Exodus 23:16, commentary and pictures

The verse names the feast of harvest as the offering of the firstfruits of what was sown in the field, and the feast of ingathering as the gathering of the field's produce at the end of the year, belonging to the three appointed yearly gatherings before God in the place He would choose.
They were special days of gladness and rejoicing with no unnecessary work, when none were to appear empty but all were to bring gifts, freewill and thank offerings, tithes and sin offerings according as God had blessed them, including the firstfruits of grain, wine and oil consecrated to Him.
The assemblies were meant to call God to mind and recount His mercies and wonderful works with praise and thanksgiving for the harvest, and their united sacrifices pointed to Christ as the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.
The firstfruits taught Israel to put God first as owner of their fields and giver of sunshine and rain, holding what they possessed as stewards, with generous offerings showing love for their Benefactor and meager offerings revealing selfishness and idolatrous love of His favors.
As part of the statutes and judgments given at Sinai by Christ and written in a book, its principles are to be studied closely and obeyed now just as verily as by Israel, since such gatherings to turn from worldly cares and commune with God are all the more needed in these last days of peril.

Feasts and Their Observance

The verse names two appointed observances: the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of what had been sown in the field, and the feast of ingathering at the end of the year, when the produce of the field had been gathered in. The feast of ingathering was held at the close of the year after the harvest had been gathered. The firstfruits brought at harvest were the first produce of the crops sown, including grain, wine, and oil from harvest and vintage.

These two belong with the command for three annual convocations at which Israel gathered to worship before God. They were holy convocations for His worship in the house of God, kept at His appointed times and ordinances in the place He would choose. They were seasons of worship and social fellowship, reckoned among the three yearly religious gatherings of Israel.

The gatherings were held at the sanctuary, with Shiloh serving for a time as the meeting place and Jerusalem later becoming the center where the tribes gathered. In Canaan they were to meet together three times each year, assembling to worship Him at Jerusalem and to observe His appointed ordinances.

Fathers and sons, the men of Israel, were required to attend and assemble before the Lord, yet the whole household joined when possible. Strangers, Levites, and the poor shared in the gatherings and their hospitality, and manservant and maidservant, stranger, fatherless, and widow were to rejoice together. That united rejoicing remembered that by His own wonderful power God had brought them from servile bondage to the enjoyment of freedom.

They were set as special days of gladness and rejoicing when no unnecessary work was to be done but time was devoted to considering the blessings God had bestowed. The people were not to appear before Him empty but to bring gifts, freewill offerings, and thank-offerings according as He had blessed them, with tithes and sin-offerings and offerings of gratitude brought to the house of God. These included offerings of gratitude with the firstfruits of His gifts, the firstfruits of grain, wine, and oil consecrated to the Lord, presented at the sanctuary and devoted to the priests.

Meaning and Present Obligation

The harvest and ingathering assemblies were appointed to bring God to mind, to recount His mercies and make known His wonderful works, and to turn thought to His goodness and mercy and to the care and blessings by which the land had yielded its harvest. They were set as special days of gladness in which unnecessary work was laid aside for considering His blessings, with praise and thanksgiving and rejoicing over freedom given by His wonderful power. Their united sacrificial service pointed to Christ as the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. The firstfruits of grain, wine, and oil, consecrated to the Lord and presented at the sanctuary for the priests, taught Israel to put God first and to acknowledge Him as owner of their fields and giver of the sunshine and rain that ripened the harvest, while they themselves were only stewards of what they possessed. The measure of the gifts, freewill offerings, and thank offerings brought according as He had blessed revealed character and whether donors loved their Benefactor and valued His gifts or were selfishly attached to the benefits received. Generous offerings showed high appreciation of His blessings, while meager offerings showed moral powers stupefied and benumbed by selfishness and idolatrous love of favors received rather than fervent love for the bountiful Benefactor.

The gatherings were meant to keep faith and love and gratitude alive, to bind the people closer to God and to one another, to preserve them from the corrupting power of worldliness and idolatry, to benefit them spiritually, and to give them better understanding of their spiritual service. Kept in the spirit of true worship they were to give the light of truth to all nations, drawing vast multitudes from all lands in the days of Christ. Those living far from the tabernacle spent more than a month of every year in attendance, because God saw such turning from worldly cares to commune with Him and contemplate unseen realities as necessary for spiritual life. Such assemblies are all the more needed in these last days of peril and conflict, when the world needs the light committed to the church. Faithful observance carried His covenant to bless them in all their increase and in all the works of their hands, and obedience to His commandments remains the condition for receiving His promised reward.

The verse belongs to the statutes, judgments, and commandments given at Sinai, to the instruction given to Moses in the mount in Exodus 19-24, given by Christ Jesus and written in a book. It teaches principles to be strictly obeyed in practice and to be studied closely and presented in jots and tittles. It is to be obeyed now just as verily as by the children of Israel, to cause contention to cease and bring brotherly love with softened and subdued hearts, guarding against injustice and guiding dealings with one another.