Booths

Recalibrate

We all have a journey we are on and it is easy to be distracted

That is why we need to recalibrate and realign our life priorities around God’s path for us.

The Festival of Sukkot

Out of the 3 festivals of Pilgrimages, this one seems out of place.

We read about it in Deuteronomy 16: and in Leviticus 23:

Sukkot in the Bible: Feast of Booths, Tabernacles, Shelters, and Ingathering

Compared to the other 2 this one can seem a bit ordinary.

Passover is the mighty escape from Egypt, God Breaking the Israelites out of slavery. Weeks is the giving of the Torah, all the rules and commands that tell the Israelites how to live and love.

The Feast of Sukkot is a week-long autumn festival commemorating the 40-year journey of the Israelites in the wilderness.

Like the other 2, it is to experience what Israel experienced and in this case, it’s to spend time out of the comforts of home and out in the elements by way of a temporary structure. This was done for a week but I’m sure for some of us a day would be sufficient to get the point.

A Sukkot, these temporary shelters are made with branches and leaves covering 3 sides and is where the meals are to take place. It is also meant to be the lodgings while the final harvest is being made. We see recordings of the festival observed by Solomon, Hezekiah, and Ezra on their return from exile.[1]

As we have mentioned Passover is during the spring harvest of barley, weeks, the summer harvest of wheat and grain, and Sukkot the autumn harvest, the final harvest of fruit – grapes, figs, and olives (thanksgiving for the completion of the agricultural year)

So what makes this festival as important as the others?

Well, the Festival of Sukkot challenges our willingness to step into the wilderness with God

My fear of stepping into camps and now how it has shaped my life - Grieving Christain Camps - SU Camps

My definition of Wilderness

Let me pause here because I know I see Wilderness differently than most –

Dictionary: An unsettled, uncultivated region, A barren or desolate area; a wasteland.

2. Something characterized by bewildering vastness,

3. A state of neglect, powerlessness, or disfavor: (state of mind, particularly with a pandemic of loneliness)

I agree with the meaning but may see things differently for its purpose. Its value.

Why is wilderness important? Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance

Wilderness areas are important because they provide long-term protection to the last of our nation’s wild landscapes — places that possess spectacular beauty, offer outstanding solitude, support native plants and animals, protect valuable water resources, shelter ancient cultural artifacts, provide opportunities for primitive recreation, and maintain resiliency in the face of global climate change.

My expadition in Kakadu

Bewildering vastness = outstanding solitude, it gives me a sense of adventure, discovery, and wonder. For me, the Wilderness is like dwelling with God in the Garden of Eden again. Walking with God. But as we have been suggesting in this series we can be distracted by the pressures and comforts of the world that make it hard for us to recognise the value of this space.

This was the experience of Israel, like me going to that first camp. Fear of the unknown but also an opportunity to draw near to God.

Between leaving Egypt and reaching the Promised Land, the Israelites lived in tents, temporary structures in the wilderness. They were on a journey through this wilderness which was an opportunity to learn more about the character of God.

And He wanted to dwell with them

The cloud above the Tabernacle. Num 9:15-23

15 On the day the tabernacle, the tent of the covenant law, was set up, the cloud covered it. From evening till morning the cloud above the tabernacle looked like fire. 16 That is how it continued to be; the cloud covered it, and at night it looked like fire. 17 Whenever the cloud lifted from above the tent, the Israelites set out; wherever the cloud settled, the Israelites encamped. 18 At the Lord’s command the Israelites set out, and at his command they encamped. As long as the cloud stayed over the tabernacle, they remained in camp. 19 When the cloud remained over the tabernacle a long time, the Israelites obeyed the Lord’s order and did not set out. 20 Sometimes the cloud was over the tabernacle only a few days; at the Lord’s command they would encamp, and then at his command they would set out. 21 Sometimes the cloud stayed only from evening till morning, and when it lifted in the morning, they set out. Whether by day or by night, whenever the cloud lifted, they set out. 22 Whether the cloud stayed over the tabernacle for two days or a month or a year, the Israelites would remain in camp and not set out; but when it lifted, they would set out.

God gave his guidance every step of the way, dwelt with them, and was with them.

Last week about Pentecost and the Spirit now dwelling with us.

Jesus, we read in the gospels would go to the wilderness to pray. To dwell with this father and seek where to next. Mark 1:35-39

How often do you recognise the Lord dwelling with you, in you?

Loving the new album by - We the kingdom - their song Tabernacle

When trouble comes, God, I will call on Your holy name

I am the tabernacle of the Most High God His Holy Spirit dwells inside of me And I will live my life to glorify my King I am a vessel for His Majesty

Oh, praise the Lord, come bless the Maker Lift up your voices and lift them high When we are washed by the blood of Jesus We walk in freedom from death to life

John 7:37–38 NIV

On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”

Do we go where he commands us to go or stay when we sense the spirit asking us to stay? Are we willing to step into the wilderness, out of comfort into uncomfortable situations so that we may dwell with God?

I have been thirsty - Retreat day

The support of the church council and doing this together

God took all of Israel into the wilderness to experience His character and reshape the nation, it is not something you do alone. This Festival is to encourage you to spend a week with others out of your comfort and with God.

Finally, are we willing to put our trust in God that this life is a temporary shelter?

What happens when we stay in a tent? We are exposed to the elements, when it is hot, it is hot when it is wet you want to feel dry. When you are stuck in a tent with kids you can lose your sanity. But on the flip side, there are these moments of love, joy, and peace.

Last trip to Cole’s bay

And then you go home

I have started to take a couple of funerals and I like to remind people that we are all tent currently living in tents. That this is not our home

The harvest is the last harvest of the year.

The reading for the festival is the book of Ecclesiastes

Havel, Havel, Everything is Havel – life is like chasing after the wind

Appears 38 times

Life is temporary and fleeting.

Solomon goes through many ways that we invest in things like money and pleasures that cause us to move apart from God.

The book affirms those celebrating sukkot:

“There is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil—this is the gift of God” (3:12–13). “So I saw that there is nothing better for a man than to enjoy his work because that is his lot” (3:22).

When we are in a tent we are much better at accepting the things we have no control over and living life with greater freedom and enjoyment.

Peter and Paul add to this idea in the New Testament

Peter asserts that this life is a tent and will be thrown off in his death.

Paul also declares that flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom and that we will move from mortality to immortality.

We journey through this life in a temporary body to go home to our immortal body.

This too can be an uncomfortable subject to talk about.

Death

At the end of the festival of Sukkot

The branches over the week have died

The Book of Ecclesiastes reminds us that our time is brief

Yet God's command during this festival is to be joyful Deut. 16:14 Be joyful at your festival.

To celebrate the fact that all things come to an end, that we are going to die

Rejoice in the Hope, 8th day out of the temporary home.

Paul after he talked to the Thessalonian church about the day of the lord and moving from temporary to eternity, left them with these instructions

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 –

16 Rejoice always17 pray continually18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

This joyous celebration is a reminder of God's guidance and faithfulness in the wilderness. As we dwell with him here on earth and in eternity.

Prayer