The Straight and Narrow

A Series on Old Testament Festivals and Sacred Days – Festival of Tabernacles

(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Leviticus 23:33-44

[Many of the festivals and sacred days from the Old Testament don’t seem to be relevant for us today. In this series, we’re going to take a closer look at them to learn what the significance was for the people of Israel at the time. And to learn what the significance is for us today.]

  

During the summer of 1969, while I was washing dishes at a Jerry’s Restaurant in Morehead, Kentucky, a historic festival called Woodstock attracted between 450,000 - 500,000 young people. The organizers had planned on 50,000! Needless to say, they weren’t prepared for the crowds.

 

Despite heavy rain, traffic jams, and a lack of food and adequate sanitation, the festival went on. People camped out wherever they could. Many had tents, some had sleeping bags, others a blanket. But lots of people just laid out in the open air.

 

The Lord chose Israel to be his people. It started with the Lord’s covenant with Abraham and continued through his son Isaac, followed by his son Jacob. During a famine, Israel moved to Egypt only to be enslaved later. After 400 years the Lord freed them, but he needed to prepare them for the Promised Land.

 

This would present many new challenges for Israel. The Canaanites, who already lived there, worshipped pagan gods who they believed blessed their farming. On the other hand, the Israelites had never owned land, let alone farmed it. It would be a monumental change for Israel, filled with temptations to disobey the Lord.

 

That’s why at Mount Sinai, in addition to the Law, the Lord gave Moses festivals and sacred days for Israel to observe. These would give them a spiritual infrastructure, so to speak, that would help keep them on the straight and narrow with the Lord.

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.                         NIV

The Festival of Tabernacles was one of three pilgrimage festivals where every Jewish man was to travel to the tabernacle in order to be in the presence of the Lord. It was a seven-day festival that followed the fall harvest to give thanks for God’s provision. But it also served a third purpose.

 

Like the people who attended Woodstock, the Israelites who came to the Festival of Tabernacles were to live in temporary housing. Here’s why.

⁴² You shall dwell in booths for seven days. All who are native Israelites shall dwell in booths, ⁴³ that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.’”                                                                                           NKJV     

  

The tabernacle was the dwelling place of God providing Israel with the Lord’s presence as they wandered through the desert. A booth was a temporary shelter where Israelites would stay during the Festival of Tabernacles when they would be in the presence of God. Both words point to being in the presence of the Lord.

 

The world we live in is not so different from the world that Israel was about to enter. Today, there are still many gods to tempt us to disobey the Lord. As Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.” 

 

The Lord provided the Festival of Tabernacles to help keep the people of Israel on the straight and narrow. We also need to find ways to keep on the straight and narrow; to live in the Lord’s presence.

 

Copyright 2026 Joseph B Williams

Feel free to share this blog with others.

www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

 

Muscle Memory

A Series on Old Testament Festivals and Sacred Days – Day of Atonement
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Leviticus 16; Hebrews 10:1-14 

[Many of the festivals and sacred days from the Old Testament don’t seem to be relevant for us today. In this series, we’re going to take a closer look at them to learn what the significance was for the people of Israel at the time. And to learn what the significance is for us today.]

  

I’ve always loved piano music and wished that I knew how to play. So, when I retired it seemed like a good time to take lessons. For me, the most difficult aspect of learning is playing one thing with your right hand and something totally different with your left hand. It’s very confusing.

 

To deal with that, my piano teacher occasionally talks about the importance of muscle memory. By that she means practicing something over and over until my fingers automatically know what to do. I think she just wants me to practice more. But it does seem to help.

 

When the Lord spoke to Moses at Mount Sinai, he gave him instructions on building the tabernacle as well as instituting the sacrificial system. The tabernacle was the place where God would dwell among his people as they began their journey to the Promised Land. It also provided the place for sacrifices to be made.

 

Central to the sacrificial system was a means for the Israelites to atone for their sins. This was done through daily animal sacrifices. In addition, once a year the high priest was to enter the Most Holy Place, the innermost chamber in the tabernacle, to observe the Day of Atonement.

 

On that day, the priest made atonement for himself and all the people through multiple sacrifices which included a bull, a goat and two rams. Then he sprinkled their blood over the atonement cover, or lid, of the ark of the covenant. Which is where the Lord’s presence would dwell.

 

Although bloody, it was required by the law – “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness”. All of this was done in an attempt to restore their relationship with the Lord. However, it only covered their sin, it didn’t actually take their sin away.

 

¹ The old system under the law of Moses was only a shadow, a dim preview of the good things to come, not the good things themselves. The sacrifices under that system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship. ⁴ For it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.                        NLT   Hebrews 10

 

Then Christ came into the world changing everything.

 

¹¹ Under the old covenant, the priest stands and ministers before the altar day after day, offering the same sacrifices again and again, which can never take away sins. ¹² But our High Priest (Jesus) offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then he sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand.          NLT   Hebrews 10

 

Muscle memory was an important aspect of Israel’s sacrificial system. The daily sacrifices, as well as the Day of Atonement, were reminders not only of their sin, but of the holiness of God.

 

Just like the sacrificial animals had to be spotless, so did Jesus, the Lamb of God. He was without sin, and because of that he was able to take our sin upon himself. To do that he bore the consequences of our sin on the cross once and for all.

 

As a result, Jesus provided the perfect Day of Atonement making it possible for us to have a personal relationship with our Heavenly Father.

 

Copyright 2026 Joseph B Williams

Feel free to share this blog with others.

www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

 

 

More Than Meets the Eye

Series on Old Testament Festivals and Sacred Days – Festival of Weeks
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Leviticus 23:15-22; Acts 1:1-8; Acts 2:1-4 

[Many of the festivals and sacred days from the Old Testament don’t seem to be relevant for us today. In this series, we’re going to take a closer look at them to learn what the significance was for the people of Israel at the time. And to learn what the significance is for us today.]

  

“Five, ten, fifteen, twenty, twenty-five, thirty, thirty-five, forty…

Here I come, ready or not!”

 

Does that sound familiar to you? Does it bring back childhood memories? When I was a kid, that’s how we started every game of Hide and Seek… by counting.

 

Just like we counted as kids, Israel was to count out 49 days, plus one, following the end of Passover week. On the fiftieth day, they were to celebrate the Festival of Weeks. It was a festival of thanksgiving to the Lord for their wheat harvest.

 

²¹ That same day will be proclaimed an official day for holy assembly, a day on which you do no ordinary work. This is a permanent law for you, and it must be observed from generation to generation wherever you live.                NLT   Leviticus 23

 

The book of Leviticus is basically a manual of regulations that Israel was given by the Lord through Moses while at Mount Sinai. The purpose of these regulations was to help Israel to live as the Lord’s holy people in the Promised Land. The Festival of Weeks was one of those regulations.

 

However, besides the immediate purpose of the Festival of Weeks, it was also a foreshadow of something even bigger. Following his resurrection, Jesus told his disciples to stay in Jerusalem where they would “be baptized with the Holy Spirit”. After his ascension, here’s what happened.

 

² Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. ³ They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. ⁴ All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.      NIV    Acts 2

 

It happened during the Festival of Weeks which is one of the three major festivals where Jewish men are expected to celebrate by making a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. As a result, the city was packed with devout Jews from all across the world.

 

But there’s more than meets the eye happening here. Peter boldly stood and spoke to the skeptical crowd about Jesus. As a result, about three thousand believed in him as the Messiah. Just like the Festival of Weeks was originally instituted to give thanks for the wheat harvest, now there was a new harvest – a spiritual harvest.

 

Also, over the years the Festival of Weeks became known as Pentecost, which is Greek for the number 50. Providentially, Jesus was crucified and buried 50 days prior to Pentecost. It was the birth of the Christian church, and the beginning of the harvest.

 

During his last days on earth, Jesus made a promise to his disciples.

 

⁸ But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”            NIV    Acts 1

 

Jesus’ promise of the Holy Spirit and being his witness is still true for us today. We may not have the physical manifestations of the Spirit, but he is at work in and through our lives to continue the harvest.

 

Copyright 2026 Joseph B Williams

Feel free to share this blog with others.

www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

 

 

If it Ain’t Broke, Don’t Fix It

Series on Old Testament Festivals and Sacred Days – Feast of First Fruits
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Leviticus 23:9-14; 1 Corinthians 15:20-23 

[Many of the festivals and sacred days from the Old Testament don’t seem to be relevant for us today. They may have been significant for the Jews at the time, but not now. In this series, we’re going to take a closer look at the festivals and sacred days to learn what the significance was for the people of Israel at the time. And to learn what the significance is for us today.]

  

Change is hard. At least for me it is. When I was working in insurance my boss changed our data management system multiple times. This meant that our daily operations changed because we used the system in every aspect of the job.

 

Because he changed the system, I had to relearn everything. This resulted in a learning curve that seemed so unnecessary. After all, the old system worked just fine. Why did it need to change? As the saying goes, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”.

 

The Israelites may have felt the same way while waiting at Mount Siani to enter the Promised Land. For centuries, their ancestors had lived as nomadic herdsmen. From Abraham to David, their geo-socio-economic society was based on it.

 

But now they were facing a change from nomadic herdsmen to resident farmer. To that end, Moses presented many laws from the Lord that were based on farming which the Israelites knew very little about.

 

For example, the Lord instituted the Feast of First Fruits as a “lasting ordinance” when they entered the Promised Land.

 

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.     NIV

 

This is known as a wave offering. It was one way that Israel was to worship God. It was to acknowledge that he had provided the harvest and would continue to do so. It was to show that they trusted the Lord for his provision for their livelihood. But, if they truly believed this, they would have to learn how to farm.

 

However, the Canaanites, who lived in the Promised Land, already knew how to farm. Theirs was an agricultural society, and they believed that their gods had provided years of successful harvests. In some ways, this was a recipe for failure for the Israelites.

 

Knowing the risks of changing something so basic to their lives, the Feast of First Fruits gave the Israelites structure that would help them to “keep the faith”; to stay strong in their covenant relationship with the Lord; to not give in to the temptation of worshiping the gods of the Canaanites. Unfortunately, Israel failed miserably.

 

In addition to the wave offering, the Feast of First Fruits included a burnt offering. They were to take a spotless, year-old lamb and sacrifice it to the Lord. Like the Passover lamb, this was a foreshadowing of Christ, the lamb of God.

 

The bottom line is that the Feast of First Fruits was a metaphor for the resurrection of Jesus and a promise for the future harvest that includes all who have believed and follow him. Paul put it like this in his letter to the Corinthian church.

 

²⁰ But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.            NIV

 

Here’s how a devotional from Ligonier explains it.

 

“Just as the firstfruits offered to God under the old covenant anticipated the fuller harvest to come, the resurrection of Jesus anticipates the bodily resurrection of His people first promised under the old covenant”.

 

Sometimes, if it ain’t broke… it still needs to be fixed.

 

Copyright 2026 Joseph B Williams

Feel free to share this blog with others.

www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com