Christian
Celebration of the
Feasts and Holy Days of the Bible
Introduction to
The 3 Rs
Refreshment
Rejoicing
Remembering
Many people
who accept Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, whether they refer
to themselves as "Christian" or "Messianic," observe the
biblical Feasts and Holy Days, as times of worship, fellowship, and celebration. They believe
that these Feasts and Holy Days are shadows pointing to the
reality of Jesus. And they believe that there are valuable
spiritual lessons to be learned year by year through actually
physically setting aside these times as "appointments with God."
The articles in this series on The 3 Rs explore some of
the aspects of what it means to "celebrate" these days.
For
a general introduction to the biblical Feasts and Holy Days, see the article
Theme Times elsewhere on this
Times of Refreshing
website. This material on The 3 Rs builds on concepts
explained in that article. If you are not familiar with the
cycle of these Feasts and Holy Days, you may wish to read
that article first.
In the
Beginning
The Bible
first introduces a specific special observance for the people of
God in Exodus 20, shortly after the Israelites are brought out
of Egypt. God speaks to the people at Mt. Sinai:
Exodus 20:8-10
Remember the Sabbath day by
keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your
work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God.
On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your
son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor
your animals, nor the alien within your gates.
At first glance, this order not
to work may seem a restrictive commandment. But when you realize
that this was said to a nation of people who had been in a
situation of permanent forced labor in the nation of Egypt for
centuries, then this is really an incredible gift of freedom!
Exodus 1:11-14
So they [the
Egyptians] put slave masters over them [the
Israelites] to oppress them with forced labor, and
they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for
Pharaoh. But the more they were oppressed, the more
they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to
dread the Israelites and worked them ruthlessly.
They made their lives bitter with hard labor in
brick and mortar and with all kinds of work in the
fields; in all their hard labor the Egyptians
used them ruthlessly.
As a nation under God, no
longer would the people of Israel be forced to work with
no rest
.
In fact, they wouldn't
even be allowed to force their children or their work
animals or their servants to labor seven days a week.
Everyone in the whole
nation was to have a weekly day of rest. Yes, even the
oxen.
The purpose of this day
is three-fold:
Refreshment
Exodus 23:12
"Six days do your work, but
on the seventh day do not work, so that your ox and your
donkey may rest and the slave born in your household, and
the alien as well, may be refreshed."
As a day when all can cease from
their labors, the most obvious factor first of all about the
Sabbath is that it is a time to be refreshed. This goes beyond
just having a good, long sleep or nap! No one needs to sleep for
twenty four hours in order to be "rested up." Refreshment is
more than just physical rest, although physical rest is
necessary for the weary before they can begin to feel refreshed.
True refreshment is a state of being and a state of mind that is
fully revived from physical, mental, emotional, and
spiritual weariness.
In other words, for those who
understand the deeper meaning of Sabbath rest, it includes not
just "stopping work," but even "putting aside all thought" of
the daily rat-race! It is not just taking a nap, but taking a
break from worrying about anything that is burdening you.
God intended the Sabbath not to just provide rest, but beyond
that to provide a total sense of refreshment--like being totally
immersed in fountains of Living Water!
Rejoicing
Isaiah 58:13-14
"If you keep your feet
from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you
please on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a
delight and the LORD's holy day honorable, and
if you honor it by not going your own way and not
doing as you please or speaking idle words, then
you will find your joy
[KJV: "delight yourself"] in the LORD, and I
will cause you to ride on the heights of the land
and to feast on the inheritance of your father
Jacob." The mouth of the LORD has spoken.
It is possible to take a nap or a
long sleep, and wake up rested--without any sense at all of
delight and joy, without rejoicing about anything. But God
intended for the observance of the Sabbath to go beyond mere
physical rest to actual feelings of delight and joy. The ancient
Israelites were to realize that the God who gave them the
Sabbath promised them the joy of His physical blessings. Those
who are His beloved children now can understand that the God who
has given the physical Sabbath has promised all His blessings in
eternity as part of His joyous Kingdom. And thus on the Sabbath
it is particularly appropriate to rejoice, joyfully praising
and honoring God through such activities as song and prayer and
lively discussions with others about the mighty works of
God--not just His works of old in the pages of the Bible, but
what He is doing in the lives of His people in the 21st century.
Psalm 150
Praise the
LORD.
Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in his mighty heavens.
Praise him
for his acts of power;
praise him for his surpassing greatness.
Praise him
with
the sounding of the trumpet,
praise him with
the harp and lyre,
praise him
with
tambourine and dancing,
praise him with the strings
and flute,
praise him
with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding
cymbals.
Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.
Praise the LORD.
Exodus 20:8-11
Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six
days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh
day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not
do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your
manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien
within your gates. For in
six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea,
and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day.
Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
The weekly Sabbath is a
remembrance, a "commemoration," of the Creation and the blessing
God put on the crowning day of that Creation week. And it is a
commemoration looking forward to the final, complete rest man
will have when he reaches the ultimate "Promised Land" of the
Kingdom of God. No longer then will he have to struggle and
suffer and labor hard to survive physically:
Revelation 21
He will wipe every tear
from their eyes. There will be no more death or
mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of
things has passed away." He who was seated on the
throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he
said, "Write this down, for these words are
trustworthy and true." He said to me: "It is done. I
am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the
End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink
without cost from the spring of the water of life.
It is possible to feel rested and
refreshed, but to forget God. One of the purposes of the Sabbath
day is to provide a focused time to consider the things of God.
It is a day to step outside the daily grind of having to focus
on doing all those things needed by our lifestyle--paying the
rent, shopping for groceries, doing the laundry, scrubbing the
floors, going to college classes, going to business meetings,
hustling and bustling to meet a busy daily schedule. There is no
question that we should have "God on our mind" at all times, we
should be "instant in prayer," and we should regularly read the
Bible. But the daily grind of most people in the Western world
tends to be full of distractions that are almost impossible to
avoid. Setting aside the Sabbath as the day to give full
attention to God and spiritual matters, along with physical rest
and refreshment, assures that we will be fortified with
"remembrance" to meet the challenges of the coming week.
The theme of these 3 Rs,
Refreshment, Rejoicing, and Remembering, is not relevant only to
the weekly Sabbath. It repeats throughout the Bible in relation
to all of the special observances established by God.
In the Present
The Bible gives only broad
principles about the observance of the Sabbath, as well as the
other Holy Days and Feasts. There is no detailed explanation of
any particular practices or customs that are required for all to
do in order to appropriately observe and celebrate these days. And
there is no specific environment prescribed. In other words,
there is a freedom for each individual and each group of people
who wish to commemorate these days to find ways to do so
that are meaningful and relevant in their own time in history,
in their own culture,
and to their own circumstances.
The article
Theme Times discusses the reality that God seems to have
built in to mankind from the very beginning a craving for
periodic special occasions, a need for times of refreshment. And
thus every race of people throughout the world and throughout
history, even if they have had no direct knowledge of God, seems
to have an inborn desire to establish such occasions, and make
them special in particular through the development of special
customs, costumes, ceremonies, foods, music, and more. In these
ways the special occasion is clearly set apart from their daily,
hum-drum lives. It is these departures from the mundane that
provide refreshment.
Most such occasions are only
man-made inventions, and many have actually been established in
worship of false gods and false religions. Therefore they have
not had God's "endorsement" or blessing. But there really are
such occasions, such observances, outlined in the Bible,
starting with the Sabbath, that have God's blessing. And it is
appropriate for those who want to incorporate these observances
into their own lives to find ways to set them apart from the
mundane.
It is not the purpose of this
series of articles to make a dogmatic prescription for what
others should do to observe the biblical Feasts and Holy Days.
It is, rather, to offer an overview of some guiding principles
that may help to ensure that The 3 Rs are present in
each observance, so that they may be richly fulfilling, both
spiritually and physically.
Celebrations that Come to Life
Other sections and other articles
on this Times of Refreshing website cover the "Why" of
biblical Sabbath, Holy Day, and Feast observances. The
historical context of the institution of these days is examined.
The scriptures that clarify the spiritual, physical, and
prophetic significance of these days are explored. Even the
traditional customs of the Jews that characterize the observance
of these days in Judaism are explained. Use the buttons on the
navigation bar at the top left of this page to explore these
topics related to the biblical Times of Refreshing.
In contrast, this series on
The 3 Rs is included to focus on the "How" and "What" of the
actual observance of these days within a Christian context.
If the reality of the value of actually observing and
celebrating these special days is to move beyond just head
knowledge and theory, individuals, families, and church groups
may need some practical suggestions for just how to make these
days special and memorable for those of all ages.
Separate articles are provided in
this series for the weekly Sabbath and each of the annual
observances. Each article is divided into three sections:
Refreshment
The
Refreshment section of each article in this series
emphasizes the individual, the family, and the home. Tips are
offered on how to structure the environment of time and space
leading up to and during these celebrations for maximum contrast
to the stressful--but often humdrum--world of daily life.
Special foods and decorations, developing family customs and
traditions, special activities including guests, and special
family-centered fellowship projects that focus on comforting,
encouraging, and edifying one another may be part of the
suggestions. Included are daily devotionals for some of the
longer observances, to guide individual and family study and
discussion about the meaning, significance, and symbolism of
these times.
Rejoicing
The
Rejoicing section of each article in this series emphasizes
the importance of including larger group worship and fellowship
experiences whenever possible in your observances. It is
important for individuals and families to spend part of their
celebration times with others—as many others as possible—to
maximize the impact of feeling part of something greater than
yourself. This may mean one or two other families, a small
congregation, or a big crowd.
Why is this so important? Try
envisioning yourself being given a wonderful opportunity to go
visit a major amusement park (like one of the Six Flags
parks) free for a whole day, with the guarantee that you can
ride on all the rides as often as you want... because you will
be the only one there! After once or twice on one of the major
roller coasters in dead silence, trying to say "Whee!" to
yourself as you plummet over one of the humps, you will likely
find that the thrill that is usually there when you are
surrounded by screaming, laughing people having a great time
with their friends and family really is part of what contributes
to the excitement and enjoyment of such activities--a very
large part. The enthusiasm of others can reinforce our own.
The psychology of this is
inescapable. Even in such simple things as creating a humorous
TV show for audiences, producers long ago realized that just
sitting in your living room listening to humorous lines being
delivered by actors isn't enough. Shows such as I Love Lucy
were originally filmed in front of live audiences. The
spontaneous laughter of the studio audience actually made the
experience of the television audience in their homes more
enjoyable, and, in fact, could even make the jokes seem funnier!
This was so important that once shows began to be prerecorded in
a studio without an audience, producers decided that they had to
add ... "the laugh track" and "canned applause"! As irritating
as these seemed at times, the reality was that viewers had come
to expect to have the experience of feeling like part of an
audience when viewing. That sense of having a "communal"
experience of enjoying a good joke with others had an extremely
strong pull, even if it was artificially met with a
pseudo-audience. It seems that many of us who find ourselves a
bit self-conscious and uptight , even in our own home alone, can
give ourselves "permission" to relax and laugh out loud if we
sense that there are others laughing "with us."
The same thing is true of a
dynamic concert by one of your favorite singers or music groups.
If you only want to hear the most perfect sound of their voices
or instruments, why not just buy an album? Most people go to
live concerts because there is something almost "electric" about
being in a large crowd all enjoying the same experience, all
reacting to the same sensory input. In fact, even when such a
concert is recorded and played over television, the production
crew does not keep focused on the stage at all times. Every few
seconds they may well "pan" the auditorium to depict the
reactions of the audience. This is in an attempt to allow the
viewing audience to experience, at least vicariously, the "feel"
of being there.
Yes, this can be a negative
thing when the sensory input is muddied by drugs and alcohol and
immoral activities! But that need not be so at all. At the
ancient Temple in Jerusalem, at the times of the biblical
Feasts, there were huge crowds taking in the sensory input of
the beauty of the Temple, the magnificent Levitical choirs
singing and playing loudly on their many instruments in worship
to God, and so on. (For a vivid description of this, see the
Jewish Feast and Holy Day Customs
article on the Feast of Tabernacles) This large group
worship experience was evidently intended by God, for He ordered
the Israelites from the very beginning that when they were
settled into the Promised Land, all their males (along with all
of their families when possible) were to go up to Jerusalem
three times a year for such celebrations. And, of course, the
descriptions of the visions of Heaven by the Apostle John in the
book of Revelation depict a teeming mass of beings around the
throne of God, magnificent huge choirs extolling the praises of
God, and much more. There is something about joining your voice
with many others in joyous worship that adds to the joy.
This does not mean, of course,
that everyone must enjoy being in a huge crowd. Some
personalities function best in small, intimate settings. But it
does mean that Christians were never meant to be hermits, and to
spend all their time, including every weekly Sabbath and the
annual biblical observances, in solitude. There is a time to
pull away and "be alone with God," and there is a time to be a
vibrant part of the Body of Christ, using one's spiritual gifts
in building up and encouraging and rejoicing with others, and
allowing them to use their spiritual gifts to do the same for
each one of us.
With all this in mind, the
Rejoicing
section of each
article in this series gives suggestions for group worship in
inspirational preaching, song, prayer, praise, and thanksgiving; developing meaningful
group customs and traditions; and, when appropriate (especially
for the benefit of children--and the young at heart) pageantry,
special costumes, and decorations.
Varieties of Contemporary Observances
Traditional Jewish Celebrations
Some groups, particularly among those which label
themselves as Messianic or Hebrew Roots
congregations, model their weekly Sabbath and annual
Feast and Holy Day celebrations closely
on the traditional modern Orthodox or Conservative
Jewish customs for these days. They will, however, often
interpret these customs in ways that emphasize Jesus
(whom they may refer to by a Hebrew version of His name
such as Yashua or Y'shua) and the Gospel
of salvation. (For a
description and details about some Jewish
customs that are common in Messianic and Hebrew Roots
circles, see Jewish Feast and Holy Day Customs)
The
inclusion of descriptions of some of these customs
and traditions on this Times of Refreshing
website is not intended to endorse them as suitable
for Christians, nor to discourage Christians from
adopting them for their own use. They are included
for informational purposes only. However, it is true
that a number of these customs are rooted in either
pagan practices, superstition, or highly
idiosyncratic Bible interpretations that some
Christians find to run counter to Christian
doctrine. This is one reason that many Christians
who celebrate the Sabbath, Feasts, and Holy Days do
not add these customs to their own observances.
Non-Jewish Celebrations
Some
Christian groups which observe the weekly Sabbath
and annual Feasts and Holy Days pay little
attention to Jewish customs, and instead create their own
style of gathering for these days. It is unfortunate
that many such groups have gatherings that consist
primarily of a dry lecture, a few lifeless hymns,
and a brief meal together featuring chit-chat about
the weather and politics, before all return home to
their workaday lives. It is one of the goals of this
website to encourage all who honor the Sabbath and
annual observances to find ways to go beyond this
type of gathering, to make the observances truly
times of refreshing, rejoicing, and remembering. The
material included in the articles of this 3 Rs
section of the website is offered to suggest a
variety of ways that might be incorporated by
believers to enhance the worship and fellowship
experiences of all.
Hybrid Celebrations
Some
groups which observe the weekly Sabbath and annual
Feasts and Holy Days, while borrowing some of the customs, rituals,
and symbolism of Judaism, are more experimental in their
inclusion of these. Rather than try to imitate the whole
package of the standard Jewish celebrations, they will pick and choose those aspects
which appeal to them, perhaps sometimes for spiritual
reasons because they seem to be deeply meaningful from a
Christian perspective, and
at other times just because they are aesthetically
attractive or seem fun. This may be a more balanced
approach than that of slavishly trying to imitate
Jewish practice. For, after all, modern Judaism is
not "the religion of the Bible." It is a manmade
religious institution which is based in part on the
scriptures, but in large part on traditions
and mythology invented during the past 2000+ years.
It is a mistake to think that, in participating in
any particular Jewish ritual, custom, or tradition,
that one is "doing just what Jesus did in the first
century." Many of the these rituals, customs, and
traditions were developed long after the first
century. And Jesus had some fairly harsh words to
say at times about the value of the "traditions of
the elders" even as they existed in the first
century. So without any more historical information,
we can say very little about what rituals, customs,
and traditions would have had His personal
endorsement!
Remembering
The
Remembering section of each article in this series focuses
on being sure to include an emphasis on the meaning,
significance, and symbolism of the Sabbath and annual
observances throughout your times of celebration. This emphasis
doesn't need to be be just "tacked on" to the celebration
through some dry, lifeless, boring lecture before or during the
celebration. It can be built into the very environment and the
activities you engage in. It can be part of the songs, the
prayers, the praise, the formal messages of vibrant inspiration
and exhortation, and even discussions in informal fellowship
around the banquet table.
Suggestions are
included for message and discussion topics, meaningful craft projects
for children related to lessons about the celebration, and educational biblical games related to learning
about the observance.
See A
Mini-Pedia of Celebration for an overview of the Hebrew and
Greek words used in the Bible to describe how the Feasts and
Holy Days are to be kept.
Click each title below to go to
an overview of how the The 3 Rs can be applied to each
special observance.
The
Weekly Sabbath
Passover and the
Feast of Unleavened Bread
Pentecost
The Day
of Trumpets
The
Day of Atonement
The
Feast of Tabernacles
and the
Eighth Day Assembly
Email the Times of
Refreshing WebAuthor
All of the articles on this Times
of Refreshing website were written by Pam Dewey, with
the support and sponsorship of Common Ground Christian
Ministries. For more of Pam's inspirational and educational
writings, visit The Oasis website at
www.youall.com/oasis
All website content
© 2006, Pam
Dewey and Common Ground Christian Ministries
All rights reserved. Material may
be copied for personal use of the site visitor. For permission
to copy for any other purposes, please contact the author at
oasis@chartermi.net
