Leviticus 23:33-44

Leviticus 23:33-44

[33] And the LORD  spake  unto Moses,  saying,  [34] Speak  unto the children  of Israel,  saying,  The fifteenth  day  of this seventh  month  shall be the feast  of tabernacles  for seven  days  unto the LORD.  [35] On the first  day  shall be an holy  convocation:  ye shall do  no servile  work  [36] Seven  days  ye shall offer  an offering made by fire  unto the LORD:  on the eighth  day  shall be an holy  convocation  unto you; and ye shall offer  an offering made by fire  unto the LORD:  it is a solemn assembly;  and ye shall do  no servile  work  therein. [37] These are the feasts  of the LORD,  which ye shall proclaim  to be holy  convocations,  to offer  an offering made by fire  unto the LORD,  a burnt offering,  and a meat offering,  a sacrifice,  and drink offerings,  every thing  upon his  [38] Beside the sabbaths  of the LORD,  and beside your gifts,  and beside all your vows,  and beside all your freewill offerings,  which ye give  unto the LORD.  [39] Also in the fifteenth  day  of the seventh  month,  when ye have gathered  in the fruit  of the land,  ye shall keep  a feast  unto the LORD  seven  days:  on the first  day  shall be a sabbath,  and on the eighth  day  shall be a sabbath.  [40] And ye shall take  you on the first  day  the boughs  of goodly  trees,  branches  of palm  trees, and the boughs  of thick  trees,  and willows  of the brook;  and ye shall rejoice  before  the LORD  your God  seven  days.  [41] And ye shall keep  it a feast  unto the LORD  seven  days  in the year.  It shall be a statute  for ever  in your generations:  ye shall celebrate  it in the seventh  month.  [42] Ye shall dwell  in booths  seven  days;  all that are Israelites  born  shall dwell  in booths:  [43] That your generations  may know  that I made the children  of Israel  to dwell  in booths,  when I brought them out  of the land  of Egypt:  I am the LORD  your God.  [44] And Moses  declared  unto the children  of Israel  the feasts  of the LORD. 

What does Leviticus 23:33-44 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

This feast (Heb. Sukkot) was another very joyous occasion for the Israelites. It was the third fall festival. It commemorated the Israelites" journey from Egyptian bondage to blessing in Canaan. Its other names were the Feast of Booths and the Feast of Ingathering (CEV the Festival of Shelters). The people built booths out of branches and lived under these for the duration of this eight-day festival as a reminder of their life in the wilderness. They presented many offerings during this holiday ( Numbers 29:12-38). In this feast the Israelites" looked backward to the land of their slavery and forward to the Promised Land of blessing. The feast opened and closed with a Sabbath. It was primarily a time of joy since God had provided atonement. It was the only festival in which God commanded the Israelites to rejoice, and it revolved around the harvest of grapes and other fall field products.
". . . in the later postexilic period [1] took on something of a carnival atmosphere." [2]
The Israelites will enjoy a similar prolonged period of rejoicing in the Millennium when they will enjoy national blessing as a result of Jesus Christ"s atoning work for them ( Zechariah 14:16). Then the Jews in the millennial kingdom will be believers in Him and therefore redeemed and adopted as His chosen people. However there will be greater blessings on ahead for them in the eternal state.
God designed this feast primarily as a time of anticipation as well as reflection. Similarly our worship should include the element of anticipation as we look forward to entering into all that God has promised us in the future. The Puritans patterned their Thanksgiving Day feast in New England after this Jewish festival. [3]
"The people of God must preserve in memory how the LORD provided for them throughout the year and how he provided for their ancestors as he led them to the fulfillment of the promises." [4]
"The dozen feasts of the Hebrew calendar [5] are pitifully few when compared with the fifty or sixty religious festivals of ancient Thebes, for example." [6]
Feasts & Fasts in the Early History of IsraelSeasonMonthDay(s) of MonthFeast or FastAttendance by Adult MalesSacredCivilModernSpring17March/April14PassoverOptionalSpring17March/April14-20Unleavened BreadRequiredSpring17March/AprilThe day after the Sabbath following PassoverFirstfruitsOptionalSpring39May/June4Pentecost (a.k.a. Harvest, Weeks)RequiredFall71September/ October1TrumpetsOptionalFall71September/October10Day of Atonement (the only fast)OptionalFall71September/October15-21Tabernacles (a.k.a. Booths, Ingathering)Required
"When we celebrate Good Friday we should think not only of Christ"s death on the cross for us, but of the first exodus from Egypt which anticipated our deliverance from the slavery of sin. At Easter we recall Christ"s resurrection and see in it a pledge of our own resurrection at the last day, just as the firstfruits of harvest guarantee a full crop later on ( 1 Corinthians 15:20; 1 Corinthians 15:23). At Whitsun (Pentecost) we praise God for the gift of the Spirit and all our spiritual blessings; the OT reminds us to praise God for our material benefits as well." [7]
Leviticus does not mention the Feast of Purim (lit. lots) that the Jews added to their calendar later in their history (cf. Esther 9:20-32). Neither does the Old Testament refer to the Feast of Dedication (Heb. Hanukkah) because the Jews instituted it much later in their history. Purim celebrates the Jews" deliverance from the Persians in Esther"s time. Hanukkah, often called the Feast of Lights, commemorates the revolt and victory of the Maccabees (Hasmoneans) against Antiochus Epiphanes of Syria and the rededication of the temple in165 B.C. [8] During the Babylonian captivity the Jews began to celebrate other fasts as well (cf. Zechariah 7:1-8)