Yes! There is Good News! November 1, 2019

We have been on the topic of covenants these past few weeks and so I would like to turn our attention to something that Sally and I participate in each and every year. It has to do with “covenant relationships.” On October 14th we attended the Feast of Tabernacles at the Kentucky state resort, Land Between the Lakes. This is an eight day festival wherein God’s people join together to worship, honor and fellowship with the Eternal God of Heaven. There are about 200 different sites around the world where one might attend.

This is something that is extremely important to us, and I would like to share with all of you reading these articles, some information concerning this feast.

In Leviticus 23:2 we read, “These are my appointed feast, the appointed feast of the LORD, which you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies.” It is quite interesting that God calls them appointments! He says they are His appointed feasts – indeed they belong to Him. God told ancient Israel that He desired to meet with His people and so, basically He set up appointments for them to keep. When we have an appointment with a doctor, hairdresser, dentist or lawyer we strive to keep that appointment – we do not show up at any time we desire. How much more important is it for God’s people to show up at the appointed times He has made?

You can read chapter 23 of Leviticus and see that there are seven holy Sabbath assemblies. Each of them is a time to meet with our Heavenly Father. But the one that we just kept is perhaps the most wonderful and meaningful of all. We read of it in this same 23rd chapter, verses 33 through 43. Allow me to highlight a few thoughts from these scriptures. “On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the produce of the land, you shall celebrate the feast of the LORD seven days. The first day shall be a solemn rest, and on the eighth day shall be a solemn rest.” This festival is broken down into two events. The first is a seven day period of rejoicing and worship with the first day being a day of rest from working and then the eight day is a special day (often called the last and great day of the feast) also a day of ceasing from work.

The ordinance that God brings with these days is that the worshipers are to stay in temporary dwellings. Today, those who keep the feast stay in cabins, lodges, homes and some set up tents and RVs to camp. Why do we do this? The simple answer is that my family and I are Christians. But that needs some explanation doesn’t it? By definition a Christian is one who follows after our Savior, Jesus Christ. Jesus Himself tells us to follow after Him and do the things He does. Very simply then, let me say that I have seen many people wearing wrist bands that say, “What would Jesus do?” I assume that they are advocating we should do as He does – and so what did He do in regards to the feast of Tabernacles?

The entirety of John chapter 7 tells us about how Jesus kept this festival. I’ll let you read it for yourself. But in verse 37 it tells us this, “On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’”

There is still more to come.