Show FESTIVALS prescribed BY THE MOSAIC LAW A BRIEF sketch of the festivals observed under the mosaic dispensation will properly conclude our outline 0 u ali ne of the law of moses such occasions were celebrated ce I 1 e br abed w weekly ee kly month monthly y a and nd yearly the sabbath was the weekly holiday and was consecrated to rest and devotion it was to be kept holy in oom me of the comp completion eption of the creation of the world on that day rini an additional offering was to be made consisting of twelve loaves of bread and pure frankincense this was the bread of memorial I 1 to be eaten by aaron and his sons in the holy place singing and music added to the cheerfulness of the jewish sabbath Ps pos 2527 25 27 on this day the children were instructed in the law anti and dhove who could do so BO visited the tem temi i pie L liter later ater synagogues were erected where the law and prophets were read and expounded ag xiii 15 the monthly festivals were held at the appearance of the new moon labor was not suspended on these days as on the weekly sabbaths Sab baths but particular off offerings brings were made they were announced by a certain signal the sound of silver trumpets blown by the ahe sonson bons eons of aaron the yearly festivals were tb three roe at these all the male adults were required to appear at the sanctuary the tabernacle or temple the pase pas over saver commenced in the evening on the of abib thy ther fl first month of the ecclesiastical year it wag kept in commemoration of the exodus from egypt when god gd spared the firstborn first born of the israelites from destree tion hon all leaven was then removed from every house A lamb was slain alstin for every household its blood was sprinkled on the door posts the lamb roasted whole with two spits thrust transversely through it and wh wasihko ethen eaten with litter bitter herbs unleavened bread was broken by the head of the family stud and distributed to each member ne fewer than ten and not more than twenty were admitted to alie the feast wine was also alao distributed and nd songs of praise were sung sacrifices were offered every day during this festival which lasted from the to the of the month anthe on the the first ears of corn were presented before the lord as a preliminary to the commencement of the harvest prom from the second day of the passover pa mover fifty days or seven full weeks were counted and then came the feast of pentecost this feast was held at the completion of the harvest loaves made of the new meal and grain were then the lord as the first fruits and nd many burrit burnt offerings presented at this time particularly the jews gathered in the sanc tury prom from the to the of the mouth month tier our october the feast of the tabernacles was celebrated in commemoration me of the sojourn of the I 1 israelites in the wilderness Bow eries were then constructed of branches of trees and in these the people resided for one week the feast was the most joyous of au it was called the great hosanna I and more sacrifices were offered ered during this time than during any other time of the year this festival was preceded on anthe the of tiari by the great day of atonement ment the only fast day of the year prescribed by the law on this day the people were called together by the sound of the silver trumpets no work was to be done on th d day sy on ciraky of the transgressor being cut off from the people on this day the presiding high priest entered the holy of holies where lie sprinkled the blood of ofa a goat which had bad previously been slain another goat after the sins of the people had bel bean nn confessed over it and the guilt so to speak transferred to it was let loose in the wilderness thus the atonement of our lord was typified fled and set before the eyes of the people through gli the death of one the other was made free the first day of the mouth month corresponding to our october was the commencement of the civil year this was also announced by the sounds of the silver trumpets on this day no work was to be done and sacrifices were presented before the lord other beavly festivals are later these are the feast of purim and the feast of dedication the first falls on the month adar march and commemorates me the victory of mordecai over ove haman rHaman when this babylonian minister plotted the destruction of the captive jews the second is celebrated in remembrance of the reestablish establish re ment of the worship of god in jerusalem after the defeat of tho the tyrant an Epi phanes it was wan held for eight days from the of december and to is also alo known as the feast of lights from ahe he illuminations which were customary at that festival besides these yearly festivals every seventh year was a sabbath year the land lay jay untilled unfilled and the fruits were not gathered during that year what grew spontaneously was for the poor the people were free during this year to engage in commerce build or hunt aud and fish as usual but the land was to rest and the poor were to have the benefit of the products of the soil moses predicts lev 34 35 that the people should soon disregard the law concerning the sabbath year and that this would be 0 one ne of the reasons why they would be scattered among their enemies and this prediction was liter literally silly fulfilled after the return from babylon the law was again observed and many of the jews today in palestine particularly around hebron scrupulously obaed it every fiftieth year moreover was a year of jubilee this year was announced on the of bierl the day of atonement and was indeed a jubilee year then all servants and all slaves were set free all land and all houses in the cities of the levites which had bad been sold during the preceding fifty years wore were returned to the sellers except such property as had been consecrated to the lord all mortgaged lands land too were retlaw without charge the year of jubilee was therefore a complete type of the millennial dispensation yet to come according to the predictions of the prophete the tendency of all these festivals was clearly to unite the people in a holy brotherhood and to separate separ site them from the heathen they preserved the memory of past mercies and illustrated the holiness of their god they preserved the israel ties its from the corrupting influences of incessant application of their minds to worldly pursuits and they were calculated ta lighten the burdens of the poor they finally suggested many spiritual truths to be revealed in greater fullness I 1 in a later dispensation in conclusion we may say of the law lav of moses that the whole system is one grand lesson eminently suited to the condition of the people to whom it waa vs first given and a close study of its pro visions is instructive coall to all nations to the religious it manifests the wisdom of jehovah in adapting adapt log his laws to the conditions to whom they are gi given ven lar hp |