“These are the Lord’s special festivals. There will be holy meetings during these festivals. You will bring offerings as gifts to the Lord—burnt offerings, grain offerings, sacrifices, and drink offerings. You will bring these gifts at the right time.
“At the special festivals you must bring your burnt offerings, grain offerings, drink offerings, and fellowship offerings. You must give these offerings to the Lord. They are in addition to any special gift you might want to give him and any offering that is part of a special promise you make.”
Also blow these trumpets for your special meetings, New Moon celebrations, and all your happy times together. Blow the trumpets when you give your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. This will be a special way for your God to remember you. I command you to do this; I am the Lord your God.”
Judah, look! There, coming over the mountains, is a messenger bringing good news! He says there is peace. Judah, celebrate your special festivals and do what you promised. Those worthless troublemakers will not come through and attack you again. They have all been destroyed.
Tell the people that there will be a special time of fasting. Call them together for a special meeting. Bring the leaders and everyone living in the land together at the Temple of the Lord your God, and pray to the Lord.
The roads to Zion are very sad, because no one comes to Zion for the festivals anymore. All of Zion’s gates have been destroyed; all her priests groan in sorrow. Zion’s young women have been taken away, and all this made Zion sad.
Look at Zion, the city of our religious festivals. Look at Jerusalem—that beautiful place of rest. Jerusalem is like a tent that will never be moved. The pegs that hold her in place will never be pulled up. Her ropes will never be broken,
So they sent the announcement throughout Israel, from the town of Beersheba all the way to the town of Dan. They told the people to come to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover for the Lord, the God of Israel. Not many people had been celebrating it as it was described in the law.
Aaron saw all these things, so he built an altar in front of the calf. Then Aaron made an announcement. He said, “Tomorrow will be a special festival to honor the Lord.”
The Levites prepared all the burnt offerings to the Lord on the Sabbath days, during New Moon celebrations, and on the other special meeting days. They served before the Lord every day. There were special rules for how many Levites should serve each time.
The priests will be the judges in court. They will follow my laws when they judge people. They will obey my laws and my rules at all my special feasts. They will respect my special days of rest and keep them holy.
Then Solomon sent this message to King Hiram of Tyre: “Help me as you helped my father David. You sent him cedar logs so that he could build a palace for himself to live in.
After that they began offering the continual burnt offerings each day and the offerings for the New Moon and all the other festivals that were commanded by the Lord. The people also began giving any other gifts they wanted to give to the Lord.