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Meaning of The Feast of Harvest

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[Deuteronomy 16:10]

Then celebrate the Feast of Weeks to the LORD your God by giving a freewill offering

in proportion to the blessings the LORD your God has given you.

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In the Old Testament, God told the Israelites about the festivals

they should observe as God's people.

Among the seasons, the Passover, the feast of harvest, and the Tabernacle are

three of the most important seasons, also called the "Three Great Seasons" of Israel.

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These three festivals were commanded by God when God gave Moses the second

tablets of the Ten Commandments, and the Israelites must observe them.

Let’s read Exodus 34:23.

“Three times a year all your men are to appear before the Sovereign Lord,

the God of Israel.” (Ex 34:23, NIV)

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God promised a blessing to the people of Israel when they kept the appointed season.

“I will drive out nations before you and enlarge your territory, and no one will covet your land when you go up three times each year to appear before the Lord your od.”

(Ex 34:24, NIV)

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God told them to offer a gift when they kept this feast. and He commanded

them to worship God in His appointed place.

All the Israelites once again confessed that God is the master of all things,

keeping the feast of harvest.

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The first day of the beginning of the feast of harvest is called the first fruit harvest.

On this day, with the first harvest of wheat, the priest shook the harvest

from the temple and sacrificed to God.

The way to shake and give sacrifices is called the wave offering.

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They gave the first fruit harvest to God on the first harvest day

and kept the fifty days from that day on the Day of Pentecost.

On this day of Pentecost, they gave thanks to God's grace

for the harvest of wheat and offered sacred sacrifices.

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They made two breads made from freshly harvested wheat flour with yeast.

and they shook the bread to God and sacrificed it.

and they sacrificed seven sheep and a bull for a year, a burnt offering for a fire,

and two one-year-old rams, praying for the peace of all the people,

 and giving them to God as fellowship offerings.

The feast of harvest given by the Israelites is an expression of gratitude for God's love.

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God chose the people of Israel and loved them so much that he freed them

from the slavery of Egypt.

also, God gave them food from heaven, called ‘Manna’,

for the forty years they spent in the wilderness.

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Not only that, but God made the garments of the Israelites not to wear out.

and he did not wear shoes worn on their feet.

Let's read the Bible passages below.

“Yet the Lord says, “During the forty years that I led you through the wilderness,

your clothes did not wear out, nor did the sandals on your feet.”(Dt 29:5, NIV)

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Finally, they arrived safely in Canaan by the guidance of God.

God has taken care of the Israelites with love even after he came into Canaan.

God has helped me to make barley and wheat farming better by autumn and

spring rains in season.

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The God who spoke of keeping the feast of harvest, through keeping the season,

made the people of Israel know that they can live only by the grace of God.

The people of Israel looked back on the feast of harvest and gave thanks to God.

The fact that God is the one who fed them and made them live abundantly

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We, living in the New Testament age, need to know the secrets hidden

in the feast of harvest of Old Testament times.

First, the first fruit harvest day, the beginning of the feast of harvest,

coincides with the day our Jesus overcame death and resurrected.

This means that Jesus was the first fruit of the resurrection.

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The resurrected Jesus lived with His disciples for 40 days in the land and ascended.

As He ascended, he promised to send the Holy Spirit to them.

10 days after the ascension, the Holy Spirit came to this land.

that day coincides with the day of Pentecost, the end of the feast of harvest.

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In this very day of the feast of harvest there is another significance of the important gospel

that begins with the resurrection of Jesus and includes the Ascension

and the coming of the Holy Spirit.

So God has already planned all these things and told His people to value and keep this day.

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Today we are even more blessed people who are already living in a time

when Jesus has already come to fulfill this the feast of harvest.

Therefore, on this the feast of harvest Day, we must remember and thank God's

wonderful love and grace that He has given us for the past time.

We hope that all of our friends who believe in God will keep us and worship only God.

(This is the sample conclusion provided by CTM. Please feel free to change the conclusion to best suit the listeners of your sermon.)