These are my appointed festivals, the appointed festivals of the Lord

 Leviticus 23:1-22

Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘These are my appointed festivals, the appointed festivals of the Lord, which you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies.

There are six days when you may work, but the seventh day is a day of sabbath rest, a day of sacred assembly. You are not to do any work; wherever you live, it is a sabbath to the Lord.

The Lord’s Passover begins at twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month. On the fifteenth day of that month the Lord’s Festival of Unleavened Bread begins; for seven days you must eat bread made without yeast.

When you enter the land I am going to give you and you reap its harvest, bring to the priest a sheaf of the first grain you harvest. He is to wave the sheaf before the Lord so it will be accepted on your behalf; the priest is to wave it on the day after the Sabbath. 

From the day after the Sabbath, the day you brought the sheaf of the wave offering, count off seven full weeks. Count off fifty days up to the day after the seventh Sabbath, and then present an offering of new grain to the Lord. From wherever you live, bring two loaves made of two-tenths of an ephah of the finest flour, baked with yeast, as a wave offering of firstfruits to the Lord. Present with this bread seven male lambs, each a year old and without defect, 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, an aroma pleasing to the Lord. Then sacrifice one male goat for a sin offering and two lambs, each a year old, for a fellowship offering.  On that same day you are to proclaim a sacred assembly and do no regular work. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live.

When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and for the foreigner residing among you. I am the Lord your God.

The seasons of the year, seedtime and harvest are marked with special festivals. Like the weekly sabbath, they reflect a pattern of sevens - pointing back to God setting the seventh day apart as a special day at creation.

1. The sabbath: on day of rest in seven

2. Passover, followed by the seven-day Feast of Unleaved Bread

3. Firstfruits followed seven weeks later by

4. The Feast of Weeks (Pentecost): the harvest festival(June)

Why?

These special festivals are let Israelites remember God's work and grace on them.

What they achieved on their land is the grace of the Lord, so they celebrate their harvest and give thanks to the Lord.

23-25章是另外一個段落： 屬天的盼望

節期：思想神的作為，分別有新約、舊約救恩的意義。如果只是照舊約活動進行，沒有意義，而是要思想

安息日不工作，心裏也要安息！工作不做，我們的心還在想工作嗎？

逾越節：人什麼也不做。得救不是我們能做什麼，完全是神的工作

無酵節： 是人的責任，不花時間發酵，馬上要離開埃及，不要留戀世界。獻燔祭感恩與獻素祭每天過委身的生活。人不再受捆綁了。

初熟節： 代表耶穌基督復活，新有收成時先獻給神。

五旬節：初熟節後50天，收割的時候，人豐收的時候，留下一些給窮人，神的目的還要我們與人分享，這是向神感恩最具體的行為。

我們要成為神的見證。

How?

Thanks to the Lord every day, for the blessing of the Lord, so I can make it.