Party Time - Exodus 23:10-19

23:10-13 - Now we come to agricultural practices, which is interesting because at this point the Israelites are “wandering” in the wilderness for 40 years before settling in the promised land, so this begs the question, just how much planting and harvesting in the same area over a 7-year time frame were they doing? Because I don’t know. Anyway, the people were to “sow thy land” for six years, but in the 7th year “thou shalt let it rest and lie still.” I don’t know much about agriculture but I think that this is a well-recognized practice now, in order to preserve the nutrients in the soil. During the 7th year, “the poor of thy people may eat” which I don’t know if this is one of those ancient practices where poor people could go and collect whatever food sprang up naturally, or if they could use it to grow their own food. I’m not exactly sure. The work animals were also to follow the 6 days work/1 day rest cycle, just like people.

Additionally, there was to be not even any mention of other gods “heard out of thy mouth.” TB notes that this command was given because, like us, the ancient Hebrews were always looking for loopholes. He notes, “God was making it about as clear as it can get that Israelites were to have NOTHING to do or say about other gods. Period. And, no, there are no loopholes.” This might be difficult because the Hebrews just came from the land of Egypt where there were numerous other gods, and that religious culture might have played a big part of their ancient lives. Separating this part of their “adopted” heritage might have been a bigger problem than we can imagine it today, especially if it appealed to the more indulgent side of the human condition. It was harder to give up because people didn’t really want to give it up.

23:14-19 - Next, comes the instruction that “three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year.” The first feast is of “unleavened bread” as a remembrance of when God brought them out of Egypt. The second is a “feast of harvest” which is “the firstfruits of thy labors, which thou hast sown in the field.” And finally, the third feast is “the feast of ingathering, which is I the endo f the year.” Each of these 3 feasts are hallmarked by the need for “all thy males (to) appear before the Lord God.”

TB suggests that this is more than simply commanding celebrations, but also setting up the Hebrew calendar. He also notes “eventually God would set up 7 Feasts for Israel to celebrate, these 3 are special because as the word pilgrimage suggests the Israelites are to journey to a specific place to celebrate these feasts.” So the other 4 feasts that come late cane be celebrated where the people live, but these 3 need to involve the men going to wherever they think God is, and presenting themselves to Him. One thing that seems worthy of note here is that when these men present themselves to God, the implication is that they will present themselves are worthy and righteous.

TB notes that after settling in the land of Canaan, “they will be told to journey from wherever they might live to Jerusalem, home of the Temple, for these 3 feasts.” I wonder is this could be similar to the men being required to the temple now. They are supposed to present themselves to the Lord 3 times per year, showing they are obedient and worthy. Now, they are commanded to go to the temple, though not specified as 3 times a year, showing they are obedient and worthy. It seems like 3 times a year is frequent enough to keep God and worthiness in the forefront of their minds, but not so often that they neglect their family and agricultural duties. And it seems like these 3 pilgrimages are centered around the ending of harvest cycles, so there isn’t an interruption in the gathering of food.

The first feast, festival of unleavened bread or Matzah, “occurs in the spring,” maybe after planting. The second feast is known as “the Feast of Weeks… occurs 50 days following the Feast of Matzah and is to celebrate the 2nd harvest of the year.” And the 3rd pilgrimage if “the Feast of the Ingathering,… and represents the final ingathering, that is, the last of the harvest is taken in before winter begins.” They work hard, then party, and connect all their food and celebration with God and His blessings.

I can’t help but wonder if part of this isn’t God trying to help people make a the connection from “God = rules we have to follow that we don’t want to or else He will kill us” to “God = bounty and blessings and parties.” It’s like replacing a negative association with a positive one. Human connection is so important, it is not good for man to be alone, but this life can be brutal in that regard. I wonder if this is God’s way of connection fun with Him and it’s really kind of an interesting concept to think about because so much of my life and even now, it’s drudgery and pain and suffering and doom and gloom. But ultimately life isn’t meant to be like that and we can’t always help it because life is brutal and there’s so much suffering and trauma that we go through but maybe it’s God saying “I am fun, I am joy, I am positivity and happiness.” And the point is to just try to find it as much as we can or as much as we are able to, if possible.