Tabernacles (Deu. 16:13-17)

5/13/2009 9:02 AM

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY

 

My Worship Time                                        Focus:  Tabernacles

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                        Reference:  Deut 16:13-17

 

            Message of the verses:  “13  "You shall celebrate the Feast of Booths seven days after you have gathered in from your threshing floor and your wine vat; 14  and you shall rejoice in your feast, you and your son and your daughter and your male and female servants and the Levite and the stranger and the orphan and the widow who are in your towns. 15  "Seven days you shall celebrate a feast to the LORD your God in the place which the LORD chooses, because the LORD your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that you will be altogether joyful.  16  "Three times in a year all your males shall appear before the LORD your God in the place which He chooses, at the Feast of Unleavened Bread and at the Feast of Weeks and at the Feast of Booths, and they shall not appear before the LORD empty-handed. 17  "Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD your God which He has given you.”

            I want to talk about verses sixteen and seventeen before getting into the verses about the feast of Tabernacles.  Verse sixteen speaks of the three times a year that the males were to appear before the Lord, and the place where they were to appear was finally settled as Jerusalem but before that it was where ever the tabernacle was at.  The males were to come to Jerusalem during three feasts, the feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Booths.  Now the feast of Unleavened bread was during the Passover Celebration so they would be there for that too.  Three of these feast celebrated the harvest of different crops, and this on was the harvest of the fruits, grapes, figs, and olives.  The feast of Tabernacles took place in the fall and it lasted for a week and the people would live in little booths to remind them of their journeys that they took place form Egypt to the Promised Land.

            Verse seventeen seems to kind of catch my attention as I read it this morning because of a verse in the NT that has very similar meaning.  I will put these two verses here in order to see the similar meaning they have.  “Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD your God which He has given you.  Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”  Now I want to give a quote from Warren Wiersbe:  “We’re prone to take our blessings for granted and forget the faithfulness of the Lord.” 

 

           

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

 

1. Give to the Lord as He has prospered me.
2. Continue to learn contentment.
3. Trust the Lord to guide my steps.
4. Give myself to the Lord for worship and service.

 

Memory verses for the week:                                                          1 John 2:15-17

 

15.    Do not love the world nor the things in the world.  If anyone love the world the love of the Father is not in him.

16.    For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.

17.    The world is passing away, and also it lusts; but the one who does the will of God will live forever.”

 

5/13/2009 9:42 AM