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Exodus 11

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1 And Jehovah saith unto Moses, `One plague more I do bring in on Pharaoh, and on Egypt, afterwards he doth send you away from this; when he is sending you away, he surely casteth you out altogether from this [place];

2 speak, I pray thee, in the ears of the people, and they ask -- each man from his neighbour, and each woman from her neighbour, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold.'

3 And Jehovah giveth the grace of the people in the eyes of the Egyptians; also the man Moses [is] very great in the land of Egypt, in the eyes of the servants of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of the people.

4 And Moses saith, `Thus said Jehovah, About midnight I am going out into the midst of Egypt,

5 and every first-born in the land of Egypt hath died, from the first-born of Pharaoh who is sitting on his throne, unto the first-born of the maid-servant who [is] behind the millstones, and all the first-born of beasts;

6 and there hath been a great cry in all the land of Egypt, such as there hath not been, and such as there is not again.

7 `And against all the sons of Israel a dog sharpeneth not its tongue, from man even unto beast, so that ye know that Jehovah doth make a separation between the Egyptians and Israel;

8 and all these thy servants have come down unto me, and bowed themselves to me, saying, Go out, thou and all the people who [are] at thy feet; and afterwards I do Go out;' -- and he goeth out from Pharaoh in the heat of anger.

9 And Jehovah saith unto Moses, `Pharaoh doth not hearken unto you, so as to multiply My wonders in the land of Egypt;'

10 and Moses and Aaron have done all these wonders before Pharaoh, and Jehovah strengtheneth Pharaoh's heart, and he hath not sent the sons of Israel out of his land.

   

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Feast

  
The Peasant Feast, detail from tapestry at the Château d'Ussé

There are two kinds of feasts mentioned in the Bible. Some were held to commemorate specific, one-time events, such as the feast Abraham held to celebrate the birth of Isaac. Others are commanded of the people of Israel as annual or repeated events. In general, the one-time feasts represent a conjunction of two spiritual states. We are, for instance, called on to bring our external lives -- what we do and think on a day-to-day basis -- into conjunction with the internal beliefs we hold in the Lord and his desires for good for us. At the times we succeed in doing that, we can experience a sense of joy and fullness that brings to mind a feast. The prescribed feasts represent the joy we can feel in worshiping the Lord -- both in ritual acts of worship and also the worship we offer when we live according to His commandments. These are fitting meanings, both because feasts are joyful and festive and also because of the spiritual meaning of food and drink. Food represents the desire for good, which ultimately comes to us from the Lord. Drink represents the true ideas that help us know what good is and how to act on it. Feasting involves acquiring large quantities of both, which is certainly a joyful thing.