The Feast of Booths

The Feast of Booths

Home Church Service 9/18/2021

These sermons began as devotionals for my family as we met during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. We have now begun to include our friends and the devotional has now become a full sermon. We are also recording our service and will begin posting those videos in the near future.

When my family and I meet for worship, we like to discuss what we are learning, in the moment. Sometimes that happens right after the message and at other times we will address something during the message. This message was designed to be interactive, discussing what we are learning right after I have addressed each point of the message. You will find the questions at the end of each section. In most formats they will appear in bold. Use these questions as a guide to meditate on the points Paul is making. Allow the Holy Spirit to search your heart and above all, be honest with yourself and the Holy Spirit. After all, He knows any way!

Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘On the fifteenth of this seventh month is the Feast of Booths for seven days to the Lord. ‘On the first day is a holy convocation; you shall do no laborious work of any kind. ‘For seven days you shall present an offering by fire to the Lord. On the eighth day you shall have a holy convocation and present an offering by fire to the Lord; it is an assembly. You shall do no laborious work. ‘On exactly the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the crops of the land, you shall celebrate the feast of the Lord for seven days, with a rest on the first day and a rest on the eighth day. ‘Now on the first day you shall take for yourselves the foliage of beautiful trees, palm branches and boughs of leafy trees and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days. ‘You shall thus celebrate it as a feast to the Lord for seven days in the year. It shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations; you shall celebrate it in the seventh month. ‘You shall live in booths for seven days; all the native-born in Israel shall live in booths, 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.’ ”

                                                          (Leviticus 23: 33-36 & 39-43 NASB)

Thus far in our study of the Fall feasts we have examined the first two of three holy days set apart by God to meet with His people. The first feast we encountered was The Feast of Trumpets, a day when the trumpet sounded to begin the Jewish New Year but also to issue a call to repentance. The second feast, The Day of Atonement or Yom Kippur is a day set apart to God as a call to redemption through the repentance of sin – sin that has been covered and carried away by the blood of the Lamb.

That brings us to our third and final feast and the subject of today’s message – The Feast of Booths or Tabernacles. This is a day of rejoicing before the Lord in temporary shelters as a reminder of the faithfulness of God. For the Christ follower it is also a reminder – a reminder of the power of God to free us from slavery to sin.

The Feast of Booths is celebrated on the fifteenth day of the seventh month as a holy convocation to the Lord. Offerings are made by fire and no laborious work is to be done. All of Israel is to build booths, from the beautiful foliage of the trees, in which they live and rejoice before the Lord for seven days. It shall be a perpetual statute to remember when the Lord delivered them out of Egypt.

In this message we seek to answer the question, “What is the significance of The Feast of Booths for the Christ follower?”

The Feast of Booths is one of seven holy days established by God to reveal His plan of salvation to all generations.

1). The Feasts of Booths is a set apart day for Israel to remember how God freed the from slavery to Egypt.

This is a day of rest IN the Lord. Of offerings TO the Lord and rejoicing BEFORE the Lord.

The seventh and final feast is The Feast of Booths or Tabernacles and is also known as the Feast of Ingathering which we discuss a bit later in this message. This feast is the third in the month of Tishrei following The Feast of Trumpets, issuing a call to repentance and Yom Kippur, The Day of Atonement, a call to redemption through repentance of sins being covered by the blood of the Lamb, which brings us to The Feast of Booths or Tabernacles, a time of rejoicing before the Lord at the completion of the first two feasts.

The Feast of Booths is the last great feast by which Israel is to remember the faithfulness of God. The Feast of Booths specifically draws to remembrance the faithfulness of God as He delivered them from slavery to Egypt through the wilderness, led by His shekinah glory. This feast reminds the nation of Israel how their ancestors lived in quickly constructed huts called sukkah booths. This is to be a seven-day reminder of the mercy and power of God that delivered Israel out of bondage to Egypt. The foliage of these temporary booths is to remind Israel that during the wilderness journey Yahweh, Almighty God, was their covering and protector, a shield about them and the glory in their midst.

The palm branches and other green foliage was to remind Israel of the abiding presence of Yahweh in the cloud that protected them from the scorching sun of the wilderness journey. The willow branches were a reminder of His mercy that miraculously provided water from the rock. These temporary shelters had three walls of intertwined branches and a thatched roof spaced to provide more shade than sun but sparce enough to allow the family members to see the starlit sky at night. All of this is to be a reminder that their God was TABERNACLING – that is dwelling or living amongst them. He provided a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night – thus His presence lived among them, and His glory covered them, He went before them and acted as their rear guard.

Israel is to celebrate for seven days before Yahweh – symbolic of His perfection and the completion of His will throughout their lifetime. Each person is to present the offering of their life to obediently serve, worship and glorify Yahweh as they journey on earth in preparation for the Promised Land. They are to rejoice before Yahweh for all that He has done throughout the wilderness journey, for establishing the sacrificial blood of the Lamb, for freeing them from slavery, for destroying their enemies and from bringing them through the Red Sea.  

Questions for discussion/reflection:

How does God act as your covering and protector – a shield about you?

How have you sensed God going before you and/or acting as your rear guard?

How have you sensed God living with you? Or how have you sensed the presence of God in your life?

What are you rejoicing before the Lord for on this day?

The Feast of Booths is one of seven holy days established by God to reveal His plan of salvation to all generations.

2). The Feast of Booths is a picture of the Lord freeing the Christ follower from slavery to sin and the coming millennial Kingdom when we will dwell with Christ.

This day is to be a reminder that we are on a journey, strangers in this land, to our eternal kingdom.

If you are paying close attention, we are witnessing many signs that point to the soon coming of Jesus Christ as King and Messiah. If you are listening closely, you can hear the Holy Spirit warning us to be fully prepared with understanding of biblical truth, to have our hope and joy removed from this world and refocused on Christ Jesus, His soon coming Kingdom and the glorious eternal future we have with Him. The fulfillment of The Feast of Booths will be a fulfillment of never-ending joy because our Lord and Savior, who now lives within us, will dwell or tabernacle with us in His eternal Kingdom.

Like Israel, we too must have our own wilderness journey, and it is a difficult journey to say the least. In writing to the church at Philippi, Paul reminds the church “For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake” (Philippians 1:29 NASB). Far too many people, members of today’s churches, believe because they have acknowledged faith in Christ, they have a guaranteed “ticket” into heaven. Sadly, many ignore or simply do not understand the teachings of Jesus that following Him comes at a cost.

Because many lack understanding of what the Bible teaches, they have fallen prey to the gospel of “name it and claim it” that brings worldly pleasures and blessings for the “here and now” rather than a glorious eternity with God the Father and our Lord, Jesus Christ. We have been given instructions to count the cost, to enter through the narrow gate and to deny self and take up our cross. This is the Suffering Servant of Isiah 53 and thus, we too are to be suffering servants. It is through our suffering, through our trials and through the storms of life that we are perfected into the image of Yeshua – Jesus Christ.

For these reasons we too – Christ followers, are to celebrate The Feast of Booths, for it is written “you shall rejoice before the Lord for seven days” (Leviticus 23:40 NASB). We rejoice because He has delivered us from slavery to sin; we rejoice because no temptation has overcome us; we rejoice because He has used the storms of life to strengthen our faith! We rejoice because it is written the joy of then Lord is our strength and a safeguard for our faith. We rejoice because our wilderness journey on earth prepares us to enter the promised land at the return of Christ Jesus.

I mentioned earlier that this feast is also known as the Feast of Ingathering because this feast begins after the fall harvest has been completed. For many this points to the great soul harvest that comes during the millennial reign of Christ when the hearts and minds of those who have not heard the gospel message, are opened to hear and understand the life changing power of Christ Jesus and the gospel message. We must remember that Satan the devil is the prince of the power of the air, and he has deceived the whole world.

Many whom we think have heard this message may, in fact, have not heard or understood the truth of the gospel message. The enemy of our soul is a liar, in fact, he is the father of lies and lies and deceptions are his number one weapon against those who bear the image of God Almighty. All the more reason we should be diligent to count the cost of following Jesus; all the more reason to read and meditate on the word; all the more reason to fast and pray; all the more reason to get away and be alone with God to hear His still small voice.

Questions for discussion/reflection:

Where do you find yourself in the midst of your wilderness journey? At the beginning? Stuck in the middle? Nearing the promised land?

How have you fallen for the false promises of a gospel that promises earthly rather than eternal blessings?

How does the joy of the Lord bring you strength?

How is the prince of the power of the air deceiving you today?

The Feast of Booths is one of seven holy days established by God to reveal His plan of salvation to all generations.

We have seen how The Feast of Trumpets was a call to repentance which led to The Day of Atonement and a call to redemption through repentance of sin – sin that has been covered and carried away by the blood of the Lamb. Which leads us to the third and final Fall feast.

The Feast of Booths or Tabernacle is a call to rest IN the Lord, offerings made TO the Lord and of rejoicing BEFORE the Lord for His power and faithfulness throughout our lives.

So, as Christ followers, where do we go from here? Remember the seven holy days of God – the Feasts that have been given as a great gift of blessing from God for His children. They are appointed times for us to meet with our heavenly Father and draw close to Him that He might draw close to us. Also remember that God is your covering and protector – a shield about you. No matter the circumstances you are never alone. God goes before you and acts as your rear guard – He is the glory in your midst.

Thirdly, in this, the seventh month of the Jewish calendar, the final feast is a Feast of rejoicing. The first tow feast, one a call to repentance and the other a call to redemption through repentance, are now complete. Rejoice in the faithfulness of God and His power in your life. Rejoice that He has established the blood of the Lamb to cover and carry away your sin. Rejoice at His presence and His perfect completeness evident throughout your lifetime. Rejoice knowing that He is the God who is Almighty Creator, and He alone offers eternal salvation through His Son – Jesus Christ.

Also remember that we all have our own wilderness journey, and it will be a difficult journey. This journey has a purpose, however. It is a journey meant to strengthen your faith and move you into perfection – that is, into maturity and Christlikeness. Hold onto biblical truth so you are fully prepared for any temptation, thrown at you by the enemy, meant to cause you to sin. The enemy is a liar and the father of lies; lies and deceptions are his number weapon against the image bearing creation of God!

Finally, remember the joy of the Lord is your strength and a safeguard for your faith. Satan the devil is the prince of the power of the air, and he will stop at nothing to deceive, oppress, distract and flat out lie to you. But those who rejoice before the Lord, regardless of the surrounding circumstances, are strengthened by the joy of the Lord. The joy of the Lord will be a safeguard to your faith – going before you and acting as your rear guard. The joy of the Lord will be a shield about you. Thus, you will not be so easily deceived, oppressed, distracted and lie to!

We do all things for the glory of God through Christ our Lord.

Amen and Amen.