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).
This chapter connects the people with the throne of the Lord in Jerusalem, by solemnities in which he surrounds himself with his people, blessed and happy in the deliverance which he has granted them under his reign. It gives us three solemn feasts—the Passover, Pentecost, and the Feast of Tabernacles. The spirit of each of these feasts suggests a few remarks. The Passover recalled deliverance—deliverance from bondage in Egypt, under either sin or Satan. The unleavened bread was here the bread of affliction; the knowledge of Christ, or the application of Christ to the heart, though coupled with deliverance and salvation when it takes the form of repentance, (and this is the case when the question is of remembering one’s deliverance,) has always something bitter in it. Joy is not the point here. One has gone out in haste, by the mighty arm of God, and if happy, it is only as having escaped, feeling that it is through the power of God alone, and conscious of the state which required it all: They ate it during the night, and every one returned in the morning to his tent. They went home with the sense of the goodness of God, with the sense that it was a deliverance from the evil under which they had been by their own fault, and to their own ruin. Holiness is presented in repentance and deliverance from the power of evil; under the form of conscience and judgment of sin it is an obligation; one dares not remain any longer in evil; they were cut off if leaven was found in the house; whereas this holiness is in itself the joy of the redeemed. They were bound to keep the feast wherever God should put his name. God gathered the people around his dwelling-place, and linked them with his name and with himself. Their nationality and all their recollections were connected with the worship of the Lord. It was another safeguard against idolatry. (Ver. 5-7.)
Seven weeks having elapsed, the people were again to gather around the Lord. They numbered seven weeks from the time they began to put the sickle to the corn, from the day they began to reap the fruit of the land of promise. They waited for the perfect time of the work of God. That which first of all characterized this feast was, that everyone offered a free-will offering, according to the blessing wherewith the Lord his God had blessed him. It is the Holy Spirit, and the blessing flowing from him, which this type presents to us. It is not only redemption, but the power of the things which are the result of it; not in full, however, —they were only first-fruits offered to God. The presentation of these first-fruits to God is the effect of the power of the Holy Ghost. They are the remnant of Israel historically in the beginning, on the principle of ‘redemption and of the new covenant; but, in fact; the Church itself becomes the first-fruits of the creation of God. But the effect produced by the Holy Spirit, the effect of his presence in general, is that which characterizes this feast. There was no mention of free-will offerings at the Passover; they ate in haste and returned home. But the Holy Spirit has made the renewed heart willing; and according to the enjoyment of the fruits of the promise, according to the measure of the blessing of the Spirit of God, it can and will render to God the first-fruits of the heart, of all that he has given us. Therefore; (and it is what always accompanies this free-will—fruit of the Holy Spirit,) they: were to rejoice in the presence of the Lord their God. The fruits of grace and of the Spirit manifest themselves in joy and in grace. Blessing manifests itself in the spirit of blessing, in the joy and goodwill of grace. Blessed and precious results! Joy, and the desire for the joy of others, always flows from grace, known according to the power of the Spirit of God. Thus, the worshipper, his son, and his daughter, his man-servant, his maid-servant, the Levite within his gates, the stranger, the orphan, and the widow, were to rejoice together in the place where the Lord had set his name. God surrounded himself with joy, the fruit of grace and of his blessing. The remembrance of having been themselves bondmen was to touch the heart and influence the conduct of Israel; and, comprehending the grace which had delivered them when they were that condition, they were to, holed to act in grace towards those who were bond men to them. They are admonished, at the same time, to observe the statutes of the Lord; for the presence of the Holy Spirit, whilst ministering joy, leads to watchfulness and obedience. We enjoy the earnest and the first-fruits before God, but still it is down here where this watchfulness and restraint are needful.
When the ingathering of the harvest and vintage were ended, (that is, God having gathered in his own, hidden them in his garner, and trodden his enemies in the winepress,) then came the feast of Tabernacles; a feast, the antitype of which we have not, it is certain, yet seen. Although all the effects of the Passover and Pentecost are not yet accomplished, yet they have been fulfilled as to the event marked by them; but there has been no fulfillment, as yet, of the feast of Tabernacles. This will take place when Israel, restored to their land after the end of this dispensation, will fully enjoy the effect of the promise of God. Consequently, joy is put in the foreground; whilst in that which prefigured the presence of the Holy Ghost upon earth, the free-will offering came first. This feast was to be kept during seven consecutive days. It is joy, full and complete joy; not according to the measure of the blessing, but because God, had blessed them in all the works of their hands; therefore, they certainly ought to rejoice. The spirit of that day belongs to us, although the fulfillment of it has not yet taken place. There is a joy that manifests itself in us, in connection with the measure of the present effect of the presence of the Holy Spirit—a joy which requires watchfulness and to walk in the narrow way, and in which the remembrance of our former condition strengthens in its the Spirit of grace towards others, and the presence of the Lord is specially marked. There is a joy known to the heart, although the things which cause it have not yet had their accomplishment—a joy connected with the, time of test, when labor will be ended, and when there will no longer be any need of vigilance, for of the remembrance of our misery, to urge us to share our blessings with others. The feast itself will suffice for the joy of all Thou shalt rejoice in thy feast.