Mambo!

I am leaving today for my annual celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles. This year I am celebrating with Rock Valley Christian Church in Carlsbad, California. Rock Valley has a different music philosophy than many churches. Here is a clip from last year's feast. 

Leviticus 23: Times of Refreshing

The festivals of Leviticus 23 provide their observers with many benefits. One benefit is mentioned by prolific writer and blogger Pam Dewey in her site "Times of Refreshing." God has provided us with a great series of vacations! If you are looking for more information on these festivals greater than the brief overview I plan here, I recommend a road trip to http://youall.com/refresh/.  

Dr Bacchiocchi's book on the Fall festivals of Leviticus 23

These festivals include: the Sabbath, Passover, Pentecost, Trumpets, Atonement, and Tabernacles. 

What is interesting is that Most Christians already observe two of these festivals, Passover and Pentecost. I can hear some of you saying, "What!? I have never observed Passover, that's Jewish." You have observed it under a different name—you call it Easter. Only in English and German is it called Easter. (The name is derived from the Teutonic Goddess of the Dawn Eostre.) In the Romance Languages, and for that matter in Russian, it is called Passover.  

Many Christians are uncomfortable with the name Easter, and the pagan customs associated with modern Easter like Easter Eggs, the Easter Bunny, and the Easter Basket. So some have adopted the name "Resurrection Sunday." Although I would quibble and say the resurrection was on Saturday night, I do not want to be critical as this is a big step in the right direction. 

Historically this was a big, big issue in the early Church. At first Christians observed Passover at the same time as the Jews. For various reasons this was transferred to Sunday. This process took centuries. There was a lot of animosity toward the Jews, and the main reason for the change was to avoid having anything to do with them. I have always felt that this was an inadequate reason and eventually joined with those that keep the Passover in the same general time that the Jews do. (We do it as a three day celebration centered around the traditional date of the Passover. We begin by reenacting the Last Supper by doing what was done on that night; the following night on the traditional Passover night we have a meal; the next day we celebrate the beginning of the days of unleavened bread, which we celebrate for 7 days.)

Pentecost comes 50 days later. I remember keeping it even when I was a Baptist. Over the years I have been bemused by the criticism I have received for observing these days from those who observed these days themselves without realizing it! 

There are three Fall Festivals that are not generally observed by Christians. Although as you can see by the photo, some prominent TV evangelists do. These three feasts are: Trumpets, Atonement, and Tabernacles. Both the Hebrew Scriptures and the Greek Scriptures that make up our modern Bible provide interesting meanings and thoughts to ponder on these days. For a chart on Pam Dewey's site where these days are summarized, click here. 

I remember my first exposure to these days. I was in the 6th grade in Palm Springs and I noticed that about 20% of my class was missing. It was one of the Fall festivals, probably Atonement.

So for the next couple of weeks I will be blogging about these days, and in particular the Feast of Tabernacles, and the details of modern festival observance using the principles I mentioned yesterday. Hopefully many of you will find it of interest. 

Leviticus 23?

Many people like me desire to observe the Holy Days of Leviticus 23. However, while the laws contain eternal truths, they are couched in the technology and culture of when they were first revealed. It is difficult, if not impossible, to woodenly port these over into a modern observance; instead they need to be morphed to modern times while always being aware of the various principles expounded in the Law.

(Note that the links are to the parts of the series that I finished last year. I hope to finish the series this festival season.)

These principles include: The Principle of Worship (a Holy Convocation in the KJV Bible); The Principle of Pilgrimage (you need a critical mass of people); The Principle of the Placement of God's Name; The Principle of Temporary Shelters (booths); The Principle of Sacrifice; the Principle of Tithing (There was a separate tithe for these observances);The Principle of Community (There are aspects of community sharing); The Seasonal Principle (3 times in the year); The Principle of Decoration; The Principle of Beer Drinking (rejoicing by means of physical food consumption); and finally the principle of Education (the Torah was to be read every 7 years). To a degree these principles are in tension with each other. For example: it is difficult to construct, transport, and live in a temporary structure and travel a few hundred miles to a pilgrimage festival site; and it is difficult to listen to the Torah being read and explained and do anything else that year. 

We will discuss these principles over the next few weeks in future blog posts leading up to and including the Feast of Tabernacles, and hopefully come to some conclusions about modern festival observance. I will begin tomorrow with an overview of the various festivals discussed in Leviticus 23. 

Going to Fast, or Going Too Fast?

To continue the series on the feasts of Leviticus 23 that I started last year I thought I would begin by repeat a post from last year.  

 Not eating food for a period of time for meditative or religious reasons goes way back in history. Most cultures do it. Looking at my waist, I can see that this is not a common practice here in America. 

Jesus was criticized because his disciples did not fast in the prescribed manner of the Pharisees, twice in the week, in fact. Here is what he said (Mat 9):

¹⁴ Then John’s disciples came and asked him, “How is it that we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?”

 ¹⁵ Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast. 

The point here is that Jesus expects his disciples to fast after his departure. Do you fast? 

Matt 6 tells us this:

¹⁶ “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. ¹⁷ But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, ¹⁸ so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Jesus did not say: "If you fast." He said: "When you fast." Do you fast? 

Tomorrow is the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). Leviticus 23 tells us:

²⁶ The LORD said to Moses, ²⁷ “The tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. Hold a sacred assembly and deny yourselves, and present a food offering to the LORD. ²⁸Do not do any work on that day, because it is the Day of Atonement, when atonement is made for you before the LORD your God. ²⁹ Those who do not deny themselves on that day must be cut off from their people. ³⁰ I will destroy from among their people anyone who does any work on that day. ³¹ You shall do no work at all. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live. ³² It is a day of sabbath rest for you, and you must deny yourselves. From the evening of the ninth day of the month until the following evening you are to observe your sabbath.”

The phrase “deny yourself” is idiomatic and refers to fasting. 

So Jesus said his disciples would fast after he had departed. Leviticus 23 tells us that tomorrow is a day of fasting. Do you fast? If not tomorrow, when? 

(There are obviously people who should not fast due to medical reasons. Looking back over my "religious life," I can see that common sense was sometimes lacking. I suggest you use common sense on the issue of fasting.)

Feast of Trumpets

I saw this video posted on Facebook by a high school classmate now living in Israel. While as a Christian I observe Rosh Hashanah differently, I thought this was a great way to acknowledge the festival. It begins tonight at sunset. Happy New Year!