You must keep this ordinance at the appointed time year after year. The annual, appointed keeping of the feast is the only form the commemoration is permitted to take. Not occasional, not when it is convenient, not when the community feels spiritually energized — appointed time, every year. The word appointed — moed — is the same word for all of Israel's sacred gatherings, the mo'adim, the appointed times of Leviticus 23. The feast system structures Israel's year around covenant memory rather than around agricultural or political cycles. Hebrews 10:25 warns against neglecting to meet together — the appointed time of Exodus 13:10 is the Old Testament foundation for the principle that the community of faith must gather at set times, not merely when the spirit moves. Appointment and attendance together constitute the full act of commemoration.

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

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