Program Transcript
Episode 33: 7 Feasts of the LORD. Intro
Heather M R Olsen

Hello, Listeners. I’m glad you are here!

Before we get started, I wanted to let you know I am finally on both Instagram and Facebook. I don’t love being on social media, but it is the most efficient way to share information, plus notify you when more podcasts are posted. Please “Follow” my Illumination: Hebrew Insights pages on FB and Instagram. You can know it’s mine when you see the “shin” logo, but this time it will be in blue.

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My marketing skills stink, but I love to teach—to share my love of God, Jesus, & the Bible with you all. So thank you for sharing my podcast with others as well! I think my best marketing action is word of mouth: relying on each of your sharing about the podcasts! So again, thank you!

One series of teachings I have really enjoyed is the 7 Feasts of the LORD. God outlined His teachings and instructions in the Torah (the first 5 books of the Bible) and included these Feasts as part of His teachings. He gave them to Moses and the Israelites at the foot of Mount Sinai within the first two years in the desert. They were commanded to remember them as the LORD’s (YHVH’s) appointed times. 

We can find God outlining them to the Israelites through Moses in Leviticus 23.

I mentioned 7 Feasts, but if you read Leviticus 23, the first Feast listed is Shabbat or the Sabbath. This is a weekly celebration God instigated for humanity to “stop” or “cease.” He modeled this routine, or rhythm of life, in the Creation narrative, we can read in Genesis 2:2-3  By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. ³ Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.

Though this is an important weekly practice in the life of a believer, we are going to table Shabbat for the time being and focus on it at a later date. The Feasts we will focus on are the 7 annual feasts.

These 7 Feasts in English are: 

Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits, Feast of Weeks, Trumpets, Day of Atonement, and Booths.

The Hebrew names are: 

Pesach, Hag HaMatzot, Bikurim, Shavuot, Rosh HaShanah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot.

Let me quickly clarify that in contemporary language, these are not just called Feasts, but also festivals; some say celebrations or holidays. They can be called holy convocations, appointed times, assemblies, etc. You get the picture. The biblical Hebrew word is “moedim” and, depending on your biblical translation, these “moedim” are most often translated as Feasts.

We could even call them God’s mandated parties, as opposed to human’s mandated celebrations, like Purim in a previous podcast. Purim is still an important celebration, but not biblically mandated by God, but rather a remembrance as prescribed by Mordecai in the Esther narrative. If you haven’t listened, find If I Perish, I Perish in my podcast library.

Again, these Feasts are outlined in Leviticus 23 and some are reiterated in Deuteronomy 16. They are to be “lasting ordinances for the generations to come, wherever you live.” (Leviticus 23:14b). Not surprisingly, they are still celebrated today.

The Hebrew root for “moed” (singular) is יָעַד (ya’ad), meaning “to appoint” or “to fix.” God appointed these parties for the Israelites, set aside as times of celebration signifying “a time set apart for a specific purpose, often involving worship or remembrance.” In ancient Israel, the “moed” was integral to the religious and communal life of the Israelites. Since they were Divinely appointed, they were not only times of worship and sacrifice, but also celebrations and remembrances of what God had done for His people. God had made a covenantal relationship with Israel and these “moedim” were celebrations of His promises, provisions, and deliverances. They emphasized “the rhythm of sacred time in the life of the community” and they tell God’s story.

Each of God’s appointed Feasts is celebrated even today among Jews, Messianic Jews, and secular Israelis alike. Some Christians choose to celebrate them, as they are “Feasts of the LORD,” rather than Feasts of Israelites, or Feasts of the Old Testament. Regardless, it would be wise for all believers to know them and their significance in God’s story. You’ll understand why as we unfold this series.

My sources will be in my transcript but I’ll name them here also. 

• First and foremost, the Bible
• Second, Moments and Days, by Michelle Van Loon
• Third, Feasts of the LORD, by Kevin Howard and Marvin Rosenthal
• And finally, God’s Appointed Times, by Barney Kasdan

Why should we study the feasts? Especially those of us who are not Jewish? 

Some churches teach that these feasts are obsolete, or simply skip over them, as they skip over much of the Old Testament. We are taught the 10 Commandments in Sunday School, and I was challenged to memorize them, but keep in mind—different denominations number them differently. Remember in the original biblical Hebrew, there are not only no vowels but no punctuation, no chapters nor verses. Consequently translators and theologians to the best of their abilities divided up sentences, chapters and verses. This is consistent with the numbering of the 10 Commandments or also known as the Decalogue (“deca-” meaning 10 in Latin).

We need to be careful not to pick and choose which of God’s commands are relevant from the Hebrew Bible. We talked about Moral, Ceremonial, and Civil (which is judicial) laws as discussed in our Covenants series. The bottom line is Jesus’ fulfillment in what the church calls the “Law of Moses” is technically in the sacrificial and ceremonial system.

But the Feasts are not completely fulfilled as we will see.

As we journey into and through the Feasts podcasts, I hope you will be enlightened by the Bible and God’s overarching plan for humanity as seen and experienced. God is a show-and-tell God, and, through these Feasts, He gives many glimpses of His story for humanity.

Messianic Jewish author, Michelle Van Loon wrote that God gave us the Feasts in the Bible that “Jewish and Gentile followers of Jesus understand that the finished work of Jesus the Messiah fills full the meaning of these festival days.” Wow. Jesus has something to do with them? Of course God’s story is not just plain and simple, but intricately layered, for all to keep learning!

Each of these 7 Feasts revolves around Israel’s agricultural calendar. There are four spring feasts, and three fall feasts. The Messiah’s first coming is emphasized in the first 4 feasts. His second coming in the 3 fall feasts.

Consequently, and spoiler alert, the 4 Spring Feasts are already fulfilled. But the 3 Fall Feasts have a future fulfillment!

Remember the number 7 is a biblical number for “perfection and completion.” According to Chabad.org, seven is “one of the most significant numbers in Judaism,” the “most sacred and perfect” number. 

Go to the biblegateway.com website and search the number “seven” and see how many times it is used in the Bible. I found 517 references in my NIV translation, not including the numbering of chapters and verses. These 517 begin with Creation, 54 references in Genesis alone, and ending with 36 references in Revelation. 

That encompasses God’s entire story of redemption for humanity. It’s exciting!

As already stated, Christians are not mandated to celebrate these feasts, but in the least, it is important to realize that God created them for a very specific reason. As believers, we are to know God’s Word! Let’s realize God’s intentionality as He created these days. We are then to create intentionality in the way we all live God’s gift of eternal life through Jesus.

Rabbi Jack Reimer defined our human holidays versus God’s holy days.

“On holidays we run away from duties. On holy days we face up to them. On holidays we let ourselves go. On holy days we try to bring ourselves under control. On holidays we try to empty our minds. On holy days we attempt to replenish our spirits. On holidays we reach out for the things we want. On holy days we reach up for the things we need. Holidays bring a change of scenery. Holy days bring a change of heart.”

And so I challenge us all to memorize 

Psalm 90:12 Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. 

We’ll review it several times throughout this unit.

Now onto Leviticus 23. Please take time to read it.

This Bible chapter outlines God’s command and the beginnings of Feast specifics.

Throughout these Feasts, the Israelites were given the gift of time, which again includes the weekly Shabbat or Sabbath. Van Loon reminds us that “time was defined by [the Israelites] seeing themselves as part of God’s eternal story.”

She also wrote that “God gave His people a way to learn His story and theirs through a yearly cycle of Holy Days.” Let’s all learn God’s Story. 

First a quick review of covenants and God’s covenants.

COVENANT: Hebrew– B’Rit! בְּרִית

• A Covenant generically is a binding agreement between 2 parties. 
• Those of us who are married technically entered the covenant of marriage before God, family, and our closest friends. We use covenant language in this sense all the time.
• Biblical covenants are promises God made with individuals and groups of people, carrying stipulations, often accompanied by a “sign.” BUT unlike a contract, they are relational and personal.
• All over the Bible we can find covenants.
  • There are personal ones between individuals, like David and Jonathan.
  • There are political ones between kings and nations.
  • There are legal covenants.

Covenants were a common practice in the ancient near east, so God used this familiar covenantal language to enter into a relationship with humanity.

In fact, the backbone of the Hebrew Scriptures is founded on God’s Covenants.

A covenant is “cut,” “carat” in Hebrew, between 2 parties.

In the Bible, the foundational covenants are between God and _________. 

God cut covenants with Adam & Eve, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses & the Israelites, David, and all of us believers in the New Covenant.

Covenants are often accompanied by a sign—something physical as a visual to remember the covenant.

• Somes signs are:
  • Rainbow, circumcision, blood, communion, the curse to Adam & Eve, shabbat, etc… 

So important question: Why do these Feasts pertain to us if the covenants were made with Israel? 

Kevin Howard and Marvin Rosenthal outlined in Feasts of the LORD that all these Feasts were given to Israel but, in each, we see a major event in Jesus’ life. This is relevant to Christians. We will unpack each Feast individually in separate podcasts, so keep listening!

In the spring:

• Passover depicts the Messiah’s death on the cross; our Passover Lamb.
• The Feast of Unleavened Bread depicts Jesus’ body that did not decay in the tomb. No leaven, no sin, no decay.
• The Feast of First Fruits depicts Jesus’ resurrection. 
• The Feast of Weeks, or in Greek, Pentecost, depicts the release and deposit of the Holy Spirit in all who believe in the saving blood of the Messiah.

Those are the fulfilled Feasts. 

In the fall:

• The Feast of Trumpets, or Rosh Hashanah. This depicts the trumpet that will sound as Jesus returns.
• This is followed 10 days later, by Yom Kippur or the Day of Atonement. On Yom Kippur, judgment will take place with the deliverance of believers and judgement of unbelievers.
• The final Feast is Sukkot, or Feast of Tabernacles. God will come down and again dwell or tabernacle with His people, as He did in the Garden of Eden. Heaven and Earth will be restored.

Amid all of this, we have our covenants, hence the review on our covenants. You could go back to the 6 covenants that we studied in earlier podcasts: the Adamic, Noahic, Mosaic, Abrahamic, Davidic, and the New. All of them were established with the nation of Israel, yet with a foreshadowing of Gentile inclusion. A contemporary definition of the term “Gentile” is simply non-Jewish. Gentile believers, then, are those of us who are not Jewish, but adopted into God’s beautiful, eclectic family!

The Abrahamic Covenant was the promise of a Seed—the Seed—Land, and numerous descendants. This covenant has been fulfilled in so many ways, but the ultimate is the Seed, Jesus.

The Davidic Covenant was a promise that the Messiah would come through the Davidic line—the tribe of Judah—as the King of all Kings.

Jesus came and instituted the New Covenant, the sign being in His body and blood. This New Covenant is in force now but will be completely fulfilled at His second coming.

That’s a lot to ingest.

Let’s look at time: Jewish time versus Roman time. 

The Jewish day begins with the setting of the sun. In Jewish time, the day, beginning with evening, was set into motion by God in the Creation story. At the finish of each day of Creation we can read in Genesis 1 “there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.” Or the second day, or the third day, etc.

One author affirmed this unique start to the day by explaining that, “Informed Jewish identity, moving from darkness to light daily underscored and affirmed their unique calling and mission.”

Abraham Joshua Heschel, Jewish theologian and philosopher, wrote, “While the deities of other peoples were associated with places or things, the God of Israel was the God of events: the Redeemer from slavery, the Revealer of the Torah, manifesting Himself in events of history rather than in things or places. Judaism is a religion of time aiming at the sanctification of time.”

The Jewish week has numbered days, rather than named days and except for day 7, which is entitled Shabbat. Jesus rose on the first day of the week. How fitting! Start the week right!

Though modern Israel follows the Gregorian calendar now, which is solar, biblical Jewish months follow a lunar cycle. Consequently, these holy days, these “moedim,” are on different days each year, depending on the moon.

Within these Feasts, or holy appointments, the Jewish people take time to examine their hearts. They, like us, need to ask themselves, is this relationship with the LORD or merely rules and regulations. Often within our faith-based congregations, we can get hung up on doing traditions rather than a heart relationship with the LORD. 

Van Loon reminds us that, “Abundant activity does not equal [an] abundant life.” Hear that again: “Abundant activity does not equal [an] abundant life.” Many of us blunder that exponentially.

Jesus promised each of us in Matthew 11:28-30

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

What we do with and for Jesus should not be cumbersome or burdened.

The Chosen People in the desert 3000+ years ago were reorienting their lives—heart, soul, mind, and strength—as they followed godlike pilgrims through time. God was training the Israelites to carry His name to the Nations.

Think back to that time in the desert and the Israelites entering the Promised Land. They were surrounded by pagan communities—communities that worshipped many gods, sacrificed their children, arranged sex ceremonies—all to appease their gods. God strongly and strictly required (and, I will add, requires) a proper modicum of worship and behavior to be this Light to the Nations. Our behavior should reflect our belief in the One True God of Creation.

This also incorporates getting to know God and His Heart. How do we do this? By spending time with Him. Van Loon reminds us that “Relationships are forged from time together;” this is true regarding friendships, between spouses, with children and parents, and with each of us and God. There is no quality time without quantity.

Our time with God is important. It can be found in weekly worship, daily Bible reading, and continual prayer.

And so begins our journey into the Feasts.

ASSIGNMENT:

If you want to go deeper, not just listen, find a journal or notebook.

Divide it into 7 sections—1 for each feast.

Here are the items you should put in each section:

• Name of the Feast, complete with its scripture references.
• Time of year, e.g. which month.
• List the details that are entailed.
• Name God’s biblical commands pertaining to this Feast.
• Name the Prophecy and/or Fulfillment. Make sure you list when it happened or when it will happen. 
• Last, include some interesting facts, something that made you say, “Hmmm.”

Also, look up and know these key terms:

• Sanhedrin
• Book of Life
• Covenant
• Sign
• Gematria
• Leaven
• Day of the LORD
• Sabbath/Shabbat
• Josephus

Let’s close with

Luke 24:44-48

He [Jesus] said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”

Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.

In this passage, Jesus just announced that He is the fulfillment of the entire Hebrew Bible.

The Law of Moses is the first 5 books, the Torah.

The biblical books of the Prophets in Hebrew are called the Nevi’im.

The Psalms are part of the writings in the Hebrew Bible, entitled Ketuvim. 

Torah, Nevi’im, Ketuvim all comprise the acronym “TaNaKh”, or the Hebrew Bible.

Jesus said that everything in the Tanakh must be fulfilled, and he told his believers right then and there.

The Covenants, The Feasts, God’s teachings and instructions: Jesus is the fulfillment of all in the Tanakh.

Therein lies our intro to the 7 Feasts of the LORD.

See you next at Pesach-Passover, the beginning of the Jewish religious year.

**Heather!

©2025 Heather M R Olsen, Illumination: Hebrew Insights. All rights reserved. 

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