Deuteronomy 16:1-22

Deuteronomy: God’s Law of Love

Love and Obey the *LORD your God

Deuteronomy

Philip Smith

Chapter 16

v1 ‘You must *celebrate the *Passover to the *LORD your God in the month called Abib. On a night in that month, the *LORD your God brought you out of Egypt. v2 *Sacrifice an animal from your sheep or your *cattle. *Sacrifice to the *LORD your God as the *Passover. Do that at the place that the *LORD has chosen. The *LORD will be there in a special way. v3 With this meal, do not eat bread that you make with *yeast. For 7 days you must eat bread without *yeast. The name of this bread is the bread of troubles, because you had to leave Egypt in a hurry. So you will remember the time when you left Egypt. You will remember it for as long as you live. v4 For 7 days nobody in your country can have any *yeast in his house. Give the *sacrifice on the evening of the first day. Eat all the meat in the evening. None of the meat must remain until the morning.

v5-6 You must *sacrifice the *Passover only in the place that the *LORD your God has chosen. You must not *sacrifice it in any other town that the *LORD your God gives to you. You must *sacrifice the *Passover at sunset. That was the time at which you left Egypt. v7 Cook the meat. Eat it at the place that the *LORD your God has chosen. Then return to your tents in the morning. v8 You must eat bread without *yeast for 6 days. On the 7th day you must meet to give honour to the *LORD your God. Do not do any work on that day.’

Moses gave instructions about how to *celebrate the *Passover. Abib means ‘the month of the green ears’. (The ear is the part of a grain plant that contains seeds.) Abib was in the spring. The *Israelites were celebrating the time when God rescued them from Egypt. They had been slaves there. They used to *celebrate *Passover in their homes or tents. Here Moses told them to *celebrate in the place that God had chosen. Exodus 12:1-28 describes the original *Passover. The *sacrifice was a young sheep (or a young goat). In the *desert, the *Israelites *celebrated the *Passover together. When they entered the country, they would scatter to every part of the country. But Moses told them to gather together when they *celebrated the *Passover.

Immediately after the *Passover was the 7 day *Festival of bread without *yeast. It would remind the *Israelites that they left Egypt very quickly. They did not have time to add *yeast as they made their bread. They would also remember their years in the *desert. On the last day of the *festival, they would meet together to give honour to God. After the *Passover *festival in the *desert, they would return to their tents. Later, when they lived in the country, they returned to their homes. The very important word at this time was ‘remember’. Every *Passover *festival that *Jews *celebrate today ends with these words. ‘Next year it will be in Jerusalem.’ The *Jews expect that they will be able to go to Jerusalem. Then they will *celebrate in the way that they used to *celebrate.

Paul refers to the *Passover in 1 Corinthians 5:7-8. He says, ‘Let us *celebrate the *festival. We must not use the old *yeast, which means hate and wicked behaviour. Instead, we must use the bread without *yeast.’ Here *yeast represents wicked behaviour. And bread without *yeast represents true and sincere behaviour.

v9 ‘Count 7 weeks from the time that you begin to harvest the corn. v10 Then *celebrate the *Festival of Weeks to give honour to the *LORD your God. Bring to him an *offering that you choose to bring. It should be in proportion to the *blessings that the *LORD your God has given to you. v11 Be happy in front of the *LORD your God together with your children, and your male and female *slaves. Come together also with the *Levites, foreigners, children without parents and widows who live with you. Do this at the place that God will choose. He will be there in a special way. v12 Remember that you were *slaves in Egypt. *Keep these rules and obey them.’

This *festival happened 7 weeks after the beginning of the harvest. There were 7 weeks between the beginning of the grain harvest and the end of the wheat harvest. Therefore, people called it the *Festival of Weeks. Later, people called it the *Festival of Pentecost. ‘Pentecost’ means 50. The *Festival of Pentecost was 50 days after the *Sabbath at the start of the *Passover. The *Israelites had to give a gift to God. This gift was in proportion to how God had *blessed them. They shared a common meal with their families and with those who had no possessions.

It was on this day that God gave his Holy Spirit. (See Acts 2:14-21.) Then God began to bring a ‘harvest’ of people from all nations into the church.

v13 ‘*Celebrate the *Festival of Shelters for 7 days. Separate the grain from your corn and press your *grapes. Then *celebrate this *festival. v14 Be happy at your *festival together with your children and your male slaves and your female slaves. Include the *Levites, the foreigners, the children without parents and the widows who live in your towns. v15 For 7 days, *celebrate the *festival to the *LORD your God. *Celebrate at the place that the *LORD will choose. You will be completely happy. The *LORD your God will *bless your harvest and all your work.

v16 All your men must give honour to the *LORD your God 3 times a year. They must go to the place that he will choose. They must go to the *Festival of Bread without *yeast, the *Festival of Weeks and the *Festival of Shelters. No man must come in front of the *LORD without a gift. v17 Each person must bring a gift in proportion to how the *LORD your God has *blessed him.’

This was the final *festival that they *celebrated in the year. It happened after the grain and wine harvests. Every 7 years at this *festival, people read the law publicly. Then everyone would hear it. During this *festival, they lived in shelters. That reminded them about their journey through the *desert. During their journey, they had lived in tents. The *festival was a happy time, in which the *Israelites remembered God’s *blessings to them. They remembered how God had provided them with food and water. The last day of the *festival was the very important day.

It was on that day that Jesus said this. ‘Whoever needs to drink should come to me. And then they can drink.’ (See John 7:37.) But Jesus was not speaking about ordinary water. Jesus is the Person that this *festival is really about. He will supply not only the people’s need for food and water. He will supply the needs of their *spirits.

Three times a year, every man must go to the place to give honour to God. This is the place that Moses mentions in verses 6 and 11. This would remind each man that he depended on God for everything. At the *festivals, the *Israelites were happy. They thanked God and they shared their food with each other. Paul tells Christians: ‘Always be glad because you belong to the *Lord. Do not worry about anything. But ask God for what you need. And when you pray, be thankful. If you do that, God will make you calm and content. He will keep your thoughts and minds safe as you trust Christ Jesus.’ (See Philippians 4:4-7.)

The men who came to the *festival had to bring a gift. This gift was in proportion to how God had *blessed them.

In 1 Corinthians 16:2 Paul said this. ‘Each person in your church should put aside a sum of money in proportion to his income.’

v18 ‘Appoint judges and other officials in each of your *tribes. Do that in every town that the *LORD your God is giving to you. The judges must make fair decisions for the people. v19 The judges must be fair. They must not have favourites. They must not accept money to make wrong decisions. Such gifts cause wise men to seem blind. Also, gifts cause honest men to change the words of good people. v20 You must follow *justice and only *justice. Then you will possess the country that *LORD your God is giving to you. And you will continue to live in it.’

Originally, Moses, with some helpers, was judge in *Israel. Now the *Israelites appointed judges and other helpers in towns in every part of the country. These leaders must be fair. They must not accept gifts. They must deal with everyone alike. If they obey God’s laws, they will enjoy his *blessing.

v21 ‘Build the *altar to the *LORD your God. Do not put next to it a wooden pole to the female false god called Asherah. v22 Do not put up a stone to give honour to *idols. The *LORD your God hates those things.’

These verses warn the *Israelites not to give honour to *idols. The wooden pole was where people gave honour to a female false god. It was called Asherah. The stone was where people gave honour to another false god. It was called Baal. The people must give honour to God only.

Lord ~ a name for God. It translates the word ‘Adonai’ in the Hebrew language, which means ‘my ruler’. The word ‘lord’ (without a capital letter) means an ordinary ruler.

LORD ~ God gave this special name to himself. It translates the word ‘Yahweh’ in the Hebrew language. It is the Covenant name for God. It links to the words ‘I am’; it means that God has always been here.

covenant ~ the special promise that God made to his people. God’s covenant with the Israelites established a relationship between him and them. But they must obey him.

Israelite ~ a person from the nation called *Israel; Israelites is another name for the Jews.

Jew ~ a person who belongs to the family of the Israelites. Jews are descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

descendant ~ a person in your family who will live after you.
celebrate ~ to praise an event or a person with honour and with happiness.
Passover ~ a festival to celebrate when God freed the Israelites from Egypt.

festival ~ a happy time when people meet together to remember a person or a special event.

celebrate ~ to praise an event or a person with honour and with happiness.

Israelite ~ a person from the nation called *Israel; Israelites is another name for the Jews.

Jew ~ a person who belongs to the family of the Israelites. Jews are descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

descendant ~ a person in your family who will live after you.
sacrifice ~ something valuable that people give to God, or to a false god; or, to make such a gift.
cattle ~ cows and bulls.

bull ~ male farm animal; (the female is called a cow). The Israelites made a metal image of a bull, which they worshipped as an idol.

Israelite ~ a person from the nation called *Israel; Israelites is another name for the Jews.

worship ~ when people show honour to God, or to a false god. People may sing or pray. Or they may kneel down or give a sacrifice.

idol ~ an image of a false god that people give honour to; an object of wood, stone or metal that people worship.

Jew ~ a person who belongs to the family of the Israelites. Jews are descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

sacrifice ~ something valuable that people give to God, or to a false god; or, to make such a gift.

descendant ~ a person in your family who will live after you.
yeast ~ a substance that makes bread rise.
sacrifice ~ something valuable that people give to God, or to a false god; or, to make such a gift.
Israelite ~ a person from the nation called *Israel; Israelites is another name for the Jews.

Jew ~ a person who belongs to the family of the Israelites. Jews are descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

descendant ~ a person in your family who will live after you.
desert ~ a wild place where there are small bushes and not much water. It has poor soil and people cannot grow crops there. So, not many people live there.
festival ~ a happy time when people meet together to remember a person or a special event.
Jew ~ a person who belongs to the family of the Israelites. Jews are descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Israelite ~ a person from the nation called *Israel; Israelites is another name for the Jews.

descendant ~ a person in your family who will live after you.
festival ~ a happy time when people meet together to remember a person or a special event.
blessing ~ a good thing that God does for us; when someone asks God to do good things for a person or for people; when a person speaks good words about someone.
Levite ~ an Israelite who belonged to the tribe of Levi. Levi was a son of Jacob. Levites had special duties connected to worship. All Israelite priests were Levites.

Israelite ~ a person from the nation called *Israel; Israelites is another name for the Jews.

tribe ~ a group of people from the same race, who all came from one person. The tribes of *Israel were the 12 large families of Jacob’s sons.

worship ~ when people show honour to God, or to a false god. People may sing or pray. Or they may kneel down or give a sacrifice.

Jew ~ a person who belongs to the family of the Israelites. Jews are descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

sacrifice ~ something valuable that people give to God, or to a false god; or, to make such a gift.

descendant ~ a person in your family who will live after you.
keep ~ to do whatever you should do because of a promise or a law; to respect and to give honour to the law.
Sabbath ~ Saturday, the 7^th day of the week, when Israelites did not work. There were also special Sabbaths that were not always on a Saturday.

Israelite ~ a person from the nation called *Israel; Israelites is another name for the Jews.

Jew ~ a person who belongs to the family of the Israelites. Jews are descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

descendant ~ a person in your family who will live after you.
grape ~ small green or purple soft fruit that people can use to make wine.
celebrate ~ to praise an event or a person with honour and with happiness.
Lord ~ a name for God. It translates the word ‘Adonai’ in the Hebrew language, which means ‘my ruler’. The word ‘lord’ (without a capital letter) means an ordinary ruler.

LORD ~ God gave this special name to himself. It translates the word ‘Yahweh’ in the Hebrew language. It is the Covenant name for God. It links to the words ‘I am’; it means that God has always been here.

covenant ~ the special promise that God made to his people. God’s covenant with the Israelites established a relationship between him and them. But they must obey him.

Israelite ~ a person from the nation called *Israel; Israelites is another name for the Jews.

Jew ~ a person who belongs to the family of the Israelites. Jews are descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

descendant ~ a person in your family who will live after you.
tribe ~ a group of people from the same race, who all came from one person. The tribes of *Israel were the 12 large families of Jacob’s sons.
justice ~ when things are completely fair.
altar ~ a table on which people give gifts or sacrifices to God or to a false god.

sacrifice ~ something valuable that people give to God, or to a false god; or, to make such a gift.
idol ~ an image of a false god that people give honour to; an object of wood, stone or metal that people worship.

worship ~ when people show honour to God, or to a false god. People may sing or pray. Or they may kneel down or give a sacrifice.

sacrifice ~ something valuable that people give to God, or to a false god; or, to make such a gift.