And thou shalt rejoice in thy feast, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite, the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are within thy gates.
The three yearly feasts kept up communion between God and His people and preserved the face of religion in the nation. One week only was festival, yet their solemn preparation before and serious reflection afterward amounted to observance of the whole month; thus the ceremonies themselves became the means by which God's truth took root in their hearts.
AI summary
Commenting on Deuteronomy 16:1-17
And thou shalt rejoice in thy feast,.... At this feast of tabernacles and ingathering of the fruits of the earth, in token of gratitude and thankfulness for the goodness of God bestowed on them; the Targum of Jonathan adds, with the flute and the pipe, making use of instrumental music to increase the joy on this occasion: thou and thy son, &c. See Gill on Deu 16:11
Deu 16:13-15 In connection with the Feast of Tabernacles also, he simply enforces the observance of it at the central sanctuary, and exhorts the people to rejoice at this festival, and not only to allow their sons and daughters to participate in this joy, but also the man-servant and maid-servant, and the portionless Levites, strangers, widows, and orphans.
Commenting on Deuteronomy 16:13-15