Apr 1 - Leviticus 23:40

On the first day you shall take the fruit of majestic trees,

branches of palm trees, boughs of leafy trees,

and willows of the brook; and you shall

rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days.

Leviticus 23:40

For Palm Sunday, I was curious where the first mention of palm branches occurred in scripture. It is in Leviticus 23, during God’s explanation through Moses establishing the Festival of Booths.

This weeklong celebration was designed to help the Jews recall the Exodus when they lived in tents for forty years. Taking place in the Fall, the holiday has a harvest flavor. The week begins with a waving palms.

Calendar-wise, Palm Sunday has nothing to do with the Festival of Booths. Indeed, Palm Sunday occurred in the Spring, and Holy Week centered around a different Jewish holiday, Passover. Nevertheless, in learning about this, I couldn’t help but wonder … What if the Jerusalem Jews had celebrated the week after Palm Sunday like the week of Booths?

The first day of this week was (and is) the biggest days of this weeklong celebration, but God says, “you shall rejoice before the Lord for [a full] seven days.” What if the Jerusalem Jews had kept waving Palms and “rejoic[ing] before the Lord for [a full] seven days?” Instead, by Friday, the crowds were crying, “Crucify him. Crucify him.”

Maybe Palm Sunday had a Festival of Booths festivity too it. Maybe it didn’t. I don’t know. Nevertheless, I wish they could have kept up their worship for a full week.

And then I think about myself. Do I keep up my worship up for a full week?

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who wants to

fully worship this week