Deuteronomy 16:1-17

Deuteronomy 16:1-17

[1] Observe  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.  [2] Thou 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  [3] Thou 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.  [4] And 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.  [5] Thou mayest  not sacrifice  the passover  within any  of thy gates,  which the LORD  thy God  giveth  thee: [6] But 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.  [7] And 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.  [8] Six  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. [9] Seven  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.  [10] And 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  [11] And 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  [12] And thou shalt remember  that thou wast a bondman  in Egypt:  and thou shalt observe  and do  these statutes.  [13] Thou shalt observe  the feast  of tabernacles  seven  days,  after that thou hast gathered  in thy corn  and thy wine:  [14] And 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.  [15] Seven  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.  [16] Three  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:  [17] Every man  shall give as he is able,  according to the blessing  of the LORD  thy God  which he hath given  thee.

What does Deuteronomy 16:1-17 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

The point of connection of this section with what precedes is the sacrificial meals. Moses repeated here the instructions regarding those important feasts that included sacrificial meals that the people would eat at the tabernacle (cf. Exodus 12; Leviticus 23; Numbers 28-29).
1.Passover and Unleavened Bread Deuteronomy 16:1-82.Pentecost (also called Harvest, Weeks, and Firstfruits) Deuteronomy 16:9-123.Tabernacles (also called Ingathering and Booths) Deuteronomy 16:13-17
God commanded all the male Israelites to assemble at the sanctuary for all these feasts each year ( Deuteronomy 16:16). These feasts amounted to a pledge of allegiance to Yahweh each time the Israelites celebrated them. They came to His presence to do Song of Solomon , as their Near Eastern neighbors returned to their kings similarly to honor them periodically.
"The ancient requirement that the men of Israel should report to the central sanctuary three times a year has an interesting parallel in the Near Eastern treaty requirements. It was common practice for suzerains to require their vassals to report to them periodically, in some cases three times a year, in order to renew their allegiance and to bring tribute." [1]
The Passover and Unleavened Bread feasts were a more solemn occasion ( Deuteronomy 16:8), but the other two were joyous celebrations ( Deuteronomy 16:11; Deuteronomy 16:15). Evidently the Israelites roasted the Passover lamb ( Exodus 12:9), but they boiled the additional offerings for that day ( Deuteronomy 16:7; cf. 2 Chronicles 35:13). [2]
God"s people should celebrate God"s redemption, remember our previous enslaved condition, and rejoice in God"s provisions corporately and regularly (cf. Ephesians 5:4; Philippians 4:6; Colossians 2:7; Colossians 4:2; 1 Timothy 4:3-4). These are the things God encourages Christians to remember at the Lord"s Supper ( 1 Corinthians 11:23-28).