May 13, 2019: Day 16 – Deuteronomy 16

In the past the celebration of Passover was a family affair done in the home.  This is the way that it is celebrated today, in homes.  But here Deuteronomy institutionalizes it and says that the Passover festival must be celebrated in the central place of worship, or as vs. 2 states: the place that the Lord will choose as a dwelling for his name.  The details of which we are somewhat familiar, the unleavened bread which is the highlight of it.   But again, in vs.5-6 we read that Deuteronomy forbids the Passover celebration from being celebrated at home, in the towns where you reside, but rather it became a communal collective event as they were required to celebrate it at the place that the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his name (vs.6).

We also read the instituting of the pilgrimage three times a year to this same place, remember, the place that the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his name.  To go along with the command to travel three times a year comes the reminder that judges are to be appointed who will render judgment for the people. There are a lot of commands that we are told to follow, but this one, “justice, and only justice, you shall pursue.”  This should stick and be significant.