11 and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God , you and your son and your daughter and your male and female servants e and the Levite who is in your town , and the stranger and the orphan and the widow who are in your midst , in the place where e the Lord your God chooses to establish His name . 12 " You shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt , and you shall be careful to observe these statutes . 13 " You shall celebrate the Feast of Booths seven days after you have gathered in from your threshing floor and your wine vat ; 14 and you shall rejoice in your feast , you and your son and your daughter and your male and female servants e and the Levite and the stranger and the orphan and the widow who are in your towns . 15 "Seven days you shall celebrate a feast to the Lord your God in the place which the Lord chooses , because the Lord your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands , so that you will be altogether joyful . 16 " Three times in a year all your males shall appear before the Lord your God in the place which He chooses , at the Feast of Unleavened Bread and at the Feast of Weeks and at the Feast of Booths , and they shall not appear before the Lord empty-handed .
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Deuteronomy 16:11-16
Commentary on Deuteronomy 16:1-17
(Read Deuteronomy 16:1-17)
The laws for the three yearly feasts are here repeated; that of the Passover, that of the Pentecost, that of Tabernacles; and the general law concerning the people's attendance. Never should a believer forget his low estate of guilt and misery, his deliverance, and the price it cost the Redeemer; that gratitude and joy in the Lord may be mingled with sorrow for sin, and patience under the tribulations in his way to the kingdom of heaven. They must rejoice in their receivings from God, and in their returns of service and sacrifice to him; our duty must be our delight, as well as our enjoyment. If those who were under the law must rejoice before God, much more we that are under the grace of the gospel; which makes it our duty to rejoice evermore, to rejoice in the Lord always. When we rejoice in God ourselves, we should do what we can to assist others also to rejoice in him, by comforting the mourners, and supplying those who are in want. All who make God their joy, may rejoice in hope, for He is faithful that has promised.