God’s Holy Days: A Call to Pay Attention

(Editor's note: This article has been adapted with permission from the author's original post on September 29, 2023 in his blog Longitude.)  

“Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘The feasts of the Lord, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My feasts’” (Leviticus 23:2).

The law is clearly stated: these feasts are God’s, and they are statutes forever (verse 41). All the feasts are mentioned in this chapter. But let’s focus in on the Feast of Tabernacles briefly, to review what God expects from observance of His feasts.

“Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days to the Lord. On the first day there shall be a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work on it. For seven days you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord . . .’” (verses 34-36).

When the law was repeated in Deuteronomy 16:13-15, more detail was given:

“You shall observe the Feast of Tabernacles seven days, when you have gathered from your threshing floor and from your wine press.  And you shall rejoice in your feast, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant and the Levite, the stranger and the fatherless and the widow, who are within your gates. Seven days you shall keep a sacred feast to the Lord your God in the place which the Lord chooses, because the Lord your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that you surely rejoice.”

Notice it is a “sacred feast.” It is a holy period of time. It means we should take note of something extraordinary. We think that time is ours, that life belongs to us and that we determine, like masters, what is important and solely ours. But God tells us that there is time that is specially His, that is sacred. When we encounter words like these, we should take notice.

Only God by His presence can make something holy or sacred. The focus of the feasts of God concerns time. Time is made sacred by God’s presence, blessing or attention. We are told in Genesis that the seventh day is set apart by God, when He rested from His work. When God appoints a time and season as sacred, it is a sign to mankind to pay attention. Something big and important is going on here.

I have learned the only way to understand the things of God is to do what He says. Wisdom and understanding come through such action. The Feast of Tabernacles is a gateway to understanding the purpose God has for us on this privileged planet. Time aligns with God’s eternal purpose on these feast days.

The only way to understand God’s purpose for human life is by taking action on God’s instruction for these feasts.

God is the center of these feasts. His design and purposes are evident in the instruction He gives for their observance. These feasts contain the elements for a life of peace, joy and contentment bound in the love of God.