Deuteronomy 16
Three times in a year all your males shall appear before YAHWEH
Moses instructs the people to observe the set feasts each year and to meet up in thee place YAHWEH causes his name to dwell three times in the year. Then he instructs them on making sure justice is done in their legal proceedings.
Bible Passage:
16:1 Observe the month of Abib, and keep the Passover to YAHWEH your God. For in the month of Abib, YAHWEH your God brought you forth out of Egypt by night. 2 And you shall sacrifice the Passover to YAHWEH your God, of the flock and the herd, in the place which YAHWEH shall choose, to cause his name to dwell there. 3 You shall eat no leavened bread with it; you shall eat unleavened bread with it for seven days, even the bread of affliction, for you came forth out of the land of Egypt in haste, that you may remember the day when you came forth out of the land of Egypt all the days of your life. 4 And there shall be no leaven seen with you in all your borders seven days; neither shall any of the flesh, which you sacrifice the first day at evening, remain all night until the morning. 5 You may not sacrifice the Passover within any of your gates, which YAHWEH your God gives you; 6 but at the place which YAHWEH your God shall choose, to cause his name to dwell in, there you shall sacrifice the Passover at evening, at the going down of the sun, in the season that you came forth out of Egypt. 7 And you shall roast and eat it in the place which YAHWEH your God shall choose. You shall turn in the morning, and go to your tents. 8 Six days you shall eat unleavened bread; and on the seventh day shall be a solemn assembly to YAHWEH your God; you shall do no work in it.
9 You shall number seven weeks for yourself. From the time you begin to put the sickle to the standing grain, you shall begin to number seven weeks. 10 And you shall keep the feast of weeks to YAHWEH your God with a tribute of a freewill offering of your hand, which you shall give, according as YAHWEH your God blesses you. 11 You shall rejoice before YAHWEH your God, you and your son, and your daughter, and your male servant, and your female servant, and the Levite that is within your gates, and the sojourner, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are in the midst of you, in the place which YAHWEH your God shall choose, to cause his name to dwell there. 12 And you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt. You shall observe and do these statutes.
13 You shall keep the feast of tabernacles seven days, after you have gathered in from your threshing floor and from your winepress. 14 You shall rejoice in your feast, you and your son, and your daughter, and your male servant, and your female servant, and the Levite, and the sojourner, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are within your gates. 15 You shall keep a feast for seven days to YAHWEH your God in the place which YAHWEH shall choose, because YAHWEH your God will bless you in all your increase, and in all the work of your hands, and you shall surely be joyful. 16 Three times in a year all your males shall appear before YAHWEH your 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. They shall not appear before YAHWEH empty-handed. 17 Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of YAHWEH your God which he has given you.
18 You shall make judges and officers in all your gates, which YAHWEH your God gives you, according to your tribes. They shall judge the people with righteous judgment. 19 You shall not twist justice. You shall not respect persons, nor shall you take a bribe. For a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise, and perverts the words of the righteous. 20 That which is altogether just, you shall follow, that you may live, and inherit the land which YAHWEH your God gives you.
21 You shall not plant an Asherah of any kind of tree beside the altar of YAHWEH your God, which you shall make. 22 Neither shall you set up a pillar; which YAHWEH your God hates.
Reflection:
The pilgrimage to Jerusalem three times a year is a wonderful and very foreign concept to me. There is something beautiful about the idea of a nation being reunited when the people all come together in the capitol multiple times a year. Imagine being able to see people you had come to know over the years during the time of the feasts, year by year. To be able to catch up with what has happened and learn what has transpired in their lives since you last saw them. This is an idea that would connect you to the rest of your countrymen. But, in a nation as large as ours, both population and territory, this would be nearly impossible. The ideal of having unity in the populace is a worthwhile dream though.
Questions and Answers:
Statement: I love that Deuteronomy shows you Moses’ deep love for God and his commandments. [Monique, 33]
You have said some variation of this sentiment many times and I always agree. I think Moses’ deep connection with God and the Law is shown in the way that YAHWEH allows Moses to speak and later on, to be spoken about. It’s fascinating how often you can forget in a book like Deuteronomy that it is not YAHWEH speaking, but Moses. There are many times that Moses just speaks as if he is the very speaking voice of God. He uses first-person pronouns and talks about “himself” in reference to God without prefacing “YAHWEH said.” Later on, this becomes more common because the prophets often proclaim the word of YAHWEH, but in Moses’ day, God is often speaking audibly to Moses and the people. Think about how God literally said to Moses, “I make you as God to Pharaoh” in Exodus 7.
Later on, the Law encapsulated in these books is called the “Law of Moses.” Even Jesus himself refers to it as such in Luke 24, and in John 7 he says that Moses gave the people the Law. That is something that YAHWEH allowed the people to say of Moses, his servant. When the author of Hebrews wants to proclaim the supremacy of Christ over all things, he has to make the argument in Hebrews 3 that Jesus is greater than Moses in order to help the Jews understand Christ’s position. That is how revered Moses is and how close the people understood Moses’ relationship with YAHWEH to be. But even then, the author of Hebrews doesn’t denigrate Moses, he says the difference is between a servant and a Son. Moses was faithful as a servant over the whole house of God, but Jesus is faithful as the Son over the whole house of God, the one who inherits it all. So yes, Moses devoted everything he had to serving YAHWEH.
Verse 16: Why do they have to show up to God not empty-handed? [Elisha, 8]
The point of this verse is that they have to show up with something to give. When they come to YAHWEH, they need to have a gift or an offering. It’s about the honor that is due YAHWEH. He is their God, he is their King. If you keep reading, the people are meant to respond generously to God because he has persistently blessed them throughout the year. The people’s practice should be to return a small token of the immense blessing that God has given them. This is what it means for them to be grateful. It’s not simply a ‘thanks God,’ there needs to be some material, tangible response. I find that to be very human. We know what we value when it really costs us something. Words are one thing, but action is another. Of course, the heart condition is the most important thing, but the condition of the heart is revealed by what we do. It’s why David says he won’t offer any sacrifice that costs him nothing in 2 Samuel 24. It’s why the widow puts in her two small coins in Mark 12 and Luke 21. This is why we talk about gratitude and generosity so much as a family, buddy. They protect the heart from all kinds of sinful attitudes and from being too attached to the things of the world.
Recording of the Passage:
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