Celebrating to Remember God's Work
In the Old Testament, God tells the nation of Israel to remember the marvelous works of God by celebrating. After 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, they find themselves poised to go into the promised land of Canaan and the Lord, through his servant Moses, gives them some final instructions: Celebrate!
Now, I love a party -- where there's people and food and fun -- I want to be a part of that. Most of us do. When people of the world party, they often do it to forget things or escape from reality! But God instructed his people to celebrate continually to remind them of important events in their past and the attributes of God. Moses instructs God's people (recorded in Deuteronomy 16) to celebrate three important celebrations:
(1) The Passover of the Lord your God. This was a very important celebration involving sacrifice and "food to go" or "take away/out food" (unleavened bread) to commemorate the incredible deliverance of the Lord and their miraculous departure from Egypt. They recalled the way the Spirit of the Lord passed through Egypt and took the life of the firstborn of everyone in Egypt but "passed over" the houses of the people of God who had prepared the sacrifice as specified and applied the blood of the lamb to their homes.
(2) The Feast of Weeks. This celebration was to marvel at the abundance and provision of the Lord in their harvest. They were to eat and give "freewill offerings in proportion to the blessings the Lord your God has given you." (16:10) Moses tells them, "Rejoice before the Lord!" (This may be a contrast to many of the faces we see on Sunday morning.) The whole object was to celebrate the goodness and blessing of the Lord and share it with all those around -- servants, Levites (vocational ministers), fatherless, widows, and aliens (from this planet). (16:11)
(3) The Feast of Tabernacles. The nation of Israel was to cut down branches from the woods and build shelters to live in for 7 days and stop their work to celebrate the sustaining power of God to keep them as He did in the wilderness for 40 years without homes. They were to bring offerings to the Lord and not appear "empty-handed" before the Lord (16:16). In celebrating this protection of the Lord, Moses instructs them again, "Be joyful at your feast!" (16:14) I just love that. It's as if he's saying, "Oh, and another thing -- don't you guys forget to have fun, have great fun and be thrilled to celebrate the goodness and greatness of our Lord!" We need some instructions like that sometimes, lest we forget.
God desires we celebrate His deliverance (the blood He shed for us on Calvary). God desires we celebrate His abundance and blessing (is there a people on this planet with more material wealth than we have?). God desires we remember and celebrate His sustenance and care through difficulty (we've all seen the hand of God up close).
ACTION POINT:
Take a moment to plan to use an upcoming holiday or break to fully celebrate God's provision, abundance or care for you and your family. Maybe you could celebrate all three -- but be joyful about it!
Now, I love a party -- where there's people and food and fun -- I want to be a part of that. Most of us do. When people of the world party, they often do it to forget things or escape from reality! But God instructed his people to celebrate continually to remind them of important events in their past and the attributes of God. Moses instructs God's people (recorded in Deuteronomy 16) to celebrate three important celebrations:
(1) The Passover of the Lord your God. This was a very important celebration involving sacrifice and "food to go" or "take away/out food" (unleavened bread) to commemorate the incredible deliverance of the Lord and their miraculous departure from Egypt. They recalled the way the Spirit of the Lord passed through Egypt and took the life of the firstborn of everyone in Egypt but "passed over" the houses of the people of God who had prepared the sacrifice as specified and applied the blood of the lamb to their homes.
(2) The Feast of Weeks. This celebration was to marvel at the abundance and provision of the Lord in their harvest. They were to eat and give "freewill offerings in proportion to the blessings the Lord your God has given you." (16:10) Moses tells them, "Rejoice before the Lord!" (This may be a contrast to many of the faces we see on Sunday morning.) The whole object was to celebrate the goodness and blessing of the Lord and share it with all those around -- servants, Levites (vocational ministers), fatherless, widows, and aliens (from this planet). (16:11)
(3) The Feast of Tabernacles. The nation of Israel was to cut down branches from the woods and build shelters to live in for 7 days and stop their work to celebrate the sustaining power of God to keep them as He did in the wilderness for 40 years without homes. They were to bring offerings to the Lord and not appear "empty-handed" before the Lord (16:16). In celebrating this protection of the Lord, Moses instructs them again, "Be joyful at your feast!" (16:14) I just love that. It's as if he's saying, "Oh, and another thing -- don't you guys forget to have fun, have great fun and be thrilled to celebrate the goodness and greatness of our Lord!" We need some instructions like that sometimes, lest we forget.
God desires we celebrate His deliverance (the blood He shed for us on Calvary). God desires we celebrate His abundance and blessing (is there a people on this planet with more material wealth than we have?). God desires we remember and celebrate His sustenance and care through difficulty (we've all seen the hand of God up close).
ACTION POINT:
Take a moment to plan to use an upcoming holiday or break to fully celebrate God's provision, abundance or care for you and your family. Maybe you could celebrate all three -- but be joyful about it!
posted by Minute for Eternity at
10:57 AM
