What the Bible Says About The Holiness Code Pt. 7

St. Matthew A.M.E. Church 336 Oakwood Avenue Orange, NJ Rev. Melvin E. Wilson, Pastor/Teacher Email: pastorwilson@stmatthewame.org Cell: (914) 562-6331 Pastor s Bible Study What the Bible Says About The Holiness Code Pt. 7 Tuesday, April 9, 2019 6:30 pm

I. LEVITICUS 23 The LORD said to Moses, 2 Speak to the Israelites and say to them: These are my appointed festivals, the appointed festivals of the LORD, which you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies. The Sabbath 3 There are six days when you may work, but the seventh day is a day of sabbath rest, a day of sacred assembly. You are not to do any work; wherever you live, it is a sabbath to the LORD. The Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread 4 These are the LORD s appointed festivals, the sacred assemblies you are to proclaim at their appointed times: 5 The LORD s Passover begins at twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month. 6 On the fifteenth day of that month the LORD s Festival of Unleavened Bread begins; for seven days you must eat bread made without yeast. 7 On the first day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work. 8 For seven days present a food offering to the LORD. And on the seventh day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work. Offering the Firstfruits 9 The LORD said to Moses, 10 Speak to the Israelites and say to them: When you enter the land I am going to give you and you reap its harvest, bring to the priest a sheaf of the first grain you harvest. 11 He is to wave the sheaf before the LORD so it will be accepted on your behalf; the priest is to wave it on the day after the Sabbath. 12 On the day you wave the sheaf, you must sacrifice as a burnt offering to the LORD a lamb a year old without defect, 13 together with its grain offering of two-tenths of an ephah [a] of the finest flour mixed with olive oil a food offering presented to the LORD, a pleasing aroma and its drink offering of a quarter of a hin of wine. 14 You must not eat any bread, or roasted or new grain, until the very day you bring this offering to your God. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live. The Festival of Weeks 15 From the day after the Sabbath, the day you brought the sheaf of the wave offering, count off seven full weeks. 16 Count off fifty days up to the day after the seventh Sabbath, and then present an offering of new grain to the LORD. 17 From wherever you live, bring two loaves made of two-tenths of an ephah of the finest flour, baked with yeast, as a wave offering of firstfruits to the LORD. 18 Present with this bread seven male lambs, each a year old and without defect, one young bull and two rams. They will be a burnt offering to the LORD, together with their grain offerings and drink offerings a food offering, an aroma Page 1 of 6

pleasing to the LORD. 19 Then sacrifice one male goat for a sin offering [c] and two lambs, each a year old, for a fellowship offering. 20 The priest is to wave the two lambs before the LORD as a wave offering, together with the bread of the firstfruits. They are a sacred offering to the LORD for the priest. 21 On that same day you are to proclaim a sacred assembly and do no regular work. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live. 22 When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and for the foreigner residing among you. I am the LORD your God. The Festival of Trumpets 23 The LORD said to Moses, 24 Say to the Israelites: On the first day of the seventh month you are to have a day of sabbath rest, a sacred assembly commemorated with trumpet blasts. 25 Do no regular work, but present a food offering to the LORD. The Day of Atonement 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. 28 Do 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 Festival of Tabernacles 33 The LORD said to Moses, 34 Say to the Israelites: On the fifteenth day of the seventh month the LORD s Festival of Tabernacles begins, and it lasts for seven days. 35 The first day is a sacred assembly; do no regular work. 36 For seven days present food offerings to the LORD, and on the eighth day hold a sacred assembly and present a food offering to the LORD. It is the closing special assembly; do no regular work. 37 ( These are the LORD s appointed festivals, which you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies for bringing food offerings to the LORD the burnt offerings and grain offerings, sacrifices and drink offerings required for each day. 38 These offerings are in addition to those for the LORD s Sabbaths and [e] in addition to your gifts and whatever you have vowed and all the freewill offerings you give to the LORD.) 39 So beginning with the fifteenth day of the seventh month, after you have gathered the crops of the land, celebrate the festival to the LORD for seven days; the first day is a day of sabbath rest, and the eighth day also is a day of sabbath rest. 40 On the first day you are to take branches from luxuriant trees from palms, willows Page 2 of 6

and other leafy trees and rejoice before the LORD your God for seven days. 41 Celebrate this as a festival to the LORD for seven days each year. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come; celebrate it in the seventh month. 42 Live in temporary shelters for seven days: All native-born Israelites are to live in such shelters 43 so your descendants will know that I had the Israelites live in temporary shelters when I brought them out of Egypt. I am the LORD your God. 44 So Moses announced to the Israelites the appointed festivals of the LORD. II. THE BASIC TEACHING OF THIS CHAPTER IS THAT IT IS ALL RIGHT AND EXPECTED FOR GOD S HOLY PEOPLE TO: Howsonever there are GUIDELINES and EXPECTATIONS RELATED TO THE CELEBRATIONS! III. THE FEASTS DESCRIBED IN LEVITICUS 23 Page 3 of 6

IV. WE HAVE HEARD OF SOME OF THESE FESTIVALS BEFORE A. Passover Exodus 12:12-13; 24-28 B. Feast of Unleavened Bread Exodus 12:14-20 C. Firstfruits -?? D. Feast of Weeks Pentecost, Acts 2 E. Feast of Trumpets Rosh Hashanah ( head of the year ) F. Day of Atonement Yom Kippur G. Feast of Tabernacles Sukkot(h), Feast of Booths V. COMPARING THE OLD TESTAMENT JEWISH CALENDAR TO THE GREGORIAN (OUR) CALENDAR A. Jewish national holidays were celebrated 19 days out of the year. VI. 7 LESSONS FROM THE 7 FEASTS IN THE CHAPTER 1. Sabbath does not mean Sunday. Sabbath means day of rest, but not a day of rest from worship. The Sabbath was provided so we can worship! 2. Remember where God has brought you from. Sometimes you have to move quickly. 3. We should make sure we have our priorities straight. God first! 4. Always give God praise, especially when God has provided a bountiful harvest. 5. Listen for the call of God to worship and repent. 6. Always be willing to repent for intentional and unintentional sins. 7. Who did it? God did it! Page 4 of 6

VII. BIBLICAL WEIGHTS AND MEASURES (FYI) From www.gotquestions.org Below are several terms and their approximated equivalents in both metric and imperial measurements. Since some ancient terms varied by area, we have differentiated Greek and Hebrew measurements. Weights: Talent (3,000 shekels or 60 minas, sometimes translated 100 pounds ) - 34.272 kg, 75.6 lbs Mina (50 shekels, sometimes translated pound ) - 571.2 g, 1.26 lbs Shekel - 11.424 g, 0.403 oz Pim (2/3 shekel?) - 7.616 g, 0.258 oz Beca (1/2 shekel) - 5.712 g,.201 oz Gerah (1/20 shekel) - 0.571 g, 0.02 oz Litra (30 shekels, sometimes translated pound ) - 0.4 kg, 12 oz Talent - 40 kg, 88 lbs Mina - 571.2 g, 1.26 lbs Linear Measurements: Reed (6 cubits) - 2.7 m, 8 3/4 ft or 3 yds Cubit (2 spans, sometimes translated yard, half a yard, or foot ) - 0.5 m, 18 in. Span (1/2 cubit or 3 handbreadths) - 23 cm, 9 in. Handbreadth (1/6 cubit, 1/3 span, or 4 fingers, sometimes translated 3 or 4 inches ) - 8 cm, 3 in. Finger - 1.8 cm, 0.73 in. - Ezekiel s Cubit (found in Ezekiel 40:5): Reed (6 of Ezekiel s cubits) - 3.1 m, 10 ft, 2.4 in. Cubit (7 handbreadths) - 0.5 m, 20.4 in. Milion (8 stadia, sometimes translated mile ) - 1.5 km, 1,620 yds or 0.9 mi Stadion (1/8 milion or 400 cubits, sometimes translated mile, furlong, or race ) - 185 m, 1/8 mi Kalamos (6 cubits, sometimes translated rod, reed, or measuring rod ) - 3 m, 3 1/3 yds Fathom (4 cubits, sometimes translated 6 feet ) - 2 m, 2 yds Cubit (sometimes translated yard, half a yard, or foot ) - 0.5 m, 18 in. Dry Measures: Page 5 of 6

Kor (10 ephahs, sometimes translated cor, homer, sack, measures, bushels ) - 220 L, 5.16 bsh or 200 qts Letek (5 ephahs, sometimes translated half homer or half sack ) - 110 L, 2.68 bsh Ephah / Bath (10 omers, sometimes translated bushel, peck, deal, part, measure, or 6 or 7 pints ) - 22 L, 3/5 bsh Seah (1/3 ephah, sometimes translated measure, peck, or large amount ) - 7.3 L, 7 qts Omer / Issaron (1/10 ephah, sometimes translated tenth of a deal or six pints ) - 2 L, 2.09 qts Cab (1/18 ephah, sometimes translated cab ) - 1 L, 1 qt Koros (10 ephahs, sometimes translated sack, measure, bushel, or 500 quartsbus ) - 525 L, 14.9 bsh Modios (4 omers, sometimes translated bushel, bowl, peck, corn-measure, or meal-tub ) - 9 L, 1 pk or 1/4 bsh Saton (1/3 ephah, sometimes translated measure, peck, or large amount ) - 7.3 L, 7 qts Choinix (1/18 ephah, sometimes translated measure or quart ) - 1 L, 1 qt Xestes (1/2 cab, sometimes translated pot, pitcher, kettle, copper bowl, or vessels of bronze ) - 0.5 L, 1 1/6 pts Liquid Measures: Cor / Homer - 208 L, 55 gal Bath (1 ephah, sometimes translated gallon, barrel, or liquid measure ) - 22 L, 5.5 gal Hin (1/6 bath, sometimes translated pints ) - 4 L, 1 gal (4 qts) Log (1/72 bath, sometimes translated pint or cotulus ) - 0.3 L, 0.67 pt Metretes (10 hins, sometimes translated firkins or gallons ) - 39 L, 10 gal Batos (1 ephah, sometimes translated gallon, barrel, or measure ) - 22 L, 6 gal Xestes (1/8 hin, sometimes translated pot, pitcher, kettle, copper bowl, or vessel of bronze ) - 0.5 L, 1 1/6 pts Coins and Monies: Denarius / Denarion: a day s wage ( penny in KJV) Daric / Drachma / Dram: a coin weighing 1/4 oz or 8.5 g Lepta: the smallest Greek copper coin; of unknown weight (translated mite in KJV) Kodrantess: the smallest Roman copper coin; of unknown weight (translated mite in KJV) VIII. FOR NEXT WEEK LEVITICUS 24 Page 6 of 6