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In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
“Count off seven weeks from the time you begin to put the sickle to the
standing grain. Then celebrate the Feast of Weeks to the Lord your God by
giving a freewill offering in proportion to the blessings the Lord your God has
given you. And rejoice before the Lord your God at the place He will choose as
a dwelling for His Name - you, your sons and daughters, your menservants and
maidservants, the Levites in your towns, and the aliens, the fatherless, and
the widows living among you. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt, and follow
carefully these decrees.”
“Celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days after you have gathered the produce of your threshing floor and your winepress. Be joyful at your Feast - you, your sons and daughters, your menservants and maidservants, and the Levites, the aliens, the fatherless, and the widows who live in your towns. For seven days celebrate the Feast to the Lord your God at the place the Lord will choose. For the Lord your God will bless you in all your harvest and in all the work of your hands, and your joy will be complete.”
“Three times a year, all your men must appear before the Lord your God at the place He will choose: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Tabernacles. No man should appear before the Lord empty-handed: Each of you must bring a gift in proportion to the way the Lord your God has blessed you.”
Deuteronomy 16:9-17
This ends our reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Earlier in this sixteenth chapter of Deuteronomy, we saw Moses reminding the Israelites of their responsibility to celebrate the Passover. As we continue today, we see him providing further guidance in regard to three festivals prescribed by God: the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Tabernacles. Look again at these verses now:
“Count off seven weeks from the time you begin to put the sickle to the standing grain. Then celebrate the Feast of Weeks to the Lord your God by giving a freewill offering in proportion to the blessings the Lord your God has given you. And rejoice before the Lord your God at the place He will choose as a dwelling for His Name - you, your sons and daughters, your menservants and maidservants, the Levites in your towns, and the aliens, the fatherless, and the widows living among you. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt, and follow carefully these decrees.”
“Celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days after you have gathered the produce of your threshing floor and your winepress. Be joyful at your Feast - you, your sons and daughters, your menservants and maidservants, and the Levites, the aliens, the fatherless, and the widows who live in your towns. For seven days celebrate the Feast to the Lord your God at the place the Lord will choose. For the Lord your God will bless you in all your harvest and in all the work of your hands, and your joy will be complete.”
“Three times a year, all your men must appear before the Lord your God at the place He will choose: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Tabernacles. No man should appear before the Lord empty-handed: Each of you must bring a gift in proportion to the way the Lord your God has blessed you.” Deuteronomy 16:9-17
Like the previous mentioning of the Passover observance, these three
feasts were mentioned to a prior generation of Israelites. For when we go back
to the Book of Exodus, chapter 23, we see where the directions mimic what’s
found in our passage above. There were the same three designated festivals and “all
the men (were) to appear before the Sovereign Lord” at the time and place designated
by God. These celebrations are also mentioned in the Book of Leviticus.
The Feast of the Unleavened Bread was to begin the day after the Passover and Israel
was required to “eat bread made without yeast” for seven days (Leviticus 23:6).
The Feast of the Harvest was also called the Feast of Weeks and of interest,
would later be called Pentecost (meaning fifty) in the New Testament. Here’s
what the Lord said regarding the observance in the 23rd chapter of Leviticus:
“From the day after the Sabbath, the day you brought the sheaf of the wave offering, count off seven full weeks. Count off fifty days up to the day after the seventh Sabbath, and then present an offering of new grain to the Lord. From wherever you live, bring two loaves made of two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour, baked with yeast, as a wave offering of firstfruits to the Lord. Present with this bread seven male lambs, each a year old and without defect, one young bull and two rams. They will be a burnt offering to the Lord, together with their grain offerings and drink offerings - an offering made by fire, an aroma pleasing to the Lord. Then sacrifice one male goat for a sin offering and two lambs, each a year old, for a fellowship offering. The priest is to wave the two lambs before the Lord as a wave offering, together with the bread of the firstfruits. They are a sacred offering to the Lord for the priest. On that same day you are to proclaim a sacred assembly and do no regular work. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live.”
“When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and the alien. I am the Lord your God." Vv. 15-22
Putting things together, this is the way the festivals were to proceed:
Passover (the first feast) was followed the next day by the first of the seven
days allotted for the Feast of Unleavened Bread. It’s typically believed that
Jesus shared His final Passover with His disciples on Thursday evening before
being arrested in Gethsemane’s garden that evening. His trial before the
Sanhedrin, time with the Roman leaders Pontius Pilate and Herod Antipas, brutal
beating and scourging, and eventual crucifixion all occurred on the first day of
the Feast of Unleavened Bread which was followed by the Sabbath observance (the
second day of the Feast). The Sabbath was then followed by the Feast of the
Firstfruits, celebrating the first fruits of the harvest. This was the day when
Jesus was resurrected in power from the tomb, God bringing the opportunity for
eternal life through His first fruit offering, His one and only Son.
After this, the people of Israel were to start counting fifty days “up
to the day after the seventh Sabbath” (Leviticus 23:16). These fifty days (or
seven weeks plus one) covered the time when the grain, barley, and wheat
harvests would be accomplished, thus the alternate celebration title, “Feast of
the Harvest”.
The final of the feasts mentioned in this passage was the Feast of the
Tabernacles, also known as the Feast of the Ingathering or Feast of Booths.
Whereas Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and the Feast of the
Firstfruits were held in the first month of the Jewish calendar (Abib/Nisan in
early spring), the Feast of Tabernacles (or Booths) was to be held on the
fifteenth day of the seventh month (Tishrei in early autumn) and last for one
week. During this time of sacrifices and celebration, the Israelite people were
to live in booths for the week because this is what their descendants had done after
departing their captivity in Egypt and journeying to Canaan, the land God had
promised them. Of interest, this feast was also known as the Feast of the
Ingathering because the Lord required the people to “ingather” the labor of the
field (Exodus 23:16), “ingather” the threshing floor and winepress (Deuteronomy
16:13), and “ingather” the fruit of the earth (Leviticus 23:39).
Okay, so this is a good overview of the prescribed feasts that all men were
required to attend but before I finish, there’s one last important item in our
passage that we need to cover. For the scriptures tell us this in regard to the
men attending these festivals:
“No man should appear before the Lord empty-handed: Each of you must bring a gift in proportion to the way the Lord your God has blessed you.”
In other words, God had given His people an abundance of blessings. He had provided them all they could hope for in the way of providence and provision, and He expected that they would give back to Him in return as an expression of their gratitude.
We should know that the same applies to us today but how well do we really respond to the goodness of our Lord? Do we give to Him in return to show we’re thankful? Or do we choose to come to Him empty-handed?
And just to be clear here. This is more than about money or other material offerings. We don’t get a “get out of obligation” card because we might struggle with finances in some way. For God has blessed us with other things that we can give back to Him, things like our time and our talents. He has given each of us gifts that a price value can’t be applied to, gifts that He expects us to use in serving others and bringing Him honor and glory.
The bottom line here is that everything that we have, just as it was with ancient Israel, comes from God who then expects all of us to be good stewards of what He has provided. He can assess us by the way we live the life He has granted, watching to see if we give Him a viable return from what He had invested in us.
God has given us more than we could ever hope for and more than we could ever need. Further, all this is far more than we deserve. All He wants us to do is give back to Him in return.
As you come into this day and the ones to follow, what offering from your life will you bring to the Lord?
My recommendation is to give something and never come to Him
empty-handed.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.
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