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Why Go To The Feast |
Dear Brethren,
Why do we keep the Feast of Tabernacles? What is the
purpose of the Feast? Is it required by God that we observe the fall Holy
Days? What does the Feast of Tabernacles picture? Have God's
Holy Days been done away with, or, are they still commanded for
Christians? What will become of true Christians when the Feast
of Tabernacles is fulfilled in the plan of God? What is a
booth? Is there a purpose in living in temporary dwellings?
Are God's people taking the command to go to the Feast of
Tabernacles serious enough?
The Feast is meant by God to be an experience with vital
spiritual lessons attached to it. The first reason that we go
to the Feast is because God commands us to do so. It is not a
suggestion - but a command. God commands the Feast for
Christians because of the indispensable lessons it contains. Now, we might be
inclined to say that we don't need to learn any more lessons,
but that is not true. Unless we learn the lessons that God has
for us, we are destined to end up in ruin with the rest of this
miserable world. Especially now, at this end-time, we need to
find out what God has in store for us at each Feast.
The Feast of Tabernacles is a seven day long pilgrimage Feast,
also known as the Feast of Booths.
"They found written in the law which the Lord
had commanded by Moses, that the children of Israel should
dwell in booths in the Feast of the seventh
month." (Nehemiah 8:14) The Feast of Tabernacles
requires much planning, preparation and travel. New Testament
Christians save their second tithe throughout the year for the
express purpose of having sufficient funds to go to the Feast of
Tabernacles. God also provides for the poor to be able to
attend, because going to the Feast is that important.
"You shalt eat before the Lord thy God, in the place which
he shall choose to place His name there, the [2nd] tithe of thy
corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy
herds and of thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to fear the Lord
thy God always. And if the way be too long for thee, so that
thou art not able to carry it; or if the place be too far from
thee, which the Lord thy God shall choose to set his name there,
when the Lord thy God hath blessed thee: Then shalt thou turn
it into money, and bind up the money in thine hand, and shalt
go unto the place which the Lord thy God shall choose: And
thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth
after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink,
or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat there
before the Lord thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine
household, And the Levite that is within thy gates; thou shalt
not forsake him; for he hath no part nor inheritance with thee."
(Deuteronomy 14:23-27)
God sends special blessings to those who provide
for the poor to go to the Feast. "At
the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all the
[3rd] tithe of thine increase the same year, and shalt lay it up
within thy gates: And the Levite, (because he hath no part nor
inheritance with thee,) and the stranger, and the fatherless,
and the widow, which are within
thy gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that the
Lord thy God may bless thee in all the work of
thine hand which thou doest." (Deuteronomy 14:28-29)
"The Lord spoke unto Moses: Speak unto the children of
Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be
the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days unto
the Lord. On the first day shall be an holy convocation: ye
shall do no servile work therein. Seven days ye shall offer an
offering made by fire unto the Lord: on the eighth day shall be
an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall offer an offering
made by fire unto the Lord: it is a solemn assembly; and ye
shall do no servile work therein. These are the Feasts
of the Lord, which ye shall proclaim to be holy
convocations, to offer an offering made by fire unto
the Lord, a burnt offering, and a meat offering, a sacrifice,
and drink offerings, every thing upon his day: Beside the
Sabbaths of the Lord, and beside your gifts, and beside all your
vows, and beside all your freewill offerings, which ye give unto
the Lord. Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when
ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep
a Feast unto the Lord seven days: on the first day
shall be a Sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a Sabbath.
God gives directions for temporary dwellings. "And ye shall
take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches
of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the
brook; and ye shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven
days. And ye shall keep it a Feast unto the Lord seven days in
the year. It shall be a statute forever in your
generations: ye shall celebrate it in the seventh
month. Ye shall dwell in booths seven days;
all that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths: That your
generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell
in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am
the Lord your God. And Moses declared
unto the children of Israel the Feasts of the Lord."
(Leviticus 23:33-44)
One of the reasons for us
going to the Feast of Tabernacles is: "That your
generations may know that I made the children of Israel to
dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the
land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God." A tabernacle or
booth is a temporary shelter, with the emphasis on "temporary."
A booth is a makeshift structure that is not suitable for
continual living. Today, any motel room, tent or camper,
temporarily occupied, qualifies as a "booth." Staying at home,
however, does not meet God's requirements for the Feast of
Tabernacles.
God wants to drive home to us just how temporary our existence
is. "We are strangers before Thee, and sojourners, as were
all our fathers: our days on the earth are as a shadow, and
there is none abiding [no one lasts very long]." (1Chronicles 29:15)
The Feast reminds us of our present, temporary condition, and
focuses our attention on the future. Not only does the Feast of
Tabernacles teach us of our temporary nature, it points to the
greater and permanent Kingdom of God of which we strive to be a
part. Paul wrote: "For we know that if our
earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved [at death], we
have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in
the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be
clothed upon with our house which is from heaven." (2
Corinthians 5:1-2)
By going to the Feast we are to learn that we are not yet
inheritors of the promise, but only qualifying heirs to the
promise of eternal life. "By faith Abraham, when he was
called to go out into a place which he should after receive for
an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he
went. By faith he sojourned [moved from one temporary station to
another] in the land of promise, as in a strange
[alien] country, dwelling in tabernacles [temporary booths] with
Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: For he
looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and
maker is God [God did not give Abraham a permanent
settlement]... These all died in faith, not having received the
promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of
them, and embraced them,
and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the
earth." (Hebrews 11:8-10,13)
At His soon coming return, Jesus Christ will give us, if we have
qualified, authority as kings and priests, ruling with Him over
the entire earth. We are not yet qualified to administer the
way of the Kingdom of God - there are lessons to be learned.
Are we as rebellious as ancient Israel - whose dead bodies fell
in the wilderness (Numbers 14:33)? The millennium will usher in
one thousand years of peace, prosperity and rest - have we
learned to be peacemakers (Hebrews 4:9, Matthew 5:9)? Like
ancient Israel, God is giving us the opportunity to obey Him.
"You shall remember all the way which the Lord thy God led
thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to
prove [test] thee, to know what was
in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his
commandments, or not." (Deuteronomy 8:2)
The Feast of Tabernacles is called the Feast of Ingathering
(Exodus 23:16). This gathering signified the completion of the
annual fall harvest. God said, "You shall
rejoice before the Lord your God, you, and your sons, and your
daughters, and your menservants, and your maidservants, and the
Levite that is within your gates."
(Deuteronomy 12:12), 18; 14:26). The Feast is a time of
celebration for the abundance God has given.
Another reason to go to the Feast is to rejoice before
the Lord on this solemn occasion. "Thou shalt
observe the Feast of Tabernacles seven days, after that thou
hast gathered in thy corn and thy wine: 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. Seven days shalt thou keep a
solemn Feast unto the Lord thy God in the place which
the Lord shall choose: because the Lord thy God shall bless thee
in all thine increase, and in all the works of thine hands,
therefore thou shalt surely rejoice."
(Deuteronomy 16:13-15)
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| Sermon: |
"Why Go To The Feast"
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