Thanksgiving

Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!

Psalm 100:5 ESV

For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.

For the Christian, Charles Spurgeon described the heart (kavanah כַּוָּנָה - true motivation) of giving thanks as being like the incense of the temple, which filled the whole house with smoke. Expiatory sacrifices are ended, but those of gratitude will never be out of date. So long as we are receivers of mercy we must be givers of thanks.

In Leviticus 7:12 the word used in reference to the thanksgiving offering or sacrifice is todah תוֹרה to which Rabbi Menachen remarks: All sacrifices will be abolished; but the sacrifice of thanksgiving will remain. Thanksgiving - todah תּוֹדָה meaning confession, sacrifice, and praise. These three describe the process of restoration and the redeeming work of Christ.

“In their quest for religious freedom, the Puritans viewed their journey to America as exactly analogous to the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt. England was Egypt, the king was Pharaoh, the Atlantic Ocean their Red Sea, and the Puritans were the Israelites, entering into a new covenant with God in a new Promised Land. In fact, most of the Puritans had Hebrew names and there was even a proposal to make Hebrew the language of the colonies!

Many people believe that the Pilgrims modeled Thanksgiving after the holiday of Sukkot סוכות (Feast of Tabernacles), as they are both harvest festivals that take place in the fall.

Sukkot is one of the three pilgrimage feasts in Scripture. In Jewish tradition, Sukkot has a dual significance: historical and agricultural. We dwell in booths to remember how our ancestors lived in sukkot for forty years in the desert.

However, the Torah also refers to Sukkot as chag ha’asif חג האסיף, the Festival of the Ingathering. At this time of year in Israel, the harvest was ending and the final fruits and crops were gathered and stored. (See Ten Commandments Exodus 34:10-28)

Sukkot is also known as z’man simchateinu זמן שמחתנו, the time of our rejoicing, as our ancestors gave thanks for the conclusion of the harvest and the bounty of the land.

As close readers of the Bible, the Puritans would have known about Sukkot which may have inspired them to celebrate Thanksgiving.” (RABBI ERIC EISENKRAMER, What's Jewish about Thanksgiving? Lots!; https: ReformJudaism.org)

Keep in mind that it was during this feast that:

The Temple was dedicated by Solomon

The walls were built by Nehemiah

Jesus prophesied the infilling of the Holy Spirit as He stood up in the Temple, He boldly declared, “‘On the last day of the feast Jesus stood and cried, If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water’” (John 7:37, 38, ESV).

The Prophet Joel prophesied that the early and latter rains would be poured out (Joel 2: 23, 24).

In Sukkot, debts were forgiven (Deuteronomy 15:1, 2; 31:10); the Word of God was read; it renewed the people, as joy became strength and celebration! (Deuteronomy 31:10-13). Joy and gladness came as a result of the goodness of the Lord as He demonstrated to Israel, again and again, that He is Lord! (Nehemiah 8:17, as “there was very great gladness”; 2 Chronicles 7:10).

In John 13, Jesus Christ (Yeshua) celebrated Passover (Pesach פֶּסַח ) with His closest disciples. At Passover He became the Qorban Pesah קרבן פסח or sacrificial lamb for our sins. His blood was our atonement for Yom Kippur יוֹם כִּיפּוּר (The Day of Atonement). It is because of Him that we can truly have thanksgiving (todah).

Because of Christ, we no longer have to dwell apart from the presence of God but instead we have become the dwelling place of His Holy Spirit. But in John 14 He prepares them for Sukkot; to prepare their hearts to be the dwelling place of the presence of God, the Ruach ha Kodesh רוּחַ הַקֹּדֶשׁ (Holy Spirit).

The Spirit of God would bring them into a place of echad אֶחָד (oneness in covenant; a word usually reserved for God alone as in the Shema שָׁמַע) or yahad יַחַד (unity; joined together). The concept is to become eternally inseparable such as in Genesis 2:24 between a bride and her groom. This is the essence of Jesus’ prayer in John 17:20-21.

John 17:20–21 ESV

“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

Thanksgiving was never about the turkey, cranberries and stuffing. It was about the unity of the family. It is the rejoicing of our salvation and restoration to covenant with a Holy God. It is about community among those who love Adonai and seek to honor His word.

Psalm 133:1 ESV

Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!

1 Thessalonians 5:18 ESV

give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

In true thanksgiving, it’s not just the turkey and ham that are to make the sacrifice. We are called to participate in the sacrifice; to assimilate the altruistic and righteous life of Christ into our entire existence; to die to our lives and live His for one another in His great love.

As the Feast of Ingathering, we are called by Christ to dwell with each other in the unity of Christ. To affirm our faith and confession of life in Christ as His Body of Believers, the sons and daughters of the Most High.

Hebrews 10:23–24 ESV

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,

Hebrews 10:25–26 ESV

not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,

Hebrews 10:27–28 ESV

but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses.

Hebrews 10:29 ESV

How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace?

Contrary to what it might seem, we are living in a time of a great harvest of souls. We are gathered here today as brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus. Let us exemplify His great sacrifice and rejoice together in our redemption. Let us confess our sins, repent, and live the love of Christ as a community of disciples that those around us might see His light and know that we are indeed His because of our unified love in Him one for another. This is our Thanksgiving offering to our Lord.

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