Leviticus 23:4 - Meaning and Application

Here the feasts are again called the feasts of the Lord, because he appointed them. Jeroboam’s feast, which he made up on his own (1 Kings 12:33), offended God and brought shame on the people. These feasts were to be announced at their proper times (Leviticus 23:4), and the seasons God chose were March, May, and September by our present calendar.

He did not choose winter, because travel would have been hard then, with short days and muddy roads. He also did not choose the middle of summer, because in those lands people were gathering harvest and vintage, and could not easily leave their work. In this way, God kindly considered their comfort in his commands, while also calling them to honor him gladly and not treat his worship as a burden.

The appointed sacred times were many and came often. This was meant to keep God and true religion always before them, and to keep them from falling into the idol worship of the nations around them. God kept them busy in his service so they would have less time to listen to the temptations of their idolatrous neighbors.

Most of these feasts were also times of joy. The weekly Sabbath was, and so were all the yearly feasts, except the Day of Atonement, a day for making peace with God through sacrifice. In this way God taught them that wisdom’s ways are pleasant, and he encouraged cheerful service. They had seven days of strict rest and holy meetings: the first and seventh days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the day of Pentecost, the day of trumpets, the first and eighth days of the Feast of Tabernacles, and the Day of Atonement. So there were six days of holy joy and only one day of holy sorrow. We are told to rejoice always, but not to be always weeping.

Here is the law of the Passover repeated. It was to be kept on the fourteenth day of the first month, in memory of their rescue from Egypt and the special saving of their firstborn, mercies they must never forget. The feast began with the killing of the Passover lamb (Leviticus 23:5). It lasted seven days, and during all that time they were to eat unleavened bread (Leviticus 23:6). The first and last days of the seven were days of holy rest and holy meetings (Leviticus 23:7, 8).

These were not idle holidays spent in amusement, as many who call themselves Christians spend their holy days. Offerings were made by fire to the Lord at his altar, and we may well think the people were also taught to use the time for prayer, praise, and godly reflection.

There is also an order here for offering a sheaf of the firstfruits, a first bundle of grain, on the second day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The first day is called a Sabbath because it was kept as a Sabbath (Leviticus 23:11), and on the next day this solemn act was to be done. A sheaf, or handful, of new grain was brought to the priest. He was to lift it up as a sign of presenting it to the God of heaven, and wave it before the Lord as the Lord of all the earth. This would be accepted for them as a thankful acknowledgment of God’s mercy in filling their fields with grain, and of their dependence on him, and their desire for him to keep it for their use. It was both prayer and praise (Leviticus 23:11).

A lamb for a burnt offering was to be offered with it (Leviticus 23:12). Just as animal sacrifices were usually joined with grain offerings, so this grain sacrifice was joined with a burnt offering, so bread and meat might be placed together on God’s table. They were forbidden to eat any of their new grain until this offering was made. If God and Israel were to feast together, it was right that God should be served first.

This offering of the firstfruits, made in the name of the whole people, set apart their whole harvest for them, and gave them a proper and thankful use of the rest. We can eat our bread with joy when we have, in some measure, done our duty to God and he has accepted our work, because then all our blessings are made clean to us.

This law was given now, though it would not be carried out until they came into Canaan. In the wilderness they sowed no grain, but God fed them there with bread from heaven. That should have made them willing later to give him his portion from the bread of the earth. When they entered Canaan, the manna stopped on the very day the firstfruits sheaf was offered. They had eaten the old grain the day before (Joshua 5:11), and then on this day they offered the firstfruits, which gave them the right to the new grain too (Leviticus 23:12). So there was no further need for manna.

This sheaf of firstfruits pointed ahead to our Lord Jesus, who rose from the dead as the firstfruits of those who have died (1 Corinthians 15:20). That branch of the Lord (Isaiah 4:2) was then presented to God, because of the sacrifice of himself, the Lamb of God, and it was accepted for us. It is very striking that our Lord Jesus rose from the dead on the very day the firstfruits were offered, showing that he was the substance of that shadow.

This law also teaches us to honor the Lord with our wealth and with the first and best of all we earn (Proverbs 3:9). They were not to eat from their new grain until God’s share had been offered to him (Leviticus 23:14). We must do the same in principle: begin with God, begin our lives with him, begin each day with him, begin each meal with him, and begin every matter with him. Seek first the kingdom of God.