Reference: Feasts
American
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 pressed upon them greatly, and they turned in unto him and entered into his house, and he made them a banquet and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.
And the child grew and was weaned, and Abraham made a great banquet the day that Isaac was weaned.
So Laban gathered together all the men of the place and made a banquet.
Why didst thou flee away secretly and steal away from me and didst 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 banquet unto all his slaves, and he lifted up the head of the chief butler and of the chief baker among his slaves.
And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright and the youngest according to his youth; and the men marvelled one at another.
Three times thou shalt celebrate a feast unto me in the year: Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib, for in it thou didst come out from Egypt; and none shall appear before me empty), read more. And the feast of the harvest of the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field, and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field. Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord GOD.
Three times in the year shall all your males appear before the GOD who is Lord of all, the God of Israel. For I will cast the Gentiles out of thy presence and enlarge thy borders; neither shall anyone covet thy land when thou shalt go up to be seen before the LORD thy God three times a year.
And there ye shall bring your burnt offerings and your sacrifices and your tithes and the offerings of your hand and your vows and your freewill offerings and the firstborn of your cows and of your sheep; and there ye shall eat before the LORD your God, and ye and your households shall rejoice in every work of your hands in which the LORD thy God has blessed thee.
Thou may not eat within thy gates the tithe of thy grain or of thy wine or of thy oil or the firstborn of thy cows or of thy sheep nor any of thy vows which thou hast promised nor thy freewill offerings or the heave offerings of thy hands. But thou must eat them before the LORD thy God in the place which the LORD thy God shall have chosen, thou and thy son and thy daughter and thy manslave and thy maidslave and the Levite that is within thy gates; and thou shalt rejoice before the LORD thy God in all the work of thy hands. read more. Keep thyself that thou not forsake the Levite in all thy days upon thy land.
At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase the same year and shalt lay it up within thy gates.
And thou shalt rejoice before the LORD thy God, thou and thy son and thy daughter and thy manslave and thy maidslave and the Levite that is within thy gates and the stranger and the fatherless and the widow, that are among you, in the place which the LORD thy God has chosen to place his name there.
Three times each year shall all thy males appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose: in the solemn feast of unleavened bread and in the solemn feast of weeks and in the solemn feast of the tabernacles. And they shall not appear before the LORD empty, Each man with the gift of his hand, according to the blessing of the LORD thy God, which he shall have given thee.
When thou hast made an end of tithing all the tithes of thy fruits the third year, which is the year of tithing and hast given it unto the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat within thy gates and be filled; then thou shalt say before the LORD thy God, I have brought the consecrated things out of my house and also have given them unto the Levite and unto the stranger to the fatherless and to the widow, according to all thy commandments which thou hast commanded me; I have not transgressed thy commandments, neither have I forgotten them. read more. I have not eaten thereof in my mourning, neither have I taken out any of it being unclean, nor have I given any of it for the dead; but I have hearkened to the voice of the LORD my God and have done according to all that thou hast commanded me. Look down from the habitation of thy holiness, from heaven, and bless thy people Israel and the land which thou hast given us, as thou didst sware unto our fathers, a land that flows with milk and honey.
And Gideon went in and made ready a kid and unleavened cakes of an ephah of flour; the flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot and brought it out unto him under the oak and presented it.
And they went out into the fields and gathered their vineyards and trod the grapes and made merry and went into the house of their gods and ate and drank and cursed Abimelech.
So his father went down unto the woman; and Samson made a banquet there, for the young men used to do so.
unto whom Samson said, I will now put forth an enigma unto you, which if ye can declare it and discover it to me within the seven days of the banquet, then I will give you thirty sheets and thirty changes of garments.
And when all the people came to cause David to eat food while it was yet day, David swore, saying, So do God to me, and more also if I taste bread or anything else until the sun is down.
In the third year of his reign, he made a banquet unto all his princes and his slaves, having before him the power of Persia and Media, the governors and princes of the provinces, --
And when these days were expired, the king made a banquet unto all the people that were present in Shushan the palace, both unto great and small, for seven days, in the court of the garden of the king's palace.
And his sons went and had banquets in their houses, each one on his day, and sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them.
Do not praise thyself in the presence of the king, and do not stand in the place of great men; for it is better that it be said unto thee, Come up here than that thou should be put lower in the presence of the prince whom thine eyes have seen.
Thy garments shall always be white, and thy head shall never lack ointment.
And the harp and the viol, the tambourine and flutes and wine are in their feasts; but they do not regard the work of the LORD, nor consider the work of his hands.
The new wine is lost; the vine is sick; all those who were merryhearted sigh. The mirth of tambourines ceases; the noise of those that rejoice ends; the joy of the harp ceases. read more. They shall not drink wine with a song; the drink shall be bitter to them that would drink it.
neither shall they break the bread of mourning for them, to comfort themselves for their death; neither shall men give them the cup of consolation to drink for their father or for their mother.
that chant to the sound of the flute and invent to themselves instruments of music, like David;
But when Herod's birthday was kept, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod.
Again, he sent forth other slaves, saying, Tell those who are invited, Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my bulls and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready; come unto the marriage. But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise, read more. and the others took his slaves and entreated them spitefully and slew them. But when the king heard of this, he became angry and sent forth his armies and destroyed those murderers and burned up their city. Then he said to his slaves, The wedding is ready, but those who were called were not worthy.
And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man who did not have on a wedding garment,
and love the first place at feasts and the chief seats in the synagogues
And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and those that were ready went in with him to the marriage, and the door was shut.
who upon seeing some of his disciples eat bread with common, that is to say, with unwashed, hands, they condemned them.
And he turned to the woman and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thy house, thou didst give me no water for my feet; but she has washed my feet with tears and wiped them with the hairs of her head. Thou gavest me no kiss; but this woman since the time I came in has not ceased to kiss my feet. read more. Thou didst not anoint my head with oil; but this woman has anointed my feet with ointment.
Strive to enter in at the narrow gate; for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in and shall not be able.
And observing how they chose the first seats at the table, he put forth a parable to those who were invited, saying unto them,
Then said he also to him that invited him, When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen nor thy rich neighbours, lest they also invite thee again, and a recompense be made thee. But when thou makest a banquet, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind, read more. and thou shalt be blessed, for they cannot recompense thee; for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.
Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper and called many
Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper and called many and sent his slave at supper time to say to those that were called, Come, for all things are now ready.
and sent his slave at supper time to say to those that were called, Come, for all things are now ready. And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a field, and I have need to go and see it; I pray thee have me excused.
And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a field, and I have need to go and see it; I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them; I pray thee have me excused.
And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them; I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.
And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come. So that slave came and showed his lord these things. Then the husband of the house, being angry, said to his slave, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in here the poor and the maimed and the halt and the blind.
So that slave came and showed his lord these things. Then the husband of the house, being angry, said to his slave, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in here the poor and the maimed and the halt and the blind. And the slave said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room.
And the slave said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room. And the lord said unto the slave, Go out into the highways and hedges and compel them to come in that my house may be filled.
And the lord said unto the slave, Go out into the highways and hedges and compel them to come in that my house may be filled. For I say unto you, That none of those men which were called shall taste of my supper.
For I say unto you, That none of those men which were called shall taste of my supper.
and bring here the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and be merry;
And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there, and Jesus and his disciples were also called to the marriage. read more. And being short of wine, the mother of Jesus said unto him, They have no wine. Jesus said unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? My hour is not yet come. His mother said unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it. And there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece. Jesus said unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim. And he said unto them, Draw out now and bear unto the butler. And they bore it.
And he said unto them, Draw out now and bear unto the butler. And they bore it. When the butler had tasted the water that was made wine and knew not where it was from (but the servants who drew the water knew), the butler called the bridegroom read more. and said unto him, Every man at the beginning sets forth the good wine, and when they are well satisfied, then that which is worse; but thou hast kept the good wine until now.
Now in this that I declare unto you I praise you not: that ye come together not for the better, but for the worse. For first of all, when ye come together in the congregation , I hear that there are divisions among you; and I partly believe it. read more. For it is expedient that there also be heresies among you, so that those who are proved may become manifest among you. So that when ye come together in one place, this is not eating the Lord's supper. For in eating, each one takes his own supper first: and one is hungry, and another is drunken. What? Do ye not have houses to eat and to drink in? or do ye despise the congregation of God and shame those that have not? What shall I say to you? shall I praise you in this? I praise you not. For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread; and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you; this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, after he had eaten supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood; do this each time that ye drink, in remembrance of me. For each time that ye eat this bread and drink this cup, ye declare the Lord's death until he comes. Therefore whoever shall eat this bread and drink this cup of the Lord unworthily shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let each man prove himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he that eats and drinks unworthily, eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. For if we would examine ourselves, we should not be judged. But being judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world. Therefore, my brothers, when ye come together to eat, wait for one another. And if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home; that ye not come together unto judgment. And I will set the rest in order when I come.
These are spots in your banquets of charity, feeding themselves without any fear whatsoever: clouds without water, carried to and fro of the winds; trees withered as in fall, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots;
I was in the Spirit in the day of the Lord and heard behind me a great voice as of a trumpet,
Yet thou hast a few persons in Sardis who have not defiled their garments, and they shall walk with me in white, for they are worthy. He that overcomes shall likewise be clothed in white raiment, and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels.
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 unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it as a feast unto the LORD throughout your ages; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance forever.
Now therefore, if ye will give ear to hearken unto my voice and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a special treasure unto me above all peoples; for all the earth is mine.
And ye shall be summoned on that same day; it shall be a holy convocation unto you; ye shall do no servile work: a perpetual statute in all your dwellings throughout your ages. And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not make clean riddance of the corners of thy field when thou reapest, neither shalt thou gather any gleaning of thy harvest; thou shalt leave them for the poor and for the stranger. I AM your God. read more. And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the sons of Israel, saying, In the seventh month in the first day of the month, ye shall have a rest, an alarm for a reminder, and a holy convocation. Ye shall do no servile work therein; but ye shall offer an offering on fire unto the LORD. And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying, But the tenth day of this seventh month shall be the day of reconciliations; it shall be a holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls and offer an offering made on fire unto the LORD. And ye shall do no work in this same day; for it is a day of reconciliations, to reconcile you before the LORD your God. For every person that shall not afflict themselves in that same day, shall be cut off from among his people. And any person that does any work in that same day, the same person will I destroy from among his people. Ye shall do no manner of work; it shall be a perpetual statute throughout your ages in all your dwellings. It shall be unto you a sabbath of sabbaths, and ye shall afflict your souls, beginning in the ninth day of the month in the evening, from evening unto evening, shall ye rest on your sabbath. And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the sons of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles unto the LORD for seven days. The first day shall be a holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.
But in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the LORD seven days; the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall also be a sabbath.
Speak unto the sons of Israel, saying, If any man of you or of your generations should be unclean by reason of a dead body or be on a journey afar off, yet he shall keep the passover unto the LORD. The fourteenth day of the second month, between the two evenings they shall keep it, and eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.
Also 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 unto the LORD seven days;
and thou shalt offer peace offerings and shalt eat there and rejoice before the LORD thy God.
Neither shalt thou find rest among these Gentiles, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest; but there the LORD shall give thee a trembling heart and failing of eyes and sorrow of soul;
And Caleb said, He that smites Kirjathsepher and takes it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter to wife.
And this would happen year by year when she went up to the house of the LORD, so she would provoke her; therefore, she would weep and not eat.
Moreover his mother made him a little coat and brought it to him each year when she came up with her husband to offer the accustomed sacrifice.
And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, each one 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 shall the kingdom return to the house of David if this people go up to sacrifice in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem; for the heart of this people shall turn again unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam, king of Judah, and they shall kill me and go again to Rehoboam, king of Judah.
And he said, Why must thou go to him today? It is neither new moon nor sabbath. And she said, Peace.
Therefore, all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto the king in the solemnity 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 the LORD at Jerusalem, to keep the passover unto the LORD God of Israel.
And all the congregation of those that returned out of the captivity made booths and dwelt in the booths, for since the days of Jeshua, the son of Nun, unto that day, the sons of Israel had not done so. And there was very great joy.
Blow the shofar in the new moon in the time appointed on our solemn feast day.
The voice of singing and saving health is in the tents of the righteous; the right hand of the LORD does valiantly.
The voice of singing and saving health is in the tents of the righteous; the right hand of the LORD does valiantly.
Save now, I beseech thee, O LORD; O LORD, I beseech thee, cause us now to prosper. Blessed be he that comes in the name of the LORD; from the house of the LORD we bless you.
Honour the LORD with thy substance and with the firstfruits of all thine increase:
Bring no more vain oblations; the incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot stand them; iniquity and the solemn meeting.
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government is placed upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called The Wonderful One, The Counsellor, The God, The Mighty One, The Eternal Father, The Prince of Peace.
And the LORD shall be king over all the earth; in that day the LORD shall be one, and his name one.
And 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 the hosts, and to celebrate the feast of the tabernacles.
For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me from now on until ye shall say, Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord.
There were present at the same time some that told him of the Galilaeans whose blood Pilate had mingled with his sacrifices.
Now the feast of the Jews, of the tabernacles, was at hand. His brethren therefore said unto him, Depart from this place and go into Judea that thy disciples also may see the works that thou doest. read more. For no one who seeks to be clearly known does anything in secret. If thou doest these things, show thyself to the world. For not even his brethren believed in him. Then Jesus said unto them, My time is not yet come, but your time is always ready. The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify of it that its works are evil. Go ye up unto this feast; I go not up yet unto this feast, for my time is not yet fulfilled. And having said these things unto them, he abode still in Galilee. But when his brethren were gone up, then he also went up unto the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret. Then the Jews sought him at the feast and said, Where is he? And there was much murmuring among the people concerning him, for some said, He is a good man; others said, No, but he deceives the people. But no one spoke openly of him for fear of the Jews. Now about the midst of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and taught. And the Jews marvelled, saying, How does this man know letters, having never learned? Jesus answered them and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. If anyone desires to do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it is of God or whether I speak of myself. He that speaks of himself seeks his own glory, but he that seeks the glory of him that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him. Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keeps the law? Why do ye go about to kill me? The people answered and said, Thou hast a demon; who goes about to kill thee? Jesus answered and said unto them, I have done one work, and ye all marvel. Moses therefore gave unto you circumcision (not because it is of Moses, but of the fathers), and ye on the sabbath day circumcise a man. If a man on the sabbath day receives circumcision without the law of Moses being broken, are ye angry at me because I have made a man entirely whole on the sabbath day? Judge not according to the appearance, but judge with righteous judgment. Then one of those of Jerusalem said, Is not this he whom they seek to kill? But, behold, he speaks boldly, and they say nothing unto him. Have the rulers truly understood that this is indeed the Christ? But we know where this man is from; but when the Christ comes, no one shall know where he is from. Then Jesus cried out in the temple as he taught, saying, Ye know me, and ye know from where I come, but I have not come of myself, but he that sent me is true, whom ye know not. But I know him, for I am from him, and he has sent me. Then they sought to take him, but no one laid hands on him because his hour was not yet come. And many of the people believed in him and said, When the Christ comes, will he do more signs than these which this man has done? The Pharisees heard the people that murmured such things concerning him, and the princes of the priests and the Pharisees sent officers to take him. Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while I shall be with you, and then I shall go unto him that sent me. Ye shall seek me and shall not find me, and where I shall be, ye shall not be able to come. Then the Jews said among themselves, Where will he go that we shall not find him? Will he go unto the dispersed among the Greeks and teach the Greeks? What manner of saying is this that he said, Ye shall seek me and shall not find me, and where I shall be ye shall not be able to come? In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, If any man thirsts, let him come unto me and drink.
(But this he spoke concerning the Spirit, which those that believe on him should receive, for the Holy Spirit was not yet given because Jesus was not yet glorified.)
and sold their possessions and property and distributed them to everyone, as each one had need. And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food together with gladness and singleness of heart,
and laid them down at the apostles' feet; and distribution was made unto each one according to their need.
And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplying, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, that their widows were neglected in the daily ministry.
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;
But now Christ is risen from the dead and become the firstfruits of those that slept.
Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart. And such trust we have through the Christ towards God: read more. Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God, who also has made us able ministers of the new testament, not of the letter, but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. But if the ministry of death in the letter engraved in stones was glorious, so that the sons of Israel could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance which glory was to fade away, How shall not the ministry of the Spirit be for greater glory? For if the ministry of condemnation had glory, much more shall the ministry of righteousness abound in glory. For even that which was so glorious had no glory in this respect, in comparison with the glory that excels. For if that which fades away was glorious, much more shall that which remains be glorious. Seeing then that we have such hope, we speak with great confidence, And not as Moses, who put a veil over his face, that the sons of Israel could not steadfastly look to the end of that glory which was to fade away: (And thus their senses became hardened, for until this day remains the same veil not uncovered in the reading of the old testament, which veil is taken away in Christ. But even unto this day when Moses is read, the veil is upon their heart. Nevertheless when they convert to the Lord, the veil shall be taken away.) For the Lord is the Spirit, and where that Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. Therefore we all, beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord with uncovered face, are transformed from glory to glory into the same likeness, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.
In whom ye also trusted, hearing the word of truth, the gospel of your saving health; in whom also after ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of the promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance unto the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.
For if Jesus had given them rest, then he would not afterward have spoken of another day. There remains therefore a rest for the people of God.
so also the Christ is offered once to take away the sins of many; and unto those that wait for him without sin he shall appear the second time unto saving health.
receiving the reward of their unrighteousness, as those that count it pleasure to live luxuriously every day. These are spots and blemishes, who eat together with you, while at the same time they revel in their deceit,
After this I saw, and, behold, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations and kindreds and peoples and tongues stood before the throne and before the Lamb clothed with long white robes and palms in their hands and cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation unto him who is seated upon the throne of our God and unto the Lamb. read more. And all the angels stood round about the throne and about the elders and the four animals; and they fell upon their faces before the throne and worshipped God, saying, Amen: The blessing and the glory and the wisdom and the thanksgiving and the honour and the power and the might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen. And one of the elders responded and asked me, Who are these who are arrayed in long white robes? and where did they come from? And I said unto him, lord, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are those who came out of great tribulation and have washed their long robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore, they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple, and he that is seated on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more neither thirst anymore; neither shall the sun be thrust upon them nor any other heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall govern them and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters, and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.
Hastings
Introductory.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
for in six days the LORD made the heavens and earth, the sea, and all that is in them and rested the seventh day; therefore, the LORD blessed the sabbath day and sanctified it.
Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest, that thine ox and thine ass may rest, and the son of thy handmaid and the stranger may be refreshed.
Three times thou shalt celebrate a feast unto me in the year:
Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you; those that defile it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Six days shall work be done; but the seventh, the sabbath of rest, shall be holy to the LORD; whoever does any work in the sabbath day shall surely be put to death.
It is a sign between me and the sons of Israel for ever; for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.
Three times in the year shall all your males appear before the GOD who is Lord of all, the God of Israel.
On the fourteenth of the first month between the two evenings is the LORD's passover. And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the LORD; seven days ye must eat unleavened bread.
Also in the day of your gladness and in your solemn days and in the beginnings of your months, ye shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and over the sacrifices of your peace, that they may be to you for a memorial before your God; I AM your God.
And while the sons of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man that gathered firewood upon the sabbath day. And those that found him gathering firewood brought him unto Moses and Aaron and unto all the congregation. read more. And they put him in ward because it was not declared what should be done to him. And the LORD said unto Moses, The man shall be surely put to death; all the congregation shall stone him with stones outside the camp. Then all the congregation brought him outside the camp and stoned him with stones, and he died, as the LORD commanded Moses.
And in the beginnings of your months ye shall offer a burnt offering unto the LORD: two young bullocks, and one ram, seven lambs of the first year without spot; and three tenth deals of flour mingled with oil, as a present with each bullock; and two tenth deals of flour mingled with oil, as a present with each ram; read more. and a tenth deal of flour mingled with oil in offering as a present with each lamb; a burnt offering of an acceptable savour, a sacrifice on fire unto the LORD. And their drink offerings shall be half a hin of wine with each bullock and the third part of a hin with each ram and a fourth part of a hin with each lamb. This shall be the burnt offering of each month throughout all the months of the year. And one he goat as the sin shall be offered unto the LORD, besides the continual burnt offering and its drink offering. But on the fourteenth of the first month shall be the passover of the LORD. And in the fifteenth day of this month is the feast; seven days shall unleavened bread be eaten.
but the seventh day is the sabbath unto the LORD thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work, thou nor thy son nor thy daughter nor thy manslave nor thy maidslave nor thine ox nor thine ass nor any animal of thine nor thy stranger that is within thy gates, that thy manslave and thy maidslave may rest as well as thou. And remember that thou wast a slave in the land of Egypt and that the LORD thy God brought thee out of there with a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore, the LORD thy God has commanded thee to keep the sabbath day.
Three times each year shall all thy males appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose: in the solemn feast of unleavened bread and in the solemn feast of weeks and in the solemn feast of the tabernacles. And they shall not appear before the LORD empty,
Thou shalt not bring the hire of a whore, or the price of a dog, into the house of the LORD thy God for any vow; for even both these are abomination unto the LORD thy God.
and watch with care, and when you see the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in dances, then come out of the vineyards, and each one of you shall rapture a wife of the daughters of Shiloh and go to the land of Benjamin.
Now Hannah spoke in her heart and only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard; therefore, Eli thought she was drunk.
And David replied unto Jonathan, Behold, tomorrow is the new moon, and I should not fail to sit with the king at food, but thou shalt let me go and hide myself in the field until the evening of the third day. If thy father at all misses me, then say, David earnestly asked leave of me that he might run to Bethlehem, his city, for all those of his lineage have an anniversary sacrifice.
Then Jonathan said to David, Tomorrow is the new moon, and thou shalt be missed because thy seat will be empty.
So David hid himself in the field, and when the new moon was come, the king sat down to eat bread.
And he said, Why must thou go to him today? It is neither new moon nor sabbath. And she said, Peace.
And Nehemiah, the Tirshatha, and Ezra, the priest and scribe, and the Levites that caused the people to be attentive, said unto all the people, This day is holy unto the LORD your God; do not mourn nor weep. For all the people wept when they heard the words of the law.
And we cast the lots among the priests, the Levites, and the people, regarding the wood offering, to bring it into the house of our God, according to the houses of our fathers, at times appointed year by year, to burn upon the altar of the LORD our God, as it is written in the law.
In those days I saw in Judah some treading wine presses on the sabbath and bringing in sheaves and lading asses with wine, grapes, figs, and all manner of burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the sabbath day; and I protested unto them the day in which they sold the food.
And I told the Levites that they should cleanse themselves and that they should come and guard the gates, to sanctify the sabbath day. Remember me, O my God, concerning this also, and spare me according to the greatness of thy mercy.
and for the wood offering, at the appointed times, and for the firstfruits. Remember me, O my God, for good.
Bring no more vain oblations; the incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot stand them; iniquity and the solemn meeting.
Blessed is the man that does this, and the son of man that lays hold on it; that keeps from polluting the sabbath, and keeps his hand from doing any evil.
Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the LORD, to serve him, and that love the name of the LORD, to be his slaves, every one that keeps from polluting the sabbath, and takes hold of my covenant;
If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy will on my holy day; and call the sabbath the delightful, holy, glorious day of the LORD; and shalt honour him by not doing thine own ways, nor seeking thine own will, nor speaking thine own words:
and say unto them, Hear ye the word of the LORD, ye kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, that enter in by these gates: Thus hath the LORD said: Take heed for your lives, and bring no burden on the sabbath day to bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem; read more. neither carry forth a burden out of your houses on the sabbath day, neither do any work, but sanctify the sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers, who did not hear, nor inclined their ear, but made their neck stiff, that they might not hear, nor receive correction. And it shall come to pass, if ye diligently hearken unto me, saith the LORD, to bring in no burden through the gates of this city on the sabbath day but sanctify the sabbath day to do no work therein,
And I also gave them my sabbaths to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD that sanctifies them. But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness: they did not walk in my statutes, and they despised my rights, by which the man that does them shall live by them; and my sabbaths they greatly polluted; therefore I said, I would pour out my fury upon them in the wilderness to consume them.
because they despised my rights and did not walk in my statutes but polluted 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 the LORD your God.
I will also cause all her mirth to cease, her feast, her new moon, and her sabbath, and all her festivities.
desiring that there be dust of the earth upon the head of the poor, and to twist the way of the humble: and the man and his father have gone in unto the same maid, profaning my holy name:
saying, When the month is over, we will sell the wheat; and after the sabbath day we will open the storehouse of bread, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit;
saying, When the month is over, we will sell the wheat; and after the sabbath day we will open the storehouse of bread, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit;
And the first day of the feast of unleavened bread, when they sacrificed the passover, his disciples said unto him, Where wilt thou that we go and 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 shalt celebrate a feast unto me in the year: Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib, for in it thou didst come out from Egypt; and none shall appear before me empty), read more. And the feast of the harvest of the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field, and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field. Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord GOD.
On the fourteenth of the first month between the two evenings is the LORD's passover. And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the LORD; seven days ye must eat unleavened bread. read more. The first day ye shall have a holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work therein. And ye shall offer an offering on fire unto the LORD seven days; the seventh day shall be a holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work therein. And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the sons of Israel and say unto them, When ye have entered into the land which I give unto you and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest; and he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD that ye shall be accepted; on the day after the sabbath the priest shall wave it. And ye shall offer that day when ye wave the sheaf a he lamb without blemish of the first year for a burnt offering unto the LORD. And the present thereof shall be two-tenth deals of fine flour mingled with oil in an offering on fire unto the LORD for an acceptable aroma; and the drink offering thereof shall be of wine, the fourth part of a hin. And ye shall eat neither bread nor parched grain nor green ears until this same day until ye have offered the offering of your God; it shall be a statute for ever throughout your ages in all your dwellings. And ye shall count unto you from the day after the sabbath, from the day that ye offered the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be complete; unto the day after the seventh sabbath, ye shall number fifty days; then ye shall offer a new present unto the LORD. Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two-tenth deals; they shall be of fine flour, they shall be baked with leaven, they are the firstfruits unto the LORD. And ye shall offer with the bread seven lambs without blemish of the first year and one young bullock and two rams; they shall be for a burnt offering unto the LORD, with their presents and their drink offerings in an offering on fire, of a very acceptable aroma unto the LORD. Then ye shall also sacrifice one he goat as the sin and two lambs of the first year as a sacrifice of peace. And the priest shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits for a wave offering before the LORD, with the two lambs; they shall be holiness of the LORD for the priest. And ye shall be summoned on that same day; it shall be a holy convocation unto you; ye shall do no servile work: a perpetual statute in all your dwellings throughout your ages. And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not make clean riddance of the corners of thy field when thou reapest, neither shalt thou gather any gleaning of thy harvest; thou shalt leave them for the poor and for the stranger. I AM your God. And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the sons of Israel, saying, In the seventh month in the first day of the month, ye shall have a rest, an alarm for a reminder, and a holy convocation. Ye shall do no servile work therein; but ye shall offer an offering on fire unto the LORD. And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying, But the tenth day of this seventh month shall be the day of reconciliations; it shall be a holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls and offer an offering made on fire unto the LORD. And ye shall do no work in this same day; for it is a day of reconciliations, to reconcile you before the LORD your God. For every person that shall not afflict themselves in that same day, shall be cut off from among his people. And any person that does any work in that same day, the same person will I destroy from among his people. Ye shall do no manner of work; it shall be a perpetual statute throughout your ages in all your dwellings. It shall be unto you a sabbath of sabbaths, and ye shall afflict your souls, beginning in the ninth day of the month in the evening, from evening unto evening, shall ye rest on your sabbath. And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the sons of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles unto the LORD for seven days. The first day shall be a holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein. Seven days ye shall offer an offering on fire unto the LORD; the eighth day ye shall have a holy convocation and offer an offering on fire unto the LORD; it is a feast; and ye shall do no servile work therein. These are the feasts of the LORD, unto which ye shall be summoned: holy convocations to offer an offering on fire unto the LORD, a burnt offering and a present, a sacrifice and drink offerings, every thing in its proper time; in addition the sabbaths of the LORD and in addition to your gifts and in addition to all your vows, and in addition to all your freewill offerings, which ye shall give unto the LORD. But in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the LORD seven days; the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall also be a sabbath. And on the first day ye shall take branches with fruit of a beautiful tree, palm branches and the boughs of thick trees and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before the LORD your God seven days. And ye shall keep this feast unto the LORD for seven days each year. It shall be a perpetual statute for your ages; ye shall celebrate it in the seventh month. Ye shall dwell in tabernacles seven days; all that are natural of Israel shall dwell in booths, that your descendants may know that I made the sons of Israel to dwell in tabernacles when I brought them out of the land of Egypt. I AM your God. Thus Moses declared unto the sons of Israel the feasts of the LORD.
These things ye shall offer unto the LORD in your solemnities, besides your vows, and your freewill offerings, in your burnt offerings, and in your presents, and in your drink offerings, and in your peace offerings.
Three times each year shall all thy males appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose: in the solemn feast of unleavened bread and in the solemn feast of weeks and in the solemn feast of the tabernacles. And they shall not appear before the LORD empty,
for the showbread and for the continual present and for the continual burnt offering, and of the sabbaths and of the new moons, for the appointed feasts and for the holy things and for the atonement for sin to reconcile Israel and for all the work of the house of our God.
to establish this among 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, for all the words of this letter and of that which they had seen concerning this matter and which had come unto them,
And they celebrated the dedication in 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," 2000'>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 sanctified it because in it he had rested from all his work which God created in perfection.
And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it as a feast unto the LORD throughout your ages; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance forever.
But the tenth day of this seventh month shall be the day of reconciliations; it shall be a holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls and offer an offering made on fire unto the LORD. And ye shall do no work in this same day; for it is a day of reconciliations, to reconcile you before the LORD your God.
Speak unto the sons of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles unto the LORD for seven days. The first day shall be a holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.
And ye shall have on the tenth of this seventh month a holy convocation; and ye shall afflict your souls; ye shall not do any work;
Also 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 unto the LORD seven days; and ye shall offer in burnt offering, a sacrifice on fire, of an acceptable savour unto the LORD: thirteen young bullocks, two rams, and fourteen lambs of the first year; they shall be without blemish
And David replied unto Jonathan, Behold, tomorrow is the new moon, and I should not fail to sit with the king at food, but thou shalt let me go and hide myself in the field until the evening of the third day. If thy father at all misses me, then say, David earnestly asked leave of me that he might run to Bethlehem, his city, for all those of his lineage have an anniversary sacrifice. read more. If he should say, It is well; thy slave shall have peace; but if he is very wroth, then be sure that the evil is determined in him. Therefore, thou shalt deal in mercy with thy slave, for thou hast brought thy slave into a covenant of the LORD with thee; notwithstanding, if there is iniquity in me, slay me thyself, for why should thou bring me to thy father? And Jonathan said, Far be it from thee, for if I knew certainly that evil were determined by my father to come upon thee, then would I not be obliged to show it to thee? Then said David to Jonathan, Who shall tell me? Or what if thy father answers thee roughly? And Jonathan said unto David, Come, and let us go out into the field. And both of them went out into the field. Then Jonathan said unto David, O LORD God of Israel, when I shall have asked my father tomorrow at this time or after tomorrow and, behold, if there is good toward David and I then do not send unto thee and show it to thee, the LORD do so and much more to Jonathan. But if it pleases my father to do thee evil, then I will show it to thee and send thee away that thou may go in peace; and the LORD be with thee as he has been with my father. And if I live, thou shalt show me the mercy of the LORD, but if I am dead, thou shalt not cut off thy mercy from my house for ever. When the LORD has cut off one by one the enemies of David from the face of the earth, remove even Jonathan from thy house if I fail thee and require it at the hand of David's enemies. So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David. And Jonathan swore unto David again because he loved him, for he loved him as he loved his own soul. Then Jonathan said to David, Tomorrow is the new moon, and thou shalt be missed because thy seat will be empty.
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government is placed upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called The Wonderful One, The Counsellor, The God, The Mighty One, The Eternal Father, The Prince of Peace.
And they celebrated the dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter.
and if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is vain, and your faith is also vain.
But now Christ is risen from the dead and become the firstfruits of those that slept.
I was in the Spirit in the day of the Lord and heard behind me a great voice as of a trumpet,