Israel were slaves in Egypt.

God confronts their slave driver, the Pharaoh, with 10 plagues.

The tenth of which is called Passover.

And celebrating Passover is the first feast that Israel has taught.

Passover is celebrated every year, and it marks the beginning of a new year.

So let's imagine ourselves into a culture of escaped Israelite slaves.

For many generations we were there, but then on the night of our deliverance, our leader

Moses said, our calendar resets to today.

It's the first day of a whole new creation for us.

And then on this new calendar, God gives them a new rhythm, every week a weekly Sabbath.

As you go journeying out into the wilderness, where you're wondering where your food and

water is going to come from, and what you're told is, hey, every seventh day, don't go

gather any food.

Do no work.

Don't do what you need to do to survive.

And the ritual of Sabbath becomes the center of an entire calendar year.

It's going to become a guideline not just for a weekly rest, an cessation from our work,

but it's going to turn into a seven times over network of annual rhythms by which we rest

and do no work.

Seven sacred feasts, the first of which is Passover.

And each one of these is called a Mawed, a meeting time.

As we read about these meeting times in Leviticus, we're struck by how important our calendars

...