Deuteronomy 16:1-8

LESSON THIRTEEN Deuteronomy 16:1-17; Deuteronomy 21:22; Deuteronomy 17:1

d. HOLY FESTIVALS (Deuteronomy 16:1-17; Deuteronomy 21:22; Deuteronomy 17:1)
(These three yearly feasts are also discussed in Exodus 23:14-17; Exodus 34:23; Leviticus 23; Numbers 28:16 to Numbers 29:40.)

(1) THE PASSOVER (Deuteronomy 16:1-8)[32]

[32] An excellent study of typology relating to the passover is found in the book Shadow and Substance, by Victor E. Hoven. (N. W. Christian College Press, Eugene, Ore,) He also treats the other festivals mentioned here, This book is for sale from College PressJoplin, Missouri,

Observe the month of Abib, and keep the passover unto Jehovah thy God; for in the month of Abib Jehovah thy God brought thee forth out of Egypt by night. 2 And thou shalt sacrifice the passover unto Jehovah thy God, of the flock and the herd, in the place which Jehovah shall choose, to cause his name to dwell there. 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 leaven seen with thee in all thy borders seven days; neither shall any of the flesh, which thou sacrificest the first day at even, remain all night until the morning. 5 Thou mayest not sacrifice the passover within any of thy gates, which Jehovah thy God giveth thee; 6 but at the place which Jehovah thy God shall choose, to cause his name to dwell 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 Jehovah 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 Jehovah thy God; thou shalt do no work therein.

THOUGHT QUESTIONS 16:1-8

276.

According to our calendar when was the month Abib?

277.

In the order of observance, when were the days of unleaven bread?

278.

Are we to understand from Deuteronomy 16:5 that the Passover could not be observed in the home? Discuss.

279.

Mention at least two comparisons of the sacrifice of our Passover lamb.

AMPLIFIED TRANSLATION 16:1-8

Observe the month of Abib, and keep the passover to the Lord your God; for in the month of Abib the Lord your God brought you out of Egypt by night.
2 You shall offer the passover sacrifice to the Lord your God from the flock or the herd, in the place where the Lord will choose to make His name [and His presence] dwell.
3 You shall eat no leavened bread with it; seven days you shall eat it with unleavened bread, the bread of afflictionfor you fled from the land of Egypt in hastethat all the days of your life you may [earnestly] remember the day when you came out of Egypt.
4 No leaven shall be seen with you in all your territory for seven days; nor shall any of the flesh which you sacrificed the first day at evening be left all night until the morning.
5 You may not offer the passover sacrifices within any of your towns which the Lord your God gives you;
6 But at the place which the Lord your God will choose in which to make His name [and His presence] dwell, there you shall offer the passover sacrifice in the evening at sunset, at the season that you came out of Egypt.
7 And you shall roast or boil and eat it in the place which the Lord your God will choose; and in the morning you shall turn and go to your tents.
8 Six days you shall eat unleavened bread; and on the seventh day there shall be a solemn assembly to the Lord your God; you shall do no work on it.

COMMENT 16:1-8

Basic to a study of this feast is a knowledge of the original Passover, Exodus 12:13.

OBSERVE THE MONTH ABIB (Deuteronomy 16:1)The first Jewish month, Exodus 12:2. Leviticus 23:5 specifies that the passover was to begin on the 14th day of this month, at even. The Jewish month Abib overlaps between our March and April. Smith, in his Bible Dictionary, states, From the time of the institution of the Mosaic law downward the month was a lunar one. The cycle of the religious feasts commencing with the passover depended not simply on the month, but the moon; the 14th of Abib was coincident with the full moon. the commencement of the month was generally decided by observation of the new moon The months were often simply referred to by number, and some had more than one name, Abib, for example, is also called Nisan (Nehemiah 2:1).

AND THOU SHALT SACRIFICE THE PASSOVER (Deuteronomy 16:2)The feast's name and its implications are obvious from Exodus 12:21-28. Our Paschal Lamb, Christ, has been sacrificed and we, too, have been redeemed from bondage and slavery.. wherefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth (1 Corinthians 5:7-8). Even as God passed over the houses of those Israelites who had appropriated to themselves the blood of the lamb, so God will pass over us, not inflicting the penalty of death, if we have appropriated unto ourselves the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world (John 1:29).

OF THE FLOCK AND OF THE HERD (Deuteronomy 16:2)Note the offerings demanded on this day in Numbers 28:18 ff.

THOU SHALT EAT NO UNLEAVENED BREAD (Deuteronomy 16:3)Exodus 12:39 gives the reason for this. They were not only to have unleavened bread, but no leaven was to be found in their houses (see Deuteronomy 16:4 and Exodus 12:19). Leaven is usually also a type of sin, 1 Corinthians 5:6-7; Galatians 5:7-9.

BREAD OF AFFLICTION (Deuteronomy 16:3)So called because of the affliction from which they were delivered in Egypt.

AT EVEN, AT THE GOING DOWN OF THE SUN (Deuteronomy 16:6)Referring to Exodus 12, Victor E. Hoven says of the passover lamb: It was killed at even on the fourteenth, about three o-'clock (Deuteronomy 16:6) the time Israel came out of Egypt (Deuteronomy 16:6), At the same time, when the daily evening sacrifice of a lamb took place in Jerusalem, the Lamb of God expired on the cross (Matthew 27:45-50).Shadow and Substance, p. 95.