sermonette: Lessons From the Eighth Day

David C. Grabbe
Given 14-Oct-25; Sermon #FT25-08AMs; 19 minutes

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For speakers, an 8th day assignment is challenging because there is not much that's directly stated within God's word. And yet we know it is a significant day. It's a very significant day because God says we must keep it holy and even have a sacred assembly. But this day does take more digging into the scriptures than pretty much all of the other holy days, maybe even combined. Uh, to understand what God wants us to glean.

We'll begin today in Leviticus chapter 23, if you would please turn there. Leviticus 23, beginning in verse 36.

Leviticus 23:36 For 7 days you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord. On the 8th day you shall have a holy convocation, and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord. It is a sacred assembly, and you shall do no customary work on it.

Dropping down to verse 39.

Leviticus 23:39 Also, on the 15th day of the 7th month when you have gathered in the fruit of the land, you shall keep a feast. Keep the feast of the Lord for 7 days. Tabernacles of 7 days. On the 1st day there shall be a Sabbath rest, and on the 8th day, a Sabbath rest. And you shall take for yourselves on the 1st day the fruit of beautiful trees, branches of palm trees, the boughs of leafy trees, willows of the brook, and ye shall rejoice before the Lord your God for 7 days.

So again, verse 34 says the Tabernacles is 7 days long. However, there is then this 8th day that is tied to the 7 days before, but it is also distinct. It's not just another day before we go home. As we will see, it really is the culmination.

Notice that verse 40 mentions rejoicing for 7 days. Not 8. Now that absence doesn't mean that today we should be sad. Even so, since rejoicing is commanded specifically just for 7 days, it can indicate that there is a different focus. The focus turns slightly.

And similarly, in verse 42, if you look at that, the commands to dwell in booths is only specified for 7 days. Of course, back in the day, the pilgrims who traveled to Jerusalem for the feast, did not have homes nearby, and so they would stay in their temporary dwellings for the 8th day as well, like we do today. But this specific wording gives another indication that the 8th day, even though it's connected to tabernacles, is distinct. It is its own day.

Uh, the only other direct instructions for this day are found in Numbers 29, and we will not turn there. Numbers 29 has all the offerings for the holy days. And what's significant is how scaled back the offerings were for the 8th day. Less than half the sacrifices were made on the 8th day compared to the daily sacrifices during Tabernacles. Sacrifices were still required, but they were significantly fewer on this day.

So to summarize these differences, the main aspects of tabernacles are pulled back for the 8th day. And looking at these contrasts, we can see that rejoicing is not the primary focus. Temporary dwellings aren't the focus, and the sacrifices aren't really the focus. And this begs the question of just what the focus is.

We find another piece of the puzzle in verse 36, which says that there is to be a sacred assembly. Now all of God's holy days, including the weekly Sabbath, have holy convocations, but only two of those holy convocations are designated as sacred or solemn assemblies. In one place, the last day of unleavened bread is commanded to have a sacred assembly, but it's the 8th day that is most often associated with the sacred assembly.

The Hebrew word translated as sacred assembly is atsarett, and atsarat is a holy convocation, but with a special purpose. It comes from a root word that means that contains the ideas of stopping, of restraining, closing, and retaining. And so applying those ideas to the last day of unleavened bread and to the 8th day, helps us to glimpse what makes those sacred assemblies different from the regular holy convocation.

For example, the root word has the idea of closing, and likewise, the two sacred assemblies are the holy convocations held as a seven-day feast is brought to a close. They wrap things up. Another element of restraint is present because this is a solemn assembly. All of the holy days are without customary work and so stopping or restraining oneself, holding oneself back from common activities is already a part of the day.

And remember that the command to rejoice is only specified for 7 days. It's missing for this 8th day, and that difference implies a greater degree of solemnity and thus a greater sense of restraint. We could say that a sacred assembly is an extra holy holy convocation.

The sacred assemblies are also more solemn because of the idea of retaining that's found in the root word. God intends that we retain what He has taught, and so the lessons are not lost as we return to our lives in the world. The sacred assembly is meant to help us to hold on to what came from the previous 7 days. We need to retain what the feast has produced in us. And so the sacred assemblies are a bit more serious, because their intent is to help us reflect on what we have heard and experienced, and glean the right lessons as we return home.

I will keep gathering pieces for this 8th day puzzle, and first we will look at the concept of 8. The Hebrew word for eight comes from a root that means abundance or even overabundance. It can indicate being completely satisfied. It has typically a very positive meaning.

And biblically, 8 has the meaning of the number 7 plus 1, something additional. The number 7 represents perfection, and so 8 indicates something over and above that perfection, which coincides with the idea of super abundance. In the context of days, the 8th day is also the 1st day of a new week, and it's from this that 8 carries the idea of a new beginning. 8 can indicate regeneration, renewal, or a new start with great abundance.

And this interesting configuration of 7 days plus 1 day is found in several other places. And when we put them together and compare the patterns, we find commonalities that add to our understanding of this holy day. The first usage of 7 days and then an 8th day is found in Genesis 17, if you would please turn there. Genesis 17. Just verse 12.

Genesis 17:12 He who is 8 days old among you shall be circumcised. Every male child in your generations, he who was born in your house or bought with money from any foreigner who is not your descendant.

So circumcision, as we understand, is the sign of God's covenant with Abraham. The 8th day marks the start of a new life, a life under the covenant with Abraham's God. It's a new beginning, and it's one with abundance because of God's blessing on Abraham. The 8th day here shows a type of regeneration, after having been set apart for 7 days. And notice that an 8th day shows the effects of the 7 days before it, which we will continue to see.

Several of God's laws follow this same pattern of 7 days, followed by an 8th day, that is distinct. I'll have mercy on you. You do not have to turn to these, but just think about the repeated pattern. Exodus 22 and 30 teaches about the first born of oxen and sheep being dedicated to God.

And similar to circumcision, the newborn animal was with its mother, set apart for 7 days, and then on the 8th day, the animal was given to God. It was set apart for 7, and on the 8th, God receives what He claims, what belongs to Him. And so make note of this piece as well. The 8th day can be a day of God receiving His portion.

In the law for leprosy in Leviticus 14, the leper was set apart for 7 days. On the 8th day, the priest made offerings and performed the rest of the cleansing ritual. And here again, 7 days are used for setting apart. In this case, the person was not only set apart for the sake of quarantine, but the instructions there also contain a hint of preparation, even perfect preparation because of the number 7.

The 8th day then was a day of abundance, as the now former leper had a new lease on life. He could return to society with his flesh regenerated. He had a new beginning.

The law for the Nazarites in Numbers 6 also contains this same pattern. If a Nazirite touched a dead body, he had to be cleansed for 7 days. On the 8th day, he would bring an offering to the priest to offer to God. The 8th day in this instance marks a new beginning of his vow. After the man was clean, he could dedicate himself to God again.

And so like the 8 day old first born animals, being dedicated to God comes up again. The final example we will consider is Leviticus 8, if you would please turn there. Leviticus 8 and 9 are about the consecration of the priesthood. And the ritual that the priests would go through in preparation for service.

God spends a great deal of detail in this, in these two chapters. We're not going to go through it all. I'll just draw your attention to a couple of things. But notice how much these instructions resemble what we've been doing here at the feast. Leviticus 8 starting in verse 35.

Leviticus 8:35 And you shall [this is talking to the new priests] you shall not go outside the door of the tabernacle of meeting for 7 days until the days of your consecration are ended. For 7 days he shall consecrate you, as he has done this day, so the Lord has commanded to do to make atonement for you. Therefore, you shall stay at the door of the tabernacle of meeting day and night for 7 days. And keep the charge of the Lord so that you may not die, for so I have been commanded.

And so like this feast, the consecration of the priesthood took 7 days. During that time, they had to stay, not in their own tabernacles, but in the tabernacle. They were consecrated for 7 days in God's temporary dwelling, and they ate, literally ate before the Lord, even as we do figuratively.

In chapter 9 beginning in verse 1, the ritual moves on to the 8th day. Notice in verse 5. It says all the congregation drew near and stood before the Lord. It's a type of a sacred assembly. They assembled in anticipation of what the 7 days had produced.

But before that various offerings were commanded. And the reason for the sacrifices is found at the end of verse 4 where it says, for the Lord your God will appear to you. 7 days of consecration, and on the 8th day, God would appear. And that's what happened.

If you look at verses 23 and 24, chapter 9, the glory of the Lord appeared. Fire came out and consumed what was on the altar, indicating that it was accepted, and all the people shouted and fell on their faces. I'm sure they were surprised, but the Hebrew indicates that it was a shout of joy and praise, rather than just terror, and the people fell on their faces in worship.

The appearance of God, seeing God qualifies as super abundance, as does the initiation of the priesthood. So let's start drawing these things together in matters regarding holiness and worship of God, the things and people being dedicated to God. Scripture shows 7 days of one activity, and then an 8th day for the real goal or purpose.

The 8th day always involves something new, and usually a great deal of abundance. For 7 days, the priests ate before the Lord within God's temporary dwelling, even as we also eat before the Lord for 7 days and rejoice and grow in our reverence and awe of Him in our temporary dwellings.

And from this it appears that the 7 days of tabernacles followed by the 8th day are an echo or at least a reminder of the consecration of priests followed by God's appearance and acceptance of what was offered to Him. His portion on the 8th day is not merely the sacrifices, but more importantly, the priests, His people. Even though the consecration of the priests only directly involved the sons of Aaron, Aaron's family represented the whole nation.

God said the whole nation was to be a kingdom of priests, and similarly, we are a royal priesthood. We too have been consecrated for holy service and circumcised spiritually. Now let's apply the principle of a day representing 1000 years, and stretch this out over human history. In this expanded 30,000 ft view.

There are 7000 years of God's work with mankind, His preparation. This includes the 1000 year Sabbath rest of the 7th millennium, the 7th day, as it were. That's when Christ Himself rules, which is the very definition of a great day. The 7th millennium will have peace and unity that mankind has not known since the Garden of Eden.

I Corinthians 15 says that Christ must reign until He has put all enemies under His feet, and that includes death itself. And so there are 7000 years of mortality. Again, this is a big picture view from details we will not be covering. But some of this will continue into the 8th millennium, even as the priesthood consecration continued into the 8th day.

But notice that again, generally, there are 7000 years of temporariness and impermanence. 7000 years of futility, 7000 years of God getting things ready. And as great as the 7th millennium will be, and it truly will be great. The real goal is the 8th millennium.

That's when all things will be made new. With new heavens and a new earth, as described in Revelation 21. That chapter also describes the lamb's wife, New Jerusalem. That city with foundations that Abraham waited for as he dwelt in a tent.

Revelation 21 As with the priest's 8th day, it will be a time of seeing the glory of God. As it says, the tabernacle of God will be with men, and He will dwell. [It's the same verb, tabernacle] with them. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. And there will be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There will be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.

After 7000 years, death is destroyed. There will be no more futility or corruption. Temporariness will be over. After 7 millennia of preparation, everything is dedicated to God.

God's purpose of creating mankind in His image is complete, and it is perfect. In the 8th millennium, God will be all in all, as is His due. He will have His portion, which is mankind. God will be completely satisfied, and there will be abundance beyond imagination.

But for our purposes now. Think about what the previous 7 days have produced as we have tabernacled with Christ. Think about what you are bringing to Him as His portion. This 8th day, not simply in terms of money, but in terms of growth or changes or lessons learned some evidence of His work in you as you have sought Him.

Also think about going forth as a consecrated priest. Retaining the experiences and the lessons. Think about beginning again after this day or with this day of abundance. Think about being rededicated to God and enabled to serve as a priest with renewed strength from Him.