Deuteronomy 16-20

“You shall rejoice before the Lord your God.”  Deuteronomy 16: 11a

     I just loved reading the first part of Chapter 16 with these repeated words:  Rejoice; You shall rejoice; you surely will rejoice; again I say rejoice.  Did you happen to catch those phrases?  Do you fill thoughts and your heart with rejoice?  Several years back we read a book by Joyce Meyer called the Battlefield of the Mind.  It didn’t take me too long to discover that my mind was cluttered, was literally littered with unhealthy thoughts and it was time for me to clean “house”.  I was quickly reminded that God wants us to be filled with His joy. And He wants YOU to rejoice in Him each and every day!   

     Today, Dawn Rawson was kind enough to share with us some of the deeper meanings that are tied to the yearly feasts that were established by the Lord our God.  These feasts have continued for over 1500 years so that when Jesus stepped foot on the earth as flesh and blood He would be recognized as the Lamb of God.  The Lord wanted there to be constant reminders of His promise that He would provide a sacrificial lamb one day – one whose blood would cover our sins and wash us white as snow.  That Lamb of God is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. But even with these constant reminders some failed to make the connection. 

     There are three main feasts that have held the nation of Israel together.  The Feast of Passover is a very solemn event making the whole month a time of discipline.  They were not to eat leavened bread which represented sin in their lives and were to sacrifice an unblemished lamb.  The Feast of Pentecost was 7 days after the Feast of Passover, whereby an offering was brought to God as a tribute to our many blessings bestowed by Him.  And finally the Feast of Tabernacles in which one rejoiced in assisting others, by supplying their needs or comforting a mourner.

     The laws concerning these three solemn feasts are summed up as so:  1. All males must make their personal appearance before God and 2. None must appear before God emptyhanded, but every man must bring some sort of offering. 

     I leave you with this: 

Have you made a personal appearance before God?  

What do you bring as your offering? 

Is it just what’s leftover or is it your firstfruit?    

…”You will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and all your soul.”  Deut. 4:29