| IN CELEBRATION OF GOD |
| Jewish holidays focused on one thing. |
| Rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days. 23:40 |
| Anthropologists studying remote tribes routinely describe their feast days, for these show the people's common values. Waht would stand out to an anthropologist studying America? Undoubtedly he would notice that our celebration of Christmas, Thanksgiving, and the Fourth of July emphasize family, food, and gifts - the more the better. What about the Israelites? Leviticus describes five feasts, all focusing on God. Each was marked by special sacrifices to God and a sacred assembly in the Tent of Meeting where God had "pitched his tent." Rather than giving gifts to each other, the Israelites gave gifts to God. Sometimes they rejoiced: during the Feast of Tabernacles everyone camped out to "rejoice before the Lord" for a solid week (23:40). On other occasions, such as the Day of Atonement, they were sober and solemn (chapter 16, 23:26-32). But always their orientation was God-ward. God over Money Nobody worked on Israelite feast days, but their "days off" had a different motive than ours. An Israelite farmer never got a paid holiday. In fact, a holiday could cost him - it might fall on a day perfect for harvesting. But God took priority over work. The weekly Sabbath day reinforced the same idea. You had to stop working to worship. God mattered more than wealth. This fundamental belief showed itself even more in the sabbath year and in the Year of Jubilee (chapter 25). Every seventh year, people did not farm at all. They lived off whatever the land produced by itself, and dedicated themselves to God. This would be like our closing all businesses and factories for a year. After 49 years - seven sabbath years - the Year of Jubilee came. This time, people went for two years straight without |
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