Three Fall Feasts of the Israelites
Sermon Text:  Leviticus 23 

Introduction: 

     The fall season for us usually means cooler weather and leaves changing color.  This time of year for Israel meant the observing of three special feasts.  These are recorded in Leviticus 23. 

Text:  Leviticus 23 

 I. Feast of Trumpets (Verses 23-25) 

• This later came to be known as Rosh Hashanah.  It occurred on September 29^th this year.
• It prepared the people for the most sacred month of the Hebrew calendar.
• It also marked the end of one agricultural year and the beginning of another.  “New Year’s Day”
• Special sacrifices were to be made.  (Numbers 29:1)

II. Day of Atonement (Verses 26-32) 

• This day was later known as Yom Kippur.  It began at sunset on   October 7^th this year.
• The ten days from Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur are today called the Days of Awe.  It is a time to reflect on the past year.  What did I accomplish?  How well did I treat others?  It is a time to make amends because of things I have done.  There is a time to ask how I can do better in the coming year.
• On the Day of Atonement, the High Priest would enter the Holy of Holies and would make atonement for his sins and then for the sins of the people.  (Leviticus 16:29-34)
• This was the most somber day of the year.  The focus was on sins.  “Missing the mark”  (Hebrews 7:23-28)

III. Feast of Booths [Tabernacles] (Verses 33-44) 

• This year the feast lasts from sundown October 12^th – 19^th. It is to celebrate God’s care for the Israelites in the desert for forty years.
• Sukkah is a temporary shelter.  [sukkot is plural] All over the world Jewish people build the temporary shelters during these days.
• The point is to appreciate and be thankful for God’s care and provisions.
• Today, the church [spiritual Israel] should be the most thankful of all people.  (Ephesians 5:19-20, I Thessalonians 5:18, Colossians 2:7,       I Corinthians 15:57)

Invitation: 

     Jesus, our Great High Priest, sacrificed Himself for our sins.  He showed us by example the necessity of trusting in God and obeying. 

Bobby Stafford

October 9, 2011

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