As we open the Bible and go over the feasts that God has given us, we also discover just how relevant they are to our lives even today. Each one of them speaks to us directly, and remind us of 3 things:
- Lessons from the past: Remembering what God has done for the people of Israel in the past. With Sukkot it was about remembering how God protected His people in the desert, providing cover in the form of Tabernacles, to keep His people from harm.
- Lessons for our present: Instructional part when God tells us exactly what to do, what to celebrate, how to remember and how to pray, as well as what we need to do with our fields and harvest during the feast. But then He goes on to give us a powerful and relevant message for our lives today.
- Proclaiming for the future: Prophetic message of the Feast — the glorious future that awaits us, how God’s kingdom is going to be revealed in the end-time.
You shall observe the Feast of Tabernacles seven days, when you have gathered from your threshing floor and from your winepress.
Deuteronomy 16:13
Feast of Tabernacles is a 7-day feast, but it’s also a feast referencing the harvest. The Sukkot season in Israel is one of the fall harvest, the last harvest of the year.
It’s important to remember that harvest times in Israel are always connected to spiritual harvest — revival in the nation of Israel. Additionally, harvest is a time of blessings when we can observe and count just how blessed we are. We do a recount of how much God has blessed us this year, and how much of an overflow we will have into the next year.
And you shall rejoice in your feast, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant and the Levite, the stranger and the fatherless and the widow, who are within your gates.
Deuteronomy 16:14
This feast is all about joy! Much like all the feasts God has given us, He emphasizes joy as the core of what we should experience while celebrating and remembering God’s goodness.
When we’re sitting in our Tabernacles, under the Lord’s covering and protection, always rejoice with your loved ones, ensuring that not just you, but the people around you experience the same joy; whether it is your son, daughter, wife — your entire family. But then God goes even farther and makes it clear that joy can only be complete and pleasing to Him if no one is left behind or excluded, that everyone is made part of the blessing: not forgetting the Levites (men of God, spiritual leaders, ministers), the strangers in our land (foreigners), widows and orphans.
The Lord gives us an entire list of people we need to think of and take care of, so we don’t just enclose ourselves in our family cocoon and enjoy the holiday/feast with our loved ones, but remember the others that are less blessed and are in need. The blessing of God’s covering, protection, and provision are for all, but He leaves it in our hands to take care of them.
It is the time to share the blessing God gave you, not leaving anyone behind. It is also the time to keep the harvest in mind, thanking the Lord and taking time with your family and loved ones to rejoice and remember God’s goodness. That is why it’s a 7-day long feast; every evening God commands us to take time and sit with our families in the Tabernacle, rejoicing and being grateful for all His blessings.
