Celebrating the faithfulness of God the creator.

So often when we speak of God’s faithfulness we speak in terms of salvation and spirituality but our God is the one who created all things and sustains all things by his word of power. We need at times to stop and wonder at the diversity and artistic design of our creator.  When we look at the sea, rivers,hills, mountains, animals and birds do we not see much to praise God for. Then when we contemplate the individuality of each human being we see again the richness of God’s creative nature. It is interesting that that in OT te people of Israel were commanded to celebrate the harvest and they were to do it at the beginning of harvest and at its conclusion, these commands remind us that God cares about the world he has created but also that he wants us to enjoy the world. Sometimes because we concentrate on our salvation we forget that our Saviour is also our creator.

Count off seven weeks from the time you begin to put the sickle to the standing grain. 10 Then celebrate the Festival of Weeks to the LORD your God by giving a freewill offering in proportion to the blessings the LORD your God has given you. 11 And rejoice before the LORD your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name—you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, the Levites in your towns, and the foreigners, the fatherless and the widows living among you. 12 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt, and follow carefully these decrees.

13 Celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles for seven days after you have gathered the produce of your threshing floor and your winepress. 14 Be joyful at your festival—you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levites, the foreigners, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns. 15 For seven days celebrate the festival to the LORD your God at the place the LORD will choose. For the LORD your God will bless you in all your harvest and in all the work of your hands, and your joy will be complete.
16 Three times a year all your men must appear before the LORD your God at the place he will choose: at the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Weeks and the Festival of Tabernacles. No one should appear before the LORD empty-handed: 17 Each of you must bring a gift in proportion to the way the LORD your God has blessed you. (Dt 16:9–18).

This passage from Deuteronomy gives us a glimpse of what god wants from us, he wants us to rejoice in his presence celebrating his goodness. No one is to be left out of this celebration and we know that the harvest laws provided for the poor and the needy as well as for the landowner. It is something of this that we need to regain, because we need to realise that our creator God is the sovereign Lord over all things and he should be honoured and worshiped because he is such a great God.