FEAST OF TABERNACLES
The Sabbath is a profound
foreshadowing of the fulfillment of God’s redemptive plan; exemplified in His 7 Feasts listed in Leviticus 23, especially
the Feast of Tabernacles.
Celebrating the Sabbath 1-day out of each 7 days; 24 hours:
i.e. Saturday sundown to Sunday at sundown.
Exodus 20:8-11 (4th Commandment)
"Remember the Sabbath day by keeping
it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your
God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant,
nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth,
the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day.
Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
"IF
you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on My holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the Lord's holy day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way and
not
doing as you please or speaking
idle words, then you will find your joy in the Lord, and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land
and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob." The mouth of the Lord has spoken. Isaiah
58:13-14
Deuteronomy 5:15 Reiterates the
Ten Commandments and notes the second thing that we must remember on Sabbath: "Remember that you were
a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord, your God brought you forth from there with a mighty hand and with an outstretched
arm; therefore the Lord your God commanded you to observe the Sabbath day."
What does the Exodus have to do with resting on the seventh
day? It's all about freedom. In ancient times, leisure was confined to certain classes; slaves did
not get days off. Thus, by resting on Sabbath, we are reminded that we are free. But in a more general
sense, Sabbath frees us from our weekday concerns, from our deadlines and schedules and commitments. During
the week, we are slaves to our jobs, to our creditors, to our need to provide for ourselves; on Shabbat / Sabbath, we are
freed from these concerns, much as our biblical ancestors were freed from slavery in Egypt. We are freed
to commune / dwell with God on those “Appointed Times” God has foreordained (i.e. 4th commandment;
the Sabbath).
Sabbaths and Feasts are called "Holy
Convocations" in Scripture. That is to say, they are intended to be times of meeting between God and man
for "Holy Purposes". Feasts: aka: Solemn Appointed Times with the Lord. Lev. 23:1-4. The Hebrew
word translated "Feasts" means Appointed Times. And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of
Israel, and say unto them, Concerning the feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even
these are My feasts. Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, a holy convocation;
ye shall do no work therein: it is the sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings. These are the feasts of the LORD, even holy
convocations,
which ye shall proclaim in their seasons. Lev. 23:1-4
According
to Lev. 23:1-4; God commands that we keep each sabbath & feast day holy (in light of the New Testament);
aka "Holy Convocations"; that is, they are intended to be times of meeting between God and man for "Holy
Purposes" in preparation of an eternity dwelling with Him!
These
"Holy Convocations" are a combination of celebratory commemorations of God’s providence fulfilled
in the past, and the continued fulfillment of His covenant promises for the future.
To fully understand the Feasts, one must first understand the full meaning and implications of the Sabbath
as a time of oneness with God.
The Feast of Tabernacles becomes the ultimate
oneness of meeting with God; to “tabernacle” / dwell with God for eternity.
The question is: If you are not willing to spend a Sabbath with God, even when God COMMANDS
it (4th commandment), how do you expect to spend eternity dwelling with God ???
Note feasts relationship to God’s ordained numerical sequencing:
7 day week ending on a Sabbath
7 months of 7 feasts ending on the ultimate Sabbath,
the Feast of Tabernacles
7 years culminating in a Sabbatical year
7 Sabbatical years of 7 years culminating at the Year
of Jubilee
7
weeks of 7 days to the Feast of Weeks / Shavuot / Pentecost
70 periods of 7 (Dan. 9:24-27) “End of the Age” prophecy
7 year period at the “End of the Age”
(Dan. 9:24-27’s: The 70th 7 year period)
70 years symbol of Completion; , see
Jer. 29:10-14 30:3,7,11,24 31:31-34, 38-40
===============================================================
SABBATH SCRIPTURES:
Exodus 20:8-11 (4th Commandment)
"Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but
the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your
son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For
in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but He rested on the seventh day. Therefore
the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
In Exodus 20:11 Because for six days, the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and
all that is in them, and on the seventh day, He rested; therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and sanctified it.
Exodus 31:12-14
Then the Lord said to Moses, say to the Israelites, you must
observe my Sabbaths. This will be a sign between Me and you for the generations to come, so you may know
that I am the Lord, who makes you holy. Observe the Sabbath, because it is holy to you. Anyone who desecrates
it must be put to death; whoever does any work on that day must be cut off from his people.
Lev. 23:1-4
And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, Concerning the feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations,
even these are My feasts. Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath
of rest, an holy convocation; ye shall do no work therein: it is the sabbath of the
LORD in all your dwellings. These are the feasts of the LORD, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their seasons.
Deuteronomy 5:12
The Sabbath in Hebrew
is called Shabbat. It is said "more than Israel has kept Shabbat, Shabbat has kept Israel." Shabbat
involves two interrelated commandments: to remember (zachor) Shabbat, and to observe (shamor) Shabbat.
Isaiah 56:1-2
This is
what the Lord says: "Maintain justice and do what is right, for My salvation is close at hand and
My righteousness will soon be revealed. Blessed is the man who does this, the man who holds it fast, who
keeps the Sabbath without desecrating it, and keeps his hand from doing any evil."
Isaiah
58:13-14
"If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing
as you please on My holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the Lord's holy day honorable, and
if you honor it by not going your own way and not
doing as you please or speaking idle words,
then you will find your joy in the Lord, and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance
of your father Jacob." The mouth of the Lord has spoken.
Ezekiel 46:1-4
"'This is what the Sovereign Lord says: The
gate of the inner court facing east is to be shut on the six working days, but on the Sabbath day and on the day of
the New Moon it is to be opened. The prince is to enter from the outside through the portico of the gateway and stand
by the gatepost. The priests are to sacrifice his burnt offering and his fellowship offerings. He is to worship at the threshold
of the gateway and then go out, but the gate will not be shut until evening.”
Ezekiel 46:12
“When the prince provides a freewill offering to the Lord--whether a burnt offering or fellowship offerings--the
gate facing east is to be opened for him. He shall offer his burnt offering or his fellowship offerings
as he does on the Sabbath day. Then he shall go out, and after he has gone out, the gate will be shut”
Acts 13:42-47
As Paul
and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue, the people invited them to speak further about these things on the next Sabbath.
When the congregation was dismissed, many of the Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who
talked with them and urged them to continue in the grace of God. On the next Sabbath almost the whole city
gathered to hear the word of the Lord. When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy
and talked abusively against what Paul was saying. Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly:
"We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal
life, we now turn to the Gentiles. For this is what the Lord has commanded us: "I have made
you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth."
Acts 16:13-15
“On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the
river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had
gathered there. One of those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city
of Thyatira, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul's message. Then
she and the members of her household were baptized, …”
Heb. 4:9-10
“There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of
God; for
anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his.”
He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD
require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk
humbly with your God?” Micah 6:8
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