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190. The Feast Of Tabernacles


Leviticus 23:31-44 & Zechariah 14:16-19
Key Verse: "Live in booths for seven days: all native born Israelites are to live in booths so your descendants will know that I had the Israelites live in booths when I brought them out of Egypt. I Am the Lord your God."
Leviticus 23:42-43

What if every year we reenacted the crossing of the ocean on the Mayflower or the landing at Plymouth Rock, to remember how hard the Pilgrims’ life was as they sought to create a new country for the sake of religious freedom? We do have vestiges of this in our Thanksgiving celebration the fourth Thursday of every November. At Thanksgiving, we not only think about what we are thankful for, but often, either at church or at school, we are reminded of the Pilgrims, the Native Americans and the first Thanksgiving celebrations that took place in gratitude for God's provision.

The Feast of Tabernacles performed a similar function for the people of Israel. While they were still in Egypt, God promised that they would eventually live in a land flowing with milk and honey. After He released them from Egypt's grasp, God never allowed them to settle in any place along the way. Their shelters were temporary. Even God's shelter was only a tent that could be picked up and moved as the Spirit led.

It wasn't until they arrived in the Promised Land that they were allowed to build permanent dwellings for themselves. They were given homes and wells and land for planting crops. They became a settled people and as such, their children could easily forget how, at one time, they were wanderers, dependent upon God to provide for everything.

God's plan for their remembering was that after their crops were gathered in, and they knew that they had provisions for yet another year, God ordained this seven day feast for His people to remember their roots. They were supposed to build temporary shelters on their roofs or in their yards and live in them for seven days to remember their heritage and remember how God had provided for them when they had no place to call home.

It was to be a time of celebration and thankfulness for all God had done and it would serve as a time for parents to teach their children the history of God with His people just as the Seder was intended to do. It was to be a lesson that would be experienced, not a lecture that could be ignored. The Feast would begin and end with a day of rest and every day in between, thank offerings would be given to celebrate God's blessings. And plenty of time for telling the story to the kids. This feast of Tabernacles would begin five days after the Day of Atonement. On that day, the people would deny themselves, confess their sins, offer sacrifices and begin again with a clean slate before God. The first act of worship then, after this cleansing, was to remember God's faithfulness.

Just as we don't forget Thanksgiving, or Christmas, or Easter, this Feast was to be celebrated annually. Why? Because God's people need to remember God's goodness continually so that they will remain faithful and in love with the God who loves them.

It also provides an opportunity to talk about how God continues to provide for us today and, in heaven, He is providing a permanent dwelling for those who love Him. "I go to prepare a place for you." (John 14:2) "And if I go, I will come again to take you to be with Me." He remains the provider of not just the past, but of eternity.

Do you have any tradition like this either for yourself or for your family in which you set aside a day, or a week to remember God's goodness to you? It's never too late to start.

Hymn: "Count Your Blessings" 

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