Displaying items by tag: Feast of Tabernacles

This year, the Day of Atonement and the Feast of Tabernacles occur in October, preceded by the Feast of Trumpets in September. Along with the spring biblical festivals, these mark the agricultural and liturgical year, prompting us to remember God’s deeds in history, give thanks for His material and spiritual provision, and pray for His blessing on the year to come, including on its harvest. They are also eschatological. ‘Trumpets’ looks to the coming of Jesus, the rising up of believers, the releasing of God’s judgements, and the coming of His Kingdom (Revelation 8:6-11:19). ‘Atonement’ is fulfilled by Jesus’ once-for-all sacrifice for sin (Hebrews 9:7-14), by the repentance and redemption of Israel (Zechariah 12:10-13:1), and the day of God’s favour and vengeance (Isaiah 61:1-3). ’Tabernacles’ looks forward to the final harvest and the Messianic kingdom (Zechariah 14:16-19). As we ponder our present times, give thanks that God is still working His purpose out.

The Feast of Tabernacles

At the time of Christ, the Feast of Tabernacles was extremely rich with symbolism, and theology. God gave his people two primary reasons to celebrate the feasts. First to remember, and second to renew hope. 

God gave them the feasts to help Israel remember her deliverance and her provision from Yahweh and also to renew their hope!  If God had delivered and provided for them in the past then they can trust him to do so in the future!

In Leviticus 23:34-43, God instructed the people to build temporary shelters (sukkah) and to live or tabernacle in them for 7 days to remind them that God tabernacled among them in the desert.  The Feast of Tabernacles was held in the fall where worshippers would live in little ‘huts’ or ‘tents’ to recall the days when their ancestors lived in tents as they made their way through the Sinai desert.  They remembered how God-the Living God himself-graciously chose to come and live with them in a tent called the Tabernacle.

One of the major ceremonies during the feast of tabernacles at the time of Christ was the light ceremony. Jesus claimed, “I am the light of the world; follow me and you will not walk in darkness but will have the light of Life” (John 8:12). Jesus could have made that claim anywhere, to anyone, at any time but he chose to make it in a particular context during the Feast of Tabernacles (John 7:2).

On the first night of the Feast, when the sun had set to the sound of joyful singing, they would light four, twenty-foot high candelabras, looming over the city so that all of Jerusalem was aglow with light!  During this ceremony they would recall how God had guided them through the desert with a pillar of fire by night and cloud of glory by day.  God could guide because God is Light.  For seven nights people celebrated God as Light and then on the eighth night the candles were extinguished and they looked forward again to next year when light would light up the city of Jerusalem again. It was on the eighth night when Jesus, walking through the court of women proclaimed, “I am the Light.  I am the Light of the World.” His statement is brilliant in every sense of the word!  It’s as if Jesus is saying, “I am the light that pierces the darkness every night, illuminating the whole world.” As William Barclay writes of Jesus, ‘I am the light that never goes out.’ Staggering! And not just light ‘of the world,’ but light ‘for the world.’ As it says in Isaiah 9:2,

“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.” 

As the apostle Paul declares, “God who said, let light shine out of darkness’ has shone in our hearts to give us the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ’ (2 Cor. 4:6).  Jesus Christ, the Morningstar, shines out during the darkest and the coldest time of the night.  He is the brilliant one. He is the dazzling one. He is the chandelier of heaven!  He is clothed in garments of light. His face shines brighter than the sun. His eyes are like flames of fire, with burning desire to do the will of the Father!

Jesus calls us to follow him and be the “light of the world” (Matt. 5:14-16). He calls us to reflect the light of his life to those around us!  Those who love the light come into the Light so that all will be exposed.  Nothing is hidden from God.  Light reveals and exposes all things.  There is no such thing as a “private moment.” 

The true acid test of whether we are being the light of the world, is whether or not we love one another.  I John 2:10, “Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble.”

As the IPC global family, we want to grow in radical love for Christ, love for one another and love for the lost and broken of our world.  One of the best ways that we can love well is through a lifestyle of prayer! 

All true intercession is born out of love. May God grant to us the grace to grow together in Love-motivated prayer. As Dr. Alvin VanderGriend writes, “Love motivated prayer is a love-motivated plea to a love-giving God, on behalf of love-needy persons who live in a love-starved world”

Let’s ask the Father to “Light up every nation” with the brightness of his glorious Son. Come Lord Jesus and ‘tabernacle’ in our midst as we mobilize love-motivated prayer across nations, denominations, and generations for the fulfillment of the great commission!

Dr. Jason Hubbard – IPC Executive Coordinator