EXODUS 34
18 “You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month Abib, for in the month Abib you came out from Egypt. 19 All that open the womb are mine, all your malelivestock, the firstborn of cow and sheep. 20 The firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, or if you will not redeem it you shall break its neck. All the firstborn of your sons you shall redeem. And none shall appear before me empty-handed.21 “Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest. In plowing time and in harvest you shall rest. 22 You shall observe the Feast of Weeks, the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the year’s end. 23 Three times in the year shall all your males appear before the Lord God, the God of Israel. 24 For I will cast out nations before you and enlarge your borders; no one shall covet your land, when you go up to appear before the Lord your God three times in the year. – Exodus 34:18-24
EXODUS 34 FEASTS TO OBSERVE COMMANDED BY GOD
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
God commanded the Israelites to observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread
By observing it, they will be reminded to keep themselves pure and clean
The Feast of Weeks were to be observed and they were to bring their firstfruits
They are to work six days and on the seventh offer their best harvest when they rest
The Feast of Ingathering at the year’s end was also required from them
God will bless all the males three times a year so they can triumph over other nations.
Why did God ask his people to observe these feasts? I think that it is to protect them. By nature, we do not easily want to give glory to God. These feasts were reminders for the Israelites what he required of his people. He wants his people to live their lives in total dependence on him and to remember all the things that He has done for them. It is easy to be selfish, that is our inclination. By observing these feasts, they will be reminded that it was all God’s doing that they were delivered from the Egyptians. It also shows them that God expects them to stay holy for Him since they are serving a Holy God.
REFLECTION
- How different are the feasts of the world that we attend or participate in from the feasts that God required from his people to observe?
