Tag: temporary

Living in Temporary Shelters

Living in Temporary Shelters

Marissa

My husband and I recently got back from our road trip down to Texas to spend the week of the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) with a group of believers in Galveston. If you got my newsletter this past Wednesday, then you’ve already read some of my musings from a morning I spent on the balcony of our condo watching the sunrise over the Gulf of Mexico. I had my devotional book, a notebook, and my Bible app opened on my phone. It was a gorgeous sunrise, and a perfect quiet moment for reflection and prayer.

I hope you all aren’t getting tired of me talking about the Feast of Tabernacles, because I want to share one more thing that this festival prompted me to think about more deeply. It’s a lesson God wanted ancient Israel to remember, and it’s also one that the New Testament writers made sure Christians would keep in mind.

One of the things I hear from Christians who don’t observe God’s feast days outlined in Leviticus 23 is that they’re not relevant for us today. I assume that would be easier for me to understand if I’d never observed these days, but having kept them with my family for my whole life I just can’t imagine living without them. And I know my relationship with God would not be as deep if I didn’t have these rhythms of worship built into my weeks and years. There are still lessons to learn from keeping the days God calls holy, and I want to share one with you today about temporary shelters.

Image of a woman by a tent in the desert overlaid with text from Neh. 8:14, 15-17, WEB version: “They found written in the law how Yahweh had commanded by Moses that the children of Israel should dwell in booths in the feast of the seventh month … So the people went out ... and made themselves temporary shelters … There was very great gladness. Also day by day, from the first day to the last day, he read in the book of the law of God.”
Image by Tania Dimas from Pixabay

Why Keep this Particular Feast?

When God outlined His holy days for the people of Israel, He told Moses, “These are the Lord’s appointed times which you must proclaim as holy assemblies—my appointed times” (Lev. 23:2, NET). That’s the primary reason to keep the holy days–they belong to God and He calls His people to assemble at His appointed times. He further elaborates on them as He goes on, and explains the symbolism for some of them. The one He spends the most time on in Leviticus 23 is the Feast of Tabernacles (also called the Feast of Booths or Festival of Temporary Shelters). Let’s take a look at that passage.

 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the children of Israel, and say, ‘On the fifteenth day of this seventh month is the feast of booths for seven days to Yahweh. On the first day shall be a holy convocation. You shall do no regular work. Seven days you shall offer an offering made by fire to Yahweh. On the eighth day shall be a holy convocation to you. You shall offer an offering made by fire to Yahweh. It is a solemn assembly; you shall do no regular work. …

“‘So on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the fruits of the land, you shall keep the feast of Yahweh seven days. On the first day shall be a solemn rest, and on the eighth day shall be a solemn rest. You shall take on the first day the fruit of majestic trees, branches of palm trees, and boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and you shall rejoice before Yahweh your God seven days. You shall keep it as a feast to Yahweh seven days in the year. It is a statute forever throughout your generations. You shall keep it in the seventh month.  You shall dwell in temporary shelters for seven days. All who are native-born in Israel shall dwell in temporary shelters, that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in temporary shelters when I brought them out of the land of Egypt. I am Yahweh your God.’”

Leviticus 23:33-36, 39-43, WEB

Here, the reason God gives for keeping the Feast of Tabernacles forever is so “that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in temporary shelters when I brought them out of the land of Egypt.” In Deuteronomy, Moses adds that we must rejoice in this Feast “because Yahweh your God will bless you in all your increase and in all the work of your hands” (Deut. 16:13-15, WEB). So we have this reminder of deliverance and this emphasis on joy because of God’s blessings. This Feast was a time to remember and to celebrate.

The point that struck me this year was that people kept this Feast before they arrived at the Promised Land. I find that really interesting. God set it up as a reminder that they dwelt in temporary shelters before reaching the promised land, but for those 40 years they wandered in the wilderness, they were still living in tents while keeping this Feast. For those people, it was a reminder that their current living conditions were just temporary and God would bring them into a permanent, better situation soon.

Image of tents by a mountain overlaid with text from 1 Peter 1:15-17, NET version: “like the Holy One who called you, become holy yourselves in all of your conduct, for it is written, “You shall be holy, because I am holy.” And if you address as Father the one who impartially judges according to each one’s work, live out the time of your temporary residence here in reverence.”
Image by Kanenori from Pixabay

Our Temporary Shelters Today

Today, we are like the Israelites who kept the Feast of Tabernacles while still living in temporary shelters and heading toward the Promised Land. Our physical bodies are temporary while we wait for our spiritual bodies. Our dwelling places on earth are temporary as we wait for God’s kingdom–our true homeland–to arrive on earth.

For we know that if our earthly house, the tent we live in, is dismantled, we have a building from God, a house not built by human hands, that is eternal in the heavens. For in this earthly house we groan, because we desire to put on our heavenly dwelling, if indeed, after we have put on our heavenly house, we will not be found naked. For we groan while we are in this tent, since we are weighed down, because we do not want to be unclothed, but clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.

2 Corinthians 5:1-4, NET

Paul isn’t the only one to use tents/tabernacles/temporary shelters as a metaphor for our physical lives. John says Jesus “tabernacled” among us when He became human (John 1:14). Peter talks about it being his duty to continue teaching “as long as I am in this tabernacle” (2 Pet. 1:13-14, NET). We have temporary, physical lives for now. We know that life isn’t permanent; we’re heading toward our own promised land, the Kingdom of God fully realized on earth after Jesus’s return.

By faith Abraham … lived as a foreigner in the promised land as though it were a foreign country, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, who were fellow heirs of the same promise. … children were fathered by one man … like the number of stars in the sky and like the innumerable grains of sand on the seashore. These all died in faith without receiving the things promised, but they saw them in the distance and welcomed them and acknowledged that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth. For those who speak in such a way make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. In fact, if they had been thinking of the land that they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they aspire to a better land, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. …

And these all were commended for their faith, yet they did not receive what was promised. For God had provided something better for us, so that they would be made perfect together with us. …

For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.

Hebrews 11:8-9, 12 (italics an allusion to Gen 22:17); 11:39-40, 13:14, NET

When we keep the Feast of Tabernacles now (just like Jesus did when He lived on this earth [John 7]), we’re reminded that we are strangers and pilgrims here. We also remember that just like God delivered ancient Israel from slavery, then had them dwell in booths for a while, then brought them into the Promised Land, He is doing the same for us. He delivers us from sin, but we still have to live our physical lives for a while before He brings us into His kingdom as His spiritually reborn children.

Tabernacles in the Future

Image of a tent with the blog's title text and the words "God’s Feast of Tabernacles provides a comforting reminder that our physical lives and the world we live in are temporary, and that God is preparing a permanent, wonderful kingdom for His people."
Image by Terje Ansgar Eriksen from Pixabay

The Feast of Tabernacles invites us to look to the future, anticipating God’s kingdom while reminding us that our lives today are temporary. In messages during the Feast, we often spend a lot of time reading millennial prophecies like those in Isaiah. One of the really interesting things about the Feast of Tabernacles is that those prophecies tell us people will still be keeping this Feast after Jesus Christ’s return. We learn this at the end of Zechariah’s prophecy.

It will happen in that day, that living waters will go out from Jerusalem: half of them toward the eastern sea, and half of them toward the western sea. It will be so in summer and in winter. Yahweh will be King over all the earth. In that day Yahweh will be one, and his name one. …

It will happen that everyone who is left of all the nations that came against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, Yahweh of Armies, and to keep the feast of booths. It will be, that whoever of all the families of the earth doesn’t go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, Yahweh of Armies, on them there will be no rain. If the family of Egypt doesn’t go up, and doesn’t come, neither will it rain on them. This will be the plague with which Yahweh will strike the nations that don’t go up to keep the feast of booths. This will be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all the nations that don’t go up to keep the feast of booths. In that day there will be on the bells of the horses, “HOLY TO YAHWEH”; and the pots in Yahweh’s house will be like the bowls before the altar. 

Zechariah 14:8-9, 16-20, WEB

We don’t have a huge amount of detail about what exactly will happen after Jesus Christ’s return. God gives us an inspiring vision for the future (Rev. 19-21, for example), but there are quite a few things He doesn’t spell out clearly. I find it fascinating that one of the details He wanted us to know is that people will still keep the Feast after He is “King over all the earth,” and that there will be consequences for not observing this festival. It’s got to be important–and the lessons it teaches us must be important–if Jesus risked His life to attend the Festival (John 7:1-13) and God wants people to continue keeping it even after Jesus’s return.

With Sukkot now finished, we’ve completed another yearly cycle of God’s holy days and look forward to starting again next year, with Passover. It’s comforting to approach next year with the reminder that our physical lives and the world we live in are temporary. The struggles we deal with, the dangers we face, and the heartbreaking news stories we hear all the time aren’t going to last forever. God has a plan, and it involves a new heaven and new earth where there will be no more sorrow or death. He’s bringing us into His kingdom and into His family, moving those who faithfully follow Him from temporary here on earth to forever with Him.

Featured image by Pexels from Pixabay

Song Recommendation: “You Are Holy (As for Me and My House)” by Joshua Aaron

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Tabernacles and Temples

Marissa

Why was Solomon’s Temple dedicated during the Feast of Tabernacles?

I’ve read 2 Chronicles several times, and I may even have heard someone point this out before, but I didn’t realize the Temple dedication was set during this holy day festival until just last week. Maybe I was paying more attention this time when I made it to 2 Chronicles 5-7 while reading through the Old Testament.

One one level, this was simply a logical time for an event of this magnitude, since people would have been traveling to Jerusalem anyway to keep the Feast. But I’m also sure there’s a greater significance to this “coincidence.”

Tabernacles Overview

Lets take a quick look at what was going on during the Feast of Tabernacles, or “Sukkot.” This year, Tabernacles runs from October 9-16, which makes today the Sabbath during this Feast.  The Jewish name for this holy day comes from the fact that the Israelites were commanded to build sukkah (H5521), which basically means a temporary dwelling place. Specific examples of a sukkah include a lair for an animal, a hut, a booth, “an arbor made of interwoven leaves and branches, a tent, a house” (Zodhiates).

Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days to the Lord. On the first day there shall be a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work on it. For seven days you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord. On the eighth day you shall have a holy convocation, and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord. It is a sacred assembly, and you shall do no customary work on it. (Lev. 23:33-36)

This is 15 days after the Feast of Trumpets (Yom Teruah) and five days after the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). In those days, we’ve been reminded that the King is coming and we must be ready to meet Him, and we’ve been given the privilege to deepen our relationship with God by being reconciled to Him at the mercy seat. Now, we have another special appointment with God to learn more about Him and His plan through the Feast of Tabernacles.

Also on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the fruit of the land, you shall keep the feast of the Lord for seven days; on the first day there shall be a sabbath-rest, and on the eighth day a sabbath-rest. And you shall take for yourselves on the first day the fruit of beautiful trees, branches of palm trees, the boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook; and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days. You shall keep it as a feast to the Lord for seven days in the year. It shall be a statute forever in your generations. You shall celebrate it in the seventh month. You shall dwell in booths for seven days. All who are native Israelites shall dwell in booths, that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God. (Lev. 23:39-43)

After listing all the holy days in Leviticus 23, this is the only one that God elaborates on (in this chapter at least. The other days are mentioned again elsewhere in scripture, as is Tabernacles). Two key points emerge from both sets of instructions given in Leviticus 23. 1) Tabernacles is a Feast of rejoicing, and 2) Israel lived in temporary dwellings to remind them of their sojourning in and out of Egypt (Neh. 8:13-18).

Rejoicing

We started out talking about Solomon’s temple, so let’s head over to 2 Chronicles and see how that relates to Tabernacles.

So all the work that Solomon had done for the house of the Lord was finished; and Solomon brought in the things which his father David had dedicated: the silver and the gold and all the furnishings. And he put them in the treasuries of the house of God. Now Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the chief fathers of the children of Israel, in Jerusalem, that they might bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord up from the City of David, which is Zion. Therefore all the men of Israel assembled with the king at the feast, which was in the seventh month. (2 Chr. 5:1-3)

This event was accompanied by “trumpeters and singers” who made “one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord” (2 Chr. 5:13). There was much rejoicing, as befitted such a landmark Feast of Tabernacles.

At that time Solomon kept the feast seven days, and all Israel with him, a very great assembly from the entrance of Hamath to the Brook of Egypt. And on the eighth day they held a sacred assembly, for they observed the dedication of the altar seven days, and the feast seven days. On the twenty-third day of the seventh month he sent the people away to their tents, joyful and glad of heart for the good that the Lord had done for David, for Solomon, and for His people Israel. (2 Chr. 7:8-10)

God wants His people to be joyful. It’s one of the fruits of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22). In the Greek, this word is chara (G5479), which means delight, joy, or rejoicing, and it is part of the same word-family as charis (G5485). Charis carries the idea of joy being “a direct result of God’s grace” (Zodhiates). The most common translation of that word is “grace,” but other translations include “gifts,” “favor,” “benefit” and “pleasure.”

Chara is the word used when James writes, “count it all joy when you fall into various trials” (James 1:2). Basically, someone with chara is so delighted by the fact that they’ve been chosen by God to be part of His family that the trials seem unimportant in comparison.

And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Cor. 12:9-10)

Paul offered us an example of finding joy in the worst of circumstances. No matter what we’re going through, God gives us the opportunity to have joy through His Spirit.

But what does all this have to do with Tabernacles or temple dedication? I’m so glad you asked.

Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. (Eph. 2:19-22)

During the Feast of Tabernacles, we usually focus on the fact that we are “strangers and pilgrims on the earth” (Heb. 11:13), as tied in with the Old Testament command that the children of Israel dwelt in temporary sukkah. But God doesn’t intend for us to remain homeless (John 14:2-3). We are strangers on the earth because we are not stranger to Him, and because He is making us His temple. And that is truly cause for rejoicing.

Temple Dwelling

The question of where God dwells was central to Solomon’s temple dedication. The temple was built as a house for God’s use, but Solomon was not so arrogant as to believe this house would be good enough for God to take up permanent residence.

The Lord said He would dwell in the dark cloud. I have surely built You an exalted house, and a place for You to dwell in forever. … But will God indeed dwell with men on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this temple which I have built! Yet regard the prayer of Your servant and his supplication, O Lord my God, and listen to the cry and the prayer which Your servant is praying before You: that Your eyes may be open toward this temple day and night, toward the place where You said You would put Your name, that You may hear the prayer which Your servant makes toward this place. (2 Chr. 6:1-2, 18-20)

The Lord respected this prayer, filling the temple with His glory to the point that the priests couldn’t even go inside (2 Chr. 7:1-3). It was a very visible sign that God had indeed chosen to put His name in this place. It was not, however, God’s place of permanent residence, as Stephen brought up in the sermon before his death.

But Solomon built Him a house. However, the Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands, as the prophet says: ‘Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool. What house will you build for Me? says the Lord, or what is the place of My rest? Has My hand not made all these things?’ (Acts 7:47-50)

So where does God dwell? The heavens are an obvious answer, given what Stephen says here in Acts and what Solomon said in his prayer (2 Chr. 6:30, 33, 39). But God also has other residences, which are in some ways similar to a temporary sukkah. One was the tabernacle He commanded Moses to make, another Solomon’s temple, and still another the human body of Jesus Christ.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)

This word “dwell” is the Greek skenoo (G4637). Strong’s dictionary says it means “to reside (as God did in the Tabernacle of old, a symbol for protection and communion).” Etymologically, it is very closely related to the words skene (G4633) and skenos (G4636), which are both translated “tabernacle.”

Jesus was fully God, became fully human, died, and was raised to have the same glory He had with the Father “before the world was” (John 17:5). Just like every other human being, His physical body was a temporary dwelling place. In Christ’s case, this body let God tabernacle among men, and His return to eternal life gave us an example of what to expect when we also leave our tabernacles to live with God in the permanent residence He is setting up for His family.

For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. (2 Cor. 5:1)

The Feast of Tabernacles reminds us that physical life is not a permanent residence. It’s the spiritual equivalent of living in a sukkah until we can move into a mansion. Our real home is with God as part of His family. Something else that reminds us of this is God’s indwelling presence. God doesn’t dwell, even temporarily, in a physical temple any more. He dwells in us, tabernacling with and inside His people until we reach the part of His plan when Christ returns and sets up a kingdom where all God’s family can be together as spirit beings.

For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people.” Therefore “Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you.” “I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.” (2 Cor. 6:16-18)