Why did the Israelites add an extra week to the Feast of Unleavened Bread?
Question:
Hello,
I'm from a church of Christ. I, of course, believe in worshiping after the pattern in the New Testament. How would you harmonize II Chronicles 30:23 with this? This text appears to show the Israelites adding seven additional days to the Feast of Unleavened Bread with God accepting it. There is no apparent authority for them to do so.
Thank you.
Answer:
"The sons of Israel present in Jerusalem celebrated the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days with great joy, and the Levites and the priests praised the LORD day after day with loud instruments to the LORD. Then Hezekiah spoke encouragingly to all the Levites who showed good insight in the things of the LORD. So they ate for the appointed seven days, sacrificing peace offerings and giving thanks to the LORD God of their fathers. Then the whole assembly decided to celebrate the feast another seven days, so they celebrated the seven days with joy. For Hezekiah king of Judah had contributed to the assembly 1,000 bulls and 7,000 sheep, and the princes had contributed to the assembly 1,000 bulls and 10,000 sheep; and a large number of priests consecrated themselves. All the assembly of Judah rejoiced, with the priests and the Levites and all the assembly that came from Israel, both the sojourners who came from the land of Israel and those living in Judah. So there was great joy in Jerusalem, because there was nothing like this in Jerusalem since the days of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel" (II Chronicles 30:21-26).
Notice that the Israelites did follow the law and kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread according to the directions God had given. The people decided that they wanted to continue another week. They did not make this a religious requirement. It was not imposed on anyone. It was something they freely chose to do that particular year.
"Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. One person regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats, does so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who eats not, for the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God. For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself; for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord's" (Romans 14:4-8).
If you decided to spend a whole week worshiping God, there would be nothing wrong with that. God doesn't require it of you or anyone else, but if that is what you want to do, it would not be wrong.
Question:
Thank you, I did not see that before.
If I may ask a bit of a follow-up question: If we gather on Sunday to eat the Lord's Supper, could we choose to continue to eat the Lord's Supper for seven days?
Answer:
One of the problems the Jews had during Jesus' day is that they had imposed regulations that God never commanded. God commanded a cleansing be made after a person became unclean in order to be considered clean again (Numbers 19:18-22). The Jews decided that people had to go through a cleansing process before meals since anyone could accidentally become unclean. "For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they carefully wash their hands, thus observing the traditions of the elders; and when they come from the market place, they do not eat unless they cleanse themselves; and there are many other things which they have received in order to observe, such as the washing of cups and pitchers and copper pots" (Mark 7:3-4). There is nothing wrong with washing your hands before every meal but Jesus condemned them because they made these cleansing ceremonies a religious requirement. They condemned the disciples for not keeping their traditions (Mark 7:5-13).
If one or more people wanted to remember the Lord's death daily for a week, that would be their individual choice. However, as soon as they look down on others for not joining in their practice, then they have violated God's command. They are trying to enforce something that God never asked of us.
Then there is a second difficulty. The Lord's Supper was established by Christ to remember his death. It is to be done by the whole church gathered in one location (I Corinthians 11:20; 14:23,26). An important aspect of the Lord's Supper is the demonstration of our unity (I Corinthians 10:16-17). Thus, while you might desire to remember the Lord's death on other days of the week, the Lord's Supper, which is a part of the church's worship, is done when the church gathers together on the first day of the week (Acts 20:7; I Corinthians 16:1-2).
