God’s Rest!

#  03 2026 Dev. Lev.23 God’s Rest! Read all of chapter twenty-three first. We invite you into God’s space, to read His Word, to think on and interact with. This is God’s Story. Do you believe that this may also be part of our story, in our time? All passages are taken from the NIV.

Leviticus 23:3“‘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.”

Lev 23 The Appointed Feasts: The Sabbath, Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits, Feast of Weeks, Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement, Feast of Tabernacles.

Vs.1-2 The Sabbath, “you may not do any work…” The punishment for breaking the Sabbath, was death. For Christians today, Sunday is the day we set aside, the day Jesus arose, our day of rest also reflects God’s eternal rest. Paul writes: “On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with your income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made. 1Cor.16:2.” Most of us are still doing that today. Paul also writes: One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord.Rm.14:5-6a.” So, today we have more freedom as it concerns Sunday, but “whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord.” We are blessed on Sunday with the Word of God! Imagine having to work seven days a week!

Vs.4-8 The Passover was combined with the Feast of Unleavened Bread, a seven-day event, celebrating the time in Egypt when the angel of death passed over every house having the blood of the lamb on the door posts. Today’s lamb: “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, ‘Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! Jn.1:29.’” Today’s bread of life: Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. Jn.6:35.” Jesus is  speaking of Spiritual food for eternal life.

Vs.9-14 Offering of First Fruit: “The Lord said to Moses, ‘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.”’ This offering was to include a lamb, fine flour mixed with olive oil and wine. This was to be done before one ate of the new harvest. Today’s firstfruit: “But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 1Cor 15:20.” We also add the bread and wine of Communion. Luke 22:19-20.

Vs.15-21 The Festival of Weeks. “‘From the day after the Sabbath, the day you brought the sheaf of the wave offering, count off seven full weeks. Count off fifty days up to the day after the seventh Sabbath, and then present an offering of new grain to the Lord.”Multimale sacrifices are required, two loaves of bread, seven male lambs, one young bull, and two rams to the Lord. One male goat for a sin offering and two lambs for the priests. Jesus said on one occasion, while he was eating with his disciples, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. Acts 1:4,” We need more of the Holy Spirit today!

V.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.” This was for the poor, we have provisions for the poor today. Today we need to address those who have not experienced God’s Grace: Then he said to his disciples, (and to us) ‘The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Mt. 9:37.”’ That is how it was then and so it is now!

Vs.23-The Festival of Trumpets.  “The Lord said to Moses, ‘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. Do no regular work, but present a food offering to the Lord.’” Today, we look forward to: in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.1Cor.15:35.”Come quickly Lord Jesus!

Vs.26-32. The Day of Atonement. “The Lord said to Moses, ‘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.” Three times the passages say: you must deny yourselves. It is time to ponder why we need atonement, why we need reparations for doing wrong. Today, Jesus: “He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption. Heb.9:12.” Redemption for us all!

Vs.33-44. The Festival of Tabernacles. “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.” They were to live in temporary shelters, remembering the shelters they lived in during the time God brought them out of Egypt. Today, “On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, ‘Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Jn.7:7-39.” We have that Spirit today, what is our excuse?

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