Today is the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles, or sometimes called the Feast of Booths. “Booths” or “tabernacles” are basically temporary shelters. A tabernacle is basically a large tent, but a booth is slightly more sturdy.
Why celebrate it? Because Gods wants you to! Isn’t that reason enough?
34Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the LORD.
35On the first day shall be an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.
36Seven days ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: on the eighth day shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: it is a solemn assembly; and ye shall do no servile work therein.
37These are the feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD, a burnt offering, and a meat offering, a sacrifice, and drink offerings, every thing upon his day:
38Beside the sabbaths of the LORD, and beside your gifts, and beside all your vows, and beside all your freewill offerings, which ye give unto the LORD.
39Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the LORD seven days: on the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a sabbath.
40And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before the LORD your God seven days.
41And ye shall keep it a feast unto the LORD seven days in the year. It shall be a statute for ever in your generations: ye shall celebrate it in the seventh month.
42Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths:
43That your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God. (Leviticus 23:34-43, King James Version)
But, hasn’t this all been fulfilled?
Think about that for a moment. What does “fulfilled” mean?
Why did God command it? “That your generations may know”. Know what? “That I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths”. When did He do that? “When I brought them out of the land of Egypt”.
In other words, it had already happened! It had already been fulfilled! And yet, He commanded them to do so after the act.
Passover was likewise commanded to remember when God had spared the firstborn of Israel and struck the firstborn of Egypt. They kept the first Passover in Egypt. Afterwards, though, they didn’t say, “Well, it’s already been fulfilled, and so I no longer have to keep it.” No! They were in fact required to keep it year after year, and if they did not they risked being cut off! The Jews keep the Passover to this day, a time span of thousands of years.
There is another reason it has not been “fulfilled”. It pictures a coming time of peace and prosperity under the rule of Jesus Christ for 1,000 years. That has not yet happened! How can you say it has been “fulfilled” when in actuality it hasn’t yet happened?
God is not yet imposing His way of life upon people, but in the Millennium they will follow His ways or be punished (Zec 14:16-19). Unfortunately, that will be what it takes to overcome carnal nature at first. They will eventually learn by keeping God’s ways that it really does work, however, and learn by experience and by doing that God truly wants what’s best for everybody.
May you all have a joyous Feast of Tabernacles!