 14:16-24; and on such occasions a "governor of the feast" was appointed, whose social qualities, tact, firmness, and temperance fitted him to preside, Joh 2:8. The guests were arranged with a careful regard to their claims to honor, Ge 43:33; 1Sa 9:22; Pr 25:6-7; Mt 23:6; Lu 14:7; in which matter the laws of etiquette are still jealously enforced in the East. Sometimes the host provided light, rich, loose robes for the company; and if so, the refusing to wear one was a gross insult, Ec 9:8; Mt 22:11; Re 3:4-5. The guests reclined around the tables; water and perfumes were served to them, Mr 7:2; Lu 7:44-46; and after eating, the hands were again washed, a servant pouring water over them. During the repast and after it various entertainments were provided; enigmas were proposed, Jg 14:12; eastern tales were told; music and hired dancers, and often excessive drinking, etc., occupied the time, Isa 5:12; 24:7-9; Am 6:5. See EATING, FOOD.
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And he urged them greatly. And they turned in to him, and entered into his house. And he made a feast for them, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.
And the child grew, and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned.
And Laban gathered together all the men of the place, and made a feast.
Why did thou flee secretly, and creep away from me, and did not tell me, that I might have sent thee away with mirth and with songs, with tambourine and with harp,
And it came to pass the third day, which was Pharaoh's birthday, that he made a feast to all his servants. And he lifted up the head of the chief butler and the head of the chief baker among his servants.
And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright, and the youngest according to his youth. And the men marveled one with another.
Three times thou shall keep a feast to me in the year. Thou shall keep the feast of unleavened bread (Seven days thou shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded thee, at the time appointed in the month Abib, for in it thou came out from Egypt, and none shall appear before me empty), read more. and the feast of harvest, the first-fruits of thy labors, which thou sow in the field, and the feast of ingathering at the end of the year, when thou gather in thy labors out of the field. Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before lord LORD.
Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before lord LORD, the God of Israel. For I will cast out nations before thee, and enlarge thy borders. Neither shall any man desire thy land, when thou go up to appear before LORD thy God three times in the year.
And there ye shall bring your burnt-offerings, and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and the heave-offering of your hand, and your vows, and your freewill-offerings, and the firstlings of your herd and of your flock. And there ye shall eat before LORD your God, and ye shall rejoice in all that ye put your hand to, ye and your households, in which LORD thy God has blessed thee.
Thou may not eat within thy gates the tithe of thy grain, or of thy new wine, or of thine oil, or the firstlings of thy herd or of thy flock, nor any of thy vows which thou vow, nor thy freewill-offerings, nor the heave-offering of But thou shall eat them before LORD thy God in the place which LORD thy God shall choose, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy man-servant, and thy maid-servant, and the Levite who is within thy gates. And thou shall rejoic read more. Take heed to thyself that thou not forsake the Levite as long as thou live in thy land.
At the end of every three years thou shall bring forth all the tithe of thine increase in the same year, and shall lay it up within thy gates.
And thou shall rejoice before LORD thy God, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy man-servant, and thy maid-servant, and the Levite who is within thy gates, and the sojourner, and the fatherless, and the widow, who are in th
Three times in a year all thy males shall appear before LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose: in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles. And they shall not appear before Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of LORD thy God which he has given thee.
When thou have made an end of tithing all the tithe of thine increase in the third year, which is the year of tithing, then thou shall give it to the Levite, to the sojourner, to the fatherless, and to the widow, that they may eat And thou shall say before LORD thy God, I have put away the hallowed things out of my house, and also have given them to the Levite, and to the sojourner, to the fatherless, and to the widow, according to all thy commandment which read more. I have not eaten of it in my mourning, neither have I put away from it, being unclean, nor given of it for the dead. I have hearkened to the voice of LORD my God. I have done according to all that thou have commanded me. Look down from thy holy habitation, from heaven, and bless thy people Israel, and the ground which thou have given us, as thou swore to our fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey.
And Gideon went in, and made ready a kid, and unleavened cakes of an ephah of meal. He put the flesh in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out to him under the oak, and presented it.
And they went out into the field, and gathered their vineyards, and trod [the grapes], and held festival, and went into the house of their god, and ate and drank, and cursed Abimelech.
And his father went down to the woman, and Samson made a feast there, for so the young men used to do.
And Samson said to them, Let me now put forth a riddle to you. If ye can declare it to me within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty changes of raiment,
And all the people came to cause David to eat bread while it was yet day, but David swore, saying, God do so to me, and more also, if I taste bread, or anything else, till the sun is down.
in the third year of his reign, he made a feast to all his rulers and his servants, the power of Persia and Media, the ranking men and rulers of the provinces, being before him
And when these days were fulfilled, the king made a feast to all the people who were present in Shushan the palace, both great and small, seven days, in the court of the garden of the king's palace.
And his sons went and held a feast in the house of each one upon his day, and they sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them.
Put not thyself forward in the presence of the king, and stand not in the place of great men. For it is better that it be said to thee, Come up here, than that thou should be put lower in the presence of the prince, whom thine eyes have seen.
Let thy garments be always white, and let not thy head lack oil.
And the harp and the lute, the tambourine and the pipe, and wine, are [in] their feasts, but they do not regard the work of LORD, nor have they considered the operation of his hands.
The new wine mourns. The vine languishes. All the merry-hearted do sigh. The mirth of tambourine ceases. The noise of those who rejoice ends. The joy of the harp ceases. read more. They shall not drink wine with a song. Strong drink shall be bitter to those who drink it.
nor shall men break [bread] for them in mourning, to comfort them for the dead, nor shall men give them the cup of consolation to drink for their father or for their mother.
who sing idle songs to the sound of the viol, who invent for themselves instruments of music, like David,
But Herod's birthday being brought, the daughter of Herodias danced in the midst, and pleased Herod.
Again he sent forth other bondmen, saying, Speak to those who were invited, Behold, I have prepared my dinner. My oxen and my fatlings have been killed, and all things are ready. Come to the wedding festivities. But having disregarded, they departed, one to his own farm, another to his merchandise, read more. and the others having seized his bondmen, abused and killed them. But having heard that, the king was angry, and having sent forth his armies, he destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. Then he says to his bondmen, The wedding is indeed ready, but those who were invited were not worthy.
But when the king came in to see those who were dining, he saw there a man who was not clothed with a wedding garment.
And they love the chief place at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues,
And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came. And the prepared entered in with him for the wedding festivities, and the door was shut.
And having seen some of his disciples eating their loaves with profane hands, that is, unwashed, they accused them.
And having turned to the woman, he said to Simon, See thou this woman? I entered into thy house; thou gave no water for my feet. But this woman has wet my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. Thou gave me no kiss, but this woman, since I came in, has not ceased kissing my feet much. read more. Thou did not anoint my head with olive oil, but this woman has anointed my feet with ointment.
Compete to enter in by the narrow gate, because many, I say to you, will seek to enter in, and will not be able.
And he spoke a parable to those who were invited when he noticed how they chose out the chief places, saying to them,
And he also said to the man who invited him, When thou make a dinner or a supper, do not call thy friends, nor thy brothers, nor thy kinsmen, nor prosperous neighbors, lest they also invite thee in return, and a recompense be made But when thou make a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind, read more. and thou will be blessed, because they do not have to recompense thee, for it will be recompensed to thee at the resurrection of the righteous.
And he said to him, A certain man made a great supper, and he invited many.
And he said to him, A certain man made a great supper, and he invited many. And he sent forth his bondman at the hour of the meal to say to those who were invited, Come, because all things are now ready.
And he sent forth his bondman at the hour of the meal to say to those who were invited, Come, because all things are now ready. And they all from one began to make excuse. The first said to him, I have bought a field, and I have need to go out and see it. I ask thee have me excused.
And they all from one began to make excuse. The first said to him, I have bought a field, and I have need to go out and see it. I ask thee have me excused. And another said, I bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to test them. I ask thee have me excused.
And another said, I bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to test them. I ask thee have me excused. And another said, I married a wife, and because of this I cannot come.
And another said, I married a wife, and because of this I cannot come. And that bondman, having come, he informed his lord these things. Then the house-ruler having become angry, he said to his bondman, Go out quickly into the thoroughfares and lanes of the city, and bring here the poor and maimed and
And that bondman, having come, he informed his lord these things. Then the house-ruler having become angry, he said to his bondman, Go out quickly into the thoroughfares and lanes of the city, and bring here the poor and maimed and And the bondman said, Lord, as thou commanded it has happened, and yet there is room.
And the bondman said, Lord, as thou commanded it has happened, and yet there is room. And the lord said to the bondman, Go out into the roads and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.
And the lord said to the bondman, Go out into the roads and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. For I say to you, that none of those men who were invited will taste of my supper. For many are called, but few chosen.
For I say to you, that none of those men who were invited will taste of my supper. For many are called, but few chosen.
And having brought the fatted calf, kill it, and having eaten, we will be cheerful,
And the third day a wedding occurred in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. And Jesus also was invited, and his disciples, to the wedding. read more. And having lacked wine the mother of Jesus says to him, They have no wine. And Jesus says to her, What is with me and with thee, woman? My hour is not yet here. His mother says to the helpers, Whatever he may say to you, do. Now there were six stone water pots laying there in accordance with the purification of the Jews, containing two or three measures each. Jesus says to them, Fill the water pots with water. And they filled them until over. And he says to them, Draw out now, and carry to the feast-ruler. And they carried.
And he says to them, Draw out now, and carry to the feast-ruler. And they carried. And when the feast-ruler tasted the water that became wine, and had not known from where it was (but the helpers who drew the water had known), the feast-ruler called the bridegroom, read more. and says to him, Every man sets out the good wine first, and when they drank much, then the lesser. Thou have kept the good wine until now.
Now in this that is commanded, I do not praise you, because ye do not assemble for the better but for the worse. For indeed first, when ye come together in a congregation, I hear divisions are present among you, and I partly believe it. read more. For there must also be factions among you, so that the genuine may become apparent among you. When therefore ye come together in the same place, it is not to eat the Lord's supper. For each man proceeds to eat his own meal, and one is hungry and another is drunken. For have ye no houses to eat and to drink in? Or do ye disparage the church of God, and humiliate those not having? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this? I do not praise you. For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which he was betrayed took bread, and having expressed thanks, he broke in pieces, and said, Take ye, eat, this is my body broken for you. This do ye for my memorial. Likewise also the cup after the supper, saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood. This do, as often as ye drink it, for my memorial. For as often as ye eat this bread and drink this cup, ye proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. Therefore whoever may eat this bread or drink the cup of the Lord unworthily of the Lord, will be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and let him so eat of the bread, and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks unworthily, eats and drinks condemnation to himself, not discerning the body of the Lord. Because of this many are weak and sickly among you, and a considerable sleep. But if we were discerning ourselves we would not be judged. But when we are judged by Lord, we are chastened so that we may not be condemned with the world. Therefore, my brothers, when ye come together to eat, await each other. And if any man is hungry, let him eat at home so that ye may not come together for condemnation. And the rest I will set in order as soon as I come.
These are reefs in your love-feasts, feasting together, fearlessly tending to themselves, waterless clouds carried along by winds, autumn trees without fruit, who died twice having being uprooted,
I became in spirit on the Lord's day and I heard behind me a great voice like a trumpet
But thou have a few names in Sardis who did not defile their garments. And they will walk with me in white, because they are worthy. He who overcomes, this man will be clothed in white garments, and I will, no, not erase his name out of the book of life. And I will acknowledge his name before my Father, and before his agents.
Fausets
Hag (from a root, "to dance") is the Hebrew applied to the Passover, and still more to the feast of tabernacles, as both were celebrated with rejoicings and participation of food (Ex 12:14; Le 23:39; Nu 29:12; De 16:22). But moed is the general term for all sacred assemblies convoked on stated anniversaries; God's people by His appointment meeting before Him in brotherly fellowship for worship. Their communion was primarily with God, then with one another. These national feasts tended to join all in one brotherhood. Hence, arose Jeroboam's measures to counteract the effect on his people (1Ki 12:26-27). Hezekiah made the revival of the national Passover a primary step in his efforts for a reformation (2Ch 30:1). The Roman government felt the feast a time when especial danger of rebellion existed (Mt 26:5; Lu 13:1).
The "congregations," "calling of assemblies," "solemn meetings" (Isa 1:13; Ps 81:3), both on the convocation days of the three great feasts, passover, Pentecost, and tabernacles, and also on the sabbaths, imply assemblies for worship, the forerunners of the synagogue (compare 2Ki 4:23). The septenary number prevails in the great feasts. Pentecost was seven weeks (sevens) after Passover; passover and the feast of tabernacles lasted seven days each; the days of holy convocation were seven in the year, two at Passover, one at pentecost, one at the feast of trumpets, one on the day of atonement (the first day or new moon of the seventh month), and two at the feast of tabernacles. The last two solemn days were in the seventh month, and the cycle of feasts is seven months, from Nisan to Tisri. There was also the sabbatical year, and the year of Jubilee.
The continued observance of the three feasts commemorative of the great facts of Israelite history make it incredible that the belief of those facts could have been introduced at any period subsequent to the supposed time of their occurrence if they never took place. The day, the month, and every incident of Israel's deliverance out of Egypt are embalmed in the anniversary passover. On the three great feasts each Israelite was bound to "appear before the Lord," i.e., attend in the court of the tabernacle or temple and make his offering with gladness (Leviticus 23; De 27:7). Pious women often went up to the Passover: as Lu 2:41, Mary; 1Sa 1:7; 2:19, Hannah. Those men who might happen to be unable to attend at the proper time kept the feast the same day in the succeeding month (Nu 9:10-11). On the days of holy convocation all ordinary work was suspended (Le 23:21-35). The three great feasts had a threefold bearing.
I. They marked the three points of time as to the fruits of the earth.
II. They marked three epochs in Israel's past history.
III. They pointed prophetically to three grand antitypical events of the gospel kingdom.
I. They marked the three points of time as to the fruits of the earth.
(I.) At the Passover in spring, in the month Abib, the first green ears of barley were cut, and were a favorite food, prepared as parched grain, but first of all a handful of green ears was presented to the Lord.
(2) Fifty days (as Pentecost means) after Passover came the feast of weeks, i.e. a week of weeks after Passover. The now ripe wheat, before being cut, was sanctified by its firstfruits, namely two loaves of fine flour, being offered to Jehovah.
(3) At the feast of tabernacles, in the end of the common year and the seventh month of the religious year, there was a feast of ingathering when all the fruits of the field had been gathered in. There was no offering of consecration, for the offerings for sanctifying the whole had been presented long before. It was not a consecration of what was begun, but a joyful thanksgiving for what was completed. See for the spiritual lesson Pr 3:9; Ps 118:15.
II. They marked three epochs in Israel's past history. Each of the three marked a step in the HISTORICAL progress of Israel.
(1) The Passover commemorated the deliverance out of Egypt when Jehovah passed over Israel, protecting them from the destroying angel and sparing them, and so achieving for them the first step of independent national life as God's covenant people.
(2) Pentecost marked the giving of the law on Sinai, the second grand era in the history of the elect nation. God solemnly covenanted, "If ye will obey My voice indeed and keep My covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto Me above all people, and ye shall be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation" (Ex 19:5).
(3) All the nation now wanted was a home. The feast of tabernacles commemorates the establishment of God's people in the land of promise, their pleasant and peaceful home, after the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, living in shifting tents. They took boughs of palm and willows of the brook, and made temporary huts of branches and sat under the booths. So in their fixed home and land of rest their enjoyment was enhanced by the thankful and holy remembrance of past wanderings without a fixed dwelling. Joshua especially observed this feast after the settlement in Canaan (as incidentally comes out in Ne 8:17).
Solomon (appropriately to his name, which means king of peace) also did so, for his reign was preeminently the period of peaceful possession when every man dwelt under his own vine and figtree (1Ki 4:25); immediately after that the last relic of wilderness life was abolished by the ark being taken from under curtains and deposited in the magnificent temple of stone in the seventh month (2Ch 5:3), the feast of tabernacles was celebrated on the 15th day, and on the 23rd Solomon sent the great congregation away glad in heart for the goodness that the Lord had showed unto David, Solomon, and Israel His people.
The third celebration especially recorded was after the Babylonian captivity, when the Jews were re-established in their home under Ezra and Nehemiah, and all gathered themselves together as one man on the first day of the seventh month, the feast of trumpets. Then followed the reading of the law and renewal of the covenant. Then finding in the law directions as to the feast of tabernacles, they brought branches of olive, pine, myrtle, and palm, and thick trees, and made booths on their roofs and in their courts, and in the courts of God's house, and sat under them with "great gladness" (Nehemiah 8).
III. They pointed prophetically to three grand antitypical events of the gospel kingdom. Prophetically and typically.
(1) The Passover points to the Lord Jesus, the true paschal Lamb sacrificed for us, whose sacrifice brings to us a perpetual feast (1Co 5:7).
(2) Pentecost points to our Whitsuntide (Acts 2) when the Holy Spirit descending on Christ's disciples confirms Christ's covenant of grace in the heart more effectually than the law of Sinai written on stone (2Co 3:3-18).
(3) Two great steps have already been taken toward establishing the kingdom of God. Christ has risen from death as "the firstfruits of them that slept" (1Co 15:20), even as the green ears of barley were offered as firstfruits at Passover. Secondly, the Holy Spirit has not merely once descended but still abides in the church as His temple, giving us a perpetual Whitsun feast, One step more is needed; we have received redemption, also the Holy Spirit; we wait still for our inheritance and abiding home. The feast of tabernacles points on to the antitypical Canaan, the everlasting inheritance, of which the Holy Spirit is the "earnest" (Eph 1:13-14; Heb 4:8-9). The antitypical feast of tabernacles shall be under the antitypical Joshua, Jesus the Captain of our salvation, the antitypical Solomon, the Prince of peace (Isa 9:6; Re 7:9-17).
The zest of the heavenly joy of the palmbearing multitude (antitypical to the palmbearers at the feast of tabernacles), redeemed out of all nations, shall be the remembrance of their tribulations in this wilderness world forever past; for repose is sweetest after toil, and difficulties surmounted add to the delight of triumph. Salvation was the prominent topic at the feast. In later times they used to draw water from the pool of Siloam, repeating from Isaiah 12 "with joy shall ye draw water from the wells of salvation," r
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And this day shall be to you for a memorial, and ye shall keep it a feast to LORD; throughout your generations ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance forever.
Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be my own possession from among all peoples, for all the earth is mine,
And ye shall make proclamation on the selfsame day, there shall be a holy convocation to you. Ye shall do no servile work. It is a statute forever in all your dwellings throughout your generations. And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shall not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shall thou gather the gleaning of thy harvest. Thou shall leave them for the poor man, and for the sojourner. I am LORD your Go read more. And LORD spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, shall be a solemn rest to you, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. Ye shall do no servile work, and ye shall offer an offering made by fire to LORD. And LORD spoke to Moses, saying, However on the tenth day of this seventh month is the day of atonement. It shall be a holy convocation to you, and ye shall afflict your souls, and ye shall offer an offering made by fire to LORD. And ye shall do no manner of work in that same day, for it is a day of atonement, to make atonement for you before LORD your God. For whatever soul it be who shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from his people. And whatever soul it be who does any manner of work in that same day, that soul I will destroy from among his people. Ye shall do no manner of work. It is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. It shall be to you a Sabbath of solemn rest, and ye shall afflict your souls. In the ninth day of the month at evening, from evening to evening, ye shall keep your Sabbath. And LORD spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, On the fifteenth day of this seventh month is the feast of tabernacles for seven days to LORD. On the first day shall be a holy convocation. Ye shall do no servile work.
However on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruits of the land, ye shall keep the feast of LORD seven days. On the first day shall be a solemn rest, and on the eighth day shall be a solemn rest.
Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, If any man of you or of your generations shall be unclean by reason of a dead body, or be on a journey afar off, yet he shall keep the Passover to LORD. In the second month on the fourteenth day at evening they shall keep it. They shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.
And on the fifteenth day of the seventh month ye shall have a holy convocation. Ye shall do no servile work, and ye shall keep a feast to LORD seven days.
And thou shall sacrifice peace-offerings, and shall eat there, and thou shall rejoice before LORD thy God.
And among these nations thou shall find no ease, and there shall be no rest for the sole of thy foot, but LORD will give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and pining of soul.
And Caleb said, He who smites Kiriath-sepher, and takes it, I will give to him Achsah my daughter to wife.
And [as] he did so year by year when she went up to the house of LORD, so she provoked her. Therefore she wept, and did not eat.
Moreover his mother made him a little robe, and brought it to him from year to year when she came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice.
And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon.
And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now the kingdom will return to the house of David. If this people go up to offer sacrifices in the house of LORD at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will turn again to their lord, even to Rehoboam king of Judah. And they will kill me, and return to Rehoboam king of Judah.
And he said, Why will thou go to him today? It is neither new moon nor Sabbath. And she said, It shall be well.
And all the men of Israel assembled themselves to the king at the feast, which was [in] the seventh month.
And Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and wrote letters also to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to the house of LORD at Jerusalem, to keep the Passover to LORD, the God of Israel.
And all the assembly of those who came again out of the captivity made booths, and dwelt in the booths, for since the days of Jeshua the son of Nun to that day the sons of Israel had not done so. And there was very great gladness.
Blow the trumpet at the new moon, at the full moon, on our feast-day.
The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tents of the righteous. The right hand of LORD does valiantly.
The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tents of the righteous. The right hand of LORD does valiantly.
Save now, we beseech thee, O LORD. O LORD, we beseech thee, send now prosperity. Blessed be he who comes in the name of LORD. We have blessed you out of the house of LORD.
Honor LORD with thy substance, and with the first-fruits of all thine increase,
Bring no more vain oblations. Incense is an abomination to me. New moon and Sabbath, the calling of assemblies--I cannot bear iniquity and the solemn meeting.
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given. And the government shall be upon his shoulder. And his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Father of Eternity, Prince of Peace.
And LORD shall be King over all the earth. In that day LORD shall be one, and his name one.
And it shall come to pass, that everyone who is left of all the nations that came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.
For I say to you, ye will, no, not see me henceforth, until ye say, Blessed is he who comes in the name of Lord.
Now some were present at the same time who informed him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate mingled with their sacrifices.
Now the feast of the Jews, the feast of tabernacles, was near. His brothers therefore said to him, Depart from here, and go into Judea so that thy disciples also may see thy works that thou do. read more. For no man does anything in secret, and he himself seeks to be in public. If thou do these things, show thyself to the world. For not even his brothers believed in him. Jesus therefore says to them, My time is not yet here, but your time is always ready. The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify about it, that its works are evil. Go ye up to this feast. I am not yet going to this feast, because my time is not yet fulfilled. And having said these things to them, he remained in Galilee. But when his brothers went up, then he also went up to the feast, not openly, but as in private. The Jews therefore sought him at the feast, and said, Where is that man? And there was much murmuring among the multitudes about him. Some said, He is a good man, others said, No, but he leads the multitude astray. Yet no man spoke openly about him because of fear of the Jews. And when it was now in the middle of the feast, Jesus went up into the temple and taught. The Jews therefore marveled, saying, How does this man know scholarly material, not having learned? Jesus therefore answered them and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his who sent me. If any man wants to do his will, he will know about the doctrine, whether it is from God, or I speak from myself. He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory, but he who seeks the glory of him who sent him, this man is true, and unrighteousness is not in him. Did not Moses give you the law, and none of you does the law? Why do ye seek to kill me? The multitude answered and said, Thou have a demon. Who seeks to kill thee? Jesus answered and said to them, I did one work, and ye all marvel because of this. Moses has given you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and ye circumcise a man on a Sabbath. If a man receives circumcision on a Sabbath, so that the law of Moses may not be loosed, are ye angry with me because I made a man entirely well on a Sabbath? Judge not according to appearance, but judge righteous judgment. Therefore some of the Jerusalemites said, Is not this he whom they seek to kill? And lo, he speaks in public, and they say nothing to him. Perhaps the rulers really know that this really is the Christ? However we know this man, where he is from, but when the Christ comes, no man knows where he is from. Jesus therefore cried out in the temple, teaching and saying, Ye both know me, and know where I am from? And I have not come of myself, but he who sent me is true, whom ye know not. I know him, because I am from him, and he sent me. They sought therefore to seize him, and yet no man laid a hand on him because his hour had not yet come. But many from the crowd believed in him, and they said, When the Christ comes, will he do more signs than these that this man did? The Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring these things about him, and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent subordinates so that they might take him. Jesus therefore said, Yet a little time I am with you, and then I go to him who sent me. Ye will seek me, and will not find me, and where I am, ye cannot come. The Jews therefore said among themselves, Where is this man going to go that we will not find him? Is he going to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks? What is this word that he said, Ye will seek me, and will not find me, and, Where I am, ye cannot come? Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus had stood and cried out, saying, If any man thirsts, let him come to me and drink.
But he spoke this about the Spirit that those who believe in him were going to receive, for Holy Spirit was not yet, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
And they sold properties and possessions, and divided them to all, according as any man had need. And continuing steadfastly, daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they partook of nourishment in gladness and evenness of heart,
and placed them at the apostles' feet. And it was distributed to each, according as any man had need.
Now in those days, the disciples being multiplied, there developed a murmuring of the Hellenists against the Hebrews because their widows were neglected in the daily assistance.
Purge out the old leaven, so that ye may be a new lump, since ye are unleavened. For also Christ our Passover was sacrificed for us.
But now Christ has been raised from the dead. He became the first fruit of those who are asleep.
being seen that ye are a letter of Christ, administered by us, written not in ink, but in the Spirit of the living God, not in stony tablets, but in fleshly tablets, in hearts. And we have such confidence toward God through Christ, read more. not that we are sufficient of ourselves to reckon anything as from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, who also made us qualified helpers of a new covenant, not of a document, but of a spirit, for the document kills but the spirit makes alive. But if the administration of death in writings engraved on stones occurred in glory, so that the sons of Israel could not gaze upon the face of Moses because of the fading glory of his countenance, how will the administration of the spirit not be more in glory? For if the administration of condemnation has glory, the administration of righteousness excels much more in glory. For also that which has been glorified, has not been glorified in this regard, because of the glory that transcends. For if that which is abolished was through glory, much more that which remains is in glory. Having therefore such a hope we use great boldness, and are not as Moses. He put a veil over his face in order for the sons of Israel not to gaze on the end of the fading. But their minds were hardened, for to this day the same veil remains at the reading of the old testament, not being uncovered, which thing is abolished in Christ. But to this day when Moses is read, a veil lays upon their heart. But whenever it turns to Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face seeing by reflection the glory of Lord, are transformed into the same likeness from glory to glory, just as from the Spirit of Lord.
In whom ye also, having heard the word of the truth, the good-news of your salvation, in whom also having believed, ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of the promise, which is a pledge of our inheritance for the redemption of the acquired possession, for appreciation of his glory.
For if Joshua had given them rest, he would not have spoken about another day after these things. There remains therefore a Sabbath for the people of God.
so also the Christ, having been offered once in order to take up the sins of many, will appear a second time, independent of sin, to those waiting for him for salvation.
getting back a wage of unrighteousness. Men who consider soft living in the daytime to be pleasure, spots and blemishes reveling in their deceitfulness, feasting together with you,
After these things, I looked and lo, a great multitude, which none could number, out of every nation, and tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palms in their ha and crying out in a great voice, saying, Salvation is in our God who sits upon the throne, and in the Lamb! read more. And all the agents had stood all around the throne, and the elders, and the four beings, and they fell before his throne on their faces, and worshiped God, saying, Truly! Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honor, and power, and strength, is for our God into the ages of the ages. Truly! And one of the elders answered, saying to me, Who are these who are clothed in white robes, and where did they come from? And I said to him, My lord, thou know. And he said to me, These are those coming out of the great tribulation, and they washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Because of this they are before the throne of God, and they serve him day and night in his temple. And he who sits on the throne will dwell among them. They will hunger no more, nor will they thirst any more. The sun will, no, not fall upon them, nor any heat. Because the Lamb in the midst of the throne will tend them, and will lead them to fountains of waters of life. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
Hastings
Introductory.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
for in six days LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore LORD blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.
Six days thou shall do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shall rest, that thine ox and thy donkey may have rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the sojourner, may be refreshed.
Three times thou shall keep a feast to me in the year.
Ye shall keep the Sabbath therefore, for it is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death, for whoever does any work on it, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to LORD. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.
It is a sign between me and the sons of Israel forever. For in six days LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.
Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before lord LORD, the God of Israel.
In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, is LORD's Passover. And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread to LORD. Ye shall eat unleavened bread seven days.
Also in the day of your gladness, and in your set feasts, and in the beginnings of your months, ye shall blow the trumpets over your burnt-offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace-offerings. And they shall be to you for a m
And while the sons of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering sticks upon the Sabbath day. And those who found him gathering sticks brought him to Moses and Aaron, and to all the congregation. read more. And they put him in ward, because it had not been declared what should be done to him. And LORD said to Moses, The man shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall stone him with stones outside the camp. And all the congregation brought him outside the camp, and stoned him to death with stones, as LORD commanded Moses.
And in the beginnings of your months ye shall offer a burnt-offering to LORD: two young bullocks, and one ram, seven he-lambs a year old without blemish, and three tenth parts [of an ephah] of fine flour for a meal-offering, mingled with oil for each bullock, and two tenth parts of fine flour for a meal-offering, mingled with oil for the one ram, read more. and a tenth part of fine flour mingled with oil for a meal-offering to every lamb, for a burnt-offering of a sweet savor, an offering made by fire to LORD. And their drink-offerings shall be half a hin of wine for a bullock, and the third part of a hin for the ram, and the fourth part of a hin for a lamb. This is the burnt-offering of every month throughout the months of the year. And one he-goat for a sin-offering to LORD, it shall be offered besides the continual burnt-offering, and the drink-offering of it. And in the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, is LORD's Passover. And on the fifteenth day of this month shall be a feast; seven days shall unleavened bread be eaten.
but the seventh day is a Sabbath to LORD thy God: thou shall not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thine ox, nor thy donkey, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger tha And thou shall remember that thou were a servant in the land of Egypt, and LORD thy God brought thee out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm, therefore LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the Sabbath day.
Three times in a year all thy males shall appear before LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose: in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles. And they shall not appear before
Thou shall not bring the hire of a harlot, or the wages of a dog, into the house of LORD thy God for any vow, for even both these are an abomination to LORD thy God.
and watch. And, behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in the dances, then come ye out of the vineyards, and catch for you every man his wife from the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin.
Now Hannah, she spoke in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli thought she had been drunken.
And David said to Jonathan, Behold, tomorrow is the new moon, and I should not fail to sit with the king to eat. But let me go that I may hide myself in the field to the third day at evening. If thy father misses me at all, then say, David earnestly asked leave of me that he might run to Bethlehem his city, for it is the yearly sacrifice there for all the family.
Then Jonathan said to him, Tomorrow is the new moon, and thou will be missed because thy seat will be empty.
So David hid himself in the field. And when the new moon came, the king sat down to eat food.
And he said, Why will thou go to him today? It is neither new moon nor Sabbath. And she said, It shall be well.
And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest the scribe, and the Levites who taught the people, said to all the people, This day is holy to LORD your God; do not mourn nor weep. For all the people wept when they heard th
And we cast lots, the priests, the Levites, and the people, for the wood-offering, to bring it into the house of our God, according to our fathers' houses, at times appointed, year by year, to burn upon the altar of LORD our God, a
In those days I saw in Judah some men treading wine-presses on the Sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and loading donkeys [therewith], as also wine, grapes, and figs, and all manner of burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on t
And I commanded the Levites that they should purify themselves, and that they should come and keep the gates, to sanctify the Sabbath day. Remember to me, O my God, this also, and spare me according to the greatness of thy loving k
and for the wood-offering, at times appointed, and for the first-fruits. Remember me, O my God, for good.
Bring no more vain oblations. Incense is an abomination to me. New moon and Sabbath, the calling of assemblies--I cannot bear iniquity and the solemn meeting.
Blessed is the man who does this, and the son of man who holds it fast, who keeps the Sabbath from profaning it, and keeps his hand from doing any evil.
Also the foreigners who join themselves to LORD, to minister to him, and to love the name of LORD, to be his servants, everyone who keeps the Sabbath from profaning it, and holds fast my covenant,
If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, [and] the holy of LORD honorable, and shall honor it, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, no
And say to them, Hear ye the word of LORD, ye kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, who enter in by these gates. Thus says LORD: Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the Sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem. read more. Neither carry forth a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath day, nor do ye any work. But hallow ye the Sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers. But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but made their neck stiff, that they might not hear, and might not receive instruction. And it shall come to pass, if ye diligently hearken to me, says LORD, to bring in no burden through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, but to hallow the Sabbath day, to do no work in it,
Moreover I also gave them my Sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am LORD who sanctifies them. But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness. They did not walk in my statutes, and they rejected my ordinances, which if a man keeps, he shall live in them. And they greatly profaned my Sabbaths. Then I said I wou
because they rejected my ordinances, and did not walk in my statutes, and profaned my Sabbaths, for their heart went after their idols.
and hallow my Sabbaths, and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am LORD your God.
I will also cause all her mirth to cease, her feasts, her new moons, and her Sabbaths, and all her solemn assemblies.
those who pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, and turn aside the way of the meek. And a man and his father go to the [same] maiden, to profane my holy name.
saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell grain? And the Sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and dealing falsely with balances of deceit,
saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell grain? And the Sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and dealing falsely with balances of deceit,
And on the first day of unleavened bread, when they killed the Passover, his disciples say to him, Where do thou want, after going, we should prepare that thou may eat the Passover?
Morish
The feasts of Jehovah, as instituted under the law as given by Moses, partake more of the character of commemorations, or assemblies of the congregation to celebrate special dealings of the Lord, and consequently special seasons in the history of His people, being called 'holy convocations.' A list of the yearly feasts is given in Lev. 23. The first mentioned is the Sabbath, and if this is counted as one, by considering the Passover and the feast of unleavened bread as one there are seven in all
See Verses Found in Dictionary
Three times thou shall keep a feast to me in the year. Thou shall keep the feast of unleavened bread (Seven days thou shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded thee, at the time appointed in the month Abib, for in it thou came out from Egypt, and none shall appear before me empty), read more. and the feast of harvest, the first-fruits of thy labors, which thou sow in the field, and the feast of ingathering at the end of the year, when thou gather in thy labors out of the field. Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before lord LORD.
In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, is LORD's Passover. And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread to LORD. Ye shall eat unleavened bread seven days. read more. In the first day ye shall have a holy convocation. Ye shall do no servile work. But ye shall offer an offering made by fire to LORD seven days. In the seventh day is a holy convocation, ye shall do no servile work. And LORD spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the sons of Israel, and say to them, When ye have come into the land which I give to you, and shall reap the harvest of it, then ye shall bring the sheaf of the first-fruits of your harvest to the priest. And he shall wave the sheaf before LORD, to be accepted for you. On the morrow after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it. And in the day when ye wave the sheaf, ye shall offer a he-lamb without blemish a year old for a burnt-offering to LORD. And the meal-offering of it shall be two tenth parts [of an ephah] of fine flour mingled with oil, an offering made by fire to LORD for a sweet savor. And the drink-offering of it shall be of wine, the fourth part of a hin. And ye shall eat neither bread, nor parched grain, nor fresh ears, until this selfsame day, until ye have brought the oblation of your God. It is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. And ye shall count to you from the morrow after the Sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave-offering, there shall be complete seven Sabbaths. Ye shall number fifty days, even to the morrow after the seventh Sabbath, and ye shall offer a new meal-offering to LORD. Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave-loaves of two tenth parts [of an ephah]. They shall be of fine flour. They shall be baked with leaven, for first-fruits to LORD. And ye shall present with the bread seven lambs without blemish a year old, and one young bullock, and two rams. They shall be a burnt-offering to LORD, with their meal-offering, and their drink-offerings, even an offering made by And ye shall offer one he-goat for a sin-offering, and two he-lambs a year old for a sacrifice of peace-offerings. And the priest shall wave them with the bread of the first-fruits for a wave-offering before LORD, with the two lambs. They shall be holy to LORD for the priest. And ye shall make proclamation on the selfsame day, there shall be a holy convocation to you. Ye shall do no servile work. It is a statute forever in all your dwellings throughout your generations. And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shall not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shall thou gather the gleaning of thy harvest. Thou shall leave them for the poor man, and for the sojourner. I am LORD your Go And LORD spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, shall be a solemn rest to you, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. Ye shall do no servile work, and ye shall offer an offering made by fire to LORD. And LORD spoke to Moses, saying, However on the tenth day of this seventh month is the day of atonement. It shall be a holy convocation to you, and ye shall afflict your souls, and ye shall offer an offering made by fire to LORD. And ye shall do no manner of work in that same day, for it is a day of atonement, to make atonement for you before LORD your God. For whatever soul it be who shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from his people. And whatever soul it be who does any manner of work in that same day, that soul I will destroy from among his people. Ye shall do no manner of work. It is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. It shall be to you a Sabbath of solemn rest, and ye shall afflict your souls. In the ninth day of the month at evening, from evening to evening, ye shall keep your Sabbath. And LORD spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, On the fifteenth day of this seventh month is the feast of tabernacles for seven days to LORD. On the first day shall be a holy convocation. Ye shall do no servile work. Seven days ye shall offer an offering made by fire to LORD. On the eighth day shall be a holy convocation to you, and ye shall offer an offering made by fire to LORD. It is a solemn assembly; ye shall do no servile work. These are the set feasts of LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire to LORD, a burnt-offering, and a meal-offering, a sacrifice, and drink-offerings, each on its own day. Besides the Sabbaths of LORD, and besides your gifts, and besides all your vows, and besides all your freewill-offerings, which ye give to LORD. However on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruits of the land, ye shall keep the feast of LORD seven days. On the first day shall be a solemn rest, and on the eighth day shall be a solemn rest. And ye shall take to you on the first day the fruit of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook, and ye shall rejoice before LORD your God seven days. And ye shall keep it a feast to LORD seven days in the year. It is a statute forever throughout your generations. Ye shall keep it in the seventh month. Ye shall dwell in booths seven days. All who are home-born in Israel shall dwell in booths, that your generations may know that I made the sons of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt. I am LORD your God. And Moses declared to the sons of Israel the set feasts of LORD.
These ye shall offer to LORD in your set feasts, besides your vows, and your freewill-offerings, for your burnt-offerings, and for your meal-offerings, and for your drink-offerings, and for your peace-offerings.
Three times in a year all thy males shall appear before LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose: in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles. And they shall not appear before
for the showbread, and for the continual meal-offering, and for the continual burnt-offering, for the Sabbaths, for the new moons, for the set feasts, and for the holy things, and for the sin-offerings to make atonement for Israel,
to enjoin them that they should keep the fourteenth day of the month Adar, and the fifteenth day of the same, yearly,
Therefore they called these days Purim, after the name of Pur. Therefore because of all the words of this letter, and of that which they had seen concerning this matter, and that which had come to them,
And the feast of the dedication happened at Jerusalem, and it was winter.
Smith
Feasts.
[FESTIVALS; MEALS]
See Festivals
See Meals
Watsons
FEASTS. God appointed several festivals among the Jews.
1. To perpetuate the memory of great events; so, the Sabbath commemorated the creation of the world; the passover, the departure out of Egypt; the pentecost, the law given at Sinai, &c.
2. To keep them under the influence of religion, and by the majesty of that service which he instituted among them, and which abounded in mystical symbols or types of evangelical things, to convey spiritual instruction, and to keep alive the expectation of the Messiah, and his more perfect dispensation.
3. To secure to them certain times of rest and rejoicings.
4. To render them familiar with the law; for, in their religious assemblies, the law of God was read and explained.
5. To renew the acquaintance, correspondence, and friendship of their tribes and families, coming from the several towns in the country, and meeting three times a year in the holy city.
The first and most ancient festival, the Sabbath, or seventh day, commemorated the creation. "The Lord blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it," says Moses, "because that in it he had rested from all his work," Ge 2:3. See SABBATH.
The passover was instituted in memory of the Israelites' departure out of Egypt, and of the favour which God showed his people in sparing their first-born, when he destroyed the first-born of the Egyptians, Ex 12:14, &c. See PASSOVER.
The feast of pentecost was celebrated on the fiftieth day after the passover, in memory of the law being given to Moses on Mount Sinai, fifty days after the departure out of Egypt. They reckoned seven weeks from the passover to pentecost, beginning at the day after the passover. The Hebrews call it the feast of weeks, and the Christians, pentecost, which signifies the fiftieth day.
The feast of trumpets was celebrated on the first day of the civil year; on which the trumpets sounded, proclaiming the beginning of the year, which was in the month Tisri, answering to our September, O. S. We know no religious cause of its establishment. Moses commands it to be observed as a day of rest, and that particular sacrifices should be offered at that time.
The new moons, or first days of every month, were, in some sort, a consequence of the feasts of trumpets. The law did not oblige people to rest upon this day, but ordained only some particular sacrifices. It appears that, on these days, also, the trumpet was sounded, and entertainments were made, 1Sa 20:5-18.
The feast of expiation or atonement was celebrated on the tenth day of Tisri, which was the first day of the civil year. It was instituted for a general expiation of sins, irreverences, and pollutions of all the Israelites, from the high priest to the lowest of the people, committed by them throughout the year, Le 23:27-28; Nu 29:7. See EXPIATION, Day of.
The feast of tents, or tabernacle, on which all Israel were obliged to attend the temple, and to dwell eight days under tents of branches, in memory of their fathers dwelling forty years in tents, as travellers in the wilderness. It was kept on the fifteenth of the month Tisri, the first of the civil year. The first and seventh day of this feast were very solemn. But during the other days of the octave they might work, Le 23:34-35; Nu 29:12-13. At the beginning of the feast, two vessels of silver were carried in a ceremonious manner to the temple, one full of water, the other of wine, which were poured at the foot of the altar of burnt offerings, always on the seventh day of this festival.
Of the three great feasts of the year, the passover, pentecost, and that of the tabernacles, the octave, or seventh day after these feasts, was a day of rest as much as the festival itself; and all the males of the nation were obliged to visit the temple at these three feasts. But the law did not require them to continue there during the whole octave, except in the feast of tabernacles, when they seem obliged to be present for the whole seven days.
Beside these feasts, we find the feast of lots, or purim, instituted on occasion of the deliverance of the Jews from Haman's plot, in the reign of Ahasuerus. See PURIM.
The feast of the dedication of the temple, or rather of the restoration of the temple, which had been profaned by Antiochus Epiphanes, 1 Mac. 4:52, &c, was celebrated in winter, and is supposed to be the feast of dedication mentioned in Joh 10:22. Josephus says, that it was called the feast of lights, probably because this happiness befel them when least expected, and they considered it as a new light risen on them.
In the Christian church, no festival appears to have been expressly instituted by Jesus Christ, or his Apostles. Yet, as we commemorate the passion of Christ as often as we celebrate his Supper, he seems by this to have instituted a perpetual feast. Christians have always celebrated the memory of his resurrection, and observe this feast on every Sunday, which was commonly called the Lord's day, Re 1:10. By inference we may conclude this festival to have been instituted by Apostolic authority.
The birth-day of Christ, commonly called Christmas-day, has been generally observed by his disciples with gratitude and joy. His birth was the greatest blessing ever bestowed on mankind. The angels from heaven celebrated it with a joyful hymn; and every man, who has any feeling of his own lost state without a Redeemer, must rejoice and be glad in it. "Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace, Isa 9:6. For this festival, however, there is no authority in Scripture, nor do we know that it was observed in the age of the Apostles.
On Easter Sunday we celebrate our Saviour's victory over death and hell, when, having on the cross made an atonement for the sin of the world, he rose again from the grave, brought life and immortality to light, and opened to all his faithful servants the way to heaven. On this great event rest all our hopes. "If Christ be not risen," says St. Paul, "then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first-fruits of them that slept," 1Co 15:14,20.
Forty days after his resurrection, our Lord ascended into heaven, in the sight of his disciples. This is celebrated on what is called Ascension-day, or Holy Thursday. Ten days after his ascension, our Lord sent the Holy Spirit to be the comforter and guide of his disciples. This blessing is commemorated on Whit-Sunday, which is a very great festival, and may be profitably observed; for the assistance of the Holy Spirit can alone support us through all temptations, and guide us into all truth.
The pretended success of some in discovering the remains of certain holy men, called "relics," multiplied in the fourth century of the Christian church the festivals and commemorations of the martyrs in a most extravagant manner. These days, instead of being set apart for pious exercises, were spent in indolence, voluptuousness, and criminal pursuits; and were less consecrated to the service of God, than employed in the indulgence of sinful passions. Many of these festivals were instituted on a Pagan model, and perverted to similar purposes.
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And God blessed the seventh day, and hallowed it, because in it he rested from all his work which God had created and made.
And this day shall be to you for a memorial, and ye shall keep it a feast to LORD; throughout your generations ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance forever.
However on the tenth day of this seventh month is the day of atonement. It shall be a holy convocation to you, and ye shall afflict your souls, and ye shall offer an offering made by fire to LORD. And ye shall do no manner of work in that same day, for it is a day of atonement, to make atonement for you before LORD your God.
Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, On the fifteenth day of this seventh month is the feast of tabernacles for seven days to LORD. On the first day shall be a holy convocation. Ye shall do no servile work.
And on the tenth day of this seventh month ye shall have a holy convocation, and ye shall afflict your souls. Ye shall do no manner of work.
And on the fifteenth day of the seventh month ye shall have a holy convocation. Ye shall do no servile work, and ye shall keep a feast to LORD seven days. And ye shall offer a burnt-offering, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savor to LORD: thirteen young bullocks, two rams, fourteen he-lambs a year old (they shall be without blemish),
And David said to Jonathan, Behold, tomorrow is the new moon, and I should not fail to sit with the king to eat. But let me go that I may hide myself in the field to the third day at evening. If thy father misses me at all, then say, David earnestly asked leave of me that he might run to Bethlehem his city, for it is the yearly sacrifice there for all the family. read more. If he says thus, It is well. Thy servant shall have peace. But if he is angry, then know that evil is determined by him. Therefore deal kindly with thy servant, for thou have brought thy servant into a covenant of LORD with thee. But if there be in me iniquity, kill me thyself, for why should thou bring me to thy father? And Jonathan said, Far be it from thee, for if I should at all know that evil were determined by my father to come upon thee, then would I not tell it to thee? Then David said to Jonathan, Who shall tell me if perchance thy father answers thee roughly? And Jonathan said to David, Come, and let us go out into the field. And they went out both of them into the field. And Jonathan said to David, LORD, the God of Israel, when I have sounded my father about this time tomorrow, [or] the third day, behold, if there be good toward David, shall I not then send to thee, and disclose it to thee? LORD do so to Jonathan, and more also, should it please my father to do thee evil, if I not disclose it to thee, and send thee away that thou may go in peace. And LORD be with thee as he has been with my father. And thou shall not only show me the loving kindness of LORD, while I yet live, that I not die, but also thou shall not cut off thy kindness from my house forever. No, not when LORD has cut off the enemies of David every one from the face of the earth. So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, [saying], And LORD will require it at the hand of David's enemies. And Jonathan caused David to swear again, for the love that he had to him. For he loved him as he loved his own soul. Then Jonathan said to him, Tomorrow is the new moon, and thou will be missed because thy seat will be empty.
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given. And the government shall be upon his shoulder. And his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Father of Eternity, Prince of Peace.
And the feast of the dedication happened at Jerusalem, and it was winter.
And if Christ has not risen, then our preaching is empty, and your faith is also empty.
But now Christ has been raised from the dead. He became the first fruit of those who are asleep.
I became in spirit on the Lord's day and I heard behind me a great voice like a trumpet