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Deuteronomy 16:16
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14 And ayou shall rejoice in your feast, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant and the Levite, the stranger and the fatherless and the widow, who are within your1 gates.  
15 aSeven days you shall keep a sacred feast to the Lord your God in the place which the Lord chooses, because the Lord your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that you surely rejoice.  
16 a“Three times a year all your males shall appear before the Lord your God in the place which He chooses: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Tabernacles; and bthey shall not appear before the Lord empty-handed.  
17 Every man shall give as he is able, aaccording to the blessing of the Lord your God which He has given you.  

Justice Must Be Administered

18 “You shall appoint ajudges and officers in all your1 gates, which the Lord your God gives you, according to your tribes, and they shall judge the people with just judgment.  
19 aYou shall not pervert justice; byou shall not show partiality, cnor take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and2 twists the words of the righteous.  
Commentaries:
Forerunner Commentary
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<< Deuteronomy 16:15   Deuteronomy 16:17 >>

What Does Deuteronomy 16:16 Mean?



Deuteronomy 16:16-17

These three feasts were the three "pilgrimage feasts" of ancient Israel, for which all the families traveled up to Jerusalem to keep them. Each adult male was expected to attend and to give an offering to God. We follow this command to give to God, splitting the offerings of those three "times" or "seasons" into offerings on each of the seven annual holy days.

Unlike a tithe, which is one-tenth of our income, the amounts of these offerings are voluntary. God wants us to consider how much He has blessed us and put a monetary value—"as [we are] able"—on His loving care for us. Of course, we can never give enough, but the exercise helps us to learn to appreciate God in greater ways.

Richard T. Ritenbaugh
How Do We Keep God's Festivals?

Related Topics: Annual Festivals | Annual Holy Days | Appreciating God | Appreciating What God is Doing | God's Annual Festivals | Offerings | Offerings of Leviticus | Pilgrimage Feasts | Three Pilgrimage Feasts | Voluntary Offerings


 
<< Deuteronomy 16:15   Deuteronomy 16:17 >>

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