Deuteronomy: At Journey's EndSample

‘Thy Presence makes the feast’

When Charles Wesley sang, ‘Thy Presence makes the Feast,’ he might well have derived the thought from Deuteronomy 16. Out of all the feasts of the Lord (cf. Lev. 23), Moses concentrated on the great trio of those of the Passover, Weeks and Tabernacles, uniting them around the common demand that they be celebrated at the place the Lord chooses (vv. 2, 6, 7, 11, 15, 16). 

Particularly, perhaps, in the case of the Passover, which at its foundational celebration was totally domestic (Ex. 12), there might have been a tendency, in Canaan, to keep the feast at home. According to Moses, though, obedience is at stake: the Lord has a chosen place; do as he says. In the sterling words of John Calvin, ‘Worship must be conformable to the will of God as its unerring standard.’ And only at the chosen place was there a guarantee of divine presence – his name is there (Deut. 16:2, 6, 11). Surely this should be our central concern – the contentment of the Lord to be among us, and the abhorrence and banishment of anything in us individually or collectively that is offensive to his holy presence. Is not this why Scripture calls us to self-examination before coming to the Lord’s Supper (1 Cor. 11:28)? 

This central trio of feasts offers a pictorial view of the focal points of worship: 

Passover (Deut. 16:1–8) looks back to our once-for-all redemption. 

The Feast of Weeks (vv. 9–12) rejoices in the present gifts of God – its New Testament emphasis rests on the gift of the Holy Spirit, its Old Testament emphasis rested on the gift of the law (cf. v. 12). 

As to the Feast of Tabernacles (vv. 13–15), Deuteronomy presents the requirement to live in ramshackle ‘booths’ (Lev. 23:40–42) – a recollection of wilderness vulnerability, divine provision, safety and safe homecoming – but its timing underlines consummation, with the harvest home and ‘gathered’ (Deut. 16:13). It makes us look forward to the Second Coming and the final great gathering of the whole redeemed people.

Reflection

The scroll the Lamb holds in his hand (Rev. 5:6–7) is the book of life (Rev. 21:27): the list of all who have been redeemed by his blood; given to the Son by the Father (John 6:39–40); who rejoice that their names are written in heaven (Luke 10:20); his elect for whom he will one day send out his angels (Mark 13:27); and those who will meet him in the air when he comes again (1 Thes. 4:17).