Why We Keep Gods Feast Days

With Passover coming up I wanted to talk about Gods Feast Days and why we keep them. There
are seven of them clustered around the two main Feasts, Passover and Tabernacles. Lets begin in
Leviticus chapter 23 and get an overview.
Leviticus 23 beginning in verse 1
23 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
2

Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, Concerning the feasts of the Lord, which
ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my feasts.
3

Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; ye
shall do no work therein: it is the sabbath of the Lord in all your dwellings.
Leviticus 23 is the chapter that lays out all the Feasts of God and interestingly even the weekly
Sabbath is considered a Feast Day to God though we dont normally think of it like we do the
other seven Feast Days. Most modern Christians think the Biblical Feast Days have nothing to do
with us today, but even the weekly Sabbath is a Biblical Feast Day.
Continue in verse 4:
4

These are the feasts of the Lord, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their
seasons.
5

In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the Lord's passover.

So here we have Passover which of course is the Feast we are approaching.

Verse 6:
6

And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the Lord:
seven days ye must eat unleavened bread.
7

In the first day ye shall have an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.

But ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord seven days: in the seventh day is an
holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.
Here is the second Feast mentioned: the Days of Unleavened Bread. This begins immediately
after the Day of Passover.
Verse 9:

And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

10

Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I
give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of
your harvest unto the priest:
11

And he shall wave the sheaf before the Lord, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the
sabbath the priest shall wave it.
12

And ye shall offer that day when ye wave the sheaf an he lamb without blemish of the first year
for a burnt offering unto the Lord.
13

And the meat offering thereof shall be two tenth deals of fine flour mingled with oil, an
offering made by fire unto the Lord for a sweet savour: and the drink offering thereof shall be of
wine, the fourth part of an hin.
14

And ye shall eat neither bread, nor parched corn, nor green ears, until the selfsame day that ye
have brought an offering unto your God: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations
in all your dwellings.
Here is the third Feast Day, Firstfruits or the Wave Sheaf. This came immediately after the
Sabbath of Unleavened Bread. There is some debate as to which, either the beginning or the end,
but the common interpretation is the Wave Sheaf was offered on the second day of Unleavened
Bread immediately following the initial Sabbath.
Verse 15:
15

And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day that ye brought
the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be complete:
16

Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a
new meat offering unto the Lord.
Here of course is the fourth Feast, Pentecost, which literally means to count fifty. This is the
first cluster of holy days around Passover.
23

And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

24

Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month,
shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation.
Here is the Feast of Trumpets. And verse 27

27

Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an
holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire
unto the LORD.
28

And ye shall do no work in that same day: for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement
for you before the LORD your God.
29

For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from
among his people.
30

And whatsoever soul it be that doeth any work in that same day, the same soul will I destroy
from among his people.
31

Ye shall do no manner of work: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all
your dwellings.
Here is the sixth feast: Atonement. And finally verse 34:
34

Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the
feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the LORD.
So Trumpets, Atonement, and Tabernacles are in a group which makes up the rest of the seven
Biblical Feasts.
So why should we observe these Feast Days? Modern Christianity dismisses these as ceremonial
laws that were done away or that dont apply to us. Most give them no importance at all. Why
should we pay any attention to these holy days laid out in Biblical law?
There are four fundamental reasons we, as Christians, should observe these holy days. The first
reason is simple: it is Gods command.
Leviticus 23:14
And ye shall eat neither bread, nor parched corn, nor green ears, until the selfsame day that ye
have brought an offering unto your God: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations
in all your dwellings.
It shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations. This same statement is made two
other times as well in the chapter in verse 21 and verse 31. And look at verse 28.
28

And ye shall do no work in that same day: for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement
for you before the Lord your God.

29

For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from
among his people.
30

And whatsoever soul it be that doeth any work in that same day, the same soul will I destroy
from among his people.
It seems very clear these feast days are commanded to be observed by God. But were these laws
done away? Well, think about the statement a statute forever. Why does God say that? We
know God sees the end from the beginning. Isaiah 46:10, tells us God declares the end from the
beginning. God knows the future. So if these commands were going to be done away then why
would God have written they were statutes forever? Did God make a mistake? Did God lie? Did
God not really mean what He said? Of course not. When God said the feast days were to be
statutes forever He meant they were to be statutes forever.
Another point that makes the fact these feast days are still commandments of God is Acts chapter
2.
2 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
2

And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the
house where they were sitting.
3

And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.

And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the
Spirit gave them utterance.
Why were these Christians gathered together at Pentecost? And why did God choose Pentecost to
fill them with the Holy Ghost? They were keeping Pentecost. The Christian Church, after the
crucifixion, was still observing the feast of Pentecost which was commanded by Leviticus 23.
You can also look at Acts 20 and I Corinthians 16 and find the same thing: Christians, trained by
the Apostles, continued to observe the Biblical Holy Days. They did not discard them as done
away.
And theres another example of this that is undeniable. Remember the command that was given
for Passover? Everyone was to eat the Passover lamb. In the book of Exodus we are told those
who followed the Passover command were saved. Anyone who did not was subject to death. Go
to John 6.
51

I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live
for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.

52

The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to
eat?
53

Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of
man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.
Of course what Christ is talking about is Communion. But clearly communion is the Passover.
Christ is our Passover lamb and eating the communion bread is eating the flesh of the Passover
lamb. Communion is Passover and the Word of God tells us we must partake of communion or
we have no life in us. Without communion we are subject to death just as we were told without
the Passover lamb they were subject to death.
Now obviously we arent talking legalistically. The thief crucified with Christ was saved and yet
he never took communion and Christ told him He would see Him in paradise. And even back in
the Old Testament Gods Word never advocated the blind rule of law. Numbers chapter 9
chronicles a group of people who couldnt keep the Passover when they were supposed to
because they were defiled and Moses simply makes an exception and allows them to keep it a
month later. God is not legalistic.
But the command to keep Passover is still very much in effect. Christ tells us we must partake or
we have no life in us. It is not keeping the commandment that saves us, but to wilfully disobey
does condemn us. The crucified thief didnt take communion because he didnt know he was
supposed to. He was saved because he was willing to obey Christ. But if Christ had told him to
take communion and he had refused he would not have been saved. The command is still here,
the death comes from wilful disobedience to God.
So we know the Christian Church continued observing the Passover sacrifice in the form of
communion. We know after the crucifixion the Church continued to observe the Feast of
Pentecost. So it seems the early Church continued to give weight to the commands of Leviticus
23.
So there is the first reason to observe the Biblically commanded feast days. They are Gods
command.
The second reason has to do with why God commanded the feasts. God gave us the law for a
reason. His laws arent arbitrary. They are given for our benefit, so we can look for benefits of
the feast days. One of those benefits is the feast days bond the people together as a nation and
further they bond them to their religion.
I Kings 12:27

If this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of
this people turn again unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam king of Judah, and they shall kill me,
and go again to Rehoboam king of Judah.
The sacrifices in Jerusalem that Jeroboam was worried about were those of the commanded
feasts. The people were to travel to Jerusalem to the temple for the feasts and Jeroboam feared
the bonding effect of the feasts. He feared the peoples hearts would be turned back to Judah by
keeping the feasts. Keeping the feasts binds the people to their nation and to their God.
Similarly, the third reason to observe the feasts is another beneficial effect they have on us.
Exodus 12:
23

For the Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the
lintel, and on the two side posts, the Lord will pass over the door, and will not suffer the
destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you.
So were talking about Passover.
24

And ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to thy sons for ever.

25

And it shall come to pass, when ye be come to the land which the Lord will give you,
according as he hath promised, that ye shall keep this service.
26

And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this
service?
27

That ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of the Lord's passover, who passed over the houses of the
children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses. And the
people bowed the head and worshipped.
When your children ask you whats Passover all about you answer them with what God did for
our forefathers. The feasts serve to remind us and teach our children our history and our identity.
If our nation was still keeping the feasts our people would remember who they are and what God
has done for us.
So the feast days directly benefit us by binding us together and maintaining our history.
A final aspect of the Holy Days is their prophetic significance. Modern Christians regard the
Feast Days as insignificant, meaningless. But God doesnt view them that way. God has
structured the most important events of mans history around them. He takes them very seriously.

Israel was freed from Egyptian slavery during the Days of Unleavened Bread. Christ was
crucified on Passover. He was resurrected on the Feast of Firstfruits. Jesus was born on
Tabernacles. And there is reason to believe the Day of the Lord comes on the Feast of Trumpets.
The Feast Days are important to God and it follows they should then also be important to us.
Now what about the alternative holidays people celebrate today? I am talking specifically about
Christmas and Easter. Other holidays are simply traditions, some beneficial such as
Thanksgiving and others harmful such as Halloween. But Christmas and Easter are different.
They replace Passover and Tabernacles. People do not celebrate both Passover and Easter. Easter
literally is an alternative to Passover.
Uninformed Christians regard these alternative holidays as the Christian replacements for the
Hebrew Holy Days. They think Easter and Christmas have their origin in Christianity. But this is
obviously not true and that can be proven even from the Bible itself.
Acts 12
12 Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church.
2

And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.

And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. (Then were the
days of unleavened bread.)
4

And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions
of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people.
So who was giving deference to Easter here? Herod paid attention to Easter. It wasnt because of
the Church keeping Easter. If it was the Church which had created Easter out of the resurrection
of Christ, the Church wasnt at this time anywhere near big and influential enough to make
Easter significant. Herod would not have given it any attention let alone defer to it.
The fact Herod paid attention to Easter shows Easter was a feast that was being widely observed
in his society right beside the observance of Passover. His society was mainly pagan and did not
regard the resurrection of Christ so the Word of God shows us Easter was a pagan holiday.
The idea that Christmas is the birthday of Jesus also runs contrary to scripture. The Bible makes
it possible to know the time of Christs birth. You probably heard of this before, but here is how.
In I Chronicles 24 King David divided the priests into 24 courses for the service of the temple.
Each course served for one week except during Feasts when all the courses served together. After
the 24th course they repeated which filled out the 52 weeks of the year. Luke 1:5 tells us John The

Baptists father Zacharias was a priest of the course of Abia which is the 8th course. Then in Luke
1:23-24 we find John the Baptist was conceived right after Zacharias fulfilled his service which
because of Passover would have been the 10th week of the Hebrew year which corresponds
roughly to early June meaning John the Baptist was born sometime around Passover in mid
April. And in the same chapter of Luke we find Jesus was conceived 6 months after John the
Baptist which means Jesus was conceived in early December and born in September.
Arguments have been made using this same logic to argue for Christmas as a birth time. The
courses repeat so the time referenced could be the 34 week instead of the 10 week. But this
actually puts Christs birth in late January not December.
For the more informed Christian, it is obvious many of the traditions and holidays observed
today do not derive their origin from Gods Word. Easter eggs and Easter bunnies dont have
anything to do with the Bible. They have nothing to do with Christianity and are commonly
recognized as deriving instead from pagan fertility rites. December 25th historically was the time
of a pagan festival called Saturnalia.
Of course in their defense, modern Christians may admit this pagan origin but dismiss it as
meaningless arguing all that matters is the intent. And admittedly there are passages in the Bible
that can be interpreted this way. Romans 14:
Romans 14:4
4

Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea,
he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.
5

One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man
be fully persuaded in his own mind.
6

He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the
Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he
that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks.
Its easy to see how someone can take from this passage that only the intent matters, but that isnt
the point Paul is making here. Go to verse 10:
10

But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall
all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
11

For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall
confess to God.

12

So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.

What the book of Romans is telling us is it is not our right to judge others. We, as individuals
have no place in judging the actions of others. But God does sit in judgment. And as Christians
we should always be looking for what God wants, not what we can get away with. So Gods
commandments, including the Feast Days, should matter to us.
Another passage that can be used this way is Acts 17:22
22

Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars' hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all
things ye are too superstitious.
23

For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, To The
Unknown God. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.
Here is Paul pointing to a pagan altar with the inscription To The Unknown God and Paul uses
that to introduce Christianity.
Its pretty well known that the Roman Emperor Constantine Christianized a number of pagan
traditions to promote the conversion of the empires pagan citizens to Christianity. If they were
allowed to keep their traditions then they were more likely to accept the new doctrines. This is
where Christmas and Easter entered the Christian world.
It can appear Paul was using a similar tactic here, but drop down to verse 30
30

And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to
repent:
So while Paul appealed to these people through their imperfect understanding he also told them
they must change. Paul did not tell them it was fine to continue on with a hundred altars to a
hundred different gods. He told them there is a right way and their way is wrong.
Good intentions do not cleanse harmful actions.
Exodus 32.
32 And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people
gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go
before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not
what is become of him.

And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives,
of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me.
3

And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them
unto Aaron.
4

And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a
molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of
Egypt.
5

And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To
morrow is a feast to the Lord.
These people thought they were serving God. In their worship of the golden calf they said they
were worshipping the true God and in their celebration they said they were celebrating a feast to
the Lord. But even though that was their intent, it didnt matter. To God it was disobedience. So
while it is not our right as individuals to judge others, at the same time our intent does not make
up for disobedience to God. For a Christian, it is important that we search out Gods will. It is not
good enough to merely gloss over wrong with good intent. And frequently someone saying they
have good intent really doesnt accurately reflect what their true intent is.
Jeremiah 10:
10 Hear ye the word which the Lord speaketh unto you, O house of Israel:
2

Thus saith the Lord, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of
heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.
3

For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the
hands of the workman, with the axe.
4

They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move
not.
5

They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot
go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good.
Were probably all aware of this passage. It clearly identifies the custom of a Christmas tree and
tells us plainly not to learn the way of the heathen. Dont do it. But Im also sure most of you are
aware most of the time this passage has little to no effect on someone who is attached to the
custom of a Christmas tree. They will simply ignore it.

Realize what an idol is. An idol is anything that has a greater hold on us than God. Anything we
will serve over God is an idol. It is a god in place of the real God. Many modern Christians will
say they are serving God in their celebrations of Christmas and Easter. But if they are trying to
serve God why do they reject the Passover and Tabernacles which God told them to celebrate
and at the same time embrace a custom God so clearly said not to do? It is not worshipping God
when you ignore Gods commands and instead do exactly what He told you not to do even if
you tell yourself you are doing it for Him. The modern alternatives to Gods Holy Days are
frequently idols in peoples hearts.
Isaiah 1
14

Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am
weary to bear them.
15

And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make
many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood.
Modern Christianity says it doesnt matter what customs and feasts we keep, but God seems to
care. He wants us to keep His, not our own. God hates mans feasts.
Amos 5
21

I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies.

Again, God does seem to care what feast days we keep. He despises mans feast days. And again
there are reasons.
Firstly, disobedience. God told us what He wanted us to do. He laid out the Feast Days very
clearly. When man simply ignores His instruction and institutes his own what else is it but
disobedience? Why shouldnt we keep Gods Days? The only answer is we dont want to.
Secondly, the modern alternatives of Christmas and Easter dont serve the same purposes Gods
Feast Days did. Do Easter bunnies bring the deliverance out of Egypt to mind? No they dont.
Does Christmas remind us that our forefathers wondered the wilderness for 40 years while God
purged them? Of course not. Do Easter eggs remind us that our forefathers were baptized as they
passed through the Red Sea?
These are important lessons God wants us to know and to pass on to our children. The Passover
does remind us of that. Tabernacles does remind us of who we are.
Further Christmas and Easter traditions do not bind the people together in a nation or a religion
like Gods Feasts do. Traveling and gathering together does knit people together. It does give
them a common identity. Christmas only binds families together, not the nation, not the

community. Easter traditions are Easter egg hunts and nice dresses for a sunrise service. It is
largely nothing more than meaningless fun. Sharing the Days of Unleavened bread give a
common experience of sacrifice that carries meaning. That type of common experience binds
people together in a way play time like Easter egg hunts do not.
Some of the pagan traditions are even harmful in and of themselves. With Christmas the gift
exchange teaches equality. A child exchanges gifts with his parents putting him on equal footing.
He feels as if he has done the same as them, when in actuality the gift he gives his parents comes
from the parents. He has nothing that doesnt come from them. Gods instructions for
Tabernacles tells fathers to celebrate at the feast and buy whatsoever thy soul lusteth after.
They were to treat themselves and their families. The father gave gifts to the family. It was not a
gift exchange. Its a subtle difference but it teaches an entirely different lesson.
The tradition of Santa Claus describes a godlike figure who knows everything, is everywhere at
once, rewards good and punishes evil. People tell this to their kids. They get their children to
believe in this godlike figure. And then one day inevitably the child finds out it was all just a
fantasy. This all knowing rewarder of good is just a fairytale. How can this not have an effect on
the faith of a child in the real God?
Our understanding of Gods Feast Days is not a cause for judgment of others. It must be stressed
that as individuals we are out of place in condemning others for their decisions in matters like
this though on a national level Gods commands should be enacted. There should be a national
Sabbath observance. There should be a national Passover and a national Tabernacles observance.
But as individuals we should pass on our understanding with the attitude of consideration, not
judgment.
As Christians it is our purpose to seek out Gods will in our lives. This includes the observance
of the Feasts of the Lord as a memorial to our history and who we are as Gods children. As a
nation we should hold them up as the cultural glue God intended them to be. And foremost we
should keep them out of obedience to the command of our Father in Heaven.