"Famines and Feasts"
Click below to download the Cornerstone Connections leader’s guide and student lesson. This week’s resources also include two lesson plans and a discussion starter video which offer different ways of looking at the topic. Each lesson plan includes opening activities, scripture passages, discussion questions, and real-life applications.
Leviticus 23; 27:30-33; Haggai 1:2-11
This week’s lesson focuses on the stewards we are to be of God’s blessings, as well as on the symbols through which God communicates knowledge of His saving grace.
Beginning of the End
(Patriarchs and Prophets), ch. 50
The Blessing of Tithes and Offerings
SCRIPTURE PASSAGES
OVERVIEW
According to Merriam Webster’s online dictionary definition of a festival is 1.) A time of celebration in honor of a special occasion, or 2.) An often regularly occurring program of events or entertainment. Have you ever wondered what the biggest festivals in the world are?
Here is the list of the top eight biggest:
1. Thaipusam—Malaysia
2. Songkran Festival—Thailand
3. Holi—India
4. Dia De Los Muertos—Mexico
5. St. Patrick's Day—Ireland
6. Montreux Jazz Festival—Switzerland
7. Montreal Jazz Festival
8. Summerfest—Milwaukee, Wisconsin
(https://theplanetd.com/festivals-and-celebrations-of-the-world-a-photo-story/)
It’s crazy to think that 1.5 million people will attend the Thaipusam Festival in Malaysia—think of the entire population of Phoenix area in attendance. Seems a little outrageous, doesn’t it? Our lesson today is about feasts and festivals in scripture. Are there any in scripture that would match that size? Let’s check out the lesson today and find out.
OPENING ACTIVITY: FESTIVALS AROUND THE WORLD
Pull out those cell phones or tablets and look up the top 10 biggest festivals in the world and collect the following information:
DISCUSSION
TRANSITION
Scripture is full of symbolism and ritual. In today’s lesson, we will discover what a few of the festivals look like and why they were observed. In addition, we will look at a few festivals that are eternal and will be with God’s creation forever.
BIBLE STUDY GUIDE
Read Leviticus 23:1-2.
The Lord said to Moses, 2 “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.
As we learned from the Miriam Webster online dictionary, a festival is a special occasion or a regularly occurring event. In Leviticus 23, those festivals are: The Sabbath, Passover, Offering of the First Fruits, Festival of the Weeks, Festival of the Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and Festival of the Tabernacles.
DISCUSSION
Let’s look at two of the festivals listed in Leviticus 23.
1. Sabbath
Read Genesis 2:2.
2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.
Read Exodus 16:23.
23 He said to them, “This is what the Lord commanded: ‘Tomorrow is to be a day of sabbath rest, a holy sabbath to the Lord. So bake what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil. Save whatever is left and keep it until morning.’ ”
Read Psalm 92:1-3.
1 It is good to praise the Lord
and make music to your name, O Most High,
2 proclaiming your love in the morning
and your faithfulness at night,
3 to the music of the ten-stringed lyre
and the melody of the harp.
Read Ezekiel 20:12.
12 Also I gave them my Sabbaths as a sign between us, so they would know that I the Lord made them holy.
Read Ezekiel 66:22-34.
22 But I withheld my hand, and for the sake of my name I did what would keep it from being profaned in the eyes of the nations in whose sight I had brought them out. 23 Also with uplifted hand I swore to them in the wilderness that I would disperse them among the nations and scatter them through the countries, 24 because they had not obeyed my laws but had rejected my decrees and desecrated my Sabbaths, and their eyes lusted after their parents’ idols. 25 So I gave them other statutes that were not good and laws through which they could not live; 26 I defiled them through their gifts—the sacrifice of every firstborn—that I might fill them with horror so they would know that I am the Lord.’
27 “Therefore, son of man, speak to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: In this also your ancestors blasphemed me by being unfaithful to me:
28 When I brought them into the land I had sworn to give them and they saw any high hill or any leafy tree, there they offered their sacrifices, made offerings that aroused my anger, presented their fragrant incense and poured out their drink offerings. 29 Then I said to them: What is this high place you go to?’ ” (It is called Bamah to this day.)
Rebellious Israel Renewed
30 “Therefore say to the Israelites: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Will you defile yourselves the way your ancestors did and lust after their vile images? 31 When you offer your gifts—the sacrifice of your children in the fire—you continue to defile yourselves with all your idols to this day. Am I to let you inquire of me, you Israelites? As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I will not let you inquire of me.
32 “ ‘You say, “We want to be like the nations, like the peoples of the world, who serve wood and stone.” But what you have in mind will never happen. 33 As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I will reign over you with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with outpoured wrath. 34 I will bring you from the nations and gather you from the countries where you have been scattered—with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with outpoured wrath.
Read Hebrews 8:4-10.
4 If he were on earth, he would not be a priest, for there are already priests who offer the gifts prescribed by the law. 5 They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.” 6 But in fact the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises.
7 For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. 8 But God found fault with the people and said:
“The days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. 9 It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors
when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not remain faithful to my covenant, and I turned away from them, declares the Lord. 10 This is the covenant I will establish with the people of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.
DISCUSSION
2. Festival of the Trumpets
Read Leviticus 23:23.
23 The Lord said to Moses, 24 “Say to the Israelites: ‘On the first day of the seventh month you are to have a day of sabbath rest, a sacred assembly commemorated with trumpet blasts. 25 Do no regular work, but present a food offering to the Lord.’ ”
Read Numbers 10:2.
Make two trumpets of hammered silver, and use them for calling the community together and for having the camps set out.
Read Numbers 10:7-9.
7 To gather the assembly, blow the trumpets, but not with the signal for setting out.
8 “The sons of Aaron, the priests, are to blow the trumpets. This is to be a lasting ordinance for you and the generations to come. 9 When you go into battle in your own land against an enemy who is oppressing you, sound a blast on the trumpets. Then you will be remembered by the Lord your God and rescued from your enemies.
Read Joshua 6:3-5.
3 March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. 4 Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. 5 When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have the whole army give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the army will go up, everyone straight in.
Read 2 Kings 11:12-14.
12 Jehoiada brought out the king’s son and put the crown on him; he presented him with a copy of the covenant and proclaimed him king. They anointed him, and the people clapped their hands and shouted, “Long live the king!”
13 When Athaliah heard the noise made by the guards and the people, she went to the people at the temple of the Lord. 14 She looked and there was the king, standing by the pillar, as the custom was. The officers and the trumpeters were beside the king, and all the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing trumpets. Then Athaliah tore her robes and called out, “Treason! Treason!”
Read 1 Chronicles 13:8.
8 David and all the Israelites were celebrating with all their might before God, with songs and with harps, lyres, timbrels, cymbals and trumpets.
Read Matthew 24:30-32.
30 “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. 31 And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.
32 “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near.
Read 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17.
16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.
Read Revelation 8:6.
6 Then the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to sound them.
DISCUSSSSION
APPLICATION
Festivals and feasts can be a little confusing in scripture. Some of them are meant to be kept for eternity, like the Sabbath. Many other feasts and festivals were only meant for the children of Israel to observe because it reminded them of the way God treated them in the past and showed them how He wanted to treat them in the future. Sabbath, for example, is an eternal opportunity for His followers to take a break from all the stuff that causes stress in their lives. For 24 hours God gives us the opportunity to focus exclusively on Him in a way that not only gives us physical rest, but also provides a weekly opportunity for Spiritual healing. Sabbath is God’s gift to us, so that there wouldn’t be any guilt and shame when we put aside work and bask in His presence.
FOLLOW UP
SCRIPTURE PASSAGE
OVERVIEW
After God redeemed His people from Egypt and from ever having to go back to slavery, thanks to the Red Sea decimation of Pharoah and his army, God led them with a cloud and with Moses to Mount Sinai where He revealed Himself to them and provided them with the instructions to be Yahweh’s people. We often think of the 10 commandments as making up this instruction, but there was a lot more, including the earthly sanctuary and its daily and yearly rituals.
The lesson for this week includes giving to God—gifts of physical things and from a willing heart. It also includes the systems God put in place to educate, train, and instill in His people what life was all about. Leviticus 23 gives a quick overview of the yearly festivals, although God introduced it with the weekly Sabbath.
Some people get caught up in the details and try to get every item exactly right. But let’s step back and look at themes, such as the importance of worship. In addition to a full day of worship each week, God instituted seven annual festivals. Each had its distinct message and experience. These tied daily life to the people’s spiritual journey as well.
Some people get confused with SEVEN feasts/festivals and other passages in which God calls “all males” to appear before Him THREE times a year (Exodus 23:14-17; Deuteronomy 16:16). Both are correct. (Regarding the “all males” statement, you can imagine what a mess it would be if only males came!) In the patriarchal system, this meant all “families” were to come, and the male, as the head of the family, was responsible to get everyone there—like when Jesus went with His parents to the temple in Jerusalem and everyone from the village went together. These festivals were for everyone connected with the Israelites, all ages and genders, and non-Jews who were with them—all-inclusive!
Of the three gatherings, the first time was in the spring and the people celebrated the first three festivals (Passover, Unleavened Bread, and Firstfruits). This reminded God’s people of their miraculous deliverance from Egypt, and Firstfruits called for these farmers to bring their first part of the harvest to God, trusting that God would provide the rest as well. Most farmers save the first part of the harvest to plant seeds the next year, but God guided His people to trust Him first.
The second gathering was the Festival of Weeks/Harvest, which was also called Pentecost because it came 50 days (pentecoste) after Firstfruits. This marked the conclusion of the spring harvest.
The third gathering included the final three festivals—Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement, and Feast of Shelters/Tabernacles. The Feast of Trumpets, rather than being celebratory, was a call to repentance, leading up to the Day of Atonement—Judgment Day. God’s intention is that people are ready for Judgment Day—no need to be surprised. Trumpets get people’s attention. It reminds us that we need to periodically make sure we’re on track in our relationship with God. After judgment, the Festival of Shelters/Tabernacles went back to celebration—somewhat like our Thanksgiving today. It also included camping in makeshift shelters to commemorate the time God’s people lived in temporary shelters in the wilderness, trusting that God had a more permanent shelter for them in the Promised Land. For us today, it can remind us that this earth is only temporary because our real tabernacle is with God in heaven. It also reminds us that God desires to “tabernacle” with us—be with us—forever.
Ask the youth to notice themes, similarities, and differences between the three gatherings for the seven festivals. For those who may wonder if Seventh-day Adventists should keep the Jewish festivals, especially something like the Day of Atonement and Festival of Shelters because the salvation history events they point to haven’t happened yet, here’s a link to a free download about this, written by Jacques Doukhan, a Jewish Seventh-day Adventist scholar: https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/shabbat-shalom/vol50/iss3/7/
This week’s RBS (Relational Bible Study), based on Leviticus 23, is about how God set up the annual festivals (including the Sabbath each week) for the purpose of celebrating. If our worship doesn’t include celebration, we’re missing something!
What’s your favorite holiday? Is it like a party for you? Is it more of a celebration?
Read Leviticus 23:1-44.
The Lord said to Moses, 2 “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.
The Sabbath
3 “ ‘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 Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread
4 “ ‘These are the Lord’s appointed festivals, the sacred assemblies you are to proclaim at their appointed times: 5 The Lord’s Passover begins at twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month. 6 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. 7 On the first day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work. 8 For seven days present a food offering to the Lord. And on the seventh day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work.’ ”
Offering the Firstfruits
9 The Lord said to Moses, 10 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘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. 11 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. 12 On the day you wave the sheaf, you must sacrifice as a burnt offering to the Lord a lamb a year old without defect, 13 together with its grain offering of two-tenths of an ephah of the finest flour mixed with olive oil—a food offering presented to the Lord, a pleasing aroma—and its drink offering of a quarter of a hin of wine. 14 You must not eat any bread, or roasted or new grain, until the very day you bring this offering to your God. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live.
The Festival of Weeks
15 “ ‘From the day after the Sabbath, the day you brought the sheaf of the wave offering, count off seven full weeks. 16 Count off fifty days up to the day after the seventh Sabbath, and then present an offering of new grain to the Lord. 17 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. 18 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. 19 Then sacrifice one male goat for a sin offering and two lambs, each a year old, for a fellowship offering. 20 The priest is to wave the two lambs before the Lord as a wave offering, together with the bread of the firstfruits. They are a sacred offering to the Lord for the priest. 21 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.
22 “ ‘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 Festival of Trumpets
23 The Lord said to Moses, 24 “Say to the Israelites: ‘On the first day of the seventh month you are to have a day of sabbath rest, a sacred assembly commemorated with trumpet blasts. 25 Do no regular work, but present a food offering to the Lord.’ ”
The Day of Atonement
26 The Lord said to Moses, 27 “The tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. Hold a sacred assembly and deny yourselves, and present a food offering to the Lord. 28 Do not do any work on that day, because it is the Day of Atonement, when atonement is made for you before the Lord your God. 29 Those who do not deny themselves on that day must be cut off from their people. 30 I will destroy from among their people anyone who does any work on that day. 31 You shall do no work at all. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live. 32 It is a day of sabbath rest for you, and you must deny yourselves. From the evening of the ninth day of the month until the following evening you are to observe your sabbath.”
The Festival of Tabernacles
33 The Lord said to Moses, 34 “Say to the Israelites: ‘On the fifteenth day of the seventh month the Lord’s Festival of Tabernacles begins, and it lasts for seven days. 35 The first day is a sacred assembly; do no regular work. 36 For seven days present food offerings to the Lord, and on the eighth day hold a sacred assembly and present a food offering to the Lord. It is the closing special assembly; do no regular work.
37 (“ ‘These are the Lord’s appointed festivals, which you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies for bringing food offerings to the Lord—the burnt offerings and grain offerings, sacrifices and drink offerings required for each day. 38 These offerings are in addition to those for the Lord’s Sabbaths and in addition to your gifts and whatever you have vowed and all the freewill offerings you give to the Lord.)
39 “ ‘So beginning with the fifteenth day of the seventh month, after you have gathered the crops of the land, celebrate the festival to the Lord for seven days; the first day is a day of sabbath rest, and the eighth day also is a day of sabbath rest. 40 On the first day you are to take branches from luxuriant trees—from palms, willows and other leafy trees—and rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days. 41 Celebrate this as a festival to the Lord for seven days each year. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come; celebrate it in the seventh month. 42 Live in temporary shelters for seven days: All native-born Israelites are to live in such shelters 43 so your descendants will know that I had the Israelites live in temporary shelters when I brought them out of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.’ ”
44 So Moses announced to the Israelites the appointed festivals of the Lord.
1. What makes Sabbath a (holy) festival/party?
2. What stands out about Passover, Unleavened Bread, and Firstfruits?
3. What seems important about the Festival of Harvest (Pentecost)?
4. What do you notice with the Festival of Trumpets (also in Numbers 29:1-7)?
5. What grabs your attention about the Day of Atonement?
6. What seems meaningful about the Festival of Shelters/Tabernacles?
7. Do you celebrate Christmas and Easter as religious festivals or as cultural holidays?
8. What do you do to prepare for festivals, parties, or holidays? What do you do to prepare for Sabbath each week? Why?
SUMMARY
Every week: Celebrate! Celebrate God who created us, who redeemed us, and who’s returning for us. Include annual celebrations in which you stop your work/school and renew vows to God and consider His involvement in your daily living. Look back in time, look forward in time, and celebrate the current time. Make sure you’re right with God, with regular times of repentance to make sure God’s forgiveness has happened with you. And invite others to join the celebration!
APPLICATION
Here are three ideas for applying this Relational Bible Study to your life this week! How much do you celebrate? Do you initiate it, or are you more of a consumer who relies on others to make it happen? Here are some ideas for you to celebrate with God and others.
Choose a festival like what you’ve read about in Leviticus 23, or choose one for your particular church. It could be an anniversary of the founding of the church, or the construction or dedication of the church building, or a time of God’s obvious activity with the church in the past. It could even be the start of your youth group or something else of significance.
In just three months we’ll be celebrating Christmas. Many churches come up with some type of church program. Sometimes there’s a lot of music or maybe a children’s play about the Christmas story.
The annual festivals in Leviticus 23 were once a year, but Sabbath comes each week. Many people in the Western world just let Sabbath happen with little or no preparation for it.
What if the Miracles of Jesus are more than meets the eye?
What if there is so much more to each story than we see?
What if each time Jesus did something supernatural, He was inviting us to look deeper?
Beyond the healing.
Beyond the deliverance.
Beyond the acts that defied the laws of nature.
What if Jesus were inviting us to see something bigger?
Something more amazing about the love of God.
Something mind-blowing.
What if the ultimate Miracle is that God can transform us?
The Miracle Series is an interactive study of 15 of Jesus’ awe-inspiring encounters while here on earth. These lessons, and messages are designed to connect with teens and youth and take them on a journey of discovery. Included in this kit is everything you need:
We invite you and your youth to not just study the Miracles of Jesus but to experience The Miracle.
