Leviticus 23:23-44
Now on the tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. It shall be for you a time of holy convocation, and you shall afflict yourselves and present a food offering to the Lord. – Leviticus 23:3
Click to read
In the last few weeks, we’ve seen Singapore’s national flag and star-studded banners being hung around the whole island of Singapore. This tells us that National Day is around the corner. We also have personal “feasts” to celebrate birthdays and remember anniversaries of important dates like weddings or the death of a loved one. All of us live in these rhythms of seasons, holidays, and annual feasts. It helps us not only to mark the days and months as they pass, but it also helps us remember important events that has shaped who we are today.
The last three feasts appointed in Leviticus 23 are the autumn feasts of the Israelites.
The ram’s horn blown on the Feast of Trumpets commemorated how trumpets were blown in the same way when God gave them the Law at Mt. Sinai. This served as a reminder that they were God’s covenant people and an opportunity to pause to take a good look at their lives. Were they living in obedience and faithfulness to the ways of God?
Ten days later, they would gather to observe the Day of Atonement which reminded them of God’s holiness, their sinfulness, and God’s desire to dwell with them nevertheless.
Another 5 days later, they would spend a week living in tents to be reminded of their journey through the wilderness, from Egypt to the Promised Land.
There may have been some Israelites, who resented being reminded time and again that they were once slaves, that they were brought out through plagues and wilderness, that they didn’t actually achieve any of the things they enjoyed, that all they had was given to them by God. Some of them might have felt that God was holding their history over their heads, keeping them in line. The thing is humans never understand or appreciate the value of privilege if they do not know how it was achieved. So God commanded them to keep these feasts, to spend the time remembering and teaching their descendants how to live in the rhythm of remembrance.
Even today, being reminded what we were saved from and what our lives would’ve looked like without God’s salvation gives us a fresh perspective into the blessed status and privileges we enjoy as redeemed people. Every time a new believer is baptised in the church, we are also reminded that we too were washed with water and cleansed from sin. Every time we come for Holy Communion we are reminded that our freedom cost Jesus his life and that we are to live in him and for him. These reminders are what keep us faithful and watchful as God’s blessed people.
And God commands us to keep practicing these “feasts of remembrance” and to teach them to our children, so that they too may grow up knowing, remembering, and giving thanks.
Reflection:
Weekly Sunday services, monthly Holy Communion, the twice-annual baptisms, and the many liturgical seasons of the church—do we truly understand and appreciate the significance of these rhythms of faith? Do we spend time learning about them and teaching them to our children? Perhaps, it’s because our next generation have not been taught to understand the meaning of what we’re doing in church that they fail to see the relevance of the faith in their lives. May we seek to understand the seasons and “feasts” of remembrance that God has given us, so that we may truly understand and appreciate what God has done for us.
Prayer:
Eternal God, you are mighty and powerful, transcending time and space. We are so small and insignificant, yet you know that we need such reminders and rituals to keep us on track. Teach me to invest time to understand what we do as your people, so that, instead of just going through the motions, I’ll truly be able to live in the rhythms of remembrance and thanksgiving and so be strengthened in my faith and love for you. In Jesus’ precious name I pray, Amen.
Click to read
In the last few weeks, we’ve seen Singapore’s national flag and star-studded banners being hung around the whole island of Singapore. This tells us that National Day is around the corner. We also have personal “feasts” to celebrate birthdays and remember anniversaries of important dates like weddings or the death of a loved one. All of us live in these rhythms of seasons, holidays, and annual feasts. It helps us not only to mark the days and months as they pass, but it also helps us remember important events that has shaped who we are today.
The last three feasts appointed in Leviticus 23 are the autumn feasts of the Israelites.
The ram’s horn blown on the Feast of Trumpets commemorated how trumpets were blown in the same way when God gave them the Law at Mt. Sinai. This served as a reminder that they were God’s covenant people and an opportunity to pause to take a good look at their lives. Were they living in obedience and faithfulness to the ways of God?
Ten days later, they would gather to observe the Day of Atonement which reminded them of God’s holiness, their sinfulness, and God’s desire to dwell with them nevertheless.
Another 5 days later, they would spend a week living in tents to be reminded of their journey through the wilderness, from Egypt to the Promised Land.
There may have been some Israelites, who resented being reminded time and again that they were once slaves, that they were brought out through plagues and wilderness, that they didn’t actually achieve any of the things they enjoyed, that all they had was given to them by God. Some of them might have felt that God was holding their history over their heads, keeping them in line. The thing is humans never understand or appreciate the value of privilege if they do not know how it was achieved. So God commanded them to keep these feasts, to spend the time remembering and teaching their descendants how to live in the rhythm of remembrance.
Even today, being reminded what we were saved from and what our lives would’ve looked like without God’s salvation gives us a fresh perspective into the blessed status and privileges we enjoy as redeemed people. Every time a new believer is baptised in the church, we are also reminded that we too were washed with water and cleansed from sin. Every time we come for Holy Communion we are reminded that our freedom cost Jesus his life and that we are to live in him and for him. These reminders are what keep us faithful and watchful as God’s blessed people.
And God commands us to keep practicing these “feasts of remembrance” and to teach them to our children, so that they too may grow up knowing, remembering, and giving thanks.
Reflection:
Weekly Sunday services, monthly Holy Communion, the twice-annual baptisms, and the many liturgical seasons of the church—do we truly understand and appreciate the significance of these rhythms of faith? Do we spend time learning about them and teaching them to our children? Perhaps, it’s because our next generation have not been taught to understand the meaning of what we’re doing in church that they fail to see the relevance of the faith in their lives. May we seek to understand the seasons and “feasts” of remembrance that God has given us, so that we may truly understand and appreciate what God has done for us.
Prayer:
Eternal God, you are mighty and powerful, transcending time and space. We are so small and insignificant, yet you know that we need such reminders and rituals to keep us on track. Teach me to invest time to understand what we do as your people, so that, instead of just going through the motions, I’ll truly be able to live in the rhythms of remembrance and thanksgiving and so be strengthened in my faith and love for you. In Jesus’ precious name I pray, Amen.