Sabbaths and Celebrations
Notes
Transcript
Prayer of Thanks
Pastoral Prayer: Eric Mays, Ross and Macy Anderson
Illumination
10 “You shall sow your land for six years and gather in its yield, 11 but on the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, so that the needy of your people may eat; and whatever they leave the beast of the field may eat. You are to do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove. 12 “Six days you are to do your work, but on the seventh day you shall cease from labor so that your ox and your donkey may rest, and the son of your female slave, as well as your stranger, may refresh themselves. 13 “Now concerning everything which I have said to you, be on your guard; and do not mention the name of other gods, nor let them be heard from your mouth.
14 “Three times a year you shall celebrate a feast to Me. 15 “You shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread; for seven days you are to eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the appointed time in the month Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt. And none shall appear before Me empty-handed. 16 “Also you shall observe the Feast of the Harvest of the first fruits of your labors from what you sow in the field; also the Feast of the Ingathering at the end of the year when you gather in the fruit of your labors from the field. 17 “Three times a year all your males shall appear before the Lord God. 18 “You shall not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leavened bread; nor is the fat of My feast to remain overnight until morning. 19 “You shall bring the choice first fruits of your soil into the house of the Lord your God. “You are not to boil a young goat in the milk of its mother.
Introduction
For those of you who don’t know I used to work in remodeling for a number of years. Most of what I did was pretty approachable: bath remodel, trim work, but every once in a while someone would want to take out a wall. The TV shows make it look super easy, but it’s really not as simple as it looks. Sometimes it really could be removed, and other times it was holding up the roof or the second story. Very often the essential things are immovable things, and if we try to move them or remove them altogether they come at a great cost. These essential things are built first, they’re set in place before everything else because of they’re importance to the whole structure.
We can actually apply that very same principle to our calendar. What are the essentials that need to be put on the calendar first? What are those obligations and events which are essential to us, our family, our church, that need to be defended because of the essential role they play in our lives. Sometimes it can be tempting to walk into the house of our lives and think. “Man it feels busy and crowded, can I remove that wall? That feels in the way.” At that point we need to pause and be reminded how essential those things are to the well-being of the house - our lives and know that if we remove them it comes at a cost.
In just these 10 verses this morning God establishes a few of those essential items for the express purpose of rest and celebration. A total of 68 days of the year just in these few verses, and that doesn’t include the days of travel required for the pilgrimage. They’re non-negotiable commitments on the Hebrew calendar that support the well-being of Israel, and they’re not without purpose. Each day of rest and each day of celebration is a reminder to the people of all they’ve been given. How many other neighboring nations do you think would have devoted nearly a fifth of their calendar to resting, remembering, and celebrating what their god had done for them? So much of pagan worship during that time was trying to win favor in order to secure future prosperity. Israelite worship and celebration is oriented toward what God has already done, and it’s this reminder that’s essential to the livelihood of Israel. If they forget God, the house will surely fall. If they forget that their security, their provision, and their blessing is found in God, they will run after idols and nations for their well-being. As we’ll see, each of these days of rest and celebration emphasizes an aspect of God’s provision for His people that we as His church ultimately find in Christ. There’s a lot to be said about each of these celebrations, but this morning I’d like us to see generally how even Israel’s calendar and celebrations anticipate Christ - the fullness of blessing which we cannot forget.
The blessings of God given to us in Christ cannot be forgotten. We do well to give time to protect and remember those blessings.
The blessings of God given to us in Christ cannot be forgotten. We do well to give time to protect and remember those blessings.
The Sabbath - Rest
2. The Feast of Unleavened Bread - Holiness
3. The Feast of the Harvest/ The Feast of Weeks - Pentecost - Life
4. The Feast of the Ingathering/ The Feast of Booths - Presence
The Sabbath - Rest
The Sabbath - Rest
As we’ve worked our way through the past three chapters we’ve seen God expound on the latter 6 commandments of the decalogue - the ten commandments. These are all oriented horizontally toward Israel’s relationships with each other, but we’re approaching a hinge point in God’s exposition of the 10 commandments. The 4th commandment:
8 “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 “Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a sabbath of the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you.
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You’ll notice that the first half of the commandments description includes that vertical orientation toward God, “but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God.” This part of the “hinge” is attaching the sabbath to their reverence toward God, but it’s not without consideration of the good of one another. The latter half which is emphasized in our text this morning is oriented horizontally, toward the good of the people of God. “in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourners who stays with you.”
We’re approaching a turning point where the people are about to be given instructions about the conquest of the land as they look ahead; They’ll affirm their covenant with God and then receive further instructions on their worship, that vertical orientation. The neat thing is that the sabbath is included in both sets of instructions. Later we’ll see it in chapter 31 and 35 with emphasis on their relationship before God while bookending Israel’s worship of the golden calf, their failure to worship God alone. Here we see it though with a horizontal emphasis, for the good of neighbor just like the last three chapters.
10 “You shall sow your land for six years and gather in its yield, 11 but on the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, so that the needy of your people may eat; and whatever they leave the beast of the field may eat. You are to do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove.
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Similar to the seven year cycle we saw with bond-servants, after 6 years of work, the land gets to rest. Some attribute this to wise stewardship of the land, but again the explicit reasoning here is actually for the good of the needy and the beasts of the field. During that 7th year, even though the land wouldn’t have been intentionally planted, seeds dropped from the previous harvest would spring up again. You can imagine a field with spotty bits of wheat, barley, or olives springing up haphazardly all over the field. As a poor person without fields to reap - without money to buy a lot of food these fallow fields were an immense blessing. And whatever was left behind by the needy the beasts of the field would eat. Letting the fields lie fallow is more than wise stewardship it’s a means of loving their neighbor.
There’s a sabbath for the fields every 7 years, but there’s also the ordinary weekly sabbath accompanied by the same purpose. It’s oriented toward the good and well-being of those within our influence.
12 “Six days you are to do your work, but on the seventh day you shall cease from labor so that your ox and your donkey may rest, and the son of your female slave, as well as your stranger, may refresh themselves. 13 “Now concerning everything which I have said to you, be on your guard; and do not mention the name of other gods, nor let them be heard from your mouth.
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Have you ever thought of rest in that way? I’m going to rest from my ordinary work for the good of those I care for. God is calling His people to think outside of themselves and their own needs and consider, “Who around you may need rest?” We saw earlier in chapter 16 God’s reasoning for the Sabbath was so they would trust Him for their provision - trust Him to provide for what wasn’t gathered on the 7th day and the 7th year. That by itself is reason enough, but here God adds another reason! Forget what we need for a moment... What does our neighbor need?
I believe it’s this heart with which Jesus rebukes the Pharisees regarding the Sabbath. As they gathered around to see if he would break the Sabbath by healing a man Jesus asked them.
11 And He said to them, “What man is there among you who has a sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will he not take hold of it and lift it out? 12 “How much more valuable then is a man than a sheep! So then, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”
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The Sabbath was meant to be a good and a benefit to the people of God. It’s not a restriction or a burden that forces someone to leave the sheep in the ditch or the needy wanting. You might say the Sabbath was intended to restrain Israel from seeking their own good apart from faith in God, but it was never meant to restrain them from loving one another.” The Sabbath was intended to bless and satisfy the people of God, and yet even this rest was awaiting a greater rest.
Hebrews tells us in chapter 4 that even this rest provided for the good of Israel awaited a greater Sabbath rest. “Their remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God.” There’s something more which the law of God was never intended to provide. Where is this rest found?
10 For the one who has entered His rest [The rest of Christ] has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His.
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When Jesus comes declaring the good news of the Kingdom of God he comes as Lord of the Sabbath inviting all who are weary and heavy laden to find rest in Him. In the Lord of the Sabbath the needy would find their rest and provision. Christ would fulfill that call to love your neighbor in providing a greater, everlasting rest to those who looked to Him in faith. As Christians gathered here this morning we have that rest. There is no more works of righteousness to be added to the work of Christ. We count that work completed in His death and resurrection, yet we do not sit idly by while our brothers remain sick. We follow in the footsteps of Christ seeking the well-being and flourishing of those around us even in this rest we’ve been given. The call to love our neighbor does not cease on the Sabbath if anything it is magnified as we enjoy that rest together. What does that look like for us? Where do we begin?
Today as Christians we celebrate and remember that rest we’ve been given in Christ on the Lord’s Day - Sunday. That great day when Christ rose from the dead. It is a day we devote to the Lord in acknowledgement of the work which he has completed.
Vs. 13 of our text includes this little reminder among all these instructions.
13 “Now concerning everything which I have said to you, be on your guard; and do not mention the name of other gods, nor let them be heard from your mouth.
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What other gods have provided us with all that Christ has given us? Who else or what else is deserving of our time and the devotion of our mouths? The Lord’s Day is an essential weekly blessing and reminder of the rest we have in Christ, but it’s also an essential means of loving one another. Hebrews goes on to tie the two together explicitly...
24 and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, 25 not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.
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How do we prosper the love and good works of the church? We gather together. We encourage one another when we gather on the Lord’s Day.
If you’ve come here this morning burdened and needy, whether that be the brokenness of the world, the weight of sin, or the work of the devil. This is a place of rest! I pray you would find a supreme rest in the hope, forgiveness, and security which Christ provides. He invites you to come in faith. His yoke is easy and his burden is light for those who repent of their sins and look to Him for salvation.
If you’ve come this morning with much to be thankful for, how might you leverage that provision and rest you enjoy for the good of your neighbor. One of the greatest ways we can show our devotion to Christ on this Lord’s day is loving and encouraging His church. Perhaps take a moment to look around on Sunday morning and find that church member or guest who’s standing by themselves. Find someone you wouldn’t ordinarily talk to, a stranger even, and get to know them. Encourage them wherever they may be in life! The Lord’s Day should be a day full of love for one another in this gathering knowing the love of Christ we rest in.
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God is going to move on from the Sabbath and address three larger holidays that are to be established in the Hebrew calendar. Each a yearly reminder of something they’ve been given. The first is the feast of unleavened bread.
The Feast of Unleavened Bread - Holiness
The Feast of Unleavened Bread - Holiness
14 “Three times a year you shall celebrate a feast to Me. 15 “You shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread; for seven days you are to eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the appointed time in the month Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt. And none shall appear before Me empty-handed.
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We’ve already seen the feast of unleavened bread back in Exodus 12, it’s the week long holiday that immediately follows the Passover in the first month of the Hebrew calendar. Everyone in all of Israel removes all the leavening from their houses for a whole week. The entire nation eats unleavened bread for seven days, and if anyone is found eating unleavened bread they’re to be cut off from the people of Israel. What’s the meaning of this? … We recognized God’s intent for His people in this celebration in the two holy assemblies that begin the week long feast and close the week as well. As an Israelite you would have just sacrificed the Passover lamb. That lamb which reminds everyone of the lamb which spared them from the judgement of the angel of God in Egypt who fell on the firstborn of Egypt. It’s on the tail end of this sacrifice that the people would have gathered together as a holy people as they did when they left Egypt. They left in a hurry with unleavened bread, but more importantly they were finally free and set apart as a holy nation to worship God.
This yearly celebration is intended to remind Israel, you are not like Egypt. Your are no longer slaves. You are not like the other nations. Holy God has set you apart for a holy purpose, that you would be a holy priesthood for the worship and service of God. In this simple picture of removing the leavening from the house God is teaching His people what He intends them to be. We’ve just looked at three chapters of what it looks like to remove the evil, the sin, the idolatry from the house. The message is clear in the whole of the law, yet in these seven days there’s this explicit message: You are to be holy to the LORD.
As we saw in chapter 19 God declares that purpose explicitly:
5 ‘Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine; 6 and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the sons of Israel.”
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Unfortunately Israel proved to be incapable of keeping that covenant. They were unable to set themselves apart as a holy people by means of the law. Time and again they ran to the gods who they were supposed to cast out and looked to unholy nations to preserve them. There were those however who looked ahead to the Messiah in faith who would be counted among the holy.
As Romans 8:3 puts it:
3 For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh,
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The feast of unleavened bread celebrated what God had done in delivering His people from bondage by means of the Passover lamb, yet it foretold an even greater celebration to come. A celebration which would look to a Passover Lamb who would come in the likeness of sinful flesh as an offering for sin once for all. Christ Himself would fulfill the covenant and pay the debt once and for all that we, the household of faith, would be counted holy before God.
1 Peter addresses the church directly and says, “you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” There is no “if you will indeed obey...” Christ is the one who obeyed. Christ is the one who fulfilled the covenant. Christ is the one who called us - transferred us - into the kingdom of light such that we are - present tense - a holy nation... If that is not a reason to celebrate I don’t know what is. We’ve been given the most honorable task known to man - to worship God, to serve God, to seek the glory of God as a holy people. When we gather together on Sunday, don’t forget what we are. We are not like the nations of this world. We do not serve the gods of this world. We’ve been set apart by the blood of the Passover Lamb for a holy purpose. Knowing that glorious task we’ve been called to, let’s celebrate. We have every reason for celebration as a people set apart.
In that same breath let’s not forget what that holy task entails. It only takes a little leaven to leaven the whole of the lump. We are a royal priesthood, and a holy nation. There’s nothing the world, the flesh or the devil and can do about that, yet we are called to distance ourselves from the influence of evil in the world as we saw last week. We are to be witnesses to the world! We are to be in the world, yet not of the world, set apart and Holy unto the LORD.
Paul in his letter to the Corinthians ties it all together for us!
6 Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough? 7 Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed. 8 Therefore let us celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. 9 I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people; 10 I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world. 11 But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler—not even to eat with such a one. 12 For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church? 13 But those who are outside, God judges. Remove the wicked man from among yourselves.
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The church has every reason to celebrate every Sunday, yet we are not to celebrate with the world because we have no part with the world. Malice and wickedness have no place here. Idolatry, covetousness, drunkenness, and immorality are inconsistent with the fruit of the Spirit. Should anyone continue in such worldliness in unrepentance, Paul says the church has an obligation to remove the wicked man from among themselves.
As the priesthood and holy nation of God, we have a precious gift in the Passover Lamb, the gift of true holiness from the heart. We will never be perfect in this life, there will always be sin to put off and righteousness to be put on, but the Spirit in us enables a very real progress toward holiness, a progress which must be protected.
I might put it this way, we are a people who strive in our celebration! We have been given something truly precious in Christ, and with that gift that will never pass away we press on!
As Paul says with full assurance of faith
Philippians 3:14
14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
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Let’s be found celebrating when we gather on Sunday, and in our ordinary lives let’s strive together for the holiness which Christ has called us to. We were never intended to do battle with sin alone.
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If you were to look at the Hebrew Calendar, roughly two weeks into the new year we have the feast of unleavened bread that we just talked about. Roughly 50 days or 7 weeks after the beginning of the feast of unleavened bread we come to the Feast of the Harvest or the Feast of Weeks as it would come to be known. The second of three Pilgrim Festivals.
The Feast of the Harvest/ The Feast of Weeks - Life
The Feast of the Harvest/ The Feast of Weeks - Life
16 “Also you shall observe the Feast of the Harvest of the first fruits of your labors from what you sow in the field; … (also the Feast of the Ingathering at the end of the year when you gather in the fruit of your labors from the field.)
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Let’s remember here that in this particular text, God is only laying out the pilgrimage feasts as they’re called. There are more than three festivals or celebrations in the Hebrew calendar but these are the ones in which all the males are to appear before the LORD. In years to come all the Israelite men were required to travel to Jerusalem to celebrate these feasts. Often the whole family would go: We see in Luke 2 that Jesus and his parents travel to Jerusalem for the Passover feast and the feast of unleavened bread.
In this case, the Feast of the Harvest or the Feast of Weeks is another gathering of the people before God at the tabernacle or the temple to celebrate the fruit of the harvest, but it’s paired with another holiday not stated here, the Feast of First Fruits.
All of these pilgrimage Holidays have a neighbor holiday if you will. The Passover immediately precedes the feast of unleavened bread. The Feast of First Fruits precedes and anticipates the Feast of the Harvest or the Feast of Weeks, and as we’ll see in a moment, The Day of atonement immediately precedes the Feast of the Ingathering.
Where am I going with all of this?
God’s giving the people of Israel three holidays to celebrate together before the Lord that follow very specific events that in and of themselves at this point in time are great reasons to celebrate, but these specific events, the Passover Lamb, the First Fruits, the Day of Atonement, all anticipate Christ Himself and an even greater gathering of celebration.
Let’s start in the shoes of an Israelite. It’s the first month of the year which to us would be late march or early April. The crops have been planted last fall, our winter- their rainy season is over, and around March or April the Barley is just about ready to harvest. As the Barley is being harvested it’s kept as an offering for the Lord to be celebrated at the festival of First fruits. Roughly 7 weeks later, the wheat is ready to harvest and the people gather together again to give offerings to the Lord and celebrate His provision.
If you look at the description in Deuteronomy it’s a celebration of the harvest, but it’s also a celebration of God’s giving them a land and delivering them from slavery. Everyone is called to rejoice for what the LORD has done for His people! Can you imagine for a moment what it would look like for the whole of a small U.S. state today to gather together for one big holiday. It would have been a site to see! Everyone acknowledging together, the LORD is gracious and faithful to give us life, land and a harvest. The Lord has given them freedom to live for Him, but also food to sustain them.
This is the occasion when we come to Pentecost in the book of Acts. For clarity, the Feast of the Harvest or The Feast of Weeks is called Pentecost in Greek. It’s all the same festival. There are Jews from all the places of exile speaking different languages gathering together to celebrate this festival - to celebrate the life and freedom that God has given them in a land and a harvest, yet what do they end up celebrating that Pentecost?
The Spirit comes upon the apostles and they’re able to speak in every language so all can hear and understand. Peter stands to deliver a call to repentance and faith in Christ declaring he has risen from the dead, and they respond! The harvest which was plentiful and ready has begun!
41 So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls.
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And the nature of this festival which was once focused on a land and a wheat harvest has been turned into a celebration which we continue to this day. A celebration of life, resurrection, and the church - a kingdom which cannot be shaken.
46 Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.
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Because of all that God has provided us, His church, we have reason to praise Him in celebration. Christ has risen! Death has been defeated. Life everlasting has come to us, and today we have hope of a resurrection to come.
When Paul speaks of the hope of the resurrection we have, that hope of eternal life, he begins with Christ and notice how he refers to Him.
20 But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. 21 For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.
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When the barley harvest begins at the festival of first fruits there’s reason to celebrate, but it is only the first fruits. There is more to come by God’s grace.
Christ was the first to be raised, and for that we must celebrate, that is the heart and soul of our joy and hope. Let’s begin there, but might we look around us at the harvest which the LORD has provided for us. Each and every one of us who look to Christ in faith for salvation have received eternal life. We will one day be raised from the dead with Christ gathered together once more as a people of every nation tribe and tongue to celebrate the salvation and glory we have received in Christ. That hope is sure, let’s not wait for that day to sing and rejoice with glad hearts as the church at Pentecost did. Christ is risen and we have reason to celebrate even now.
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After two trips to the tabernacle or the temple for a national celebration, you might think that would be enough, but there is one more!
The Feast of the Ingathering/ The Feast of Booths - Presence
The Feast of the Ingathering/ The Feast of Booths - Presence
16 … also the Feast of the Ingathering at the end of the year when you gather in the fruit of your labors from the field. 17 “Three times a year all your males shall appear before the Lord God. 18 “You shall not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leavened bread; nor is the fat of My feast to remain overnight until morning. 19 “You shall bring the choice first fruits of your soil into the house of the Lord your God. “You are not to boil a young goat in the milk of its mother.
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There’s a lot happening in the first couple months of the Hebrew calendar. The Passover, The Feast of Unleavened Bread, The Feast of First Fruits, then roughly 50 days later the feast of Weeks. In the seventh month on the other side of the calendar we have the day of atonement and the Feast of the Ingathering or the Feast of Booths. (The day of atonement is this week actually, Oct 1) They’re 4 days apart right in the middle of the month. The day of atonement is a very sobering day when all the sins of the people would be atoned for. The High Priest would enter into the Holy of Holies to atone for the sins of the people. There’s a sermon for another day on the day of atonement, but let’s recognize simply that this a day when the sins of the people are on full display. The cost is apparent in the death of an innocent lamb. A price must be paid for this debt of sin. This is a yearly reminder, but the people were not left in this sobering position for long. A short 4 days after the day of atonement begins the Feast of the Ingathering begins. It’s a week long celebration that concludes the harvest season. All the olives and the grapes have been gathered, and the people are called to gather together to bring sacrifices of the best of the harvest in thanks before God.
In a short four days, the people of God go from a very sobering picture of the weight their sin and their need for an atoning sacrifice to a very clear command coming from Deuteronomy to rejoice!
13 “You shall celebrate the Feast of Booths seven days after you have gathered in from your threshing floor and your wine vat; 14 and you shall rejoice in your feast, you and your son and your daughter and your male and female servants and the Levite and the stranger and the orphan and the widow who are in your towns.
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Where is this rejoicing coming from, what are the people to be remembering that inspires their joy? There’s certainly the provision of a harvest before them, but there’s a reason this comes to be called the Feast of Booths.
42 ‘You shall live in booths for seven days; all the native-born in Israel shall live in booths, 43 so that your generations may know that I had the sons of Israel live in booths when I brought them out from the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.’ ”
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All this time over the course of the seven days, everyone was effectively in a tent. They would gather together tree branches and build little huts out of them to sleep under. I imagine all the boys in Israel thought the feast of Booths was the best holiday. They travelled together, they rested together and they made forts out of sticks. What more could you ask for as a kid? There was a purpose to it though, it was a reminder of a time when they had nothing. It was a reminder of when God brought them into the wilderness without food, without water, and without shelter, and He provided for them. Amidst all the abundance of the harvest and the plenty the Lord would provide to Israel in the promised land it would always accompany this reminder. Remember when you had nothing but the presence of God with you and that was enough! Remember how he gave you water to drink, and manna and quail to eat. Remember how he bore with your sins through the atoning blood of the lamb.
God knows there will come a time when the blessings are going to abound for Israel, and he instructs them from the very beginning at the mountain, before they even enter the land. When times are blessed and abundant, don’t forget that God is your provider. The presence of God among you is enough!
You can imagine how tempting it would be to finish the harvest and celebrate in the comforts of home with friends and family. Finally we can rest with the fruits of our labor. I don’t know of anyone who comes to Thanksgiving and decides to go camping. Good for you if you’re one of those people, but that’s exactly what God has Israel do. He establishes an unchanging, immovable reminder in their calendar that says, “God is enough for you. The presence of God among you is the fullness of blessing! “
In years to come they would forget that fundamental truth thinking blessing and riches were found in something other than God Himself.
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It’s an important reminder for us to! What is really essential? What does it mean to be blessed? What does it mean for the presence of God to be the source of our blessing?
Jesus will come to address a crowd on the last day of this festival: the feast of Booths in Judea and answers all those questions:
37 Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. 38 “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’ ” 39 But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
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Because the Lamb has died, because the atoning blood of Christ the Lamb was sufficient to pay the debt - the presence of God in the Spirit has come to dwell inside of us, His church. It’s that presence which satisfies us with living water to the degree that we are overflowing bringing blessing to the nations in the proclamation of the gospel. That is reason to celebrate! The price has been paid and the presence of God is with us!
In seasons of bountiful harvest, whether that be a great season at work and you got a raise, you’re getting straight A’s at school, or we as a church experience a wonderful season of ministry, let’s not forget the source of our blessing: God with us and for us through Christ. Maybe you’re in a season right now that just feels like an absolute wilderness. You don’t need to remember what it’s like to live in a tent you’re in one right now. If your faith is in Christ for the atonement of your sins, He is with you in the wilderness, and He is enough. Peter calls the church: aliens and strangers in the world. We’re not home yet, but that doesn’t mean the Spirit is not with us. He will not forsake us and he will surely bring us to the end.
All in all, we have reason to rest and celebrate! Christ has died as the Passover Lamb, He’s risen as the first fruits, and He’s atoned for our sins. Let’s not forget those fundamental truths, but let’s not forget to celebrate! We have reason for joy, we have reason to sing, we have reason to worship! We may be in tents, but let’s not not wait until heaven to rejoice.
Let’s Pray.
Devotion:
Local Ministry: Koinos - Bryan Barnes
Continue to bless the leadership of the Pastors that they would be driven by the joy of the Lord.
Give the leadership and the church strength in the joy of the LORD.
May your presence be among them as they seek to be witnesses in their community and their workplaces.
I need of a new building.
The Church in Ireland:
Growing Secularism and search for joy and reason to celebrate
May the joy and satisfaction of the Christians there be a bold witness.
Work in the hearts of men and women here in the states to call them to those places like Ireland to encourage the church, and plant more churches that your kingdom would be advanced.
