“So Shlomo celebrated the festival at that time. All Israel, a huge gathering [that had come all the way] from the entrance of Hamat to the Vadi [of Egypt], celebrated with him before Adonai our God for seven days and then for seven more days — fourteen days in all.” – 1 Kings 8:65
The concluding parts of this chapter are turning out to be a great review of the stuff we studied way back when we were in the Book of Leviticus.
Alrighty, so now it’s time to get nerdy as all heck on you folks.
So in verse 65 (copied and pasted above), we’re told that Solomon celebrated a festival, right?
Now, since this chapter has been all about Solomon’s momentous Temple Dedication Ceremony…
You’re probably thinking that the word “festival” here is referring to the Temple Dedication Ceremony.
Am I right or am I right?
Well, the answer is you couldn’t be more WRONG.
Lemme show you what I mean.
You’ve gotta uncover the original Hebrew to find the right answer.
The word for “festival” here is CHAG or HAG, depending on how you write out the word in English.
And what do we know about the word CHAG?
The word CHAG is a pilgrimage festival that requires Hebrew men, no matter where they are located, to travel to the Temple in Jerusalem.
Therefore, the Temple dedication ceremony ain’t a CHAG.
It belongs in a totally different category.
Ya feeling me here?
The CHAG here has gotta be referring to one of the three Biblical festivals that require a pilgrimage.
So we’re talking about either MATZA, SHAVUOT, or SUKKOT.
Now, to get even more nerdy on your rear ends.
In both the New Testament and modern conversational lingo amongst Jews…
It’s typical to refer to the first pilgrimage festival as PESACH (Passover) instead of MATZA (Unleavened).
But technically speaking, that’s incorrect.
Why?
Because PESACH, MATZAH, and BIKKURIM are three springtime feasts that occur back-to-back, one right after another.
First comes Passover (Pesach).
Then, the very next day, comes the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Matzah).
Then comes Firstfruits (Bikkurim).
Passover is a one-day feast.
Unleavened Bread lasts for seven days.
Firstfruits is also a one-day feast.
Now, here’s the thing.
Only the festival of MATZA, or Unleavened Bread, is the CHAG, or pilgrimage festival.
Passover and Firstfruits ain’t CHAGs.
Ya feeling me here?
So why would a homie travel up to Jerusalem for the feast of Matzah a day early?
Well, think about it, man.
The trip up to Jerusalem was long and difficult.
If you were already making that trip, didn’t it make perfect sense to arrive one day early and celebrate Passover in Jerusalem?
Ya feeling me here?
If you arrived a day earlier, you could have your Passover lamb slaughtered by a priest, have it prepared in the holy city, and celebrate the Passover meal together with other Israelites who had come to Jerusalem from all over the land.
Scripture doesn’t require any of this, by the way.
A person did NOT have to come to Jerusalem early for Passover.
But if you were already making the long journey to Jerusalem for the Feast of Unleavened Bread, coming a day early was a very natural thing to do.
So what takeaway can we extract from this?
Well, here’s what’s coming to me.
It’s perfectly cool…
And actually a wise thing to do…
To arrange your obedience to the Lord’s commands in a way that’s convenient, as long as you don’t break the Lord’s commands.
Don’t do as the Christians do and just throw the Lord’s commands in the trash and create a ridiculous doctrine that says the Messiah of Israel abolished the very laws of Israel established by His Father in Heaven.
If it becomes a challenge to obey the Lord’s commands, then find some way to work around it.
The Orthodox community is actually a good model to emulate in this case.
They do all their shopping and cooking before the sun sets on Shabbat (Friday night), so they can properly rest when Shabbat rolls around.
And I’m sure that over the years they’ve developed other ingenious ways to obey the Lord’s commands when circumstances might make it difficult to do so.
Alrighty, gonna call this a wrap.
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