Leviticus 22–24: Trumpets & Appointed Times

Read the Bible in 2023 ◊ Week 31: Monday

“And you shall not profane My holy name, but I will be treated as holy among the sons of Israel; I am Yahweh who makes you holy, who brought you out from the land of Egypt to be your God; I am Yahweh.”

Leviticus 22:32-33 LSB

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Monday’s Bible reading is Leviticus 22–24. These chapters are in the fifth section of Leviticus that Derek Kidner titles, “A Holy Nation: chs. 17–27.”¹

Leviticus 22 continues with commands to Aaron and his sons. Kidner writes that Leviticus 22:32-33 gives us, “The unifying theme: holiness.”

“The petition ‘hallowed be Thy name’ would express the aim of each part of this law. For the Christian this prayer has implications that are no less multiform, and no less searching.”²

In Leviticus 23, God gives commands regarding appointed times of assembly of the nation of Israel.

And Yahweh spoke again to Moses, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘The appointed times of Yahweh which you shall proclaim as holy convocations⁠—My appointed times are these:’”

Leviticus 23:1–2 LSB

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Convocation is a word that we associate today with formal occasions: usually at universities or special assemblies of church leaders. The holy convocations in Leviticus 23 comprise “The Sacred Calendar”³ of Israel: their assembling together for holy convocations of feasts and offerings of remembrance, gratitude and thanksgiving, and repentance. Oswald Allis writes,

“The joyousness of most of these occasions is indicated by the fact that the word feasts (hag) is also used of them [Leviticus 23:6, 34, 39, 41]. They are called convocations because the people were called together by the blowing of the silver trumpets (Nu. 10:1–10).”⁴

Allis notes that the seventh month:

“has three special occasions: the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, the Feast of Tabernacles.

“The Feast of Trumpets…is briefly described. The blowing of trumpets on the first day of the month directed special attention to this important season of the year, the completion of the agricultural season. It was to be marked by two of the great events of the year. It is described as a day of solemn rest, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, and as a holy convocation. According to Jewish tradition the trumpet used on this occasion was not the silver trumpet of Nu. 10:2–10, but the šôp̄ār, the ram’s horn (yôḇēl) which was used on specially solemn occasions, notably to proclaim the year of jubilee (cf. also Jos. 6)… The word ‘trumpet’ does not occur in Hebrew. The word t^erû‘â may denote either ‘shouting’ of people, or ‘trumpet-blast’. Perhaps both were included. This day, the first of Tishri, is called by the Jews rōš haššānâ, the beginning of the year. It is the beginning of the civil year, new year’s day.”⁵

Again Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘In the seventh month on the first of the month you shall have a rest, a memorial by blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. You shall not do any laborious work, but you shall bring an offering by fire near to Yahweh.’”

Leviticus 23:23–25 LSB

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Kidner comments on the significance of these holy convocations for Christians:

“This chapter has its complement in Num. 28,29, which prescribes the sacrifices for these (and other) occasions. To the Christian it is remarkable for God’s seal on its main outline, in the Gospel events. ‘Christ our Passover’ (1 Cor. 5.7) was sacrificed during the feast of that name, against all human attempts to avoid that period (Matt. 26.5). ‘Christ the first fruits’ (1 Cor. 15.20,23) was raised ‘on the morrow after the sabbath’, the day of presenting the first fruits (Lev. 23.10)—for the sabbath in question was that of the passover, from which the feast of Pentecost, meaning the fiftieth day, was reckoned (15 f. cf. Acts 2.1). Pentecost itself (15–21), at which the first harvest of the gospel age (John 12.24; Acts 2.41) coincided with the O.T. wheat festival, was again a time of God’s choosing, not man’s. Finally, the N.T. uses the symbol of the vintage, the final ingathering (39–43, cf. Exod. 34.22), for the coming judgement of the world (Rev. 14.18, cf. Rev. 19.15). But in both Testaments this event is dominated by the theme of liberation (40,43; Rev. 15.3 f.).

“Significantly, the Day of Atonement (26–32, cf. ch. 16) has left no comparable mark on the N.T. except in the comparisons drawn between its limitations and the perfection of the work of Christ. See the points of contrast in Heb. 9,10.

“…V. 3 ‘a holy convocation’: this is one of the few, but sufficient, specific indications in the O.T. that the sabbath was prescribed for public worship as well as rest.”⁶

Here are some of those comparisons in Hebrews between the limitations of the Day of Atonement and the perfection of the work of Christ. Notice the times the word, perfect, is used.

But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation, and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy places once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.

Hebrews 9:11–12 LSB

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For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near. Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, because the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have consciousness of sins? But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year by year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

Hebrews 10:1–4 LSB

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And every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, SAT DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD, waiting from that time UNTIL HIS ENEMIES ARE PUT AS A FOOTSTOOL FOR HIS FEET. For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

Hebrews 10:11–14 LSB

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Leviticus 24 has two sections. The first has commands regarding the oil used in the lampstand in the tabernacle and the bread placed on the table in the tabernacle.

Allis titles Leviticus 24:10–23, “The sin of blasphemy and crimes of violence.”⁷ It describes a fight between two men, and the stoning to death of the one who “blasphemed the Name and cursed.” In our day of casual and constant profanity, the death penalty may seem stark, however, Allis notes:

“This was an obvious and flagrant breach of the third commandment.”⁸

God is the one who commands the punishment.

Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, “Bring the one who has cursed outside the camp, and let all who heard him lay their hands on his head; then let all the congregation stone him. And you shall speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘If anyone curses his God, then he will bear his sin. Moreover, the one who blasphemes the name of Yahweh shall surely be put to death; all the congregation shall certainly stone him. The sojourner as well as the native, when he blasphemes the Name, shall be put to death.’”

Leviticus 24:13–16 LSB

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Allis comments that in Leviticus 24:13–22:

“It is to be noted that blasphemy is here grouped with crimes of a violent nature such as murder, unlawful wounding, etc. This may indicate simply the enormity of this sin of the lips. It may also suggest that the strife of which the act of blasphemy formed the most serious part was a very violent one and threatened the life or limb of his opponent (cf. Ex. 21:22; Dt. 25:11)…

“With regard to this lex talionis, three things are to be noted. First, it was intended to be a law of exact justice, not of revenge. Secondly, it was not private vengeance, but public justice. Thirdly, by excluding murder from the crimes for which ransom is permissable (Nu. 35:31f.) it makes it probable that compensation for injuries was often or usually allowed to take the form of a fine. The claim that ‘there is in Jewish history no instance of the law of retaliation ever having been carried out literally—eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth’ may or may not be justified, although such mutilating of the body was contrary to the spirit of the Mosaic law…This incident serves to remind us of the greviousness of the sin of profanity, which is one of the great evils of today.”⁹

God reiterates that there is to be no partiality, but one standard of judgment for everyone.

“‘There shall be one standard of judgment for you; it shall be for the sojourner as well as the native, for I am Yahweh your God.’”

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Then Moses spoke to the sons of Israel, and they brought the one who had cursed outside the camp and stoned him with stones. Thus the sons of Israel did, just as Yahweh had commanded Moses.’”

Leviticus 24:22–23 LSB

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The laws, sacrifices, and feasts in Leviticus constantly taught the Israelites who God is. As we read Leviticus today God also teaches us who He is. In a time when there is no fear of God in the eyes of many, it teaches us that God is God. He is holy. We see His righteousness in what these chapters teach us about justice, punishment, and standing before the law. We see His love not only in God’s provision for forgiveness for the Israelites, but ultimately in the way that these appointed times and holy convocations pointed to the appointed time and coming of Christ who would fulfill all righteousness and become our Passover Lamb.

But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.

Galatians 4:4–5 LSB

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Silvesterzug Laterne: Bk muc. (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Frank-oil-shofar: James MacDonald. (CC BY-SA 2.0).
R. C. Sproul, “Which Laws Apply?” April 25, 2017, Copyright by Ligonier Ministries. This is very helpful post by R. C. Sproul on the “the role of the law of God in the Christian life.”
^1,2,3,6Derek Kidner, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, Scripture Union Bible Study Books (William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids MI: 1971) 4, 26, 26, 26–27.
^4,5,7,8,9Oswald T. Allis, “Leviticus,” The New Bible Commentary: Revised, D. Guthrie, J. A. Motyer, eds., A. M. Stibbs, D. J. Wiseman, contributing eds. (Inter-Varsity Press, Downers Grove IL: 1970) 161, 162–163, 164, 164, 164.

I’m using Michael Coley’s Bible reading plan (one page PDF to print) to read through the Bible in 2023. Each day my posts are on different books because he divides Bible readings into seven categories, one for each day of the week: Epistles, The Law, History, Psalms, Poetry, Prophecy and Gospels. There’s more information on his plan and other ones at Read the Bible in 2023.