Philipose Vaidyar
Is Harvest Festival Biblical?
We would examine
this with an open attitude of knowing the truth.
Since Auctioneers in the
Church justify their actions of auctions in the name of the Old Testament, we
would start on the topic with the Old Testament.
Festival of Harvest in the Old Testament
Our Biblical
ancestors were food gatherers first and farmers later. They were nomadic and
had animals as their property and wealth that they could carry along. Bible
time Patriarchs depended on Egypt when they faced famines in their land. They
became slave workers in the land where they once went to buy grains. They were
never farmers but must have worked on farms of Egyptians or at least used a straw
to make and bake bricks! They learned agriculture from Canaanites and they were
prepared by God during the Exodus for future farming they would do and were
given various commandments including use of land, cultivation, and harvest.
In an agrarian
society, they were to have a human response to God for their incomes from sowing
and reaping. Offerings came from the fullness of one's harvest (Exodus 22:29). They
were given three annual feasts to observe, of which two festivals focused on the harvest. (Exodus 23: 14-20). The Festival of Harvest or First-Fruits came in
the spring, fifty days after Passover (Exodus 23:16). The Festival of Booths
fell at the end of harvest in the fall.
The first fruits came to the priest, who would offer them to the Lord. If a person brought them,
then the Lord might accept them (Lev 23:10-11), an acceptance perhaps reflected
in the successful completion of the harvest in the fall, a "blessing"
(Deut 24:19; Psalm 107:37-38). Some of the
harvests remained in the fields for the sustenance of the poor (Lev 19:9; 23:22 ).
Please see the Bible references:
- Exodus 23:16: “Celebrate the Festival of Harvest with the first fruits of the crops you sow in your field. “Celebrate the Festival of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in your crops from the field. (Dt 16:10-20)
- Exodus 34:22: “Celebrate the Festival of Weeks with the first fruits of the wheat harvest, and the Festival of Ingathering at the turn of the year.
- Deuteronomy 16:15: 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.
Metaphorical Usage:
Metaphorical
usage of harvest takes on a positive sense when Jeremiah refers to Israel as
God's fruit-fruits of harvest (Jeremiah 2:3).
God stands in
control of the harvest time; it is part of his work (Jer 5:24; Amos
4:7 ).
Feast of Harvest and Church
If a church wants to teach its members to
observe the Harvest Festival, why should it ignore other festivals and commandments
and sacrificial observances given along? Even if one wants to observe the festival
of harvest, then it should be done in accordance with the Bible and not in
accordance with pagan practices.
A sincere reader of the Bible can know that
Harvest Festival is mentioned in the Old Testament as the following:
1.
Harvest Festival was meant for an
agrarian society.
2.
For the first fruits of the crops they
sow in the field
3.
It should be at the end of the year
when gathering from the field (not the market)
4.
Festival of weeks talks about the first
fruits of the wheat harvest.
5.
The first fruits came to the priest
6.
The three similar festivals mentioned
are for feasting, not for selling and fundraising, capitalizing on the ego and
pride of people.
Harvest and New Testament
The Harvest and the imagery of harvest are used by Jesus to refer to the gospel and judgment. (Matt 9:38). In the New Testament, believers may sow and reap a
spiritual harvest of righteousness (2 Cor 9:10). Jesus described the last judgment in a
parable about harvest (Matthew 13:30; Matthew 13:39). The Jews of
his day understood the connection of harvest and judgment. Judgment is the focus again in the words of
the angel in Revelation 14:15.
Harvest Festival and Auctions in the Church
1. The Harvest festival we talk about and do in some of our
parishes is nowhere near to the teachings, ordinances, and practices we see in
the Old Testament. (Cf. Harvest Festival, Festival of booths, and Festival of
Firstfruits).
2. Conducting auctions in the Church, selling items that people
bring, or buying and bringing them to Church for a fundraising event is an unbiblical,
unchristian, and pagan practice. I have seen this practice among people of
other faith in the Malappuram area, in the 60s and 70s that they had already
stopped. I hear and observe this same
practice in Chennai in the local festival of temples on every street, exactly
as we do auctions in our churches after the service.
3. I had talked this over to several priests and pastors of our churches,
who agree to it but say, to raise the money really works better. I have encouraged
priests to preach for mobilization of resources during those seasons, using good
teachings on giving, already available in the Bible by prophets and
Apostles.
4. Sacrificial giving can be encouraged and motivated
scripturally. It is un-Christian to address the ego of people by creating a
competitive setting in the church to raise funds for an activity. None of the
evangelical Christian ministries in India do it, so where have we copied this
model from?
5. Jesus rebuked selling and buying in the Church and according to
Him, the House of prayer should be kept in its dignity.
When leaders lose vision, people do perish. When teachers use
Bible verses selectively, to fit into their human reasons, such teachings are non-biblical and an abuse of the Word. I
request Church leadership to look into this creatively and spiritually and ban
the non-scriptural and pagan practices; repent and turn to God following His Word
not by letters (selected) but by its Spirit. If one is ignorant on how to get
people to give to Church and would like to know how to mobilize resources for a
Biblical or Christian cause, it can be another topic for our discussion.
Read more on what others say about Auctions in the church at Harvest Festival
A friend of mine sent me what he had written to the Bishop of his Church against the unBiblical practice of auctioning in churches in the name of Harvest Festival. https://pvarticles.blogspot.com/2020/02/auctioneering-in-church.html?m=1
