What are the LORD’s appointed times in Leviticus 23?

from the old testament

• Leviticus 23 starts with a kind of “title,” describing the rest of the chapter. It says, “These are the appointed feasts of the Lord that you shall proclaim as holy convocations; they are my appointed feasts.” (Leviticus 23:2). What follows this verse is a series of “appointed times.” The Hebrew word for “appointed times” is mo’ed (pronounced “moe ed”). It refers to a set date and time to meet, like an appointment. So, the “appointed times” are meeting days. Those meetings are called “holy convocations.” The word “convocations” simply means “assembly.”
• God declared seven different meeting times, each with its own meaning and purpose to help the people know and understand Him better. Those times included:
• Weekly Sabbath (Leviticus 23:3): observed every seventh day as a day of complete rest from work. It was meant to be a reminder that God created the universe and everything in it (Exodus 20:11; 31:17). A weekly Sabbath kept the people reliant upon God to provide for their needs and gave them the opportunity to meet with Him often (Exodus 31:13; Deuteronomy 5:15).
• Annual Feast of Passover and Unleavened Bread (Leviticus 23:5–8): reminded the Israelites how God had rescued them from slavery (Exodus 1–15). On the night of their escape (Exodus 12), the blood of a sacrificed lamb protected everyone inside houses marked with blood by God passing over those houses (Exodus 12:23). Those who did not follow God’s command by not marking their houses with lamb’s blood suffered the death of their firstborn, including the livestock (Exodus 12:29). As a result of this judgement, the Egyptian pharaoh and his people urgently sent the Israelites out of their land. Because of the swiftness of their flight, they only brought unleavened bread with them to eat (Exodus 12:30–34). This festival highlighted God’s ability to provide salvation for His people.
• Annual Feast of First Fruits (Leviticus 23:9–14): an opportunity for the Israelites to bring an offering of their early barley harvest before the LORD. Recognizing God’s provision of an early harvest helped people have faith in God’s ability to provide further harvests later in the year.
• Annual Feast of Weeks (“Shavuot/Pentecost,” Leviticus 23:15–22): celebrated a week’s-worth of weeks (fifty days) after the Feast of First Fruits for the purpose of the Israelites bringing their offering of the first of the wheat harvest, again thanking God for His on-going provision.
• Annual Feast of Trumpets (“Rosh Hashanah,” Leviticus 23:23–25): a time to gather the people to rededicate themselves to the LORD after a long summer season of agricultural work. It was seen as a spiritual new year as the people were called to repentance with the blasts of trumpeting ram horns.
• Annual Day of Atonement (“Yom Kippur,” Leviticus 23:26–32): observed ten days after the Feast of Trumpets as the way for Israel’s sins, both personal and collective, to be carried away and for their standing before God to be made right.
• Annual Feast of Booths (“Sukkot/Tabernacles,” Leviticus 23:33–36, 39–43): was a time where thanksgiving offerings of the fall harvest were brought to God and to remember how God dwelt among them providing for their needs as the Israelites wandered in the desert living in tents (or booths) for forty years.

from the new testament

• The “appointed times” do not apply to the church. However, the New Testament either connects specific events, or alludes to them, in the work of Jesus:
• Sabbath: Jesus declared Himself Lord over the Sabbath (Matthew 12:8) and the writer of Hebrews described a complete rest for followers of Jesus in Hebrews 4:9–11.
• Passover: Jesus died on the cross during Passover, so His death coincides with the meaning and significance of this holiday as well. He is our Passover Lamb.
• Feast of First Fruits: This holiday coincides with Jesus’ resurrection as Paul mentioned in 1 Corinthians 15:20–23.
• Feast of Weeks: This holiday is when God chose to pour out the gift of the Holy Spirit on the first believers (Acts 2:1–4). Relatedly, Paul calls the receiving of the Holy Spirit “the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it” (Ephesians 1:14) much like the early wheat harvest was a guarantee of God’s future provision of further harvests.
• Feast of Trumpets: It may be tied to Jesus’ return to earth when He will descend “with the sound of the trumpet of God” (1 Thessalonians 4:16).
• Day of Atonement: The self-reflection and repentance started during the Feast of Trumpets was brought to completion on the Day of Atonement, just as someday followers of Jesus will be fully sanctified and in God’s presence (Hebrews 10:14–18).
• Feast of Booths: Just like the holiday reminded the Israelites that God dwelt with them, it points to the time when God, having instituted a new heaven and a new earth, “will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God” (Revelation 21:3).

implications for today

The Lord’s appointed times were specific to the nation of Israel and, therefore, are not directly relevant to us. However, we can learn at least three things about God through them.

First, we learn that He is an orderly God. He appointed times for the Israelites to assemble together just as He has appointed weekly times for His church to gather. Just like He defined what happened during those times, He also defines what is to be done during gatherings of the church. While we have flexibility, He expects our focus to be on ways to glorify Jesus, including singing (Ephesians 5:19), baptizing (Matthew 28:19), communion (1 Corinthians 11:23–26), and listening to His word being preached (Acts 2:42). Just like how the Israelites gathered weekly on the Sabbath as He appointed, He has similarly appointed the Lord’s Day (Sunday) for the church to gather weekly (Acts 20:7; c.f., Revelation 1:10).

Second, the appointed times were not days of drudgery, but days of joy and celebration. Through them we learn that our God is a gracious God who gives joy to His people. While our celebrations now, except for Sunday, are not fixed “appointed times,” with Christians having flexibility as to which holidays they celebrate (Romans 14:5–6), everything God does is for our joy and His glory.

Third, as we think about Jesus’ current and future fulfillment of those holidays, we also marvel at the greatness of God’s unsearchable wisdom (Psalm 145:3), seeing how He worked carefully and methodically through history and how He continues to work today.