The Feast of Tabernacles (pt 1)

Here it is...the last feast of God's calendar year!  The Feast of Tabernacles, also called the Feast of the Ingathering.
What does this feast mean for the people of God today?  How are we to celebrate it?  Well, it's a pretty large feat to try and tackle that all in one post so we're going to look at this feast in several parts.
Again, going to Leviticus 23, which speaks concerning all the feasts of the LORD, the feast of Tabernacles follows the Day of Atonement, on the fifteenth day of the seventh month.  They (the children of Israel) were commanded to offer up sacrifices and offerings and to rest on the first and last days (high sabbaths) of the feast.  They were also commanded to dwell in booths, or temporary shelters.
Before we get into things too much, let's take a look at the word "tabernacle" itself.   That IS, after all, the name of the feast!

The word, in Hebrew, is "suka", meaning - "a hut or lair; booth, tent; a rude or temporary shelter".

The Israelites were commanded to build sukas and dwell in them throughout the feast in order to commemorate their deliverance from Egypt by the hand of the LORD.

 The idea of building a temporary dwelling place was also a picture of dwelling with the LORD during the time He was leading them out of slavery in Egypt.  I can say, in a sense, that my Savior has delivered me from my "Egypt" in the fact that I was a "slave to sin", but now I am a "slave to righteousness" (Romans 6:17-18).  I was not, however, delivered from literal Egypt.  I'm saying that for a reason which I'll get to in a later post.  Nonetheless I AM free in HIM!  Messiah is the reason I celebrate.  In fact, He is the reason for everything, which is what we have to realize and remember when looking at things like the Feasts of the LORD.

As I dwell in this body, which Peter references as a "tent" (2 Peter 1:13-14), as does Paul (2 Corinthians 5:4), I am reminded that this world is not my home.  And while there are many wonderful things about this creation that He has given for me to enjoy, it is not my destination.  It is a place of learning.  It is a battlefield.  It is a 'temporary' dwelling...as is my body.

As I look forward to the next seven days of the Feast of Tabernacles I am reminded to not get ahead of my Lord.  Each day and every step is a glorious opportunity to walk with Him...and that is what it's all about...the journey with Him.