Title Who Am I? (Numbers 28:16-31)
Contents
Now, when the Israelites enter the land of Canaan, they must live in a completely different environment and culture than before. It is necessary to drive out all the foreign cultures and environments that have already been colored by the foreign peoples who have already settled there, and create a new culture as God has said and live a new life.
So, before entering the land of Canaan in earnest, God teaches them various rules of life that they must follow and follow.
Today's text talks about how to keep the Passover and the Feast of Weeks. On the 14th day of the first month of every month (March-April according to the Jewish calendar), the Passover is a festival to remember without forgetting God's deliverance of them from slavery in Egypt. After the Passover, they had to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread for a week from the 15th of the month, but God tells them not to do anything on the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And he said to offer two bulls, a ram, and seven one-year-old without blemish, each with a grain offering, and a separate male goat for a sin offering. And on the last day too, we had to gather for a holy meeting and do nothing.
The Feast of Weeks was “the day of offering the firstfruits” (verse 26). On that day, too, the same sacrifices made on the Feast of Unleavened Bread had to be offered in the same way. The fruit here was probably grapes. In the Middle East, grapes were mainly grown. However, the first ripe grapes are not so appetizing or tasty. Nevertheless, what was the reason that God told us to offer the first ripe fruits to God and offer sacrifices to commemorate that day?
It must mean to remember that it is God who produces fruit, and it must mean to trust God for the year of farming, ask for help, and give thanks.
Today we do not literally keep the Passover and the Feast of Weeks.
However, it is not right to forget even its meaning.
Rather, you should actively reflect on its meaning and live your life.
The Feast of Weeks is also a precious feast that reaffirms our Christian identity. The Feast of Weeks is a feast with precious meaning that God is the master of all our lives and allows us to acknowledge God's sovereignty in our lives.
No matter how hard we sow in this world, it is only God who makes it sprout and bear fruit. The true meaning of the Feast of Weeks is to acknowledge that whatever fruit you get in the world is not the result of your own strength and effort, but the fruit obtained through God's help and grace.
The Passover is a season to realize how I became a child of God, and the Feast of Weeks is an important season to realize how God is working in my life.
Today, as I reflect on the meaning of the Passover and the Feast of Weeks, I hope that you and I will be able to thank God and acknowledge God's sovereignty in our lives.