Leviticus 23:1-2: “And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “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.”
The Lord Jehovah established seven feasts for the children of Israel to celebrate before their God, who brought them out of Egyptian slavery.
The Lord Jehovah said the following about these feasts:
These are the feasts of the Lord
These are Holy convocations
These are My feasts
The idea of these gatherings did not originate in the human heart, rather in the mind of God.
It is not the church’s or any committee’s schedule that we should gather together to worship our Lord. God delights to be in the midst of His people.
We need to give due respect to meeting for worship and the place where we gather. Disrespect to the church and the worship service is a dangerous thing.
Our weekly meetings and Sunday worship services are the feasts of the Lord; it is holy convocations and the Lord says "it is my Sunday - you are coming to My holy place to worship Me."
God has ordained seven festivals for the people of Israel (In the first month, the third month and the seventh month in their calendar) to celebrate.
Whether they lived in Israel or in other parts of the world, they must come to Jerusalem three times to celebrate these feasts.
In celebrating these feasts, it represented something.
By observing these feasts:
God wanted Israel to remember their Lord, who was the source of all their blessings.
God wanted Israel to remember their past experiences.
How God miraculously delivered them from their bondages.
Remember how God punished Pharaoh with ten plagues.
Remember how the Passover lamb was slain on the 14th of the first month.
Remember how the blood was posted on the door.
Remember how God spared your first born while all the firstborns in Egypt were killed in Egypt.
Remember the night they left Egypt after 430 years captivity.
How God miraculously led them through their wilderness journey.
Walking through the desert for forty years.
How the cloud for shade and a cloud of fire was over them.
The crossing of the Red Sea and the fall of the wall of Jericho.
The Manna they ate and the water they drank.
The Ten commandments they received from God.
The punishment of the rebellious people in the wilderness.
And how God miraculously gave them the promise land.
Remember how God divided the Jordan River.
Remember how God removed the Gentile nations from the promise land.
Remember the systematic way in which the land was allotted in the promise land.
Remember your leaders, Moses, Aaron, Miriam and Joshua and their leadership.
God wanted them to share their past to their future generations
The people of Israel were to come together in an appointed place and time to rejoice and give thanks by showing their gratitude and their loyalty for God’s faithfulness towards them.
We don’t come together for discussion or arguments or to please others, or to find others’ faults. Purpose of our gathering is only for two things: To remember our past and to remember our God!