SERIES C --- EXODUS FROM BONDAGE --- LESSON 21

HARVEST FESTIVALS

FRIENDS AND FEASTS

From Exodus 23

Never say what you know is untrue or joins evil men to lie about someone. Never follow a crowd that intends to do evil. When you appear before the judges to testify, do not let the crowd influence what you say. Never testify in favour of a man merely because he is poor. If you find your enemy’s lost ox or donkey, take it back to him. Or if you find your enemy struggling to get his loaded donkey onto its feet, do not pass by, but stop to help him. You must never take advantage of a poor man in court. Make absolutely sure that you never accuse anyone falsely, claiming that he did evil when you are not sure that he did. Never let an innocent or righteous person be put to death, for if you do, I will let your guilt continue to trouble you. You must never accept a bribe, for a bribe keeps officials from seeing what they should see and thus keeps others from getting the justice they deserve. Never be harsh with a stranger, for you know how a stranger feels since you were once strangers in the land of Egypt. For six years you will sow and reap your crops, but during the seventh year you must let your land lie idle so that the poor may harvest the grain that comes up. Whatever is not gathered must be left for the wild animals to eat. Follow this same rule in harvesting from your vineyard and olive orchard. For six days of each week you shall do your work, but on the seventh day you shall rest so that your ox and your donkey and your servants and visitors may also rest. Give careful attention to all that I have told you and never mention the names of other gods, for such names should never be heard from your lips. Each year you will hold three feasts for Me. One shall be the Feast of Unleavened Bread. For seven days you shall observe this feast by eating unleavened bread. The time of the feast shall be in the month of Abib, in March, for that is the time when you left Egypt. During the feast everyone shall bring Me an offering, none shall come to Me with empty hands. Another feast shall be the Feast of Harvest, a time when you shall bring Me the first part of your harvest. The third feast shall be the Feast of Ingathering, when you finish your harvest, gathering from the field the fruits of your work. Every man and boy shall come to these three feasts each year. You shall never offer the blood of My sacrifice with leavened bread. And you shall never let the fat of My sacrifice remain until the next morning. When you bring the first of your harvest to Adonai be sure that it is the best. You shall never boil a kid in its mother’s milk. You must be aware that My Angel goes before you, bringing you safely to the land that I promised to you. Remind yourselves that he is with you, and do what he tells you; for he will not pardon your transgressions since My Name is in him. If you listen carefully to him and obey My Instructions, then I will be an enemy to your enemies, for My Angel will lead you to the land of promise, the land of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hivites and the Jebusites and there he will destroy your enemies. You must never bow before the gods of your enemies or serve them or do what they desire. Instead, you must break their idols into pieces. Serve only Adonai and I will bless you with food and water and give you good health. You shall be free from barrenness and miscarriages among your people and you shall live a long and fruitful life. The terror of Adonai shall go before you and cause your enemies to flee when you come. I shall send hornets before you to drive out the Hivites, the Canaanites and the Hittites. I shall not drive them all out in the first year, for if I did, wild beasts would multiply and attack you. No, their departure will be gradual so that you may take over the land little by little until you control it all. I will give you that land from the Red Sea to the coasts of the Philistines and from the deserts in the south to the Euphrates River in the north. I will let you conquer the people who now live in the land until you drive them all out. Never make a covenant with them or their gods. They must not live among you, for if they do, you will begin to worship their gods and that will lead to your destruction.

COMMENTARY

THREE FEASTS AND THE SABBATICAL YEAR

In their new land the Israelites would own their own homes and fields. They would learn to plant crops and to harvest them. And each year they would celebrate three joyous festivals to praise Adonai. Yes, the land most surely would belong to YHVH’s people. Adonai Himself promised to drive out their enemies. If only Israel will obey. When YHVH Created the world, He worked for six days in the act of Creation, then rested on the seventh. Thus, creation originated the seven-day week. Somewhere in antiquity, the seven-day week was also tied to seven winds, which the ancients said blew from seven directions. One day of the week was related to each of the seven winds. The seventh day of the week of Creation was the day of rest. Adonai declared it should remain that way and should be called the Shabbat. The seventh year also became a year of rest, when there was no planting or harvest. Whatever grew on its own would be shared with animals and the poor. In the Law which Adonai gave to Moses on Mount Sinai, He set forth three annual feasts for His people, the Hebrews. The Feast of Unleavened Bread or Passover, celebrated the passing over of the Angel of YHVH before the Israelites left Egypt. At the Feast of Harvest, called Shabuoth, the first crops were offered to Adonai, the land’s true owner and the source of all food. The Feast of Ingathering or Succoth, followed the harvest. Each family built a booth of branches and twigs where they lived for eight or nine days. The booths symbolized Israel’s wanderings in the wilderness.