Deuteronomy 16 explained: Three Feasts and Fair Judges

Passover and flat bread (vv. 1-8)

In spring, Israel was to remember its night escape from slavery in Egypt with a sacrifice and seven days of bread made without yeast, a reminder of leaving too fast for dough to rise. Christians read Jesus, who died at Passover time, as the true Passover lamb.

Festival of Weeks (vv. 9-12)

Seven weeks after the grain harvest began, people brought a thank offering sized to how well their year had gone. The feast included servants, Levites (the priestly tribe, who owned no farmland), foreigners, orphans and widows, because Israel had once been slaves too.

Festival of Tabernacles (vv. 13-15)

After the final harvest of grain and grapes, people celebrated for a week, and other laws say they lived in simple shelters to recall their years in the wilderness. The stress falls on joy, again shared with the poor and outsiders.

Three trips a year (vv. 16-17)

Men were to travel to the central place of worship for all three feasts, later understood to be Jerusalem. Each brought a gift in proportion to what he had.

Honest judges (vv. 18-20)

Every town needed judges and officers, who usually held court at the town gate, the public meeting spot. Bribes and favoritism were banned because they blind even wise people, and fair courts are tied to the nation's survival.

No rival sacred objects (vv. 21-22)

An Asherah pole was a wooden post honoring a Canaanite goddess, and a sacred stone was a standing pillar used in local worship. Neither was allowed beside the altar of the LORD, keeping Israel's worship separate from these other cults.

Key verse: Deuteronomy 16:11

Where Christians differ

Readers differ on what the repeated phrase "the place the LORD will choose" meant: some take it as pointing to Jerusalem from the start, while others think it allowed for different central sanctuaries over time, such as Shiloh before Jerusalem.

Something to think about

This chapter ties celebration to remembering a hard past and to making room for people on the margins. Does remembering hard times make joy deeper or harder for you?