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Deuteronomy 16

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1 `Observe the month of Abib -- and thou hast made a passover to Jehovah thy God, for in the month of Abib hath Jehovah thy God brought thee out of Egypt by night;

2 and thou hast sacrificed a passover to Jehovah thy God, of the flock, and of the herd, in the place which Jehovah doth choose to cause His name to tabernacle there.

3 `Thou dost not eat with it any fermented thing, seven days thou dost eat with it unleavened things, bread of affliction; for in haste thou hast come out of the land of Egypt; so that thou dost remember the day of thy coming out of the land of Egypt all days of thy life;

4 and there is not seen with thee leaven in all thy border seven days, and there doth not remain of the flesh which thou dost sacrifice at evening on the first day till morning.

5 `Thou art not able to sacrifice the passover within any of thy gates which Jehovah thy God is giving to thee,

6 except at the place which Jehovah thy God doth choose to cause His name to tabernacle -- there thou dost sacrifice the passover in the evening, at the going in of the sun, the season of thy coming out of Egypt;

7 and thou hast cooked and eaten in the place on which Jehovah thy God doth fix, and hast turned in the morning, and gone to thy tents;

8 six days thou dost eat unleavened things, and on the seventh day [is] a restraint to Jehovah thy God; thou dost do no work.

9 `Seven weeks thou dost number to thee; from the beginning of the sickle among the standing corn thou dost begin to number Seven weeks,

10 and thou hast made the feast of weeks to Jehovah thy God, a tribute of a free-will offering of thy hand, which thou dost give, as Jehovah thy God doth bless thee.

11 And thou hast rejoiced before Jehovah thy God, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy man-servant, and thy handmaid, and the Levite who [is] within thy gates, and the sojourner, and the fatherless, and the widow, who [are] in thy midst, in the place which Jehovah thy God doth choose to cause His name to tabernacle there,

12 and thou hast remembered that a servant thou hast been in Egypt, and hast observed and done these statutes.

13 `The feast of booths thou dost make for thee seven days, in thine in-gathering of thy threshing-floor, and of thy wine-vat;

14 and thou hast rejoiced in thy feast, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy man-servant, and thy handmaid, and the Levite, and the sojourner, and the fatherless, and the widow, who [are] within thy gates.

15 Seven days thou dost feast before Jehovah thy God, in the place which Jehovah doth choose, for Jehovah thy God doth bless thee in all thine increase, and in every work of thy hands, and thou hast been only rejoicing.

16 `Three times in a year doth every one of thy males appear before Jehovah thy God in the place which He doth choose -- in the feast of unleavened things, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of booths; and they do not appear before Jehovah empty;

17 each according to the gift of his hand, according to the blessing of Jehovah thy God, which He hath given to thee.

18 `Judges and authorities thou dost make to thee within all thy gates which Jehovah thy God is giving to thee, for thy tribes; and they have judged the people -- a righteous judgment.

19 Thou dost not turn aside judgment; thou dost not discern faces, nor take a bribe, for the bribe blindeth the eyes of the wise, and perverteth the words of the righteous.

20 Righteousness -- Righteousness thou dost pursue, so that thou livest, and hast possessed the land which Jehovah thy God is giving to thee.

21 `Thou dost not plant for thee a shrine of any trees near the altar of Jehovah thy God, which thou makest for thyself,

22 and thou dost not raise up to thee any standing image which Jehovah thy God is hating.

   

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Arcana Coelestia # 9294

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9294. 'And the feast of the harvest of the firstfruits of [your] labours, which you have sown in the field' means worship of the Lord and thanksgiving on account of the implanting of truth in that good. This is clear from the meaning of 'the feast' as worship of the Lord and thanksgiving, dealt with above in 9286, 9287; from the meaning of 'the harvest' as truth when it becomes fruitful, thus its implantation in good; from the meaning of 'the firstfruits (or the beginnings) of labours' as the things which come at the end of instruction and at the start of life, dealt with below; from the meaning of 'sowing' as giving instruction, dealt with in 9272; and from the meaning of 'the field' as the Church in respect of good, and so the Church's good, dealt with in 2971, 3500, 3766, 7502, 9139, 9141. From these meanings it is evident that 'the feast of the harvest of the firstfruits of labours, which you have sown in the field' means worship of the Lord and thanksgiving because truth has been planted in good.

[2] The fact that these things are meant by this second feast is clear from what has been stated above in 9286, namely that three feasts were established on account of people's deliverance from damnation, thus on account of their regeneration since it is through regeneration that a person is delivered from hell and brought to heaven. On this account the first feast, which was called the feast of unleavened bread, means purification from falsities; this second feast therefore means the planting of truth in good; and the third feast the implantation of good. For when a person is being regenerated he is first purified from falsities that arise from the evil of self-love and love of the world. That purification is accomplished by his being taught about evil, hell, and damnation, also about good, heaven, and eternal happiness, as a result of which he allows himself to be held back from evil deeds, intentions, and thoughts. When the ground has been prepared in that way, the truths of faith are sown in it, for they are not received before that. But the truths that are sown must be planted in good, for they have no ground anywhere else nor can they take root anywhere else. They are planted in good when a person wills truth, loves it, and does it. This state of regeneration or deliverance from damnation is meant by this feast, which is called 'the feast of the harvest of the firstfruits of labours', for 'the harvest' means truths when productive of good.

[3] When truths have been planted in good a person is no longer led by the Lord by means of truths but by means of good. This comes about when he wills good and does good from love and affection, that is, from charity. This state of regeneration or deliverance from damnation is meant by the third feast, which is called the feast of ingathering.

[4] These three feasts were also called the feast of Passover, the feast of weeks, and the feast of tabernacles; regarding these, see Exodus 34:18-22; Leviticus 23:1-end; Deuteronomy 16:1-end. By these three feasts the same things were represented as by the children of Israel being brought out of the land of Egypt, by their being brought into the land of Canaan, and by their dwelling in it. By the children of Israel being brought out of the land of Egypt the same thing was represented as by the first feast, called the Passover. This may be seen to be so from what has been shown regarding the Passover in 7093(end), 7867, 7995. For the bringing out of the children of Israel, on account of which that feast was established, meant the deliverance of those belonging to the spiritual Church from falsities by which they were molested, 7240, 7317, 9197.

[5] By the children of Israel being brought into the land of Canaan the same thing, namely the planting of truth in good, was represented as by this second feast, which was called 'the feast of the harvest of the firstfruits of labours' and also 'the feast of weeks'. For 'the land of Canaan' is the Church in respect of good, and so the Church's good, 1607, 3038, 3481, 3686, 3705, 4240, 4447, 4517, 5136, 6516, and 'the children of Israel' - in the abstract, without envisaging actual persons - are spiritual truths, 5414, 5879, 5951.

[6] By the dwelling of the children of Israel in the land of Canaan the same thing, namely the implantation of good and so life in heaven, was represented as by the third feast, which was called 'the feast of ingathering' of the fruits of the earth, and of ingathering from the threshing-floor and the press, also 'the feast of tabernacles'.

From all this it is now evident why three feasts were established, namely for the reason that the human race, which wishes to receive new life from the Lord, is brought out of hell and into heaven, which is accomplished by the Lord through His Coming into the world.

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.