The feasts instituted by Moses, as recorded in the Pentateuch, hold significant importance in the religious and cultural life of the Israelites. These feasts, designated as solemn occasions, were divinely ordained and served as both commemorative and prophetic events. They provided structured times for worship, reflection, and community gathering, reinforcing the covenant relationship between God and His people.

1. The Passover (Pesach):
The Passover is the first of the solemn feasts, instituted in Exodus 12. It commemorates the deliverance of the Israelites from Egyptian bondage. The central ritual involves the sacrifice of a lamb and the application of its blood on the doorposts, symbolizing divine protection. The feast begins on the 14th day of the first month, Nisan, and is followed by the Feast of Unleavened Bread. "This day is to be a memorial for you, and you are to celebrate it as a feast to the LORD. You are to celebrate it as a permanent statute for the generations to come" (Exodus 12:14).

2. The Feast of Unleavened Bread (Chag HaMatzot):
Commencing immediately after Passover, this seven-day feast emphasizes the haste of the Israelites' departure from Egypt, during which they had no time to let their bread rise. Leaven, representing sin and corruption, is removed from homes, symbolizing purification. "For seven days you must eat unleavened bread. On the first day, you are to remove the leaven from your houses" (Exodus 12:15).

3. The Feast of Weeks (Shavuot or Pentecost):
Celebrated fifty days after the Passover, this feast marks the end of the grain harvest and is a time of thanksgiving for God's provision. It also commemorates the giving of the Law at Mount Sinai. "You are to count off seven full weeks from the day after the Sabbath, the day you brought the sheaf of the wave offering" (Leviticus 23:15).

4. The Feast of Trumpets (Yom Teruah or Rosh Hashanah):
This feast, occurring on the first day of the seventh month, Tishri, is marked by the blowing of trumpets. It serves as a call to repentance and preparation for the Day of Atonement. "In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you are to have a day of rest, a sacred assembly announced by trumpet blasts" (Leviticus 23:24).

5. The Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur):
The most solemn of all feasts, Yom Kippur is a day of fasting, prayer, and repentance. It is the only day when the high priest enters the Holy of Holies to make atonement for the sins of the nation. "This is to be a permanent statute for you: On the tenth day of the seventh month, you must humble yourselves and not do any work" (Leviticus 16:29).

6. The Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot):
This week-long feast begins on the 15th day of Tishri and celebrates the Israelites' journey through the wilderness, living in temporary shelters. It is a time of rejoicing and gratitude for God's provision and protection. "On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, you are to hold a feast to the LORD for seven days" (Leviticus 23:34).

These feasts, instituted by Moses, are not merely historical observances but are imbued with deep spiritual significance. They foreshadow the redemptive work of Christ and the ultimate fulfillment of God's promises. Through these solemn feasts, the Israelites were continually reminded of God's faithfulness, holiness, and the call to live as His chosen people.Numbers 15:3
And will make an offering by fire to the LORD, a burnt offering, or a sacrifice in performing a vow, or in a freewill offering, or in your solemn feasts, to make a sweet smell to the LORD, of the herd or of the flock:
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2 Chronicles 8:13
Even after a certain rate every day, offering according to the commandment of Moses, on the sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the solemn feasts, three times in the year, even in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles.
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Lamentations 2:6
And he has violently taken away his tabernacle, as if it were of a garden: he has destroyed his places of the assembly: the LORD has caused the solemn feasts and sabbaths to be forgotten in Zion, and has despised in the indignation of his anger the king and the priest.
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Ezekiel 46:9
But when the people of the land shall come before the LORD in the solemn feasts, he that enters in by the way of the north gate to worship shall go out by the way of the south gate; and he that enters by the way of the south gate shall go forth by the way of the north gate: he shall not return by the way of the gate whereby he came in, but shall go forth over against it.
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The Third Day in Passion-Week - the Last Controversies and ...
... in the language of the Mishnah [5221] - as if instituted by Moses himself, as sitting
in Moses' seat, and ... such as the upper-most places at feasts and in ...
/.../edersheim/the life and times of jesus the messiah/chapter iv the third day.htm

Period iii. The Critical Period: AD 140 to AD 200
... sent Jesus forget the things he commanded Moses? ... together by nightly meetings and
solemn feasts and inhuman ... ie, the Persians] have instituted concerning good ...
/.../a source book for ancient church history/period iii the critical period .htm

In the House of his Heavenly, and in the Home of his Earthly ...
... heavenly Kingdom was a miraculous, heaven-instituted, absolute rule ... He went to Jerusalem
on recurring Feasts, we know ... The Law of Moses in all its bearings, the ...
/.../edersheim/the life and times of jesus the messiah/chapter x in the house.htm

The General Conference of 1828
... Virginia Conference: Moses Brock, Joseph Carson, Thomas Crowder ... we do believe that
the divinely instituted ministry are ... of class meetings, love feasts, &c., in ...
/.../chapter 9 the general conference.htm

Confessio Augustana.
... Scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat,' and ... such as are set holidays, feasts,
and such ... to be admonished that human traditions, instituted to propitiate ...
/.../the creeds of the evangelical protestant churches/confessio augustana.htm

How did Jesus fulfill the meanings of the Jewish feasts? | GotQuestions.org

What are the different Jewish festivals in the Bible? | GotQuestions.org

The Feasts and Festivals of Judaism ' Article Index | GotQuestions.org

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