Leviticus 23:1–8

"The LORD spoke to Moses." This is authoritative. In these days of many false teachers (2 Peter 2:1), God's people should take great care over what they listen to and whom they listen to. It must carry the authority of God Himself. "The LORD spoke." So let us make sure that what we accept as divine truth is what God Himself has spoken to us in His own word.

The children of Israel were not left to decide when they should gather in the presence of Jehovah. There were set feasts, fixed times which Jehovah appointed as holy convocations. These gatherings fitted the holy character of the God who had chosen Israel to be His people.

"Set times" are times He appoints. As the Eternal, all times belong to Him, and He can fit them to His purpose. They speak of almighty power and settled counsel, and that is what earns them their place here. They are also "holy convocations" — gathering times, when the voice of God stirs His people and brings them together. His voice unites those who listen to it in obedience, and calls them to Himself.

The idea of these feasts is the gathering of the people round Jehovah for some cause or other, a "holy convocation."

"Speak to the children of Israel." It is His own redeemed people to whom He is speaking. How many of them? All of them. It was not limited to the Priests or the Princes, no, it is a word to the whole congregation. There is always a tendency to leave these matters to the teachers or the older believers. God wants every one of His people to listen to what He has to say. He wants them to understand what He is doing, and so to learn what they can do in service for Him in relation to the divine centre.

"The feasts of Jehovah." This statement tells us what God is going to talk about with His people — His feasts, festive seasons when His people can gather round Him and bring Him something that delights His heart of love. Now He seeks to touch our hearts with a word like this — "my set feasts." Is there a desire in our hearts to answer to this? Not to be always taken up with what He has done for our blessing, but to find out what we can do for Him.

Yet all may be called feasts of the Lord, when we think of the pleasure the Lord would take in their proper keeping. Sadly, they sank into being no more than "feasts of the Jews," where no real honour was given to God (John 2:3; John 5:1; John 6:4; John 7:2; John 11:55).

The scripture we are entering on at this time brings before us the whole outline of the dealings of God with His people on earth. It is not of course in detail, but first is the original purpose as before God; next, the foundation which He laid in order to accomplish this purpose; then, again, the ways of God in the application which He made of the mighty work thus accomplished; and, finally, the direct and full result at Christ's appearing in glory, the heavenly things as well as the earthly.

Leviticus 23 sets out the Jewish calendar. As prophecy, it shows God's plan of salvation for His earthly people Israel, from the cross (passover) through to the millennium (feast of tabernacles). The first four feasts are already fulfilled (up to Pentecost). The last three refer to the future of Israel. Between the first four and the last three there is a long gap of unstated length... This prophetic gap... represents the Christian era, the time in which we live.

"The feasts of Jehovah." This statement tells us what God is going to talk about to His people — His feasts. They are festive seasons when His people can gather round Him and bring Him something that delights His loving heart. Now He seeks to touch our hearts with a word like this — "my set feasts." Is there a desire in our hearts to answer to this? Not to be forever occupied with what He has done for our blessing, but to find out what we can do for Him.

Clearly the Sabbath has a place of its own. It is the only feast named in the first announcement, "the set feasts of Jehovah" (v. 2). A footnote by J. N. Darby tells us that "set feasts" means "fixed times (for drawing near to God)." Another idea behind this word is appointment.

"Set times" are times He appoints. As the Eternal One, all times belong to Him, and He can fit them to His purpose. They speak of almighty power and settled purpose, and that is why they belong here. But they are "holy convocations" too — gathering times, when the voice of God stirs His people and brings them together. His voice unites those who obey it, and calls them to Himself.

"Holy Convocations." These suggest collective gatherings. It seems that our God delights to have His people together with one thought in their minds — to minister to Him together. He would guard them from any intrusion of the natural mind of man by reminding us that they are "HOLY"! However great the privilege is, we must remember this when we gather. We must be aware that He is there. We come together for His pleasure — quiet, dependent, with holy reverence in our souls. This would produce quality, even if it reduced quantity.

"Speak to the children of Israel." It is His own redeemed people to whom He is speaking. How many of them? All of them. It was not limited to the Priests or the Princes; no, it is a word to the whole congregation. There is always a tendency to leave these matters to the teachers or the older believers. God wants every one of His people to listen to what He says. He wants them to understand what He is doing, and so to learn what they can do in service for Him.

Most translations call these special times in Israel "feasts." Yet not all of them were feasts for Israel. The day of atonement (vv. 26-32) was a day of brokenness and humbling, not of feasting. Yet we may call them all feasts of the Lord, when we think how pleased the Lord would be if His people kept them properly. Sadly, these sank into mere "feasts of the Jews," where God received no real honour (John 2:3; John 5:1; John 6:4; John 7:2; John 11:55).

Leviticus 23 sets out the Jewish calendar. As prophecy, it shows God's plan of salvation for His people Israel on earth. It runs from the cross (passover) through to the millennium (feast of tabernacles). The first four feasts have already been fulfilled (up to Pentecost). The last three refer to the future of Israel. Between the first four and the last three feasts there is a long gap of unstated length. This prophetic gap represents the Christian era, the time in which we live.

Here, among the feasts, God's first words tell what He is waiting for, what He would have His people waiting for, and what He will certainly do in due time — the rest of God. "He who calls you is faithful; He will surely do it." Man, whether Moses or anyone else, would have put it last, not first, since it is the end of all the work. But it is the first thing God presents to His people — the sabbath… It is the only one that came round at the end of every week. So Israel was taught, as a habit, to look beyond daily toil to the rest of God.

The Sabbath — this is in itself no feast, but a set time, a holy gathering after the six work days. God puts the Sabbath first here because of its prophetic meaning. "There remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God." The Sabbath is the type of that rest still to come, when redemption is complete. Faith can enjoy it even now. The Sabbath reveals the blessed outcome of everything.

This revelation begins with the sabbath, which is here grouped with the set feasts, moadim (appointed times), though people usually see it as separate from them… Like the set feasts it is called a holy convocation, and like the day of atonement it is called a sabbath of rest, shabbath shabbathon, because God required complete rest from all work through the whole day… On the main days of the other feasts, He required rest from ordinary work only.

"Set times" are times of His appointment, to whom, as the Eternal, all times belong, and who is able to adjust them to His purpose. They speak of almighty power and settled purpose… But they are "holy convocations" too — gathering times. At them the voice of God stirs His people and brings them together. His voice unites those who listen to it in obedience, and calls them also to Himself.

I say it again: the sabbath formed part of the law, and it was in a special way a sign between God and Israel. The sabbath was never given to the Gentile as such, whatever people may argue. If a Gentile came and put himself under Israel's protection, of course he kept the sabbath. But as a Gentile he had nothing to do with it… How could it be a sign to one people if it was the common duty of all? "Above all you shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the LORD, sanctify you."

It was to be a day of rest, with no work to be done. It teaches us that we are to rest on the value of God's work already accomplished, not daring to add any work of our own to this. Such a reminder was necessary for Israel, and is necessary for us.

We Christians are not under the law but under grace. The Sabbath, as the sign of the law covenant, has therefore lost its meaning for us, as we see in a Scripture like Colossians 2:16. Yet there can be no doubt that a rest of one day in every seven is the wise and kind intention of God for man. The resurrection of Christ is the seal of our faith. So the first day of the week, the day He rose from the dead, became the day Christians have from the very beginning given to His worship and service… Israel's week worked up to the day of rest. The Christian's week starts from the day of rest, based on the resurrection of Christ.

This is how the feasts open. But notice that the fourth verse begins again: "These are the appointed feasts of the LORD." So at the start of the chapter, where the feasts are introduced in general, the Sabbath is named in particular. Then, in verse 4, there is a fresh beginning which leaves the Sabbath out... The Sabbath has a character all its own. Every other feast was kept once a year; the Sabbath came every week. There is a clear dividing line, and so the second beginning is justified. Yet the Sabbath still has the character of a feast. It alone came round at the end of every week, a standing witness both to creation as God's work and to the great rest of God which His people are to enter at the end.

His feasts are the worth and effectiveness of the Person and work of Christ. That is why they are called feasts of Jehovah, not feasts of Israel. They were for Israel, who had the privilege of feasting, if they could even faintly discern their meaning. To call them feasts of Israel would have lowered their character. In them God had His own joy. They all refer to Him in whom God delights.

They had degenerated into formal and selfish routines. Later we read of "the Jews' Passover" (John 2:13) and "the Jews' feast of Tabernacles" (John 7:2) — yet God had called these "the feasts of the Lord" when He set them up in Leviticus 23:4.

"Set times" are times God Himself appoints. All times belong to Him as the Eternal One, and He is able to fit them to His purpose. They speak of almighty power and settled counsel, and so they earn their place here. But they are "holy convocations" too — gathering times. The voice of God rouses His people and assembles them. His voice unites those who listen to it in obedience, and calls them also to Himself.

For the third time in the chapter our attention is drawn to the feasts as holy convocations (see also verses 2 and 4)... How important it is for the saints to notice the place their gatherings have in the thoughts of God. The writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews saw this. He wrote, "not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near" (Hebrews 10:25).

Notice a new phrase here: "In their seasons." Each feast has its proper time and proper order in the chapter, and we must take care to keep to this order. How could we know the blessing of the feast of Tabernacles if we did not begin with the cross of Christ? "In their seasons" shows a Divine order that God has worked out according to plan. The world is not like this: it would gladly take the Kingdom blessing, but ignore the great necessity of founding it all on the DEATH of Christ.

So, as the careful reader will notice, Israel's first great feast was the Passover, and their seventh was the feast of tabernacles. Strip away the picture language, and we have full redemption first; and, last of all, the millennial glory. The Passover lamb pictured the death of Christ (1 Cor. 5:7). The feast of tabernacles pictured "the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets long ago" (Acts 3:21).

His feasts are the value and power of the Person and work of Christ. That is why they are called feasts of Jehovah, not feasts of Israel. They were for Israel, who had the privilege of feasting, even if they saw their meaning only faintly. To call them feasts of Israel would have lowered their character. In them God had His own joy.

Here, then, we have the first of the seven regular feasts — the offering of that Passover lamb. Its blood shielded the Israel of God from the sword of the destroying angel, on that terrible night when Egypt's firstborn died. This is the recognised type of the death of Christ, and God placed it in this chapter exactly where it belongs. It forms the foundation of all. We can know nothing of rest, nothing of holiness, nothing of fellowship, except on the ground of the death of Christ. It is striking that the moment God speaks of His rest, the next thing in the chapter is the blood of the Passover lamb. It is as much as to say, "There is the rest, but here is your title to it." No doubt work makes us fit for the rest, but it is the blood that gives us the right to enjoy it.

God stepped in to deliver His people from the house of slavery. It was not because of any good in them. At that time the children of Israel were worshipping false gods and were completely indifferent to the glory of the true God. Next, if God delivers them, He must deliver them righteously. Pay particular attention to this. It is not simply a matter of mercy forgiving wicked people. He will have them stand before Him on a basis of right. He is a just God and a Saviour… But one thing held back the hand of the destroying angel — the blood of the killed lamb. Where that blood was missing from the doorposts and the beam above the door, death ruled… By that blood Jehovah declared that only the death of a fitting substitute could hold back judgment.

The passover was to be killed in the evening, at sunset. The daily evening sacrifice was also offered "between the evenings." So this phrase cannot mean, as some have said, the time between the evening of one day and the evening of the next… "Between the two evenings" was a set time on the fourteenth day of Nisan. Deuteronomy 16:6 defines it as sunset.

Notice first that He does not rush it. Many think it would have been better if God had given His Son to die for sinners at the very beginning. Instead He waited more than 4,000 years… "at the right time Christ died for the ungodly" (Rom. 5:6)… God set up the passover — the great standing type of Christ killed for sinners — not on the first day of the first month, but on the fourteenth.

Every year the Passover reminded Israel of the redemption and deliverance from Egypt. "Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed" (1 Cor. 5:7). The passover lamb was a type of Christ. Every time they killed it, it pointed forward to Him who was to come — the Lamb of God, "in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins" (Col. 1:14).

They kept this ordinance as a remembrance in the wilderness (Num. 9). They kept it again as a remembrance when they got into the land (Josh. 5). But only once did they sprinkle the blood on the doorposts and lintels. This tells us again of the once-for-all application of the blood of Christ. It never needs to be repeated… The death of Christ has brought us to God and brought us out. It keeps us as pilgrims passing through this world. And it brings us in to the land, the divine inheritance.

The feast of unleavened bread followed the Passover at once. Not a single day was allowed to come between. As a general rule there was a space between these different feasts, but here is a plain exception to the rule... one being on the fourteenth, the other on the fifteenth of the same month. The New Testament treats the feast of unleavened bread as beginning with the killing of the Passover lamb. So the Christian's immediate response to Christ's blood is to walk in holiness. From then on God will not have him claim a single day for himself.

All holiness is grounded on redemption, and on knowing it in the soul. Christ's precious work comes first and stands alone for salvation, and holiness is the fruit of it in the saved soul.

Leaven, as explained before, is a type of evil. It spreads, and it makes the whole mass take on its own character... To eat unleavened bread therefore means separation from evil — practical holiness... We are saved by the grace of God through the sprinkled blood of Christ. Our wretched hearts might then reason that we may indulge in sin so that grace may abound. "No!" says the Spirit of God. "As soon as you are under the value of the death of Christ, you are under the responsibility to be separate from evil."... To press this truth home, God told the Israelites to keep this feast "as a statute forever." It first reminded them that on this very day He had brought their armies out of the land of Egypt. It then taught them the duty that came with their new position.

These seven days, one week, speak of a period of time. Seven is the divine number of perfection and completion... "Let us celebrate the feast" is not to be understood as celebrating the feast of the Supper, as is sometimes said. No. The feast here is the feast of unleavened bread, the whole week that follows the Passover — the whole week, and week after week after week. It is a type of our entire lives, a life marked by unleavened bread. Leaven, taken as a picture, is always a type of sin — sin that a person allows in his life and does not judge.

Leaven had to go from the house as well as from the individual. You often find people who rightly watch their personal walk, yet stay completely lax about impurity in the church. The Lord calls us to beware of allowing leaven anywhere. But corporate purity is a worthless pretension without proper regard to personal holiness... The feast of unleavened bread covers the whole journey, our whole course, public as well as private.

No one who grasps the death of Christ in relation to sin would want to see worldly things in the house. But all this, important as it is, is negative... These things will not feed our souls. There is not only a putting off in Christianity, there is also a putting on... If we are to produce a feast of unleavened bread to Jehovah, we must take Christ daily as food for the soul. What a feast it must be to God to see Christ reproduced in a saint who hates what is evil and feeds on what is good.

"You shall not do any ordinary work. But you shall present a food offering to the LORD." What a contrast! The servile work of man's hands set against the sweet savour of Christ's sacrifice! The practical holiness of God's people is not servile labour. It is the living unfolding of Christ through them by the power of the Holy Spirit. "For to me to live is Christ." That is the true idea.

It is worth noting that this feast springs out of the feast of the Passover and is joined to it. The usual introduction to a new subject — "the LORD spoke to Moses, saying" — is not mentioned here. This feast, then, is the corollary of the Passover. It is the putting away of all evil because Christ has died to sin once. It is the answer in us to the work of Christ on the cross. If He has died to sin, then we must die to it in a practical way in our Christian pathway. "For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth."

Chapter 23 opens with God's desire to have the people He had redeemed assembled before Him. A "convocation" is a "calling together," and this was to mark the feasts of the Lord.

"Holy convocations." These suggest collective gatherings. It seems that our God delights to have His people together with a single thought in their minds — to minister to Him together. He would guard them from any intrusion of the fleshly mind of man by reminding us that they are "HOLY"! We have to remember this, wonderful as the privilege may be. In our gatherings together we must always be conscious that He is there. We come together for His pleasure, subdued, dependent, with holy reverence in our souls.

No work and no leaven were the divine rules for the Passover week. No work, because the great Calvary work of Christ was in view, and no human efforts must be placed alongside it. Christ is not a mere helper of sinners, making up for what they lack; He is Saviour, doing everything needed to save us from eternal ruin… No leaven, because leaven suggests evil all through the Scriptures.

The people are here assembled around the Lord, in that practical holiness which rests on accomplished redemption. While they are assembled, the fragrance of the sacrifice rises from the altar of Israel to the throne of Israel's God… "You shall not do any ordinary work. But you shall present a food offering to the LORD." What a contrast! The servile work of man's hands, and the sweet savour of Christ's sacrifice! The practical holiness of God's people is not slavish labour. It is the living unfolding of Christ through them, by the power of the Holy Spirit. "For to me to live is Christ." That is the true idea.

Leaven was to be banished from the house as well as from the individual. People are often rightly watchful about their own walk, yet completely careless about impurity in the assembly. The Lord calls us to beware of allowing leaven anywhere. But purity in the assembly is a worthless claim without proper care for personal holiness… The feast of unleavened bread takes in the entire pilgrimage, our whole course, public as well as private. To keep this feast is always our calling while we are here.

These negative things, important as they undoubtedly are, will not feed our souls. In Christianity there is not only a putting off, there is also a putting on… They were to eat unleavened bread. If we are to produce a feast to the Lord of unleavened bread, Christ must be taken as food for the soul daily. Only as we feed on Him will we grow to be like Him, and so the features seen in Him will be reproduced in us.

Along with the instruction to eat unleavened bread for seven days comes the direction to offer an offering by fire for seven days. This is a presentation of Christ to God. Why do we only think of offering once a week? Our God desires to have Christ presented every day. Not only in what we may be able to say, but also in what we are, as we show Him in this dark world. If we feed on Christ daily, something of His perfection is sure to come to light in us. That becomes "to Jehovah an offering by fire seven days."

The practical holiness of God's people is not servile labour. It is the living unfolding of Christ through them, by the power of the Holy Spirit. We need to think deeply about the contrast between "servile work" and the outflow of the life of Christ. The picture is vivid. All manual labour stopped throughout the whole assembly, but the sweet savour of the burnt offering went up to God. These were the two great marks of the feast of unleavened bread, and they picture a believer's life of practical holiness. What a triumphant answer this gives to the legalist on one side, and to the one who despises law on the other! The first is silenced by the words "no servile work." The second is confounded by the words "You shall offer an offering made by fire." The most elaborate works of man's hands are "servile." But the smallest cluster of "the fruits of righteousness" is to the glory and praise of God.

God wanted His people to understand that their rest and blessing did not come from their own efforts. So He commanded them to do no servile work on the days of holy convocation, the first and last days of the feast. They were to rest before Jehovah, knowing that all their blessings stood on the sacrifice of fire which they were to present to Him on the seven days of the feast. Israel will yet learn this great truth; they will know that their every blessing depends on the sacrifice of Christ, who gave Himself for them.

The Lord calls us to beware of allowing leaven anywhere. But corporate purity is a worthless pretension without due regard to personal holiness... In short, what God has here at heart is that we should please Him in every relation, in what is collective as well as in our individual walk. ... The feast of "unleavened bread" takes in the entire pilgrimage, our whole course public as well as private. The feast was to begin the first day after the Passover, and the greatest care is taken to show that it was to continue right through our stay on earth. To keep this feast is always our calling while here.

You begin next Lord's day morning with Christ for God; go to work on Monday, but don't take off your first-day suit on Monday morning. In the history of your soul, you have every day to go over the same ground. It is to be Christ on the first day, and Christ all the week, and Christ on the seventh... How much of Christ do we bring to God in private, in our homes, and in the assembly? That is the question. The week begins with the liberty of Christ, and it closes with the liberty of Christ. It is feeding on Christ, and nothing but Christ.