Exodus 23:14-17

Exodus 23:14-17

[14] Three  times  thou shalt keep a feast  unto me in the year.  [15] Thou shalt keep  the feast  of unleavened bread:  (thou shalt eat  unleavened bread  seven  days,  as I commanded  thee, in the time appointed  of the month  Abib;  for in it thou camest out  from Egypt:  and none shall appear  before  me empty:)  [16] And the feast  of harvest,  the firstfruits  of thy labours,  which thou hast sown  in the field:  and the feast  of ingathering,  which is in the end  of the year,  when thou hast gathered  in thy labours  out of the field.  [17] Three  times  in the year  all thy males  shall appear  before  GOD. 

What does Exodus 23:14-17 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

All the male Israelites had to make a pilgrimage to the sanctuary (tabernacle) three times a year for the feasts of Unleavened Bread, Firstfruits (Weeks, Pentecost), and Ingathering (Booths, Tabernacles). Women and children would have normally accompanied the males. This requirement fostered the maintenance of the national and social unity of the12tribes as well as their spiritual unity.