Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year.
God requires His people to keep three feasts to Him each year as three appointed assemblies of all Israel before Him in the one place He would choose, first Shiloh and afterward Jerusalem. The three are the Passover, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Tabernacles, to be kept as days of gladness free from unnecessary work, with the men required to attend and households, strangers, Levites, servants, the poor, orphans and widows welcomed to share the rejoicing and worship. None were to come empty, but to bring tithes, sin-offerings, thank-offerings, free-will offerings and first fruits according as God had blessed them, and faithfulness in this brought His blessing on all their increase and the work of their hands. The gatherings were holy convocations to remember His mercies and deliverance from bondage, to recount His works with praise and thanks, and their sacrifices pointed to Christ as the Lamb of God, keeping faith and gratitude alive and binding the people closer to God and to one another. They turned minds from worldly cares to commune with God and contemplate unseen realities, preserving from worldliness and idolatry, and if Israel then needed them Christians need such gatherings even more in the last days, in regular assemblies such as camp-meeting and in holidays that honor God as the giver rather than diverting praise to men.
Command and Observance
The command belongs to the instruction God gave to Moses on the mount in Exodus 19-24, including the statutes and judgments in Exodus 21-23, given by Christ Jesus Himself and written in a book. It is to be studied, obeyed from the heart, carried out in daily practice, and presented before the people, being needed now just as verily as by Israel in Moses' day. It guards against injustice and guides dealings with one another. Obedience to it is the condition for being kings and priests to God, having direct communication with Him, and receiving the same reward now.
Israel publicly promised compliance by lifted voice and hands, then broke the conditions while Moses was away by making a calf in idolatry, and three thousand perished because they would not take a loyal stand with Moses.
The verse commands three feasts to God in the year, as three annual assemblies of all Israel before the Lord at appointed times in one general place of assembly in Canaan, the place He would choose. Shiloh served for a time as the gathering place and Jerusalem later became the center, ordered by Israel's divine Leader, and the yearly observances were resumed after the return from captivity. The three feasts are Passover, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Tabernacles, with the yearly Passover also to be commemorated.
Fathers and sons, or the men, were required to attend, but households generally joined whenever possible, with strangers, Levites, the poor, servants, manservant and maidservant, orphans, the fatherless, and widows welcomed and included in the hospitality and rejoicing. The set periods were feast-days of gladness kept free of unnecessary work and devoted to considering God's blessings and deliverance from servile bondage to freedom. The people were not to appear before God empty but to bring tithes, sin-offerings, gifts, free-will offerings, thank-offerings, offerings of gratitude and the first fruits, consecrated according as God had blessed them. The offerings reflected how much they valued His blessings and revealed their hearts. Faithfulness in observance brought His blessing on all their increase and all the works of their hands, and obedience brought divine blessing. The regulations were for Israel's good, calling them to be holy and worthy of recognition by a holy God, and helping make God and His kingdom known to surrounding nations.
Purpose and Present Application
The three yearly feasts were holy convocations and seasons for worship and social fellowship, appointed as memorials to bring God to mind. There the people were to remember His mercies and works, recount them, declare His wonderful works, and offer praise, thanks, and rejoicing. The sacrifices and sacrificial service united with that worship pointed to Christ as the Lamb of God who takes away sin. That memorial intent was later largely lost sight of by priests and leaders, and the gatherings were perverted.
They kept faith, love, and gratitude alive, bound the people closer to God and to one another, and preserved them from worldliness and idolatry. They did this by turning the people from worldly cares to commune with God and contemplate unseen realities, giving time away for communion, greater knowledge of service to God, and opportunities to receive light. They were necessary for spiritual life, and for those living far from the tabernacle they required more than a month in a year.
In the days of Christ vast multitudes from all lands attended, and kept in the spirit of true worship they would have carried the light of truth to all nations. Jesus Himself missed several of the required gatherings at Jerusalem because of Jewish hostility. If Israel then needed these convocations and the world needed their light, Christians need such gatherings even more in the last days of peril and conflict.
The plan for regular gatherings, assembling at least three times each year, supports the call to attend camp-meeting to help advance God's cause, such as at Wellington and in New Zealand. Attendance is presented as God's call rather than a signified personal duty. The same principle applies to holidays: they should honor God and direct praise and gifts to Him as the giver of prosperity, rather than divert attention from Him or lavish gifts on people.
God requires His people to keep three feasts to Him each year as three appointed assemblies of all Israel before Him in the one place He would choose, first Shiloh and afterward Jerusalem. The three are the Passover, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Tabernacles, to be kept as days of gladness free from unnecessary work, with the men required to attend and households, strangers, Levites, servants, the poor, orphans and widows welcomed to share the rejoicing and worship. None were to come empty, but to bring tithes, sin-offerings, thank-offerings, free-will offerings and first fruits according as God had blessed them, and faithfulness in this brought His blessing on all their increase and the work of their hands. The gatherings were holy convocations to remember His mercies and deliverance from bondage, to recount His works with praise and thanks, and their sacrifices pointed to Christ as the Lamb of God, keeping faith and gratitude alive and binding the people closer to God and to one another. They turned minds from worldly cares to commune with God and contemplate unseen realities, preserving from worldliness and idolatry, and if Israel then needed them Christians need such gatherings even more in the last days, in regular assemblies such as camp-meeting and in holidays that honor God as the giver rather than diverting praise to men.
Command and Observance
The command belongs to the instruction God gave to Moses on the mount in Exodus 19-24, including the statutes and judgments in Exodus 21-23, given by Christ Jesus Himself and written in a book. It is to be studied, obeyed from the heart, carried out in daily practice, and presented before the people, being needed now just as verily as by Israel in Moses' day. It guards against injustice and guides dealings with one another. Obedience to it is the condition for being kings and priests to God, having direct communication with Him, and receiving the same reward now.
Israel publicly promised compliance by lifted voice and hands, then broke the conditions while Moses was away by making a calf in idolatry, and three thousand perished because they would not take a loyal stand with Moses.
The verse commands three feasts to God in the year, as three annual assemblies of all Israel before the Lord at appointed times in one general place of assembly in Canaan, the place He would choose. Shiloh served for a time as the gathering place and Jerusalem later became the center, ordered by Israel's divine Leader, and the yearly observances were resumed after the return from captivity. The three feasts are Passover, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Tabernacles, with the yearly Passover also to be commemorated.
Fathers and sons, or the men, were required to attend, but households generally joined whenever possible, with strangers, Levites, the poor, servants, manservant and maidservant, orphans, the fatherless, and widows welcomed and included in the hospitality and rejoicing. The set periods were feast-days of gladness kept free of unnecessary work and devoted to considering God's blessings and deliverance from servile bondage to freedom. The people were not to appear before God empty but to bring tithes, sin-offerings, gifts, free-will offerings, thank-offerings, offerings of gratitude and the first fruits, consecrated according as God had blessed them. The offerings reflected how much they valued His blessings and revealed their hearts. Faithfulness in observance brought His blessing on all their increase and all the works of their hands, and obedience brought divine blessing. The regulations were for Israel's good, calling them to be holy and worthy of recognition by a holy God, and helping make God and His kingdom known to surrounding nations.
Purpose and Present Application
The three yearly feasts were holy convocations and seasons for worship and social fellowship, appointed as memorials to bring God to mind. There the people were to remember His mercies and works, recount them, declare His wonderful works, and offer praise, thanks, and rejoicing. The sacrifices and sacrificial service united with that worship pointed to Christ as the Lamb of God who takes away sin. That memorial intent was later largely lost sight of by priests and leaders, and the gatherings were perverted.
They kept faith, love, and gratitude alive, bound the people closer to God and to one another, and preserved them from worldliness and idolatry. They did this by turning the people from worldly cares to commune with God and contemplate unseen realities, giving time away for communion, greater knowledge of service to God, and opportunities to receive light. They were necessary for spiritual life, and for those living far from the tabernacle they required more than a month in a year.
In the days of Christ vast multitudes from all lands attended, and kept in the spirit of true worship they would have carried the light of truth to all nations. Jesus Himself missed several of the required gatherings at Jerusalem because of Jewish hostility. If Israel then needed these convocations and the world needed their light, Christians need such gatherings even more in the last days of peril and conflict.
The plan for regular gatherings, assembling at least three times each year, supports the call to attend camp-meeting to help advance God's cause, such as at Wellington and in New Zealand. Attendance is presented as God's call rather than a signified personal duty. The same principle applies to holidays: they should honor God and direct praise and gifts to Him as the giver of prosperity, rather than divert attention from Him or lavish gifts on people.