Exodus 23:14-19

¹⁴ “Each year, three times you should keep a feast to me. ¹⁵ You should keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Just as I commanded you, you should eat only unleavened bread for seven days at the appointed time in the month of Abib, because in it you came out of Egypt. No one should appear before me empty-handed. ¹⁶ You should keep the Feast of Harvest, of the first picking of your crops, of what you sow in the field. You should keep the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in from the field the fruit of your work. ¹⁷ Three times in the year all your males should appear before the Lord GOD. ¹⁸ “You should not offer the blood of my sacrifice along with anything leavened, or let any fat of my feast be left over in the morning. ¹⁹ ” You should bring The best of the first picking of your ground crops into the house of the LORD your God. “You should not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.

celebrating provision

The community was responsible to celebrate God’s provision regularly. These regular feasts were means of testifying to the way the LORD took care of his people. They were opportunities to witness about God’s miraculous deliverance in Egypt, and his ongoing promise to keep providing for his people – celebrated twice a year. The firstfruits feast celebrated the promise in faith, and the ingathering feast celebrated the fulfillment of the promise.

All of the males in Israel were required to attend these regular celebrations. No one was to stay home because this way no one would be considered too important to take time off for celebration. The LORD was teaching his people that he was the indispensable element for the provision of all things.

Pagan practices were also particularly prohibited – of these, three are mentioned specifically as examples. No leaven is allowed, because it symbolizes the old ways in Egypt. No keeping of leftovers until the next day, because – after all – the people are celebrating God’s trustworthiness in providing for their needs. The practice of boiling a goat kid in it’s mother’s milk was (in addition top being cruel) practiced by the pagans as a means of manipulating the gods to ensure a fertile flock. The LORD will not be manipulated. Unlike the pagan gods, the LORD is willing and eager to provide – as long as he gets the credit for the provision.

LORD, thank you for faithfully providing for us. You are our deliverer and our sustainer.