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Deuteronomy 16:1-171Observe the month of Abib, and keep the passover unto the Lord thy God: for in the month of Abib the Lord thy God brought thee forth out of Egypt by night. 2Thou shalt therefore sacrifice the passover unto the Lord thy God, of the flock and the herd, in the place which the Lord shall choose to place his name there. 3Thou shalt eat no leavened bread with it; seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread therewith, even the bread of affliction; for thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt in haste: that thou mayest remember the day when thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt all the days of thy life. 4And there shall be no leavened bread seen with thee in all thy coast seven days; neither shall there any thing of the flesh, which thou sacrificedst the first day at even, remain all night until the morning. 5Thou mayest not sacrifice the passover within any of thy gates, which the Lord thy God giveth thee: 6But at the place which the Lord thy God shall choose to place his name in, there thou shalt sacrifice the passover at even, at the going down of the sun, at the season that thou camest forth out of Egypt. 7And thou shalt roast and eat it in the place which the Lord thy God shall choose: and thou shalt turn in the morning, and go unto thy tents. 8Six days thou shalt eat unleavened bread: and on the seventh day shall be a solemn assembly to the Lord thy God: thou shalt do no work therein. 9Seven weeks shalt thou number unto thee: begin to number the seven weeks from such time as thou beginnest to put the sickle to the corn. 10And thou shalt keep the feast of weeks unto the Lord thy God with a tribute of a freewill offering of thine hand, which thou shalt give unto the Lord thy God, according as the Lord thy God hath blessed thee: 11And thou shalt rejoice before the Lord thy God, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite that is within thy gates, and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are among you, in the place which the Lord thy God hath chosen to place his name there. 12And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in Egypt: and thou shalt observe and do these statutes. 13Thou shalt observe the feast of tabernacles seven days, after that thou hast gathered in thy corn and thy wine: 14And thou shalt rejoice in thy feast, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite, the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are within thy gates. 15Seven days shalt thou keep a solemn feast unto the Lord thy God in the place which the Lord shall choose: because the Lord thy God shall bless thee in all thine increase, and in all the works of thine hands, therefore thou shalt surely rejoice. 16Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the Lord thy God in the place which he shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the Lord empty: 17Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord thy God which he hath given thee. (Deuteronomy 16:1‑17).
THREE times every year a journey was to be made, and not empty handed, to the place, once more mentioned, where the Lord their God set His Name. These occasions were the passover (verses 1-8); the feast of weeks, or pentecost, (verses 9-12), the feast of tabernacles, (verses 13-15). In two other passages of Scripture these and other services of God appear. (Leviticus 23; and Numbers, chapters 28, 29.
The passover was at the beginning of the year, the constant reminder of redemption, —God’s foundation act for His people, —and in the place which He should choose to place His Name there (verses 2, 6 and 7), the redeemed ones were to be found, celebrating the great deliverance He had made for them, having put away sin from their dwellings. It was truly a time of remembrance, looking back to the day when they came forth out of the land of Egypt. So the Christian is enjoined, in the touching words of his Lord, “This do in remembrance of Me” (Luke 22:1919And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. (Luke 22:19); 1 Corinthians 11:24, 2524And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. 25After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. (1 Corinthians 11:24‑25)), to recall the vastly greater work of Christ in the one offering of Himself on the cross of Calvary.
When seven weeks had passed after the beginning of the harvest, the feast of weeks brought all the males, as representing the hosts of Israel, in case all the family could not come, again to the place which the Lord their God had chosen to place His name there. It was now a free will offering, as He had blessed them (verse 10), and all are seen there, —the heads of the families, their sons and daughters and their servants, the Levites too, and the, stranger, the fatherless and the widow were to be brought there to the place of God’s appointment. This is a forecast of the beginning of Christianity on the principle of redemption and a new covenant.
Lastly, after the gathering in of the grain and the grapes, the people are to meet again in the appointed place, now to celebrate the full joy of God’s grace to Israel in the land.
This in its true meaning has not come to pass yet, for there must be first, God’s gathering in of His own (the grain), before the storm of judgment breaks, and treading down His enemies in the wine-press (Revelation 14:14-2014And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. 15And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe. 16And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped. 17And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. 18And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe. 19And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. 20And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs. (Revelation 14:14‑20); Isaiah 63:1-61Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. 2Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat? 3I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment. 4For the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come. 5And I looked, and there was none to help; and I wondered that there was none to uphold: therefore mine own arm brought salvation unto me; and my fury, it upheld me. 6And I will tread down the people in mine anger, and make them drunk in my fury, and I will bring down their strength to the earth. (Isaiah 63:1‑6)), and these events cannot take place before the close of the present day of grace.
Where, we may ask, in the language of 1 Peter 4:1818And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? (1 Peter 4:18), shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? Trusting in themselves, and indifferent to God, they will be eternally lost.
ML 12/14/1924