Deuteronomy 15:19-16:2119All the firstling males that come of thy herd and of thy flock thou shalt sanctify unto the Lord thy God: thou shalt do no work with the firstling of thy bullock, nor shear the firstling of thy sheep. 20Thou shalt eat it before the Lord thy God year by year in the place which the Lord shall choose, thou and thy household. 21And if there be any blemish therein, as if it be lame, or blind, or have any ill blemish, thou shalt not sacrifice it unto the Lord thy God. 22Thou shalt eat it within thy gates: the unclean and the clean person shall eat it alike, as the roebuck, and as the hart. 23Only thou shalt not eat the blood thereof; thou shalt pour it upon the ground as water. 1Observe 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. 18Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates, which the Lord thy God giveth thee, throughout thy tribes: and they shall judge the people with just judgment. 19Thou shalt not wrest judgment; thou shalt not respect persons, neither take a gift: for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous. 20That which is altogether just shalt thou follow, that thou mayest live, and inherit the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. 21Thou shalt not plant thee a grove of any trees near unto the altar of the Lord thy God, which thou shalt make thee. (Deuteronomy 15:19‑16:21)
The children of Israel were told to set apart the firstborn males of their herds and flocks for the Lord. If, however, the animal had a blemish, they were not to sacrifice it to the Lord, for they must only offer the best to Him. How important this is for us too, for we ought to give our best to the Lord, being constrained to do so by His matchless love.
Next we have the mention of some of the feasts of the Lord which the children of Israel were to observe. First of all there was the Passover. They were never to forget that they were once slaves in Egypt, and the cost of their deliverance. How needful it was for them, and for us too, to be reminded of what we were by nature, and of the grace that sheltered us from judgment. Moreover the Passover was to be killed in the place where the Lord put His Name. They were to eat it with the bread of affliction (unleavened bread), for this would be the constant reminder of the solemnity of the occasion, which God intended them to feel. They were to kill it in the evening, roast it, and eat it before the Lord, and then return to their tents in the morning. It was a solemn observance.
The Feast of Weeks
Then there was the feast of weeks. In this feast they were to rejoice in the blessings of the harvest, and to give their freewill offering to the Lord according to the way He had blessed them. This beautifully represents Pentecost, when the Spirit of God came down to bring us into the good of what is ours in Christ. In the measure in which we lay hold of this, praises return to the Lord. We are led to say like David of old, “Who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? for all things come of Thee, and of Thine own have we given Thee” (1 Chronicles 29:14). Their sons and daughters and even their servants, and all in connection with the household were to rejoice too. May we who are saved be exercised that those in our family circles, and those with whom we come in contact should share in the joys we have found, that they may be saved and led into the path of the truth. The people were then exhorted to obedience, for we need to be careful not to allow things in our lives that hinder our joy in Christ.
The Feast of Tabernacles
Next there was the feast of tabernacles. It was the last feast of the year, and tells us of the fullness of the blessing, as they thought of all the Lord had done for them the whole year through. Thus the Spirit of God would lead us to enjoy the fact that we are even now, “blessed ... with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ” (Ephesians 1:33Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: (Ephesians 1:3)). He would have us know what is “the breadth, and length, and depth, and height” of our blessings even now, and the love of Christ that passeth knowledge, too. But there is a day coming above when we shall “know even as also we are known,” and then we shall be able to relax and enjoy all that is around us in fullness, without any hindrance. This is the day for which we wait, and when we apply the feast of tabernacles to ourselves, it looks on to that day — for Israel, to their future blessing on earth.
The people were to see to it that justice was maintained in all their cities, and thus blessing would come to them. They were also warned not to plant any grove of trees near an altar to the Lord, for this would be copying the heathen, and God warned them against these beginnings of idolatry.
Further Meditations
1. What was the Passover meant to remind Israel of?
2. We’ve learned that the feast of weeks foretold the day of Pentecost when the Spirit of God came to dwell in the church. What are some of the services that the Spirit of God performs for the believer?
3. You can get good, simple and in-depth teaching on the feasts mentioned in this chapter from the book The Seven Feasts of Jehovah by G. C. Willis.