4 'These are the appointed times of the Lord , holy convocations which you shall proclaim at the times appointed for them 5 ' In the first month , on the fourteenth e day of the month at twilight is the Lord'S Passover . 6 'Then on the fifteenth e day of the same month there is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the Lord ; for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread . 7 'On the first day you shall have a holy convocation ; you shall not do any laborious work . 8 'But for seven days you shall present an offering by fire to the Lord . On the seventh day is a holy convocation ; you shall not do any laborious work .' " 9 Then the Lord spoke to Moses , saying , 10 "Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, 'When you enter the land which I am going to give to you and reap its harvest , then you shall bring in the sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest . 11 'He shall wave the sheaf before the Lord for you to be accepted ; on the day after the sabbath the priest shall wave it. 12 'Now on the day when you wave the sheaf , you shall offer a male lamb one year old without defect for a burnt offering to the Lord . 13 'Its grain offering shall then be two-tenths e of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil , an offering by fire to the Lord for a soothing aroma , with its drink offering , a fourth of a hin of wine . 14 'Until this same day , until you have brought in the offering of your God , you shall eat neither bread nor roasted grain nor new growth . It is to be a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your dwelling places
15 ' You shall also count for yourselves from the day after the sabbath , from the day when you brought in the sheaf of the wave offering ; there shall be seven complete sabbaths . 16 'You shall count fifty days to the day after the seventh sabbath ; then you shall present a new grain offering to the Lord . 17 'You shall bring in from your dwelling places two loaves of bread for a wave offering , made of two-tenths e of an ephah; they shall be of a fine flour , baked with leaven as first fruits to the Lord . 18 'Along with the bread you shall present seven one year old male lambs without defect , and a bull e e of the herd and two rams ; they are to be a burnt offering to the Lord , with their grain offering and their drink offerings , an offering by fire of a soothing aroma to the Lord . 19 'You shall also offer one male goat for a sin offering and two male lambs one year old for a sacrifice of peace offerings 20 'The priest shall then wave them with the bread of the first fruits for a wave offering with two lambs before the Lord ; they are to be holy to the Lord for the priest . 21 'On this same day you shall make a proclamation as well; you are to have a holy convocation . You shall do no e laborious work . It is to be a perpetual statute in all your dwelling places throughout your generations 22 ' When you reap the harvest of your land , moreover, you shall not reap to the very corners of your field nor gather the gleaning of your harvest ; you are to leave them for the needy and the alien . I am the Lord your God .' "
23 Again the Lord spoke to Moses , saying , 24 "Speak to the sons of Israel , saying , ' In the seventh month on the first of the month you shall have a rest , a reminder by blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation . 25 'You shall not do any laborious work , but you shall present an offering by fire to the Lord .' " 26 The Lord spoke to Moses , saying , 27 "On exactly the tenth day of this seventh month is the day of atonement ; it shall be a holy convocation for you, and you shall humble your souls and present an offering by fire to the Lord . 28 "You shall not do any work on this same day , for it is a day of atonement , to make atonement on your behalf before the Lord your God . 29 "If there is any person who will not humble himself on this same day , he shall be cut off from his people . 30 "As for any person who does any work on this same day , that person I will destroy from among his people . 31 "You shall do no e work at all . It is to be a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your dwelling places . 32 "It is to be a sabbath of complete rest to you, and you shall humble your souls ; on the ninth of the month at evening , from evening until evening you shall keep your sabbath ."
33 Again the Lord spoke to Moses , saying , 34 "Speak to the sons of Israel , saying , 'On the fifteenth e of this seventh month is the Feast of Booths for seven days to the Lord . 35 'On the first day is a holy convocation ; you shall do no e laborious work of any kind. 36 ' For seven days you shall present an offering by fire to the Lord . On the eighth day you shall have a holy convocation and present an offering by fire to the Lord ; it is an assembly . You shall do no e laborious work 37 'These are the appointed times of the Lord which you shall proclaim as holy convocations , to present offerings by fire to the Lord -burnt offerings and grain offerings , sacrifices and drink offerings , each day's matter on its own day - 38 besides e those of the sabbaths of the Lord , and besides e your gifts and besides e all your votive and freewill offerings , which you give to the Lord 39 'On exactly the fifteenth e day of the seventh month , when you have gathered in the crops of the land , you shall celebrate the feast of the Lord for seven days , with a rest on the first day and a rest on the eighth day . 40 'Now on the first day you shall take for yourselves the foliage of beautiful trees , palm branches and boughs of leafy trees and willows of the brook , and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days . 41 'You shall thus celebrate it as a feast to the Lord for seven days in the year . It shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations ; you shall celebrate it in the seventh month . 42 'You shall live in booths for seven days ; all the native-born in Israel shall live in booths , 43 so that your generations may know that I had the sons of Israel live in booths when I brought them out from the land of Egypt . I am the Lord your God .' " 44 So Moses declared to the sons of Israel the appointed times of the Lord .
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Leviticus 23:4-44
Commentary on Leviticus 23:4-14
(Read Leviticus 23:4-14)
The feast of the Passover was to continue seven days; not idle days, spent in sport, as many that are called Christians spend their holy-days. Offerings were made to the Lord at his altar; and the people were taught to employ their time in prayer, and praise, and godly meditation. The sheaf of first-fruits was typical of the Lord Jesus, who is risen from the dead as the First-fruits of them that slept. Our Lord Jesus rose from the dead on the very day that the first-fruits were offered. We are taught by this law to honour the Lord with our substance, and with the first-fruits of all our increase, Proverbs 3:9. They were not to eat of their new corn, till God's part was offered to him out of it; and we must always begin with God: begin every day with him, begin every meal with him, begin every affair and business with him; seek first the kingdom of God.
Commentary on Leviticus 23:15-22
(Read Leviticus 23:15-22)
The feast of Weeks was held in remembrance of the giving of the law, fifty days after the departure from Egypt; and looked forward to the outpouring of the Holy Ghost, fifty days after Christ our Passover was sacrificed for us. On that day the apostles presented the first-fruits of the Christian church to God. To the institution of the feast of Pentecost, is added a repetition of that law, by which they were required to leave the gleanings of their fields. Those who are truly sensible of the mercy they received from God, will show mercy to the poor without grudging.
Commentary on Leviticus 23:23-32
(Read Leviticus 23:23-32)
the blowing of trumpets represented the preaching of the gospel, by which men are called to repent of sin, and to accept the salvation of Christ, which was signified by the day of atonement. Also it invited to rejoice in God, and become strangers and pilgrims on earth, which was denoted by the feast of Tabernacles, observed in the same month. At the beginning of the year, they were called by this sound of trumpet to shake off spiritual drowsiness, to search and try their ways, and to amend them. The day of atonement was the ninth day after this; thus they were awakened to prepare for that day, by sincere and serious repentance, that it might indeed be to them a day of atonement. The humbling of our souls for sin, and the making our peace with God, is work that requires the whole man, and the closest application of mind. On that day God spake peace to his people, and to his saints; therefore they must lay aside all their wordly business, that they might the more clearly hear that voice of joy and gladness.
Commentary on Leviticus 23:33-44
(Read Leviticus 23:33-44)
In the feast of Tabernacles there was a remembrance of their dwelling in tents, or booths, in the wilderness, as well as their fathers dwelling in tents in Canaan; to remind them of their origin and their deliverance. Christ's tabernacling on earth in human nature, might also be prefigured. And it represents the believer's life on earth: a stranger and pilgrim here below, his home and heart are above with his Saviour. They would the more value the comforts and conveniences of their own houses, when they had been seven days dwelling in the booths. It is good for those who have ease and plenty, sometimes to learn what it is to endure hardness. The joy of harvest ought to be improved for the furtherance of our joy in God. The earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof; therefore whatever we have the comfort of, he must have the glory of, especially when any mercy is perfected. God appointed these feasts, "Beside the sabbaths and your free-will offerings." Calls to extraordinary services will not excuse from constant and stated ones.