Many of you will know that my family and I began celebrating the Biblical Feasts or the Festivals of God years ago. People have asked me LOTS over the years to share some of the resources I've created for our family with them. I've tried at different times and in different ways and thought maybe I could go through some of them here and share on this website. If you've never heard about the feasts of God and feel so inclined, you can have a read of them in Leviticus 23 and MANY places throughout the Bible (yep even in the New Testament).
We love the feasts for so many reasons. Here are just a few: They have been given by God to ALL of His people. In the Bible, God only has one name for His people and that name is Israel. Not as in Israel the country, but as in Israel The People who hold Yahweh as their God. It didn't matter if a person was born of Israel 'naturally' or if they joined themselves to His people (like Ruth did). They were accepted by Him and given the same boundaries (the Torah) regardless (you can read about that in Numbers 15:15).
They help us to take stock and think about Him.
He created a calendar that we have all but forgotten. He carved into it a time for pause each week (sabbath), each month (new moon) and 7 feasts each year! During these times, we gather together (when we can) with others, we cease working and give ourselves permission to rest. He invites us to stop and think about Him, His nature, His promises and His Truth.
They help bring meaning to our spiritual journeys.
We are each on a journey of faith and meaning and these times are precious because they can help to paint a fuller picture of our faith. They teach us how others before us have trusted Him and how we can too. They show us the Messiah Yeshua (Jesus' Hebrew name) as Passover Lamb, as the Bread of Life (without sin/yeast - we see this during the Feast of Unleavened Bread), as the First Fruits of the Resurrection (we see this during our Feast of First Fruits). They show us the Spirit being given at Pentecost (which was one of these Leviticus 23 ancient feasts and not just one that was instituted in Acts!) They remind us that the trumpet will sound when the Messiah returns (Feast of Trumpets), that Jesus did even more than just cover over our sins but took them away (Day of Atonement) and they remind us that He came first to dwell/tabernacle among men and that ultimately we will Tabernacle with Him forever (Feast of Tabernacles). These pictures are so beautiful, enriching our faith with layers of meaning.
The feasts give us meaningful rhythms and rituals.
Each feast has certain special elements (that you can read about in the Bible) and we have creative license to celebrate in ways that help us remember these set apart times. For instance, every year our family dresses up for Passover. Do you have to? Nope! But for our family, it's a special way to remember these set apart times. Some rituals have changed shape as we've grown but we love the colour and meaning they add to our lives.
Everything we do can be seen in the Scriptures. We aren't following a teacher or church or man-made command with the Feasts. Everything we do for the feasts, can be read about in the Scriptures themselves which is so important to us.
If you are new to the feasts, I know it can be overwhelming. It can also be hard because there aren't a lot of people who do celebrate (especially in Australia). When I grew up, I celebrated Christmas and Easter and that was it. Instead now, my family celebrates the Feasts of God and we are so thankful for them all. We are here to support you if you need resources or information. You can download the PDF I created about the Feasts by clicking the link below.
Love and blessings, Lusi x