“The Feast of Unleavened Bread you shall keep. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, in the appointed time of the month of Abib; for in the month of Abib you came out from Egypt” (Ex. 34:18).
Here is a repetition of several commands given previously, particularly those relating to Israel’s solemn feasts. When they had made the golden calf, they proclaimed a feast in honor of it. Now, so that they might never sin in that way again, God charged them with the observance of the feasts that He had instituted.
When we sin against the Lord, we are setting up something above Him to celebrate, be it ourselves, another god, another person, a habit, or an activity. Whatever it might be, we are saying to ourselves that this one thing, in that moment, is more important than our relationship with the Lord. And though we do not make a pagan feast as the Israelites did, we make a sinful feast in our heart wherein we celebrate the joy we think we derive from that which we have set above God.
The folly of this is that true joy, true feasting, can only come through a relationship with Jesus Christ. But we deceive ourselves as we think—at the moment when we choose to sin—that this thing will bring us greater happiness than anything else. We think that indulging the flesh will bring us greater joy than obeying the will of God. This is where sin is so deceptive. It promises happiness, joy, and feasting in the heart, but in the long run it only brings bitterness, pain, and emptiness. We think we are feasting on good things, but it is all an illusion, and we wake up one day to find ourselves starving.
True joy only comes in Christ. It is at His table that we are filled, and it is in His house that we find true, joyful, and abundant feasting. Instead of wasting our gifts, our time, our resources on things that have no lasting value or are a direct affront to the Lord, we should bring our resources to Christ, put them into His service, and use them for His glory. Only then will we know what it means truly to feast in the delights of heaven and to be filled with the fruit of righteousness.
Christ has promised that all we need is at His table. He has prepared an abundance of spiritual nourishment at His feast. Isaiah 25 tells us that on Mount Zion the needs of all the people will be satisfied, and there will be a feast “of rich food … a banquet of aged wine—the best of meats and the finest of wines.” Do not go to the world for fulfillment, and do not seek feasting in sin. Seek Christ, for He alone gives what is best and satisfies the hunger of your heart.
Where can you find fulfillment and spiritual nourishment? Are you trying to fill yourself with empty things, with things that don’t satisfy? Are you turning to sin, thinking it will meet the needs of your heart? Turn to Christ today, read His Word, pray for His Spirit to satisfy your soul with good things.
