Key Verses: Deuteronomy 16:3, 16:17, 16:20
Moses reviews the three annual pilgrimage feasts at which all Israel gathers before the LORD at the chosen place: Passover and Unleavened Bread, commemorating the exodus; the Feast of Weeks, celebrating the harvest; and the Feast of Booths, rejoicing in God’s provision. At each, the people are to remember, rejoice, and give “as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD your God that he has given you,” including the Levite, sojourner, orphan, and widow in their joy. The chapter then turns to the appointment of judges and officers in every town, with the ringing charge: “Justice, and only justice, you shall follow, that you may live and inherit the land.”
The feasts bind Israel together in shared remembrance and joy, gathering the whole nation around the acts of God — redemption, provision, and presence — and drawing even the poor and the stranger into the celebration. Worship in Deuteronomy is festive and generous, overflowing in gratitude. The abrupt turn to justice reveals that right worship of God cannot be separated from righteousness in society: the God who is worshiped at the feasts demands impartial justice in the courts, forbidding bribery and partiality. “Justice, justice you shall pursue” stands as one of Scripture’s great charges, tying the health of the nation and its continued possession of the land to the doing of what is right — a concern the prophets take up and Jesus fulfills as the righteous King.
Key Terms & Words:
- חַג (chag) - Deuteronomy 16:10 - “Feast”; the pilgrimage festivals kept before the LORD
- צֶדֶק צֶדֶק (tsedeq tsedeq) - Deuteronomy 16:20 - “Justice, justice”; the emphatic pursuit of righteousness
- תִּרְדֹּף (tirdof) - Deuteronomy 16:20 - “You shall pursue”; actively follow after justice
Cross-References:
- Exodus 23:14-17 - The three annual feasts commanded
- Leviticus 23:1-44 - The full calendar of appointed feasts
- Deuteronomy 16:19 - Forbidding bribery and partiality in judgment
- Amos 5:24 - “Let justice roll down like waters”
Discussion Questions:
- How do the feasts bind Israel together in remembrance and joy?
- Why is the poor and the stranger’s inclusion in the celebration significant?
- Why does the pursuit of justice sit right alongside the worship of the feasts?