Exodus 23:14-19

Three Feasts before the LORD

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14Three times a year you are to celebrate a feast to Me.

15You are to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread as I commanded you: At the appointed time in the month of Abib you are to eat unleavened bread for seven days, because that was the month you came out of Egypt. No one may appear before Me empty-handed.

16You are also to keep the Feast of Harvest with the firstfruits of the produce from what you sow in the field. And keep the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather your produce from the field.

17Three times a year all your males are to appear before the Lord GOD.

18You must not offer the blood of My sacrifices with anything leavened, nor may the fat of My feast remain until morning.

19Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the LORD your God. You must not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.

Berean Standard Bible

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God commands Israel to keep three annual feasts: the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering. The people are to appear before the LORD with offerings and are not to come empty-handed.

The calendar gives Israel a rhythm of remembrance and gratitude. Work, harvest, and worship are connected, and the people are taught to bring God the first and best of what they receive.

Unleavened Bread recalls the month God brought Israel out of Egypt. The harvest feasts acknowledge that the crops on which life depends come from Him. Rescue and ordinary provision both deserve public thanks. Bringing the best firstfruits expresses that dependence before the people treat the harvest as theirs to use however they please.

A household calendar can teach gratitude by reserving time for worship and generosity. What you repeat each year will often matter more than what you say once.

Questions

1 Which three annual feasts must Israel keep before the LORD?

AnswerIsrael must keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering. Every male is to appear before the Lord GOD three times a year.

2 What reason does God give for keeping the Feast of Unleavened Bread?

AnswerIt takes place in the month when Israel came out of Egypt. The feast gives the people a regular occasion to remember that God rescued them.

3 What are the people to bring from their soil, and what does that express?

AnswerThey must bring the best of the firstfruits to the LORD's house. Giving from the beginning of the harvest honors God as its giver, instead of leaving Him only what happens to remain.

4 How could we connect a celebration with thanks to God?

AnswerAt a birthday or another familiar gathering, we could name a way God has provided during the year and thank Him together. Sharing food or helping someone in need can also express our gratitude.

What This Means for Us

Israel's feasts keep the community from forgetting either its rescue or its dependence on God's provision. Celebration is not self-indulgence when it remembers the Giver and makes room for offering.

Create household rhythms that protect gratitude from being crowded out by busyness.

Prayer

We pray: Giver of every harvest, keep our household from forgetting your rescue and provision. Teach us to set aside time for worship, bring our first and best with gratitude, and share what you have placed in our hands. Amen.

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