Exodus 23:17

Misinterpretations often include imposing this as a binding legal requirement on Christians today, demanding literal pilgrimages to Jerusalem or equivalent sites three times a year, overlooking its fulfillment in Christ's redemptive work and the shift to spiritual worship in the New Testament; others wrongly infer total exclusion of women from worship or religious life, ignoring broader scriptural evidence of their active participation in feasts and devotion, or reduce it to mere ritualism without the heart of gratitude and covenant loyalty.

Exodus 23:17 underscores the covenant obligation for all adult males in Israel to make pilgrimage to the sanctuary three times annually during the major feasts of Unleavened Bread, Harvest, and Ingathering, symbolizing communal gratitude for God's provision, faithful obedience to His commands, and the renewal of their relationship with Yahweh through collective worship and celebration before His presence.