God’s Appointed Times
In Leviticus 23, God calls the feasts “my
appointed times”. The feasts are God’s way to
remind His people that He is Lord of the calendar,
King of creation, Ruler over time, past, present,
and future. He established special times to meet
with us in a particular way to commemorate
events in His dealings with man. When we
celebrate the feasts in the way He ordained we
reinforce the relationship He established with us
and honor His sovereignty over us.
The timing of the feasts is important...God is very
specific on when we are to celebrate these
events. The calendar used to calculate the dates,
the Jewish calendar, is based on the lunar cycle.
(verses the solar cycle used in the Gregorian, or
“modern” calendar) Psalm 104:19 says “He
made the moon for the seasons; the sun knows
the place of its setting.” Since the calendar is
based on the moon cycle, the arrival of the new
moon is a crucial event. In ancient times three
witnesses were needed to confirm when the first
sliver of the moon was visible. At that time a fire
was lit on the Mount of Olives to signal others
watching to light fires on the surrounding hills until
the message was spread throughout Israel that a
new month had begun. Month and moon are the
same word in Hebrew: “chodesh”. Thus a new
month is called “Rosh Chodesh”, head of the
month.
In Leviticus 23, God calls the feasts “my
appointed times”. The feasts are God’s way to
remind His people that He is Lord of the calendar,
King of creation, Ruler over time, past, present,
and future. He established special times to meet
with us in a particular way to commemorate
events in His dealings with man. When we
celebrate the feasts in the way He ordained we
reinforce the relationship He established with us
and honor His sovereignty over us.
The timing of the feasts is important...God is very
specific on when we are to celebrate these
events. The calendar used to calculate the dates,
the Jewish calendar, is based on the lunar cycle.
(verses the solar cycle used in the Gregorian, or
“modern” calendar) Psalm 104:19 says “He
made the moon for the seasons; the sun knows
the place of its setting.” Since the calendar is
based on the moon cycle, the arrival of the new
moon is a crucial event. In ancient times three
witnesses were needed to confirm when the first
sliver of the moon was visible. At that time a fire
was lit on the Mount of Olives to signal others
watching to light fires on the surrounding hills until
the message was spread throughout Israel that a
new month had begun. Month and moon are the
same word in Hebrew: “chodesh”. Thus a new
month is called “Rosh Chodesh”, head of the
month.
| Festivals of the Lord |
Preparing for the Perfect Passover
(This is for groups that we are doing a Passover
service with.)
(This is for groups that we are doing a Passover
service with.)
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* Holiday Starts the Evening Before
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