Exodus 23:14
“Three times a year you shall celebrate a feast to Me.”
This is great. God is shaping the culture of His people. Part of that is to be celebration. The three feasts were: Unleavened Bread, First Fruits and Ingathering.
The Feast of Unleavened Bread was a celebration of their deliverance from Egypt. They had to leave quickly. They didn’t have time for their bread to rise. A cool bit of symbolism. While we gentiles don’t celebrate this, we can certainly celebrate our own deliverance. We were slaves of sin before Christ redeemed us. We need to reflect on that.
The second feast was First Fruits. They were to bring an offering of their first and best at harvest time. This takes faith. They probably have doubts as to whether they will have enough to last for the rest of the year. They may sell their produce. They are sacrificing some of their income. While all this is true, God wants us to trust Him. He will make up for any lack. It’s a time to say “thank you” at the beginning of the harvest as well as a demonstration of their trust to make it through. We are to do the same. We have our limited resources: money, time, emotional fullness and more. Our gratitude says thanks for the past while trusting Him for the future.
The last feast is the Ingathering. There is to be a celebration at the end of harvest. This is thanking Him for the harvest and a time to break. Much like the sabbath is at the end of the week, this feast is a rest at the end. They are reflecting on the planting year. At times it may have been good and at other times bad. In spite of how it went we are to be thankful and hopeful. We have a living God who is able. During the lean times He is teaching us.
Lord, help us to celebrate Your blessings in our lives. You have done a great deal and brought us through much. Thank You for all You’ll provide and for all the deliverances You’ll accomplish.