Keeping the Biblical Holidays is Worship (The Best Reason to Celebrate the Biblical Holidays)

In this post we will talk about the primary reason that Bible believers today are called to keep the Biblical holidays such as Passover, Shavuot, and Tabernacles. These are holidays that were created by God and given to his people in Scripture passages such as Deuteronomy 16, and Leviticus 23. Christians should take part in these for one very compelling reason.

In the past we have talked about many reasons to take part in the feasts and holidays. Reasons like the Bible says so, Jesus did, the Disciples did, and that they can be very spiritually enriching are all legitimate and worthy reasons to stop and remember and celebrate these special times...but they are not the full story. There is more.

What is the best reason to celebrate the Biblical holidays?

It's because keeping the Biblical holidays is worshipping the Living God.

There is no better reason to take part in them. Each holiday is a time when we are collectively called, as the community of God's people, to join together in worship, as we remember the faithfulness of YHWH. We are called to remember his mighty acts that took place on the Bible holidays.

At Passover, the Messiah laid his life down for us. And thousands of years earlier, God freed the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. Taking part in the Bible holidays is about remembering these saving acts (along with many others!) and giving thanks for them. We take part in the holidays to remind ourselves that YHWH does miracles and cares for us. We worship at these times, because he is worthy.

Yes, worship is something we should do daily. But Scripture specifically calls - even commands - us to do so especially during the Biblical holidays. By taking part in Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits, Shavuot, Trumpets, Yom Kippur, and the Feast of Tabernacles we show our allegiance and obedience to God. This is worship.

It's worship to center our lives around the times YHWH says to.

It's worship to take time off work and to step back from household duties to have time to remember the miracles God has done throughout history.

It's worship to gather with others in honor of the Messiah, to give thanks for what he has done in our lives.

It's worship to make plans and prepare a special meal when the Bible says to.

It's worship to read Scripture and to bless God and to sing praises on the Biblical holidays.

Part of what it means to bear God's image is to celebrate the things that he does, and he celebrates these holidays!

Bible holidays are for Bible believers...because Bible believers are called to lives of worship.

More about the Biblical holidays:

Why the Biblical Holidays are for All Believers
Why I Started Celebrating the Biblical Feasts
The Beginner's Guide to the Biblical Holidays
Why You Should Keep the Biblical Holidays

The Beginner's Guide to the Feast of Trumpets

Taking part in the Creator's appointed time of the Feast of Trumpets is an option for you, even if it's not something you have ever done before! The Biblical holidays were given to all believers, regardless of ethnicity or nationality, and they are a joy to take part in. I believe that the Creator communicates much to us through these special times, and that our faith will grow by participating in them. Here's how to get started. 

What you need to know about the Feast of Trumpets:

-It is a one-day holiday that typically happens in very late summer or early fall (in the northern hemisphere).

-It is considered a Sabbath.

-The Hebrew name for this holiday is Yom Teruah and that can be used interchangeably. 

-Yom Teruah means something like, "Day of Sounding," or "Day of Shofar Blasts."

-Shofars are a horn used as a music instrument that are typically made out of a ram's horn. Modern English uses 'trumpets' in place of shofar.

-It is a day filled with joyful noise and verbal expressions of praise to YHWH.

Spiritual significance of the Feast of Trumpets:

-The Messiah is expected to return on the Feast of Trumpets. When he said that no one knew the day or the hour of his return, he was using that as an idiom to mean the Feast of Trumpets!

-Trumpets/shofars have sounded at many weighty historic moments in Scripture, including the Battle of Jericho, the giving of the Torah, the coronation of kings, and to announce the start of Jubilee years. See this post for more.

-Starting in Revelation 8, seven trumpets are sounded by messengers. Significant events of the last days happen in this passage, and the shofars of the Feast of Trumpets remind us to be prepared and serving YHWH when those trumpets are blasted.

How to observe the Feast of Trumpets:

-Take the day off of work, errands, homework, and household chores. Since this holiday is considered a Sabbath, we aren't to do any work on it and treat it as we would the weekly Sabbath. Honor YHWH with your full attention on this day.

-Sound the trumpets. If you have a shofar, blast it on this day! Play praise music, sing to YHWH, or host or attend a worship night with live music.

-Gather with other believers, if possible. Attend congregation if that's an option or think about inviting friends and family over for Bible study, worship, or fellowship time.

-Have a special meal. Good food is an easy way to add fun and festivity to any special occasion, so think about what you'd like to enjoy! If you're getting together with other believers, consider having a potluck. 

-Remember! Leviticus 23 tells us that the Feast of Trumpets is to be a "remembrance of teruah." This is an opportunity to remember all the amazing things that YHWH caused to happen at the sound of a shofar. It is also a chance to recall and share how you have seen him at work in your own life.

More about the Biblical holiday of the Feast of Trumpets:
The Meaning of Yom Teruah and Where We See it in Scripture
Yom Teruah Scripture Reading List
Smoothie Bowls for the Feast of Trumpets

The Beginner's Guide to the Biblical Holidays

This post is an overview of the Biblical holidays from Scripture, explaining what the holidays are according to passages like Leviticus 23, and Deuteronomy 16. These are not traditional Christian holidays like Easter and Christmas, but rather set apart times created by the Living God. We will go over the basics of each holiday from Passover to Shavuot to the Feast of Tabernacles, what happened on them historically and what they symbolize.

In addition to the weekly Sabbath, there are seven different holidays that we are instructed by Scripture to set apart. These times are special, and not only because we are told to celebrate them. Each holiday has significance historically, prophetically, and in the life of the Messiah. Paul wrote in Colossians that these times are a shadow of things to come. That means we have a lot to learn from these holidays.

The Biblical holidays are:

Passover
Feast of Unleavened Bread
First Fruits

The Feast of Weeks / Shavuot / Pentecost

Feast of Trumpets / Yom Teruah

Day of Covering / Day of Atonement / Yom Kippur

Feast of Tabernacles / Sukkot

While specific dates are given in Scripture, the Biblical calendar doesn't mesh perfectly with the Gregorian so the dates move a bit each year. Land of Honey posts the dates for the upcoming holidays at the beginning of each year.

Please note that Bible holidays are for Bible believers. 

Many people are under the mistaken belief that the holidays that YHWH instructed us to keep were somehow only for the Jewish people, but that idea is not supported by Scripture. Deuteronomy 16:14 expressly tells us that foreigners who join the community of YHWH's people should celebrate these days too, so no matter your background, ethnicity, or family traditions the Creator invites you to these times.

When we learn about each Biblical holiday, we learn more about Scripture. It's truly stunning how much meaning is jam-packed into each of these times. And studying these holidays means we remember what YHWH did on these days. The holidays are, as N.T. Wright says, 'kingdom moments' and God has always performed amazing miracles on these days throughout history. Celebrating these holidays is celebrating what God has done.

A brief overview of the set apart times:

Passover: In the Biblical year Passover is the very first feast. We see the Israelites keep Passover just before the Egyptian exodus. They were instructed to brush the doors of their homes with blood from a lamb, we are reminded that the Messiah was the perfect sacrificial lamb. That's not just an allegory either, Yahusha was killed on Passover. 

The Feast of Unleavened Bread: This is a week long celebration that starts the day after Passover. Leavened/yeast bread and other products are forbidden this week. As yeast is a very small ingredient that rabidly transforms all the dough, we are reminded that the small things in our life make a huge impact. And this lack of leaven reminds us to purge the sin from our lives, which is made possible through the Messiah's sacrifice.

First Fruits: This day happens the day after the Sabbath during the week of Unleavened Bread. This is when the first of the barley harvest was to be presented before YHWH. First Fruits is the day the Messiah resurrected from the dead and presented himself to the Father. It is also when we are to start counting fifty days.

Feast of Weeks: Fifty days after First Fruits we are to celebrate Shavuot. This is a day of great significance as the instructions on how to live were given at Mount Sinai and then shortly after the Messiah's ascension into heaven, the Holy Spirit was given on the day of Shavuot. The Feast of Weeks is a celebration of having God's word and the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

Feast of Trumpets: The first of the fall feasts, Yom Teruah means something like Day of Sounding. All those verses that talk about a trumpet sounding when the Messiah returns? It will happen on that day. Perhaps the most joyous time in history will be on Yom Teruah at the return of the Messiah!

Yom Kippur: Under the Levitical priesthood this was a very significant day because it's the day that the priests made atonement for all of Israel's sin with the two goats. Today we can celebrate that the Messiah has atoned for our sins. Prophetically, it is thought that this will be the day that the earth is judged and the people who have been atoned for by Messiah will be separated from those who have not.

Feast of Tabernacles: This is a beautiful look ahead to when YHWH will dwell or camp with us. With that in mind, it's no surprise that it is believed the Messiah was born during this time. This eight day celebration usually looks like a camping trip, with the commandment being to dwell in tents. Others build a temporary structure on their property and spend time there throughout Sukkot. We reflect on this world being a temporary place for us, while we look forward to the day when the Messiah returns to dwell with his people!

If you'd like beginner's guides to the individual holidays, Land of Honey offers these!

The Beginner's Guide to Passover (for believers in Messiah)
The Beginner's Guide to Unleavened Bread
The Beginner's Guide to Shavuot
The Beginner's Guide to the Feast of Trumpets
The Beginner's Guide to Yom Kippur

More posts on the Biblical holidays:
Why the Bible Holidays are for All Believers
Reasons Why Believers Should Keep the Feasts
Why I Started Celebrating the Biblical Holidays