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Exodus 23:14-17

King James Version (KJV)

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— D.L. Moody

Scripture focus

14. Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year. 15. Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread: (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt: and none shall appear before me empty:) 16. And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering, [which is] in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field. 17. Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord GOD.

Exodus 23:14-17 — KJV

Commentary

Commentary on Exodus 23:14

Theological / Devotional

Three times. Verses 14–17 record the law of sacred festivals. All the ancient heathen religions had annual festive seasons commemorating the supposed beneficence of their gods. Assembling together in large gatherings, the people inspired and cheered one another to greater devotion and heartier thanksgiving than at other times. Such festivals were frequent in Egypt and held an important place in religious life.

Abraham’s family probably celebrated occasions of this kind in Mesopotamia, and the Lord now sanctioned these three feasts as a stimulus to piety. These feasts were: (1) to be at once agricultural and historical, connected with the course of the seasons and also with great events in the life of the nation; (2) to be observed only at one place, where the tabernacle was situated; (3) to be attended by the entire male population (v. 17; see on Lev. 23:2).

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