Pray Thru the Bible

God Speaks

 “In honor of the Lord your God, celebrate the Passover each year in the early spring, in the month of Abib, for that was the month in which the Lord your God brought you out of Egypt by night. ² Your Passover sacrifice may be from either the flock or the herd, and it must be sacrificed to the Lord your God at the designated place of worship—the place he chooses for his name to be honored. ³ Eat it with bread made without yeast. For seven days the bread you eat must be made without yeast, as when you escaped from Egypt in such a hurry. Eat this bread—the bread of suffering—so that as long as you live you will remember the day you departed from Egypt. ⁴ Let no yeast be found in any house throughout your land for those seven days. And when you sacrifice the Passover lamb on the evening of the first day, do not let any of the meat remain until the next morning.

⁵ “You may not sacrifice the Passover in just any of the towns that the Lord your God is giving you. ⁶ You must offer it only at the designated place of worship—the place the Lord your God chooses for his name to be honored. Sacrifice it there in the evening as the sun goes down on the anniversary of your exodus from Egypt. ⁷ Roast the lamb and eat it in the place the Lord your God chooses. Then you may go back to your tents the next morning. ⁸ For the next six days you may not eat any bread made with yeast. On the seventh day proclaim another holy day in honor of the Lord your God, and no work may be done on that day.

⁹ “Count off seven weeks from when you first begin to cut the grain at the time of harvest. ¹⁰ Then celebrate the Festival of Harvest to honor the Lord your God. Bring him a voluntary offering in proportion to the blessings you have received from him. ¹¹ This is a time to celebrate before the Lord your God at the designated place of worship he will choose for his name to be honored. Celebrate with your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, the Levites from your towns, and the foreigners, orphans, and widows who live among you. ¹² Remember that you were once slaves in Egypt, so be careful to obey all these decrees.

¹³ “You must observe the Festival of Shelters for seven days at the end of the harvest season, after the grain has been threshed and the grapes have been pressed. ¹⁴ This festival will be a happy time of celebrating with your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levites, foreigners, orphans, and widows from your towns. ¹⁵ For seven days you must celebrate this festival to honor the Lord your God at the place he chooses, for it is he who blesses you with bountiful harvests and gives you success in all your work. This festival will be a time of great joy for all.

¹⁶ “Each year every man in Israel must celebrate these three festivals: the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Harvest, and the Festival of Shelters. On each of these occasions, all men must appear before the Lord your God at the place he chooses, but they must not appear before the Lord without a gift for him. ¹⁷ All must give as they are able, according to the blessings given to them by the Lord your God.

¹⁸ “Appoint judges and officials for yourselves from each of your tribes in all the towns the Lord your God is giving you. They must judge the people fairly. ¹⁹ You must never twist justice or show partiality. Never accept a bribe, for bribes blind the eyes of the wise and corrupt the decisions of the godly. ²⁰ Let true justice prevail, so you may live and occupy the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

²¹ “You must never set up a wooden Asherah pole beside the altar you build for the Lord your God. ²² And never set up sacred pillars for worship, for the Lord your God hates them.

Source: New Living Translation: BibleGateway.com

We Respond

Reflection: Consider the following questions regarding Deuteronomy 16:

1. What does this chapter tell me about God?

2. What does this chapter tell me about the human beings He created?

Here is one possible answer to each of these questions. Ask the Holy Spirit if there are any others for you personally to ponder.  

1. God wants His people to remember and be grateful; thus, He established the three holy days of Passover, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Booths. 

2. People need rituals and routines to help them to remember and to be grateful.

Prayer:

3. How might I pray regarding Deuteronomy 16?  

Dear LORD God who directs His people to remember and celebrate, I am grateful that You, Jesus, ransomed me out of slavery to sin, self, and Satan. Now, Holy Spirit, help me to follow God’s instructions to rejoice in the midst of all circumstances. I realize that the best way for me to express my gratitude is how I reach out to help others be happy and provided for or protected. Thank You, Jesus, for being the ultimate Passover sacrifice. You made it possible for God the Father to exercise justice and then extend compassion to all human beings (myself included). I determine to rejoice before You, LORD, at special times like the feasts of trumpets, harvest, or booths. I pledge to give or do whatever I can to help my spouse, my sons and daughters, male and female servants, religious workers, civil servants, sojourners, the fatherless, and widows be happy as well. Please expose all corruption and bring evildoers to justice. You declare that vengeance belongs to You, and You will repay. You alone, LORD God, are to be worshiped and revered. Glory to Your holy name. AMEN

Action: (Ask God, the Holy Spirit, if He wants you to work on one of the suggestions below or something else more personal that He points out.)

4. What action does the LORD want me to take in response to Deuteronomy 16?

• I will read The Rational Passover Haggadah by Dennis Prager to better understand how and why Passover is celebrated.
• I will investigate how and why the Feast of Weeks and the Feast of Booths are celebrated and participate in them as a guest if possible.
• If or when I am called to serve on a jury, I will search for the truth in the case in order to apply justice, not sympathize with the alleged victim or perpetrator or to exercise compassion.
• I will examine my own religious routines to see where I might be syncretizing (combining with Christianity) any ungodly practices.

Share: I plan to share what I’ve learned with __________.