In Leviticus 23 God establishes his festivals. God begins with a reminder that every seventh day is to be a Sabbath, a day of complete rest and a holy gathering of the people. While Sabbath is not a festival perhaps God intends it to be a little festival day each week, set apart for the Lord.

These are the festivals God establishes:

Passover and Unleavened Bread – these are related festivals remembering the exodus.

First Fruits – the harvest of the first crop.

Weeks or Pentecost (fifty) – this festival occurs seven weeks or fifty days after the festival of Unleavened Bread. It commemorates the second harvest.

Trumpets

Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) – a day of self-denial and atonement for sins

Booths or Tabernacles – a festival thanksgiving for the autumn harvest, which also celebrates Israel’s deliverance from Egypt.

Each of these festivals involves at least one day of Sabbath rest, a gathering (convocation) of the people and a burnt offering of one kind or another. These are holy days set aside to the Lord.

In Leviticus 24 God establishes that there should be a lamp burning continuously in the tabernacle (tent of meeting). Also there should always be bread on the table to remind the people of their covenant with God.

A man, who is the son of an Israelite woman and an Egyptian man, blasphemes the holy Name YHWH. God orders that he be taken out of the camp and stoned to death. Any who blaspheme the name of the Lord will be killed. God also establishes that the penalty for murder is death. Killing of an animal requires restitution and maiming of another requires like maiming. These laws apply for both those who are Israelites and those who are not.

In Acts 12 King Herod begins to persecute the Christians in Jerusalem. After he sees that this pleases the Jewish authorities he arrests Peter and puts him in prison. This occurs on what I believe is one year after Jesus arrest. The night before Herod plans to bring Peter out to be killed an angel of the Lord appears in the prison. He frees Peter and tells Peter to follow him. Peter is given safe passage to the home of John Mark. When the maid tells the family that Peter is outside their house they do not believe it. Peter continues to knock on the door until they let him in. He tells them what God did for him. Peter goes to another place to hide.

Herod could not find Peter. He went to Caesarea to hold court. While he was there he spoke and did not give glory to God. God killed Herod.

King Herod moved against the Christians and ultimately God had the last word. The message of the good news continued to spread.