Sukkot

39 “You are to celebrate the Lord’s festival on the fifteenth day of the seventh month for seven days after you have gathered the produce of the land. There will be complete rest on the first day and complete rest on the eighth day. 40 On the first day you are to take the product of majestic trees—palm fronds, boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook—and rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days. 41 You are to celebrate it as a festival to the Lord seven days each year. This is a permanent statute for you throughout your generations; celebrate it in the seventh month. 42 You are to live in shelters for seven days. All the native-born of Israel must live in shelters, 43 so that your generations may know that I made the Israelites live in shelters when I brought them out of the land of Egypt; I am the Lord your God.” 44 So Moses declared the Lord’s appointed times to the Israelites.

One the 15th day of the seventh month, Thursday the 13th of the 10th month for us this Thursday.

Celebrate a feast of the Lord for seven days. This is one of the three times a year in which the males of Israel must appear before the Lord. This is one of the pilgrimage feast where Jews from all over if able were to travel to Jerusalem and Worship the Lord their God all together.

And the people were to build booths or tabernacles (tents) that they were to live in during this time of celebration. These tents made of branches of small bushes or trees interwoven were made to provide shelter but were not made to be sturdy living compartments. They were to be mobile, Because this was a time to remember their deliverance from Egypt. Which was like the Jesus of the Old Testament. It was the Largest single redemptive act in the History of the Israelite people before Jesus. It was what everything went back too. Just as we go back to Jesus. Even our Calendar goes back to Jesus, the non BC and AD or BCE and ACE.

During this time they were to be reminded of the deliverance but also their time in the Wilderness. Which was to be somewhere in the two year period until they failed to trust God to lead them into a land which was to the world unconquerable by a ragtag ex-slaves with a decent military force but not great and “should not be able to conquer our high walls”. They Gave into the thinking of the world and they had to stay 38 more years for a 40 years total. So an entire generation could die off.

It is a time of Celebration?

What are they celebrating?

God’s deliverance and God’s grace that brought them through their time of wilderness

Wilderness is both a good and a bad thing. They stayed so long in the wilderness because of their sin. But they were delivered through the wilderness

There time in the wilderness was longer than it needed to be

Time of wilderness was a time in which they were suffering because they failed to listen to the Lord. It wasn’t because God hated them. It wasn’t because God was just so angry at them they had to die. It wasn’t because the God that just rescued them from slavery was mean and vindictive. God doesn’t like to see people suffer. But instead gave the people a choice. Same choice that he has given you and me. Humble yourself before me and live a holy life. Which includes obeying his holy commands and listening to what he has to say to us, Or not to.

Bless God or Curse God

Bless means to bow before him. Humble yourself to his will. Say whatever you want me to do I’ll Do it. I may want to do it. I may not want to But I will.

Curse God means to refuse to bow to his will. I know better than you how things should be done. What the outcome will be. Which we do all the time. Despite God being the creator. Being the only one who is all knowing. Being the only one who is all powerful. Being just and holy. And loving and merciful. Seeing that he wants to see the best possible outcome for the most possible people for the longest period of time. Because he is Holy. And yet we still curse him.

And When we curse God we refuse to bow down before him, We say I know better. God’s laws aren’t there just so you can fail. His laws are there to give you an abundance in life. They are protective. Set to set us apart from to the world so that we can give Glory to God.

That’s what happened to the Israelites and they practice Sukkoth to remember God’s deliverance and his mercy in their sin. His deliverance from the wilderness and his providence in the wilderness.

Next Steps: The Wilderness

Maybe you are in the wilderness.

We enter the wilderness for two reasons. 1. Sin or 2. We are moving from one place to the other.

You have failed to listen to God. Begins by humbling yourself and then listening to his wisdom setting in your mind that whatever he tells you to do you will do it.

Step one Is believe. Can’t go on to step two before then.

Step two Read your bible. Bible before bread, Study, Pray.

Step Thee is Community. Trusted People. God’s word isn’t restricted to Just you. He works through others.

Get out of the wilderness. Talking to those who have gotten out.

All gone through. Be there to guide people out. To guide people out need to be holy to become holy need to follow God’s wisdom. To follow Gods wisdom see steps one through three.

Believe

Read

Community

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