The Moedim (Festivals of the Lord) Introduction and Shabbat

The Hebrew word translated feast is ’moed’ which means an appointment, a fixed time or season, and is used 223 times in the Old Testament to describe various events and gatherings, such as the seasons of the year (Gen. 1:14; Psa. 104:19), the duration of Sarah’s pregnancy (Gen. 17:21), and the word ‘congregation’ in the phrase ‘tabernacle of the congregation’.

It is the word used in Lev. 23:2 for the appointed ‘feasts’ or festivals, with the underlying meaning of a gathering, which Moses was to proclaim as ‘holy convocations’ or gatherings (different word – mikra – called out). We tend to think of the seven major festivals, but there are more than that, consisting of three groups. Isa.1:13-14 and Col. 2:16-17 refer to them as Sabbaths, Set feasts and New Moons.

The Hebrew calendar, and the Festivals, revolved around the agricultural cycle (people had no clocks and no printed calendars!). It was based on simple principles— the week counted by sevens, the month beginning with the crescent moon, the year regulated by the harvest season. The Jewish calendar is based on the lunar cycle, which is about 10 or 11 days shorter than the Solar year, so 7 times over a 19 year cycle, they have an extra month.

Prior to the 4^th century AD, the first day of each month was declared by the Sanhedrin when the crescent moon was see by 2 witnesses after sunset when there had been no moon for 2 nights, at which time the new month was sanctified. (kodesh = set apart; chodesh = new month)

In the 4^th century, Hillel II forsaw the disbandment of the Sanhedrin so set out rules for a perpetual calendar which is used to this day. The rules of the perpetual calendar also ensure that the first day of Rosh Hashanah will never take place on Sunday, Wednesday or Friday. This guarantees that Yom Kippur will not fall on a Friday or Sunday, which would result in two consecutive days when preparing food and burying the dead is prohibited.

But averaged out by solar year, we end up with the following numbers of feasts or festivals:

Given that some of them span several days, this means that 83 days (nearly 25% of the year) are dedicated to the Lord!

Here’s how the months and Moedim relate:

Jewish Month	Approximate Secular Date	Festivals of Lev. 23	Farming season
Nissan	March–April	Passover/Unleavened Bread/Firstfruits	Latter rains; Barley harvest
Iyar	April–May	(Counting the Omer 50 days)	Hot desert winds; first figs
Sivan	May–June	Shavuot (Latter Firstfruits)	Wheat harvest
Tammuz	June–July
Menachem Av	July–August
Elul	August–September		Date harvest; summer figs
Tishrei	September–October	Rosh Hashanah Yom Kippur Sukkot	Start of civil year Early rains; Fruit and Olive harvests
Heshvan	October–November		Ploughing/sowing
Kislev	November–December	(Chanukah)
Tevet	December–January
Shevat	January–February		Fruit blossom starts
Adar	February–March	(Purim)

And quite a bit of the Torah is dedicated to them! Lev. 23 is the main passage we will be focusing on, but there are additional instructions given in Num. 10, 28 and 29 and Deut. 16, as well as references to the Sabbath and the mandatory appearing of the men of Israel before the Lord (at the Tabernacle) three times a year in Ex. 23:10-17 and 34:21-24

Patterns – Of God’s purposes in the earth

The Moedim follow the agricultural cycle in the Land of Israel, and would remind the people that they were dependent on the Lord for prosperity. (Deut. 11:10-15)

But as we’ll see, the Moedim reveal God’s purposes for Israel and the people of the earth, starting with redemption (Passover/Exodus) and ending with restitution (Sukkot/Millennial Kingdom). We’ll see that the Gentiles (strangers Lev. 23:22) are not left out and are represented in the offerings.

We’ll also see that the first 4 of the 7 Moedim have been fulfilled in exact detail, confirming that the remaining 3 will also be fulfilled in exact detail!

Moed	Prophetic significance	Fulfilled?
Passover/Pesach	Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us	Y
Unleavened Bread	To dedicate a holy people to the Lord	Y
Firstfruits	Christ is raised the firstfruits of them that slept	Y
Pentecost/Shavuot	The coming of the Law/Holy Spirit	Y
Trumpets/Yom Teruah	The regathering of Israel	N
Yom Kippur	The conversion of the nation of Israel	N
Tabernacles/Succot	The Millennium	N

Purpose – To focus the nation on her God

Note that these are gatherings of the whole nation to worship. All the males were to come three times a year and were not to come empty-handed! They were times of rest, remembrance and renewal.

But there was also the weekly Shabbat, no doubt initially just marked as a cessation of labour (difficult in a subsistence culture – you don’t work, you don’t eat!), elaborated by the Mosaic Covenant as we shall see, and raised to laborious ritual by later Judaism in the time of Jesus. The day was to be devoted to remembering the Lord in their homes every week.

The Shabbat or Sabbath

As we consider this, lets’ remember that “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath”!

Note the reaction of Jews in Jerusalem to this Jewish Christian – they don’t study the Tanakh; most important commandment is keeping Shabbat; Jewish believers in Messiah don’t keep Shabbat (relevant section ends at 4:37)

The Week Marked Off by the Sabbath – the week was divinely marked out, even before the giving of the law, in the record of Creation and by the double portion of manna on the 6th day and the withholding of it on the 7th (Exodus 16). It was the only element of the calendar enshrined in the Ten Words, as the Shabbat has a moral aspect that is not connected with mere dates and calendars. It is a sign of allegiance to the Creator, and it was revealed to Israel as part of the moral law, and as a symbol of sanctification of Israel (Exodus 31:13), not only of Gods power to create, but also of His power to re-create.

Therefore the week is independent of all calendars. Its purpose is not to reckon dates and it stands out of sync with months or years. They are regulated by natural events – the movements of the moon and the sun, whereas the 7 day cycle has no natural cause. Scripture is our only explanation of the 7 day cycle, although in recent years, medical and biological discoveries show that it is hard-wired into our bodies and the life-cycles of plants and animals!

Sabbath’s Significance and Universal Observance

We delved into the significance of the Sabbath, emphasizing its role as a moral law and symbol of Israel’s sanctification and noted the universal observance of a seven-day week, rooted in the cycles of nature and human biology, highlighting the biblical origin of this pattern. David also discussed the etymology of the word “Sabbath,” which stems from the Hebrew term “Shabbat,” meaning “rest” or “cessation.” We touched on the implementation of a 10-day week by the French Revolution, which caused confusion and health issues, and compared it to the seven-day week, which was eventually reinstated. Lastly, we noted that the Sabbath is mentioned in four verses of the 10 Commandments, underscoring its importance.

Meaning of the words

The sense is cessation from work, not rest in the sense of recovery – God doesn’t need to recover (Gen. 2:1-3). But of course, in our case, the cessation is a time to recharge and to regenerate. Attempts to change the week to some other interval, such as 10 days in France just after the Revolution, resulted in people becoming exhausted as well as confused!

Scriptures re the Sabbath

First mention of 7 days Gen. 2:1-3

There’s no indication there that it was to be repeated? You could say that we are still in the seventh day as God is still in the state of ceasing from creating and making. He is now maintaining the Creation (Col. 1:17; Heb. 1:3).

Genesis Creation Story and Sabbath Rest

We discussed the creation story in Genesis, focusing on the concept of ‘rest’ and its significance in the text. We emphasized that the seven days of creation were literal, and that God’s rest on the seventh day was not just for the Jews, but for all mankind. We also noted that the Sabbath is a covenant sign for the Jews, but it has broader implications. We suggested that observing the seven-day rhythm could lead to a more harmonious society and highlighted that while the Sabbath is spiritually fulfilled in Christ, there is still a physical aspect to consider. The discussion also touched upon the idea of a permanent state of rest, which is now available through Christ’s work.

First mention of Shabbat Ex. 16:22-30 the gathering of the Manna

Commanded Ex. 20:8-11

The Lord’s Sabbath a sign for Israel Ex. 31:12-18