Holy Convocation

Biblical Text

The most detailed treatment of the holy convocation appears in Leviticus 23. The chapter opens with the words "the feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations" (Leviticus 23:2). It then lists, in order, the days on which the people were to gather in holy convocation:

• The weekly Sabbath (Leviticus 23:3)
• The first and seventh days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Leviticus 23:7–8), the feast that follows Passover
• The Feast of Weeks (Leviticus 23:21)
• The Feast of Trumpets, on the first day of the seventh month (Leviticus 23:24)
• The Day of Atonement, on the tenth day of the seventh month (Leviticus 23:27)
• The first and eighth days of the Feast of Tabernacles (Leviticus 23:35–36)

On these days the people ceased from their ordinary labor and presented offerings made by fire to the LORD. The same regulation appears in Exodus 12:16, and Numbers 28–29 describes in detail the offerings to be made on these days.

Terminology and Background

The Hebrew expression translated "holy convocation" is chiefly miqra qodesh. Because miqra derives from a verb meaning "to call" or "to proclaim," the phrase means "sacred summons" or "holy calling." The Septuagint renders it with a Greek expression meaning "holy calling." The Korean Revised Version, Revised Edition (Gaeyeok Gaejeong), also uses seonghoe for gatherings in which the people were assembled in a time of crisis to fast and repent, as in Joel 1:14 and 2:15 (KJV: "call a solemn assembly"). In these passages the Korean term is understood to translate a different Hebrew word meaning "solemn assembly."

Significance Across Scripture

The prophets did not object to the holy convocations as such. They warned, however, that God takes no delight in assemblies that have become mere formality, devoid of justice and obedience (Amos 5:21–23; Isaiah 1:13). In the New Testament, the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples on the day of the holy convocation of the Feast of Weeks, that is, Pentecost (the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost; Acts 2:1). Paul called the feasts and Sabbaths "a shadow of things to come" (Colossians 2:16–17). For this reason many Christian traditions read the Old Testament feasts as fulfilled in Christ.

Interpretation and Points of Debate

• Most Protestant denominations regard the regulations concerning holy convocations as part of the ceremonial portion of the law. They therefore teach that the church is under no obligation to observe these dates literally. They hold, however, that the principle of God calling His people together for worship carries over into Sunday worship and the gatherings of the church.
• Sermons frequently link the church directly to the holy convocation, describing it as "a holy assembly that has been called out." In the Septuagint, however, ekklesia (church) chiefly translates a different Hebrew word, qahal (congregation), so the two terms do not correspond directly in the original languages.
• The World Mission Society Church of God maintains that the feasts of Leviticus 23 must still be kept under the new covenant. Several Korean denominations have declared this group heretical.

In the Korean Church

In the Korean church, seonghoe has come to be widely used, beyond its biblical sense as a term for the appointed feasts, to refer to large special gatherings. Common names include "revival convocation," "New Year blessing convocation," "repentance prayer convocation," and "joint convocation," the last held by a denomination or by the churches of a region. Gatherings devoted to repentance and fasting often cite the words of Joel 2, "call a solemn assembly." This usage is also closely connected with the revival meeting tradition.