131. Rejoice
Deuteronomy 16:14, 15 And thou shalt rejoice in thy feast, and thy son, and etc….Seven days shalt thou keep a solemn feast unto the Lord thy God in the place which the Lord shall choose: because the Lord thy God shall bless thee in all thine increase, and in all the works of thine hands, therefore thou shall surely rejoice.
This is not a conditional promise, but it is the reverse: Because the Lord has blessed you, therefore you will rejoice. God promises joy in the heart, bliss, happiness and wellbeing after He has blessed your harvest and increase. Because God has saved you from bondage in worldly Egypt and given you the Land and blessed your work again this year, you will celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles in the autumn of the year.
In fact, the Mosaic Covenant requires each Jewish family to go up to Jerusalem (the place where the Lord has chosen for His name to dwell there) three times a year: 1) early spring for the Feast of Unleavened Bread and Passover, 2) late spring for the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost, 3) autumn for the Feast of Tabernacles and the Day of Atonement. In the very celebrating of these Festivals there is a command to rejoice and the promise that you will rejoice.
It is expected that the Joy of the Lord will fill your hearts with overflowing that it infects all those around you. Take that as a promise: You will Rejoice! Since Jesus Christ has replaced the Jewish worship places and rituals with Himself, the NT believer still goes to “the place” (which is any place to worship in spirit and in truth) to celebrate several times a year and once every seven days. God promises that when you go to church you will find joy and rejoicing. You will rejoice because you heard once again that your sins are forgiven, that God is good and gracious, and eternal life is yours today. In this verse is given another reason to go to church: because God has blessed you. So you go to church and receive more joy and blessing. The ultimate result: you shall surely rejoice.