The Three Great Feasts (Deuteronomy 16:1-17).
Moses now reminded them that every year Israel were to gather at the three great feasts, Passover, Sevens (Weeks or Harvest) and Tabernacles (or Ingathering/Booths). (See Exodus 23:14-17; Exodus 34:23. Compare for details Exodus 12; Leviticus 23:4-38; Numbers 28:16 to Numbers 29:39). This can be compared with the gathering of under-kings to make regular submission to their overlords and offer tribute, often required in treaties. Every adult male in Israel was to be present. Again the idea of joyous worship is stressed (Deuteronomy 16:11; Deuteronomy 16:14).
That all males were to appear in the place of His choosing three times a year 'before Yahweh' or to 'see the face of Yahweh' is constantly emphasised (Exodus 23:17; Exodus 34:23) This was in fact necessary in order to maintain the unity of the tribes and in order to maintain their covenant with God. This probably means all males who were ‘of age'. We are not told about the logistics. They would spread over available land. The weak and infirm together with male children were probably not included in 'all males'.
But all, including women and children, were welcome at the feasts, especially Weeks and Tabernacles (Deuteronomy 16:1-14). It is interesting that wives are not mentioned although daughters (unmarried) and widows are (Deuteronomy 16:11; Deuteronomy 16:14). Perhaps the wives were to stay behind to look after the farms (compare Deuteronomy 3:19, although that was a call to arms, also contrast Deuteronomy 29:11 where wives were specifically mentioned). But it is more likely that the wives were simply seen as one with their husbands, as elsewhere (e.g. Deuteronomy 5:14) and that their presence was thus assumed, not because they were not considered important, but because they were of equal importance with their husbands. God's promise was that none would invade during these times (Exodus 34:23-24).
As these feasts were at times of harvest such times would tend not to be danger periods as all nations would be gathering their own harvests and celebrating their own feasts and would be too busy to make war. (Note 2 Samuel 11:1 which indicates that there were certain times for invading). Of course the assumption is that the whole land would belong to Israel as other nations would have been driven out (if Israel had been obedient). This was different from the call to arms which could happen at any time when danger threatened or tribal matters had to be sorted out (Judges 20:1).
With these regulations given with regard to the three great feasts we come to an end of this worship section of the speech. No mention is made of the great Day of Atonement, nor of lesser feasts. This is not a general giving of the Law. It is a speech given to the people to encourage them and prepare them for their direct responsibilities in connection with entering the land and possessing it.
Deuteronomy generally avoids what mainly involves the priests and priestly functions. That information Moses has dealt with in other records. Even in dealing with uncleanness it has concentrated only on what the people had to make positive choices about with regard to it. And when he deals with priests and Levites in Deuteronomy 18 it is in order to describe the people's duties with regard to them. It is this emphasis which explains why he never actually clearly and specifically differentiates between the responsibilities of priests and Levites, although once one accepts the differentiation given elsewhere it is clear where he does differentiate them.
It will be noted that little detail is given as to how the feasts are to be observed from the priests' point of view. Apart from the bare bones, all the concentration is on the aspects connected with the people. Thus at the feast of Passover and unleavened bread the actual sacrificing is seen as performed by the people and then partaken of, and the matter of the leaven is dwelt on more fully, while in the other feasts the sacrificial offerings are ignored and all the emphasis is on joyful participation in the feasting.
(The whole chapter is ‘thou' throughout).
The Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Deuteronomy 16:1-8).
Here the whole feast is called the Passover (in Deuteronomy 16:17 it is called the feast of unleavened bread). It is celebrated in the month of Abib (the ancient name for Nisan), ‘the month of the ripening ears'. Its name probably dates back to the patriarchs and their sojourn in Canaan. It came around March/April, commencing at the new moon. First came the strict Passover, which was celebrated on the afternoon of 14th of Abib by the slaying of lambs, with the feast going on overnight to the following morning at the time of the full moon. This was then followed by the seven days of unleavened bread, 15th-21st of Abib, beginning with a festal sabbath and ending on a festal sabbath. (There could thus be three sabbaths during the seven days, the two festal sabbaths and the weekly Sabbath).
The Description of the Feast (Deuteronomy 16:1-6).
Analysis in the words of Moses:
a Observe the month of Abib, and keep the passover to Yahweh your God, for in the month of Abib Yahweh your God brought you out of Egypt by night (Deuteronomy 16:1).
b And you shall sacrifice the passover to Yahweh your God, of the flock and the herd, in the place which Yahweh shall choose, to cause His name to dwell there (Deuteronomy 16:2).
c You shall eat no leavened bread with it; seven days shall you eat unleavened bread with it, even the bread of affliction, for you came forth out of the land of Egypt in fearful haste (Deuteronomy 16:3 a).
c That you may remember the day when you came forth out of the land of Egypt all the days of your life and there shall be no leaven seen with you in all your borders seven days, neither shall any of the flesh, which you sacrifice the first day at even, remain all night until the morning (Deuteronomy 16:3-4).
b You may not sacrifice the passover within any of your gates, which Yahweh your God gives you, but at the place which Yahweh your God shall choose, to cause His name to dwell in (Deuteronomy 16:5).
a There you shall sacrifice the passover at even, at the going down of the sun, at the season that you came forth out of Egypt (Deuteronomy 16:6).
§
In ‘a' they are to observe the month of Abib, and keep the passover to Yahweh your God, for in the month of Abib Yahweh their God brought them out of Egypt by night, and in the parallel they will sacrifice the passover at even, at the going down of the sun, at the season that they came forth out of Egypt. In ‘b' they are to sacrifice the Passover to Yahweh their God, of the flock and the herd, in the place which Yahweh shall choose, to cause His name to dwell there, and in the parallel they may not sacrifice the Passover within any of their gates, which Yahweh their God gives them, but at the place which Yahweh their God chooses, to cause his name to dwell in. In ‘c' they are not to eat leavened bread with it (‘it' here means the whole round of sacrifices at this feast, for in what follows ‘it' is eaten for seven days, and above it includes cattle); for seven days they must eat unleavened bread with it, even the bread of affliction, for they ‘came forth out of the land of Egypt' in fearful haste, and in the parallel it is so that they may remember the day when they came forth out of the land of Egypt all the days of their lives and there was therefore no leaven to be seen within all their borders for seven days, neither was any of the flesh, which they sacrificed the first day at even, remain all night until the morning.
It will be observed therefore that the final two verses describing the Passover actually pass over into the Feast of Sevens Yet it is also clear that they closely connect with Deuteronomy 16:1-6, which they assume. The passage goes on smoothly, but there is here at this point the flicker of a movement on in the mind of the speaker, rather than in Deuteronomy 16:9. (We must beware of allowing our division into sections to make us think that Moses was preaching in sections. He was not. Thus could he have two chiasmi where the subjects run into each other).
‘ Observe the month of Abib, and keep the passover to Yahweh your God, for in the month of Abib Yahweh your God brought you out of Egypt by night. And you shall sacrifice the passover to Yahweh your God, of the flock and the herd, in the place which Yahweh shall choose, to cause his name to dwell there.'
The Passover was observed on 14th of Abib but no mention of that is made here. Nor are the other feasts specifically dated. Moses did not want to state the obvious. This is a further indication of Mosaic ‘authorship'. A later writer would probably have felt it necessary to date the events more specifically. ‘Observe the month --' may signify all the different religious days in it, thus the opening new moon day on the 1st of Abib, the setting aside of the lambs/kids on the 10th, and the weekly Sabbaths, as well as Passover itself including the feast of unleavened bread with its special sabbaths on the opening and closing days. The whole month was seen as important because it was the month of deliverance, and Moses wanted it to be well remembered.
The Passover night, with the lamb (or kid) having been slain towards evening, was itself a feast of remembrance as through the night they partook of the lamb along with bitter herbs and unleavened bread and during it would go through the question and answer ritual connected with the Passover (Exodus 12:26-27). It was a reminder of how Yahweh had brought them out of Egypt ‘by night', that is, in dark times.
“And you shall sacrifice the passover to Yahweh your God, of the flock and the herd, in the place which Yahweh shall choose, to cause his name to dwell there.” But there had been, or was now to be, a change in the pattern. On the actual Passover night the lambs had been slain within the houses and the blood put on the doorposts. Now the sacrificing of the Passover lambs was to take place at ‘the place which God shall choose, to cause His name to dwell there'. Leaving their homes they were all to come together to sacrifice in His presence, at the place to which He Himself had chosen to come and dwell. He wanted to be a part with them in their celebrations, and they were His sons (Deuteronomy 14:1) gathered at His earthly home. But it would still also be a family affair for the actual eating would take place in households gathered around the sanctuary in the place of Yahweh's choice. There is no mention of priestly participation, but they would almost certainly apply the blood to the altar.
In fact this alteration of the Passover celebration was necessary so that the seven days that followed could be one of the triad of feasts at the Central Sanctuary.
We note here, however, that ‘the sacrifice' mentioned in the verse was to be ‘from the flock and from the herd'. This was different from the Passover offering which was to be a lamb or kid. Was this then a change in the ritual? The fact is that this is probably not intended to indicate that the specific Passover sacrifice could be an ox bull instead of a lamb, it rather probably means that by the phrase ‘sacrificing the Passover' Moses is indicating all the offerings and sacrifices that would take place over the eight days of the Passover, which would include both ox bulls and lambs.
This would seem to be confirmed by Deuteronomy 16:3 which indicates that ‘keep the Passover' is seen as including the whole seven days of the feast that follows. The whole was to be observed ‘to Yahweh their God', that is in honour of Him, in recognition of Him and in accordance with what He had laid down. For details see Exodus 12; Exodus 23:14-17; Leviticus 23:5-8; Numbers 28:16-25.
‘ You shall eat no leavened bread with it; seven days shall you eat unleavened bread with it, even the bread of affliction, for you came forth out of the land of Egypt in fearful haste, that you may remember the day when you came forth out of the land of Egypt all the days of your life.'
“With it”, that is with ‘the sacrifice of the Passover' they were to eat no leavened bread, and ‘with it' they were to eat unleavened bread for seven days. If they can eat unleavened bread ‘with it' for seven days (and the Passover sacrifice's remains must not be kept once morning breaks of Passover night) this seems to confirm that ‘sacrificing the Passover' covers all the sacrifices over the eight days (note also ‘the first day at even' in verse 4 which suggests that the whole feast was seen as one). Compare 2 Chronicles 35:1-19 where keeping of the Passover also included both feasts, the whole being called ‘Passover'. The unleavened bread was a symbol of the speed and anxiety with which they had left Egypt ‘in fearful haste' without having time to leaven the bread, but was also to be seen as ‘the bread of affliction', suggesting that in some way their bondage had meant that they regularly had to use unleavened bread. All this was to be repeated yearly so that they would remember that day when they came out of Egypt all their lives.
Besides the actual memorial there was behind this much symbolism beyond that which has been mentioned. Leaven was a symbol of corruption, which was why it was excluded from grain offerings, and the removal of all leaven from the whole country was therefore a symbol of the need for them to be free from corruption. Even those who could not come to the feast had to observe the prohibition of leaven.
It is very possible that the feast of unleavened bread was already an ancient feast, probably in that case going back to the time of the patriarchs in Canaan, for they would unquestionably have celebrated religious feasts at different important times of the year as all their neighbours did, both to celebrate lambing and to celebrate harvests of various kinds, and once established these would have carried on through the centuries in the old way even though the move to Egypt resulted in different seasons. People did not easily relinquish old customs which were treasured and passed on from one generation to another. And the full moon feast in the month of Abib was probably one such. There is, however, no evidence for this, and no hint in the records of it (lambing was not at this time in the Ancient Near East). Whether the same was true of Passover is debatable. That was probably a new addition to an old feast because of the night of deliverance, but opinions differ even on that (although it is all simply educated guesswork).
“Seven days.” The ‘seven day' feast was a regular concept, for ‘seven' emphasised its divine perfection. This feast was in total for seven and a bit days (the afternoon of the 14th to the eve of the 21st), described as ‘seven' for the reason mentioned. The feast of Tabernacles was also a seven day feast.
‘ And there shall be no leaven seen with you in all your borders seven days, neither shall any of the flesh, which you sacrifice the first day at even, remain all night until the morning.'
Indeed all leaven was to be excluded from all dwellings within their borders for ‘seven days', and no flesh of the Passover lamb, which was sacrificed in the ‘evening' (mid-afternoon before twilight) of the first day and consumed during the night, must remain until the morning of the 15th. It must either all be eaten or burned with fire (Exodus 12:10). This last was because of its holiness, and because it must all be connected with ‘that day'. Burning with fire took it to Yahweh.
‘ You may not sacrifice the passover within any of your gates, which Yahweh your God gives you, but at the place which Yahweh your God shall choose, to cause his name to dwell in, there you shall sacrifice the passover at even, at the going down of the sun, at the season that you came forth out of Egypt.'
It is stressed again that they must not sacrifice the Passover in their own cities or towns ‘given to them by Yahweh', but must sacrifice it at the place which Yahweh their God has chosen as the place where His name might dwell. It must be sacrificed before Him and enjoyed in His presence. The clear purpose here is that the feast would be a perpetual living again of that night of deliverance lived out in the very presence of Yahweh, their Overlord.
Note the emphasis on the fact that their cities will have been given to them by Yahweh (Deuteronomy 16:5). Some in Transjordan have already been received. Thus the deliverance of the Passover will have finally resulted in full possession of the land. They would have much to celebrate.
If these details were written as a guide to keeping the Passover ‘week' it fails miserably. No attention is paid at all to the offerings and sacrifices. But as part of a speech involving the people in the Passover celebrations it is admirable. It describes their part totally satisfactorily.
For us who are Christians it is a reminder that we look to a greater Passover lamb and a greater deliverance. We too must rid ourselves of all leaven, of all that corrupts and defiles (1 Corinthians 5:8). We too look to the Passover Lamb, the One Who died for us (1 Corinthians 5:7). We too celebrate it by gathering with Him through His blood at the Father's dwellingplace, although ours is in Heaven (Hebrews 8:1-2; Hebrews 9:11-14; Hebrews 10:19-25).