The Liturgy of Creation: Understanding Calendars in Old Testament Context

I have to start by saying I loved this book. The author examined the various festivals in the Old Testament and how they fit in with the agricultural calendar of planting and harvesting. I totally feel like I have a deeper grasp of the rhythm and cadence of the lives of the ancient Hebrew people. His summary and conclusions are my favorite part.This book is divided into 3 sections. Chapters 1-3 are in Part I – Israel’s Calendars. Part II – Festivals and Their Stories has chapters 4-6. The final section, Part III – The Creation Week, is chapters 7-12. The book is well-referenced and has an extensive bibliography, abbreviations, general index, and Scripture index, lending it to be an excellent reference source as well.The Introduction sets the stage for this book by starting in the New Testament and the Gospel accounts of the timing of Jesus’s crucifixion. LeFebvre makes the case that the timing of Jesus’s passion events is tied to the Passover in different ways by different authors as part of a culture of attaching the meaning of events to a festival.The author looks at every dated event in the Pentateuch and why they were attached to each festival. The tables are useful in visualizing the Pentateuch Calendar. The dates when the Israelite stories were celebrated and remembered were not based on the exact timing and chronology of the historical events. In the creation week, LeFebvre shows fruitfulness was established in creation days 1-3, then rulers and residents were placed in their respective realms in days 4-6. “The two halves of the workweek demonstrate that the purpose of this calendar is for guidance in human labor, epitomized by agricultural fruitfulness.” The conclusion in this chapter is excellent. “There is a real history behind the Genesis 1:1-2:3 creation week. But this is a pastoral text, not a scientific record.”Christians universally agree that the creation story in Genesis 1 teaches a weekly cadence of labor completed with worship. This chapter looks at the historical views on Genesis 1. When it comes to the science of origins, LeFebvre says “We should approach the science of origins the same way we approach the scientific study of cancer, or electricity or chemistry.” He has a good section on distinguishing between evolution and evolutionary naturalism, which is idolatry. I love his discussion on evangelism and evolution; especially his push back on the atheists’ premise that evolution disproves God. “When we tell our children that belief in evolution undermines the existence of God, we are the ones teaching them they will have to abandon Christ if they ever find the arguments for evolution too persuasive to deny. …it is the Christian apologetic (not evolutionary science) that is to blame when young people “lose their faith” during college.” The book concludes with an encouragement to bring our own work and life into the rhythm of hope, faith, and worship taught in the creation week calendar. “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24”

The author's thesis is straightforwardly stated in chapter 4 about the 'festival narratives' of Israel. It is there where the reader can discern the author's interpretive suppositions the most clearly. I suggest anyone reading the book should begin there in order to settle for themselves the weight they desire to give to this work. Yes, it is a good work of scholarship. The anthropological insight into the festivals and the agricultural practices of the Israelites in the Promised Land in the first chapters is well done. The Author's desire to seek a third way between young and old earth interpretations of the Genesis account is a commendable attempt at peace making. Yet the work is lacking in one important area: the presence of miracle and divine revelation as causative in both fact and transmission of those facts. The text of scripture itself leaves much gray area in the first things. Not everything is revealed. Those who strike a flag for young or old earth, or for some other interpretation, are speculating about things that they know not. We have received only what is necessary. There is nothing wrong with accepting the text, trusting in the Divine Author, and leaving the facts to Him. While I personally appreciate this writer's efforts, I did not find them persuasive as to his stated intent.

YOU WHO ARE SEEKERS OF THE MOSTHIGH THE POWER OF ABRAHAM ISAAC AND JACOB MUST GET THIS BOOK. LEARN THE OLD PATHS OF YAHUAH. OUR CLOCK AND CALENDAR IS FOUND IN THE SKIES.And a bonus the cover has an soft feel to it. I love it. Thank you FATHER HalleluYah Apttmh

I am a lay person and theological books are not my usual reading fare. But I found this book very understandable. Dr. LeFebvre teaches with persuasive clarity and his insightful position is backed up by exhaustive research. I found myself cheering him on as I read and wished that I could get every pastor I know to read the book themselves! It is a beautiful book, well written and very readable. You won’t be sorry that you took the time to read it!

LeFebvre's new book "The Liturgy of Creation" is a deep dive into the calendar narratives of the Pentateuch, first 5 books of the Bible, with particular interest in the first calendar narrative of Genesis 1-2. LeFebvre works his way meticulously through all 20+ calendar narratives of the Torah, showing how their purpose and function revolves around Israel's liturgical, worship calendar of feasts and festivals.His main argument is this: The Creation Event fits the same format as these other calendar narratives, thus the creation account should be primarily understood as a calendar liturgy instead of an exact narrative account of 24 hour days. That is not to say that the creation narrative is not true history, but rather the sequencing of days are ordered around this idea of liturgical calendar, focusing on Sabbath and agricultural cycles, pointing to worship and liturgy for the people.This book is way more technical than I thought it would be. 😅 It is well-written, well-articulated, well-researched, and well-argued. But, it is a deep, deep dive into Old Testament calendars and feasts and festivals, so know that going in. But, LeFebvre has given a great argument that will be instrumental in the various Creation debates that have been in a stalemate for years. **book provided by IVPress for an honest review