Seasons (Appointments, Festivals)
Page 5
unto the children of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of this month shall be the feast of
tabernacles for seven days unto Yehuveh. On the first day shall be an holy convocation: ye
shall do no srvile work therein. Seven days ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto
Yehuveh: on the eighth day shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall offer an
offering made by fire unto Yehuveh; it is a solemn assembly; and ye shall do no servile work
therein.” “Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the
fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto Yehuveh seven days: on the first day shall be
a Sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a Sabbath. And ye shall take you on the first day
the boughts of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows
of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before Yehuveh your Elohim seven days. And ye shall keep
it a feast unto Yehuveh seven days in the year. It shall be a statute for ever in your generatons:
ye shall celebrate it in the seventh month. Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are
Israelites born shall dwell in booths: that your generations may know that I made the children of
Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am Yehuveh your
Elohim.” Leviticus 23:34-36; 39-43. Read Fall Rehearsals for more information.
Note the reference here to this feast being “a solemn assembly” Contrary to popular
assumptions, according to the statements in Leviticus 23, this is the only feast where the people
are commanded to assemble, for “an holy convocation” is a personal, individual meeting with
Yehuveh, not an assembly of the nation. And according to Numbers 29:35, even then only on the
final Sabbath! “On the eighth day ye shall have a solemn assembly.” However, Deuteronomy
16:8 calls for a solemn assembly on the last day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread as well:
“Six days thou shalt eat unleavened bread: and on the seventh day shall be a solemn assembly
to Yehuveh thy Elohim.” Compare 2 Chronicles 5:3; 7:9; Nehemiah 8:18; Isaiah 1:13;
Jeremiah 9:2; Joel 1:14; 2:15; Amos 5:21.
Are the Appointed Times Only for Israel?
Absolutely not! They are for all Yehuveh’s people everywhere, for everyone who wants to know and serve Yehuveh! These appointments were established at Creation when Yehuveh appointed the sun and the moon to mark them. “Elohim said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven . . . for seasons [mow'edim, appointments].” “These are the feasts [mow'edim, appointments] of Yehuveh, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations. Four times in Leviticus 23 alone Yehuveh states that these appointments are “a statute for ever in your generations,” using the same word that describes His “everlasting” or “perpetual covenant.” [Leviticus 23:37; 23:14, 21, 31, 41.]
While the Passover was later identified with the Israelite departure from Egypt, it did not begin there. Abraham and Yehuveh discussed appointments on sevreal occasions. Exodus 12:17 and 41 indicate that the Israelites came out of Egypt on one of the same appointment dates which Yehuveh had discussed with Abraham 430 years earlier, namely the Passover day [Genesis 17:21; 18:14; 21:2]. See One Everlasting Covenant for a discussion of for ever as it should be understood here.
Yehuveh’s appointments with us are for every person who wants to learn His ways and is willing to have Him as their king and instructor. They provide us with regular and continually-anticipated fellowship, instruction, rest, and re-connection. Rightly understood and rightly guarded, these festivals and appointments assure us of prosperity and blessing!
Gael Bataman
Originally Written: 12 September 2005
Latest Update: 24 November 2009
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