Single lesson
Israel's Festivals
Leviticus 23:1–25; Leviticus 23:33–44
This passage lists several of Yahweh’s appointed festivals for Israel. It shows set times for rest, worship, offerings, harvest remembrance, and rejoicing, with each festival named and ordered within the year.
Before you teach
Leviticus 23 presents Yahweh’s words to Moses for the children of Israel about “set feasts” and “holy convocations”. In this selected part, the passage begins with the weekly Sabbath, then names Passover, Unleavened Bread, first fruits, the fifty-day counting to a new offering, the memorial of trumpets, and the feast of booths.
Explain the central teaching of Israel's Festivals, using two details from the reading. These appointed times were holy gatherings for Israel, marked by rest, offerings, harvest rhythms, and remembrance before Yahweh.
Welcome: Israel's Festivals
5 minIntroduce “Israel's Festivals” and locate Leviticus 23:1–25; Leviticus 23:33–44. These appointed times were holy gatherings for Israel, marked by rest, offerings, harvest rhythms, and remembrance before Yahweh. Invite each learner to name a detail or question they will listen for.
Leviticus 23:1, Leviticus 23:19, Leviticus 23:44
Read and explain the passage
12 minYahweh calls these festivals “my set feasts” and says they are to be proclaimed as “holy convocations”. The pattern starts with the weekly Sabbath: six days for work, then a seventh day of solemn rest with no work. Even before the yearly festivals, the passage highlights regular holy time in every dwelling.
When Israel comes into the land and reaps the harvest, the first sheaf is brought to the priest and waved before Yahweh. No bread or grain is eaten before this offering. Then the people count seven Sabbaths and fifty days to a new meal offering, with bread, animals, and a holy convocation. The gleanings are left for the poor and the foreigner.
In the seventh month, the first day is a solemn rest, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, and a holy convocation. Later that month comes the feast of booths for seven days, with rests on the first and eighth days. The people are to rejoice, dwell in temporary shelters, and remember that Yahweh made Israel dwell in shelters after bringing them out of Egypt.
Read the selected verses together, pausing at “Israel's Festivals”. Use the source reading below and check the explanation against the words of the passage.
Leviticus 23:2, Leviticus 23:3, Leviticus 23:4, Leviticus 23:10, Leviticus 23:11, Leviticus 23:14, Leviticus 23:15, Leviticus 23:16, Leviticus 23:17, Leviticus 23:21, Leviticus 23:22, Leviticus 23:24, Leviticus 23:25, Leviticus 23:34, Leviticus 23:36, Leviticus 23:39, Leviticus 23:40, Leviticus 23:42, Leviticus 23:43, Leviticus 23:44
Discuss the details and their meaning
8 minUse the three questions below. Begin with “What repeated phrase shows these festivals belong to Yahweh rather than being chosen by the people?” and allow time to find the supporting verses. These appointed times were holy gatherings for Israel, marked by rest, offerings, harvest rhythms, and remembrance before Yahweh. Ask learners to explain which details support their answer and to identify a question they would like to explore further.
Leviticus 23:2, Leviticus 23:4, Leviticus 23:37, Leviticus 23:10, Leviticus 23:14, Leviticus 23:17, Leviticus 23:22, Leviticus 23:42, Leviticus 23:43
Make and respond: Instruction and context chart
12 minWork on “Israel's Festivals: Instruction and context chart”. Follow the materials and steps below, using “Israel's Festivals” as reading headings. Each learner should include at least two accurate details and their verse references. Share one observation from the finished sheet and explain how it connects with the central teaching.
Leviticus 23:1, Leviticus 23:19, Leviticus 23:44
Closing: return to Israel's Festivals
3 minRevisit Leviticus 23:1–25; Leviticus 23:33–44. Invite a learner to summarise what the group has learned about Israel's Festivals and another to support the summary with a verse. Give learners a moment to complete their response sheet. They can share a question or, if appropriate for the group, join the optional prayer.
Leviticus 23:1, Leviticus 23:19, Leviticus 23:44
Questions to explore
What repeated phrase shows these festivals belong to Yahweh rather than being chosen by the people?
Look for the words used at the start and summary of the list, where the feasts are called Yahweh’s appointed times.
Leviticus 23:2, Leviticus 23:4, Leviticus 23:37
How does the passage connect worship with the harvest?
Notice the first sheaf, the rule about not eating the grain before the offering, the later bread offering, and the command about leaving gleanings.
Leviticus 23:10, Leviticus 23:14, Leviticus 23:17, Leviticus 23:22
Why were the people told to live in temporary shelters during the feast of booths?
The reason is stated directly in the text as something future generations should know.
Leviticus 23:42, Leviticus 23:43
Make, think or respond
Israel's Festivals: Instruction and context chart
What you’ll need
- plain paper or card
- pencils or pens
- a Bible or the source reading on this page
Try it together
- Fold a sheet into three panels or draw three columns. Label them “Who is addressed?”, “What is required?”, “What reason or purpose is given?”.
- Read Leviticus 23:1–25; Leviticus 23:33–44. Use “Israel's Festivals” as your reading headings and add a short quotation or detail with its verse reference to each panel.
- Compare your notes with a partner. Check that every quotation is accurate and every conclusion has support in the passage.
- Under the chart, distinguish instructions in their original setting from an application you could discuss today.
The finished sheet keeps the details of Israel's Festivals connected to their Bible references and gives the group a way to explain what they noticed.
Adapt for your group
- For learners who need more support, prepare the reading headings “Israel's Festivals” and let them match short quotations to the correct heading.
- For confident readers, compare two sections of Leviticus 23:1–25; Leviticus 23:33–44. Ask for a written explanation with two supporting references and one question that the text leaves open.
An optional closing prayer
“God, help us listen carefully as we read Leviticus 23:1–25; Leviticus 23:33–44. Help us understand what we have read, ask thoughtful questions and respond with care for others. Amen.”
Read the Bible passage World English Bible Classic
Leviticus 23
1 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
2 “Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘The set feasts of Yahweh, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my set feasts.
3 “ ‘Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation; you shall do no kind of work. It is a Sabbath to Yahweh in all your dwellings.
4 “ ‘These are the set feasts of Yahweh, even holy convocations, which you shall proclaim in their appointed season.
5 In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month in the evening, is Yahweh’s Passover.
6 On the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread to Yahweh. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread.
7 In the first day you shall have a holy convocation. You shall do no regular work.
8 But you shall offer an offering made by fire to Yahweh seven days. In the seventh day is a holy convocation. You shall do no regular work.’ ”
9 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
10 “Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘When you have come into the land which I give to you, and shall reap its harvest, then you shall bring the sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest.
11 He shall wave the sheaf before Yahweh, to be accepted for you. On the next day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it.
12 On the day when you wave the sheaf, you shall offer a male lamb without defect a year old for a burnt offering to Yahweh.
13 The meal offering with it shall be two tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil, an offering made by fire to Yahweh for a pleasant aroma; and the drink offering with it shall be of wine, the fourth part of a hin.
14 You must not eat bread, or roasted grain, or fresh grain, until this same day, until you have brought the offering of your God. This is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.
15 “ ‘You shall count from the next day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering: seven Sabbaths shall be completed.
16 The next day after the seventh Sabbath you shall count fifty days; and you shall offer a new meal offering to Yahweh.
17 You shall bring out of your habitations two loaves of bread for a wave offering made of two tenths of an ephah of fine flour. They shall be baked with yeast, for first fruits to Yahweh.
18 You shall present with the bread seven lambs without defect a year old, one young bull, and two rams. They shall be a burnt offering to Yahweh, with their meal offering and their drink offerings, even an offering made by fire, of a sweet aroma to Yahweh.
19 You shall offer one male goat for a sin offering, and two male lambs a year old for a sacrifice of peace offerings.
20 The priest shall wave them with the bread of the first fruits for a wave offering before Yahweh, with the two lambs. They shall be holy to Yahweh for the priest.
21 You shall make proclamation on the same day that there shall be a holy convocation to you. You shall do no regular work. This is a statute forever in all your dwellings throughout your generations.
22 “ ‘When you reap the harvest of your land, you must not wholly reap into the corners of your field. You must not gather the gleanings of your harvest. You must leave them for the poor and for the foreigner. I am Yahweh your God.’ ”
23 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
24 “Speak to the children of Israel, saying, ‘In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, there shall be a solemn rest for you, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation.
25 You shall do no regular work. You shall offer an offering made by fire to Yahweh.’ ”
33 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
34 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say, ‘On the fifteenth day of this seventh month is the feast of booths for seven days to Yahweh.
35 On the first day shall be a holy convocation. You shall do no regular work.
36 Seven days you shall offer an offering made by fire to Yahweh. On the eighth day shall be a holy convocation to you. You shall offer an offering made by fire to Yahweh. It is a solemn assembly; you shall do no regular work.
37 “ ‘These are the appointed feasts of Yahweh which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire to Yahweh, a burnt offering, a meal offering, a sacrifice, and drink offerings, each on its own day—
38 in addition to the Sabbaths of Yahweh, and in addition to your gifts, and in addition to all your vows, and in addition to all your free will offerings, which you give to Yahweh.
39 “ ‘So on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the fruits of the land, you shall keep the feast of Yahweh seven days. On the first day shall be a solemn rest, and on the eighth day shall be a solemn rest.
40 You shall take on the first day the fruit of majestic trees, branches of palm trees, and boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and you shall rejoice before Yahweh your God seven days.
41 You shall keep it as a feast to Yahweh seven days in the year. It is a statute forever throughout your generations. You shall keep it in the seventh month.
42 You shall dwell in temporary shelters for seven days. All who are native-born in Israel shall dwell in temporary shelters,
43 that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in temporary shelters when I brought them out of the land of Egypt. I am Yahweh your God.’ ”
44 So Moses declared to the children of Israel the appointed feasts of Yahweh.
World English Bible Classic. Public domain.