HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Opening Prayer
Lord, teach me to offer you thanksgiving and praise in everything I do, in every circumstance you lead me through.
Read LEVITICUS 23:23–44
The Festival of Trumpets
23 The Lord said to Moses, 24 “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. 25 Do no regular work, but present a food offering to the Lord.’”
The Day of Atonement
26 The Lord said to Moses, 27 “The tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. Hold a sacred assembly and deny yourselves,[a] and present a food offering to the Lord. 28 Do not do any work on that day, because it is the Day of Atonement, when atonement is made for you before the Lord your God. 29 Those who do not deny themselves on that day must be cut off from their people. 30 I will destroy from among their people anyone who does any work on that day. 31 You shall do no work at all. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live. 32 It is a day of sabbath rest for you, and you must deny yourselves. From the evening of the ninth day of the month until the following evening you are to observe your sabbath.”
The Festival of Tabernacles
33 The Lord said to Moses, 34 “Say to the Israelites: ‘On the fifteenth day of the seventh month the Lord’s Festival of Tabernacles begins, and it lasts for seven days. 35 The first day is a sacred assembly; do no regular work. 36 For seven days present food offerings to the Lord, and on the eighth day hold a sacred assembly and present a food offering to the Lord. It is the closing special assembly; do no regular work.
37 (“‘These are the Lord’s appointed festivals, which you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies for bringing food offerings to the Lord—the burnt offerings and grain offerings, sacrifices and drink offerings required for each day. 38 These offerings are in addition to those for the Lord’s Sabbaths and[b] in addition to your gifts and whatever you have vowed and all the freewill offerings you give to the Lord.)
39 “‘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. 40 On the first day you are to take branches from luxuriant trees—from palms, willows and other leafy trees—and rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days. 41 Celebrate this as a festival to the Lord for seven days each year. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come; celebrate it in the seventh month. 42 Live in temporary shelters for seven days: All native-born Israelites are to live in such shelters 43 so your descendants will know that I had the Israelites live in temporary shelters when I brought them out of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.’”
44 So Moses announced to the Israelites the appointed festivals of the Lord.
Footnotes
- Leviticus 23:27 Or and fast; similarly in verses 29 and 32
- Leviticus 23:38 Or These festivals are in addition to the Lord’s Sabbaths, and these offerings are
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
How much and how often do you give thanks for material blessings?For an agricultural community, the cycle of the seasons is important; for the Israelites, the end of the old year and the beginning of the new was marked with the sounding of trumpets (not brass, but rams’ horns) (v. 24). Nowadays Jews around the world mark this feast as Rosh Hashanah. It ushers in the holiest month of the year.
The Day of Atonement (vv. 26, 27) was described in detail in chapter 16. For many people today, New Year is a time to reflect on the past year and make resolutions for the coming 12 months (which rarely last more than a couple of weeks!). This Day of Atonement offered a way to be rid of the sins of the past. It anticipated the perfect ‘once for all’ sacrifice that Jesus would make for the sins of the world (Hebrews 7:27).
The Festival of Booths (or Tabernacles) would remind the Israelites, after they had settled in the promised land, of their journey through the wilderness. By living for a week each year in a temporary shelter, they would not forget the journey that God had brought them on (vv. 42, 43). Yesterday I happened to visit the area where I lived while doing my first job. It made me think about the course my life has taken since then. Sometimes it is good to look back and reflect on God’s leading through life.
Apply
Reflect on the times when you have known God’s leading or provision and bring your current situation to him.
Closing prayer
Thank you, Lord God that in Jesus, you have provided for my every earthly and eternal need, yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
Book and Author Intros
Extras
Click here to sign up to receive the EXTRAs via email each quarter.
© 2024 Scripture Union U.S.A. All rights reserved. Reproduction of the whole or any part of the contents without written permission is prohibited.
Discovery is published in the USA under license from Scripture Union England and Wales, Trinity House, Opal Court, Opal Drive, Fox Milne, Milton Keynes, MK15 0DF.