Skip to main content

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" 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

211. The Sons of Thunder's Request

Matthew 20:20-28 , Mark 10:35-45 , Key verse: "Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all." Mark 10:43B-44 In our readings for yesterday, in which Jesus outlined what was about to happen to Him, for His disciples, the passage in Luke ends: "The disciples did not understand any of this. It's meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what He was talking about." ( Luke 18:34 ) Now, we see just how truly clueless they were. Jesus had laid out a plan before them of pain and suffering and death and now James and John are focused on a promotion. The disconnect is so obvious. It's really not important to know whether James and john came up with this request on their own or if their mother put them up to it. The request was made and James and John thought that they could handle the responsibility that would come with it. What is that saying, "Fools rush in where angels fe...
Post a Comment
Read more

174. Pleading for the Fig Tree

Proverbs 27:18 , Luke 13:6-9 Key Verse: He who tends a fig tree will eat its fruit, and he who looks after his master will be honored. Proverbs 27:18 We have here three main characters: a master, who acquired the tree in hopes of eventually enjoying its fruit, a servant, who looks to the tree to reflect his care and attention, and lastly, the tree itself. The master has the right to expect his investment to pay off. The servant, who has obviously put much effort into the tree, would also like to see fruit. The servant's interest is not only to show his own talent in gardening, but because he wants to please his master. Both the servant and the master are dependent upon the tree to do what it was designed to do. Their little parable is an interesting way for Jesus to finish off His exhortation to, "repent or perish."  God is the Master. He had a purpose for you before you were even born. ( Jeremiah 1:5 & Psalm 139:16 ) He planted you on this earth to ful...
Post a Comment
Read more

204. Come Like a Child

Psalm 127 , Matthew 19:13-15 , Luke 18:15-17 , Mark 10:13-16 Key Verse: Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." Matthew 19:14 The attitude of the disciples isn't much different than the attitude of many people, even Christians, today. Instead of seeing children as a blessing from the Lord, too many regard them as a burden to bear that gets in the way of our own selfish happiness. Family size is determined by what we think we can afford rather than openness to God's blessing, trusting God to provide. Satan hates children. Children represent innocence. The sooner he can corrupt and or damage a child, the happier he is. This is why Jesus warned in Matthew 18:6: "If anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drown in the depths of the sea." To corrupt or damage ...
Post a Comment
Read more