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Worship On The New Moon
Should we worship on the New Moon?
.
Although
the new moon is the foundation for determining the start of the Biblical
calendar, there is no command that any special worship should take place every
time it occurs. Priests at Jerusalem's temple, however, were commanded to
fulfill specific requirements every time the New Moon took place. Taking note
of a new moon, in the Old Testament, was one of the only ways people could keep
an accurate track of the passage of time. The observation of these days in a
religious sense, however, whereby worship of God was commanded, is not found in
the Bible.
BibleStudy.org
Why was the New Moon important in the
Old Testament?
Should Christians worship God every
time it occurs?
What are the problems in observing New
Moon days?
Moons have, and continue to play, a
critical role in determining when God's annual Feast days of worship should be
kept.
The first day of the Hebrew civil
calendar is called Tishri 1 and always falls on a new moon.
Once this day is determined, based on
calculations and what is called postponement rules, all the other Feast days
(Leviticus 23) for the year are set.
Tishri 1 is the annual Feast day of
worship called the Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah).
The moon also takes a role in other
holy periods.
Each year the Feast of Tabernacles in
the fall and the Feast of Passover in the spring take place when the full, not
the new, moon is visible.
Although the new moon is the foundation
for determining the start of the Biblical calendar, there is no command that
any special worship should take place every time it occurs.
In Leviticus chapter 23 God lists all
of the days He commands His people to observe and to worship him upon.
They are called "holy
convocations" (Leviticus 23:1-2) because they are a commanded assembly
based on his holy authority.
The days of
worship all of Israel was to observe are
o
the weekly Sabbath (Leviticus 23:3),
o the Passover
(verse 5),
o the Days of
Unleavened Bread (only the first and last days are convocations - verses 6-8),
o Pentecost
(verse 21),
o Trumpets
(verses 24-25),
o Atonement
(verses 27-32),
o
Tabernacles and Last Great Day (verses 34-36).
There is no
mention or command in this chapter for the average person to commemorate the
new moon each month.
Priests at Jerusalem's temple, however,
were commanded to fulfill specific requirements every time the New Moon took
place.
Trumpets were to be blown, and large
numbers of sacrifices were required (Numbers 10:10, 28:11).
The killing of sacrifices created a lot
of meat to be eaten, so the new moon was a feast of sorts (see 1 Samuel 20).
Beyond the work of the priests, though,
there were no statutory requirements of the people to worship on the day.
It should be noted that at certain
times in Biblical history New Moons were a time when special events were held.
For example, King Saul had a special
meal on the day and expected certain guests to attend (1 Samuel 20:5).
King David and Saul's son Jonathan
attended these meals.
Although King Saul had special meals or
banquets on the days of the new moons, this does not show it was required of
Israel as a whole.
God never commanded kings partake of
special meals on these days.
It seems Saul simply had a tradition of
having a good meal on these days.
In summary, here are the main reasons
why believers today do not have to worship or otherwise observe New Moons that
occur each month.
· There are NO commands anywhere in the
Bible to observe new moons in a religious manner.
· There are NO instructions, guidelines
or even restrictions on the proper way to observe or worship during these
monthly periods.
· Leviticus chapter 23 carefully lists
ALL the days in the year God expects us to observe. The observation of any
monthly special time is not listed!
· Inferences from references to the new
moon during the millennial reign of Jesus Christ on earth (Isaiah 66:23) are not clear
indications for what we today should be doing.
Taking note of a new moon, in the Old
Testament, was one of the only ways people could keep an accurate track of the
passage of time.
The observation of these days in a
religious sense, however, whereby worship of God was commanded, is not found in
the Bible.
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beliefs we currently support is located in our article on the Bible's
basic teachings.
https://www.biblestudy.org/maturart/are-believers-required-to-observe-new-moons.html
