How does Numbers 28:17 connect with New Testament teachings on worship and celebration? The Feast Commanded: Numbers 28:17 “On the fifteenth day of this month there is to be a feast; for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread.” Why the Feast Mattered Then • Set date: 15th of the first month—fixed, public, joyful. • Length: seven days—an entire week saturated with remembrance. • Food: unleavened bread—symbol of purity, haste, and total break with Egypt’s bondage. • Purpose: celebrate the Lord’s definitive act of redemption; renew covenant loyalty through prescribed sacrifices (vv. 18-25). Christ, the Fulfillment of the Feast • 1 Corinthians 5:7-8: “Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed… therefore let us keep the feast… with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” • Luke 22:15-20: Jesus re-frames Passover around His body and blood, instituting the Lord’s Supper. • Hebrews 10:1: the law’s rituals are “a shadow of the good things to come,” now realized in Christ. • Result: the calendar event becomes an ever-present reality—redemption completed, purity pursued daily. New-Testament Patterns of Celebration and Worship • Acts 2:42-47: believers gather “day by day… breaking bread from house to house,” rejoicing in finished redemption, mirroring the week-long OT rejoicing. • Colossians 2:16-17: feasts remain instructive but no longer binding; their essence is “of Christ.” • Hebrews 13:15: sacrifices of animals give way to “a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that confess His name.” • Revelation 5:9-13: heaven’s worship centers on the Lamb who was slain—Passover’s ultimate picture. From Leaven to Life—Practical Connections • Unleavened bread → life cleansed from “malice and wickedness” (1 Corinthians 5:8). • Seven-day feast → continual lifestyle of gratitude and joy (Philippians 4:4). • Fixed date → intentional, orderly worship gatherings (1 Colossians 14:40). • Public sacrifices → corporate, vocal praise (Hebrews 13:15) and tangible generosity (2 Corinthians 9:12-13). Living the Celebration Today – Gather regularly: prioritize the Lord’s Table as the church’s ongoing feast of remembrance. – Keep out the “old yeast”: confess sin quickly, pursue holiness as a community. – Celebrate boldly: sing, testify, and give generously, reflecting Israel’s week-long joy. – Anchor worship in redemption: every service looks back to the cross and forward to the marriage supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19:7-9). |
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