God gave Israel a calendar of appointed feasts — holy days and festivals that marked the year with worship, rest and remembrance. They are listed together in Leviticus 23 and also in Numbers 28–29 and Deuteronomy 16. The Hebrew word for these feasts, moedim, means "appointed times" — times when God met with his people.
The feasts taught Israel to remember what God had done, to thank him for the harvest and to look forward to what he would do. Christians also see in them a remarkable picture of the work of Jesus.
The weekly Sabbath
Before the yearly feasts, Leviticus 23 begins with the Sabbath: "Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest" (23:3). Every week, God's people rested and worshipped, remembering creation and their rescue from slavery.
The spring feasts
1. Passover (Pesach)
- When: the 14th day of the first month (Nisan), in March–April.
- What: each household sacrificed a lamb and ate it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs, remembering the night God "passed over" Israel's homes in Egypt (Exodus 12).
- Fulfilment: Jesus died at Passover; "Christ our passover is sacrificed for us" (1 Corinthians 5:7). See the Passover explained.
2. Unleavened Bread
- When: the seven days immediately after Passover.
- What: no yeast was eaten, recalling the haste of the exodus. Yeast often pictured sin, and households removed it.
- Fulfilment: Paul urges believers to keep the feast "with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth" (1 Corinthians 5:8). Jesus, who was without sin, is the bread of life.
3. Firstfruits
- When: during the week of Unleavened Bread, "on the morrow after the sabbath" (Leviticus 23:11).
- What: the first sheaf of the barley harvest was waved before the Lord as a sign that the whole harvest belonged to him.
- Fulfilment: Jesus rose on the first day of the week during this feast. Paul writes, "now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept" (1 Corinthians 15:20) — the first of a great harvest of resurrection.
4. Feast of Weeks (Pentecost)
- When: fifty days after Firstfruits (the name Pentecost comes from the Greek for "fiftieth").
- What: a celebration of the wheat harvest, with two loaves of bread offered to God. Jewish tradition also linked it with the giving of the law at Sinai.
- Fulfilment: On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was poured out on the disciples, and about three thousand people believed (Acts 2) — the first great harvest of the church.
The autumn feasts
5. Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah)
- When: the 1st day of the seventh month (Tishri), in September–October.
- What: a day of rest marked by the blowing of trumpets (Leviticus 23:24), calling the people to prepare for the solemn days ahead. It later became the Jewish New Year.
- Christian reflection: many Christians connect trumpets with the return of Christ, when "the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised" (1 Corinthians 15:52; 1 Thessalonians 4:16).
6. Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur)
- When: the 10th day of the seventh month.
- What: the most solemn day of the year, when the high priest entered the most holy place to make atonement for the nation, and the scapegoat carried their sins away (Leviticus 16).
- Fulfilment: Hebrews explains that Jesus, our high priest, entered heaven itself with his own blood, "having obtained eternal redemption for us" (Hebrews 9:12). See the Day of Atonement.
7. Feast of Tabernacles (Booths, Sukkot)
- When: from the 15th day of the seventh month, for seven days, followed by an eighth day of assembly.
- What: the most joyful feast. The people lived in temporary shelters made of branches, remembering how God cared for them in the wilderness, and celebrated the final harvest: "ye shall rejoice before the LORD your God seven days" (Leviticus 23:40).
- Fulfilment: John says the Word "dwelt" (literally "tabernacled") among us (John 1:14). At this feast Jesus cried, "If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink" (John 7:37). Christians also look forward to the day when "the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them" (Revelation 21:3).
Three pilgrim feasts
Three feasts — Passover/Unleavened Bread, Weeks and Tabernacles — were pilgrimage festivals, when men were to travel to the place of worship, later Jerusalem (Deuteronomy 16:16). This is why Jesus and his family went to Jerusalem for Passover (Luke 2:41).
Later feasts
Two later celebrations also appear in the Bible:
- Purim — remembering Israel's deliverance in the time of Esther (Esther 9). See the book of Esther.
- Hanukkah (the Feast of Dedication) — remembering the rededication of the temple in 164 BC; Jesus was in the temple at this feast (John 10:22).
Summary table
| Feast | Season | Remembered | Pointing to Jesus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Passover | Spring | Rescue from Egypt | His death as the Lamb |
| Unleavened Bread | Spring | The haste of the exodus | His sinless life; a holy people |
| Firstfruits | Spring | First of the harvest | His resurrection |
| Weeks (Pentecost) | Early summer | Wheat harvest | The gift of the Spirit |
| Trumpets | Autumn | Call to prepare | His return |
| Day of Atonement | Autumn | National cleansing | His once-for-all sacrifice |
| Tabernacles | Autumn | Wilderness care; final harvest | God dwelling with his people |
Lessons from the feasts
- God wants his people to remember his saving acts.
- Worship includes celebration, rest and thanksgiving.
- God plans history — his "appointed times" unfold his purposes.
- Jesus is the centre of God's calendar.
Continue with the names of God in the Old Testament, or read about the tabernacle.