Leviticus 23:1-22
The Appointed Feasts
1Then the LORD said to Moses,
2“Speak to the Israelites and say to them, ‘These are My appointed feasts, the feasts of the LORD that you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies.
3For six days work may be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of complete rest, a day of sacred assembly. You must not do any work; wherever you live, it is a Sabbath to the LORD.
4These are the LORD’s appointed feasts, the sacred assemblies you are to proclaim at their appointed times.
5The Passover to the LORD begins at twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month.
6On the fifteenth day of the same month begins the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the LORD. For seven days you must eat unleavened bread.
7On the first day you are to hold a sacred assembly; you are not to do any regular work.
8For seven days you are to present a food offering to the LORD. On the seventh day there shall be a sacred assembly; you must not do any regular work.’”
9And the LORD said to Moses,
10“Speak to the Israelites and say, ‘When you enter the land that I am giving you and you reap its harvest, you are to bring to the priest a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest.
11And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD so that it may be accepted on your behalf; the priest is to wave it on the day after the Sabbath.
12On the day you wave the sheaf, you shall offer a year-old lamb without blemish as a burnt offering to the LORD,
13along with its grain offering of two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil—a food offering to the LORD, a pleasing aroma—and its drink offering of a quarter hin of wine.
14You must not eat any bread or roasted or new grain until the very day you have brought this offering to your God. This is to be a permanent statute for the generations to come, wherever you live.
15From the day after the Sabbath, the day you brought the sheaf of the wave offering, you are to count off seven full weeks.
16You shall count off fifty days until the day after the seventh Sabbath, and then present an offering of new grain to the LORD.
17Bring two loaves of bread from your dwellings as a wave offering, each made from two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour, baked with leaven, as the firstfruits to the LORD.
18Along with the bread you are to present seven unblemished male lambs a year old, one young bull, and two rams. They will be a burnt offering to the LORD, together with their grain offerings and drink offerings—a food offering, a pleasing aroma to the LORD.
19You shall also prepare one male goat as a sin offering and two male lambs a year old as a peace offering.
20The priest is to wave the lambs as a wave offering before the LORD, together with the bread of the firstfruits. The bread and the two lambs shall be holy to the LORD for the priest.
21On that same day you are to proclaim a sacred assembly, and you must not do any regular work. This is to be a permanent statute wherever you live for the generations to come.
22When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap all the way to the edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and the foreign resident. I am the LORD your God.’”
Berean Standard Bible
The LORD tells Moses to announce His appointed feasts. The seventh day is a Sabbath of complete rest, a sacred assembly in every dwelling. Before the annual feasts are named, Israel's weekly rhythm of work and rest is placed at the center.
The Passover begins at twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month. The Feast of Unleavened Bread follows for seven days, during which Israel eats unleavened bread and brings offerings. The first and seventh days are sacred assemblies, and no regular work is done.
When Israel enters the land and harvests its crop, the first sheaf is brought to the priest. It is waved before the LORD, and a lamb, grain, and wine accompany it. The people do not eat bread or roasted grain from the new harvest until the offering has been made.
Fifty days later, Israel brings a new grain offering of two loaves baked with leaven, along with animals for offerings. The feast is a sacred assembly. The chapter then returns to the harvest and commands landowners not to reap to the very edges or gather every leftover sheaf; the poor and foreigner are to receive what remains.
Questions
1 What weekly day was appointed as a sacred assembly?
AnswerThe seventh day was appointed as a Sabbath of complete rest and a sacred assembly.
2 When was Passover observed?
AnswerPassover was observed at twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month.
3 What was brought from the first harvest?
AnswerThe first sheaf was brought to the priest and waved before the LORD.
4 Who received the harvest edges?
AnswerThe poor and the foreigner were allowed to gather what landowners left at the edges.
What This Means for Us
Israel's calendar belongs to God before it belongs to productivity. Rest, remembrance, firstfruits, and generosity interrupt the assumption that the harvest is ours simply because we worked for it.
Passover and the appointed feasts teach Israel to live by a calendar shaped by God’s redemption. Christians can see Passover fulfilled in Jesus’ Last Supper and sacrifice (Luke 22:14-20), while still receiving this passage’s call to remember God together and leave provision for the poor.
Prayer
Lord, teach us to receive time and harvest as gifts. Give our households rhythms of rest, remembrance, generosity, and attention to the poor and the outsider. Amen.