considered taxes on the people, for no penalty attaches to non-compliance. That they are free-will offerings is plain from the fact that there is no hint that these generous offerings would be withheld. The point seems to be that the generosity of God’s people in the future age would far exceed that which Old Testament Israel had demonstrated (45:13–17). In the new era three great gatherings would constitute the annual festival cycle. (1) Each year was to begin with
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