FEAST

Leviticus 7:15

When you offer an animal to ask a blessing from me or to thank me, the meat belongs to you, but it must be eaten the same day.

Ok, I get that this feels like an obscure place to draw inspiration. Leviticus is not often going to be at the top of the list of favorite books of the bible. It can be really dry & feel like a lot of weird rules about what to do or not do. But I want to use this single verse to pull a thread in another book. 

Let's camp out here, briefly. 

Leviticus 7 drops us into a list of the ways God's people can honor Him with offerings of food or harvest. This verse is pretty self-explanatory: when God's people want to say “Please” or “Thank you,” they do it by bringing an animal to be sacrificed before the Lord, then eaten as a meal the same day. 

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Sidebar: the Old Testament is bloody and can seem very raw to modern readers. Take a deep breath and just hang with me. Let's be thankful we exist on the other side of the cross of Jesus Christ. That brutality did away with all the rest of the sacrifices.

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If we dig down into this moment, this is what we see: an action that requires a heart posture of request or gratefulness toward Yahweh. This reflects the recognition that He is the Giver of all things. One recognizes the gift, one requests the gift. 

In both cases, the one who comes to Yahweh is required to bring an animal to be prepared as a meal. The key phrase I want to point to in this verse is the command to eat this animal as a meal the same day. 

Put a pin in that for our next passage. 

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Now let's jump to a segment of the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy. 

Deuteronomy 14:22‐26 brings us into a section talking about tithing. That’s a church-y word that simply means what you give to God through a place of worship. Let’s dig in to these verses and find out what we can learn about what God is requesting of His people.

Verse 22-23: People of Israel, every year you must set aside ten percent of your grain harvest. Also set aside ten percent of your wine and olive oil, and the first-born of every cow, sheep, and goat. Take these to the place where the Lord chooses to be worshiped, and eat them there. This will teach you to always respect the Lord your God. 

Here, God tells His people that they are to give ten percent of all they have. (You may recognize this as it relates to the word tithe which literally means a tenth.) As an agricultural society, this would be represented in animals and produce. When animals were born, one in ten of them were to go to the temple of the Lord. When they harvested their crops, a tenth of the yield was set aside to go to the temple of the Lord. When they turned grapes into wine, a tenth of the vintage was to go to the temple of the Lord. 

Imagine the quantity of animals and crops that would be transported for an entire year! That could be a massive amount of goods that would need to be moved to another town in Israel; wherever the Lord established His place of worship. In time, this place would be Jerusalem. The Israelites would bring quantities of crops and herds to a single town–and they were told to eat it there together. 

There are no differences for those who have much or those who have little. These are God's people and He says if they follow His standards, He will bless them. Everyone will have a harvest. Everyone will have an offering. Everyone can bring a tenth of what they earn in a year. This promotes respect for Yahweh as the Source of any increase.

Verse 24-25: But suppose you can't carry that ten percent of your harvest to the place where the Lord chooses to be worshiped. If you live too far away, or if the Lord gives you a big harvest, then sell this part and take the money there instead.

These verses establish provision for those who live too far from Jerusalem, who would have difficulties driving livestock or transporting produce to a distant city. For these Israelites, they could sell their goods, instead, and take the money to God’s temple. So rather than arriving with wagon loads and animal trains, they arrived with full purses. 

Notice that this will not allow them to consume their feast in Jerusalem. But that brings us to the next verse.

Verse 26: When you and your family arrive, spend the money on food for a big celebration. Buy cattle, sheep, goats, wine, beer, and if there are any other kinds of food that you want, buy those too. 

Here we go! There is still provision for a feast. Whatever kind of food they want, whatever kind of beverages they want. God’s people are directed to host a “big celebration” in Jerusalem, in the presence of Yahweh, at the place where He will be worshipped. 

Verse 27: And since people of the Levi tribe won't own any land for growing crops, remember to ask the Levites to celebrate with you.

God’s people are told: Be sure you invite those who aren’t otherwise provided for. The Levites are the priests who live & serve Yahweh at the temple in Jerusalem. Since they are responsible for the daily temple activities, they do not have property where they can plant and tend crops or time to grow livestock or harvest agriculture. But they will still get to participate in the celebration before the Lord, because the people of Yahweh will provide for them.

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When we look at this passage in Deuteronomy through the lens of Leviticus 7:15, we see that God is establishing a tradition of feasting in His presence. Consider that an Israelite who offers a single cow will likely have 300-400 pounds of beef. A sheep or a goat will equal maybe 40-80 pounds of meat. That is A LOT of food! Also consider that this is what an Israelite brings every time they want to make a request or celebrate a blessing with thankfulness to Yahweh.

This starts to sound like a party!

When the Israelites bring their tithe to the temple, they are required to eat it together at a time when other Israelites are doing the same thing. This is a time for the Israelites to come together with loved ones and new friends, to invite those who don't have as much to come join the celebration.

Friends this is a FEAST.

This is a chance to celebrate Yahweh and His bounty through gathering together. It's a chance to thank Him for His goodness and generosity. It's a time to gather and support one another through prayer and lift requests to the Giver of the food they are in the act of consuming. This is directional, purposeful celebration.

Can you picture this moment of joy? The moment of community support? The moment of reaching out to one another and to a God who is big enough to provide a full table? I can see that table, dishes empty and bellies full. I see conversation and laughter and connection. I see a generous table surrounded by generous people exhibiting generous hospitality.

I can see this picture in my mind's eye because I've lived it. I've been a guest at tables that were either bountiful or lean, but the attitude is one of joy and thanksgiving. When John and I were very new at our church, we were welcomed to more than one family's table where the food was abundant and the conversation was joyful. When I was a child my family ate Sunday dinners with my grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins more often than not. It was always a feast, both for the body and for the spirit.

What do all of these feasts have in common?

A kind and generous God who simply requests that we feast with Him. I include my memories of feasting here because this invitation is still open to all of us today. We can dig in to these Old Testament verses and learn about the heart of God. He's still the same for us now as He was for the Israelites then.

The same God wants to be invited in. He wants us to invite others. He wants us to celebrate His goodness. When we do that, others get to see our commitment to Him, our reliance on Him. Others see our conviction that what we have comes from a God who is big enough to take on our requests and who also revels with us in the blessings He gives.

This is an invitation!

Come to the feast and celebrate because GOD. IS. GOOD.