PREPARING TO CELEBRATE

October 8, 2013

PREPARING TO CELEBRATE

Deuteronomy 16:1-15

Susan Vermillion

Central Truth

Moses gives the people instructions about celebrating feasts. Today, we might ask, "But, do I have to?" No, we don't have to. But yes, if we choose to prepare to honor the Lord, we, too, may joyfully remember and celebrate His goodness with our family, neighbors, foreigners, orphans, and widows.

"Then you shall celebrate the Feast of Weeks to the LORD your God with a tribute of a freewill offering of your hand, which you shall give just as the LORD your God blesses you . . . . [A]nd they shall not appear before the LORD empty-handed." (Deuteronomy 16:10,16)

Passover

1 Observe the month of Abib and keep the Passover to the LORD your God, for in the month of Abib the LORD your God brought you out of Egypt by night. 2 And you shall offer the Passover sacrifice to the LORD your God, from the flock or the herd, at the place that the LORD will choose, to make his name dwell there. 3 You shall eat no leavened bread with it. Seven days you shall eat it with unleavened bread, the bread of affliction—for you came out of the land of Egypt in haste—that all the days of your life you may remember the day when you came out of the land of Egypt. 4 No leaven shall be seen with you in all your territory for seven days, nor shall any of the flesh that you sacrifice on the evening of the first day remain all night until morning. 5 You may not offer the Passover sacrifice within any of your towns that the LORD your God is giving you, 6 but at the place that the LORD your God will choose, to make his name dwell in it, there you shall offer the Passover sacrifice, in the evening at sunset, at the time you came out of Egypt. 7 And you shall cook it and eat it at the place that the LORD your God will choose. And in the morning you shall turn and go to your tents. 8 For six days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a solemn assembly to the LORD your God. You shall do no work on it.

The Feast of Weeks

9 You shall count seven weeks. Begin to count the seven weeks from the time the sickle is first put to the standing grain. 10 Then you shall keep the Feast of Weeks to the LORD your God with the tribute of a freewill offering from your hand, which you shall give as the LORD your God blesses you. 11 And you shall rejoice before the LORD your God, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, the Levite who is within your towns, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow who are among you, at the place that the LORD your God will choose, to make his name dwell there. 12 You shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt; and you shall be careful to observe these statutes.

The Feast of Booths

13 You shall keep the Feast of Booths seven days, when you have gathered in the produce from your threshing floor and your winepress. 14 You shall rejoice in your feast, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow who are within your towns. 15 For seven days you shall keep the feast to the LORD your God at the place that the LORD will choose, because the LORD your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that you will be altogether joyful.

My parents taught me how to celebrate and to give gifts very thoughtfully. When I was 6, 7, and 8 years old, they would take my sister and me to the North Pole Gift Shop before Christmas. It was a dreaded experience for a little girl who hated shopping, and the only location was in the heart of a huge shopping mall. I would be whining and asking, "But, do I have to?"

Regardless of my grumpy mood going into the store, my parents would give us $20, and they would match each of us with a shopping elf (an employee to help with selection and to make sure we didn't get lost in the chaos). We could shop for any gift we wanted to give our parents. My mom still has a very tacky small swan jewelry holder in her bathroom from one of those adventures. I realize now I was only giving back their $20 in the form of a small souvenir, but oh, how they treasured it!

God gives us instructions on how to prepare and surrender as we give our gifts back to Him. He gives us so much more than $20, and oh, how He loves when we give back to celebrate Him! God continues to call me to prepare and sacrifice, even when that means giving up what I think is mine. So, when I find myself asking, "But do I have to?," I choose to follow what Moses reminds us to do in verse 3: "[S]o that you may REMEMBER all the days of your life . . . ." Because we can "remember," we have a tool of reflection, and we can practice giving back to God and enjoying the celebration.

1. When Moses called the Israelites to "celebrate" the Passover, did it appear to be an easy task?

2. Can you think of a time in your life when the preparation for a celebration was worth it? (E.g., Wedding, Christmas, etc.)

3. In verse 12, the instruction is to "remember" the past. Can you remember a time in your life when you were a slave to something other than Christ?

4. Thinking about today, how could you prepare for an upcoming celebration?