A Return To God’s Appointed Times, Leviticus 23

Leviticus 23, Divine Language, and the Question of Permanence

Why the Biblical Feasts Were Never Abolished

Introduction: Leviticus 23 Still Demands Our Attention

On January 20, 2026, I Was Just Thinking Ministries hosted an online teaching webinar titled “A Return to God’s Appointed Times – Leviticus 23.” While the event itself has concluded, the theological questions it raised remain both urgent and unavoidable. At the heart of the discussion was a simple but often unexamined assumption within much of the modern Church: that God’s Appointed Times, commonly referred to as the Biblical Feasts, belong exclusively to ancient Israel and no longer carry relevance for believers today.

Leviticus 23 challenges that assumption directly. The chapter does not introduce cultural traditions, rabbinic customs, or optional religious observances. Instead, it presents a divinely authored calendar in which God Himself defines time, worship, and covenantal remembrance. Repeatedly, the Lord refers to these appointed times as “My Appointed Times,” declaring them to be holy convocations, a statute forever, and binding throughout all generations. These claims demand careful attention, not only devotionally, but linguistically, contextually, and theologically.

This article examines Leviticus 23 through its own language and structure, focusing especially on the Hebrew terminology God uses to describe His Appointed Times. When these terms are properly understood in their original context, they reveal that the Feasts were never presented as temporary, ethnically limited, or later expendable. Yeshua confirmed this, “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law (Torah) or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill,” (Matthew 5:17, NKJV). Yeshua drew a clear distinction between “destroy” and “fulfil”. Thus, Yeshua maintained and did not contradict the divinely established, permanent, time-bound appointments, which find their fulfillment in Him and their ultimate confirmation in the eschatological vision of Scripture.

Leviticus 23 as Divine Speech, Not Cultural Tradition

Leviticus 23 opens not with human initiative, but with divine declaration:

“Then Adonai spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to Bnei-Yisrael, and tell them: These are the appointed times of Adonai, which you are to proclaim to be holy convocations—My appointed times.” (Leviticus 23:1–2)

The framing of this chapter is crucial. The Appointed Times do not originate with Israel, Moses, or the priesthood. They originate with God Himself. The possessive language “My appointed times” establishes divine ownership of the calendar being revealed. Before a single feast is named, God asserts His authority over sacred time.

Equally significant is the fact that Shabbat appears first in the list, before Passover, before any seasonal festival. This positioning underscores that God’s calendar begins not with annual observances, but with a weekly rhythm of cessation and worship. Time itself is being ordered by God, teaching His people how to live in alignment with His purposes.

To understand the weight of what God is establishing in Leviticus 23, we must examine the Hebrew vocabulary used to describe these Appointed Times. Three terms in particular are foundational: miqra, qodesh, and shabbaton. Each word contributes essential meaning to how these days function within the covenant and why they cannot be dismissed as obsolete without doing violence to the text.

מִקְרָא (Miqra): A Gathering Initiated by Divine Call

Leviticus 23 repeatedly describes the Appointed Times as מִקְרָאֵי־קֹדֶשׁ (miqra’ei qodesh), commonly translated as “holy convocations.” While this translation is serviceable, it often obscures the depth of meaning embedded in the Hebrew.

The noun מִקְרָא (miqra) derives from the root קָרָא (qara), meaning to call, proclaim, summon, or announce. The grammatical form indicates the result of a call, not merely the act itself. In other words, a miqra is a gathering that exists because it has been summoned by authoritative proclamation, in this case by our King of kings and Lord of lords. In a sovereign state, a King’s summons is absolute. YHWH operates in a sovereign kingdom, not a democratic republic.

This distinction is critical. The Appointed Times are not gatherings that people decide to hold; they are responses to a divine summons. God calls, and His people assemble. The initiative is entirely His.

Understanding miqra this way dismantles the idea that the Feasts are optional cultural expressions. One does not opt in or out of a summons issued by God without theological consequence. These are not traditions Israel created for God; they are appointments God established for His people.

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קֹדֶשׁ (Qodesh): Separation, Not Moral Perfection

The word קֹדֶשׁ (qodesh), typically rendered as “holy,” carries a meaning that is frequently misunderstood in modern religious language. Rooted in קָדַשׁ (qadash), the word fundamentally means to be set apart, separated, or designated for a specific purpose.

In Leviticus 23, qodesh does not describe moral perfection or spiritual maturity. Instead, it describes belonging. These days are set apart because God claims them; they entirely belong to Him and no one else. They are removed from ordinary time and designated exclusively for divine encounter, remembrance, and obedience.

This is why time, not just objects or people, can be qodesh. Shabbat is qodesh. The Feasts are qodesh. They are God’s property in time. Hence also, we cannot simply deem a day, time, or anything else Holy without God’s explicit will, command, or act.

When Scripture calls the Appointed Times qodesh, it establishes a category that transcends cultural shifts or covenantal misunderstandings. Something God has set apart for Himself does not lose its status simply because later generations reinterpret its purpose.

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שַׁבָּתוֹן (Shabbaton): Intensified Cessation as Theology

Several of the Appointed Times are described as a שַׁבָּתוֹן (shabbaton), often translated as “solemn rest.” However, the Hebrew conveys something more precise and more demanding. Modern English translations lack the linguistic integrity to accurately convey the intensity of the original words God uses.

Derived from שָׁבַת (shavat or shabat), meaning to cease or stop, and intensified by the suffix -וֹן (-on), shabbaton means a complete or intensified cessation. The emphasis is not relaxation, but obedient stopping, a physical and spiritual declaration that God, not human productivity, is the source of life and provision.

In Leviticus 23, cessation itself becomes an act of worship. To stop is to trust. To cease is to proclaim God’s sovereignty. This theology of cessation stands in stark contrast to modern religious frameworks that prioritize activity over obedience.

The Question of Permanence: “Forever” and “All Generations”

Perhaps the most decisive feature of Leviticus 23 is not found in its rituals, but in its repetition of permanence language. Over and over, God describes these Appointed Times as:

• “a statute forever”
• “throughout your generations”
• “in all your dwellings”

This language is not poetic embellishment; it is covenantal terminology. In the Hebrew Scriptures, such phrases signal enduring obligation unless explicitly revoked by God Himself. Yet nowhere in Scripture does God revoke the Appointed Times. And if one were to claim that God has nullified what He declared “forever” and “throughout all generations,” far deeper questions must be faced: Does God change like shifting shadows? Can His declared statutes be trusted? Can God Himself be trusted? Is Scripture internally contradictory? Are what God calls permanent somehow fluid? The weight of these questions cannot be dismissed lightly. Rather than abolishing what God established, later revelation expands its meaning, locating its fulfillment in Messiah Yeshua and its culmination in the Kingdom of God.

The New Testament does not erase Leviticus 23; it assumes it, builds upon it, and ultimately confirms it in the book of Revelation, where the imagery of the Lamb, resurrection, trumpet, atonement, Shabbat, and tabernacling reaches its final, permanent expression.