Post by Deleted on Jun 3, 2020 16:29:47 GMT -5
Sacred Gathering By: Kirsten Holmberg
Click on this link for the audio message
Rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days.
Leviticus 23:40
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Leviticus 23:33–36, 39–44
Our group of friends reunited for a long weekend together on the shores of a beautiful lake. The days were spent playing in the water and sharing meals, but it was the evening conversations I treasured the most. As darkness fell, our hearts opened to one another with uncommon depth and vulnerability, sharing the pains of faltering marriages and the aftermath of trauma some of our children were enduring. Without glossing over the brokenness of our realities, we pointed one another to God and His faithfulness throughout such extreme difficulties. Those evenings are among the most sacred in my life.
I imagine those nights are similar to what God intended when He instructed His people to gather each year for the Festival of Tabernacles. This feast, like many others, required the Israelites to travel to Jerusalem. Once they arrived, God instructed His people to gather together in worship and to “do no regular work” for the duration of the feast—about a week! (Leviticus 23:35). The Festival of Tabernacles celebrated God’s provision and commemorated their time in the wilderness after leaving Egypt (vv. 42–43).
This gathering cemented the Israelites’ sense of identity as God’s people and proclaimed His goodness despite their collective and individual hardships. When we gather with those we love to recall God’s provision and presence in our lives, we too are strengthened in faith.
Reflect & Pray
Who can you gather with for worship and encouragement? How has your faith been strengthened in community with others?
Father God, thank You for the people You’ve put in my life. Please help us to encourage one another.
SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
Leviticus 23 outlines the eight festivals in the Jewish religious calendar (including the Sabbath day of rest mentioned in verse 3). God instituted each of these festivals for the benefit and enjoyment of His people. Consider how the Festival of Tabernacles (v. 34) would have looked as it unfolded. The people constructed shelters from branches and foliage and then lived in the rudimentary structures. Although a solemn occasion, the festival was essentially a campout; hence, a time of great joy. How like our infinitely creative God to implement fun into worship and holy remembrance! Tim Gustafson
Leviticus 23:33-36 King James Version (KJV)
33 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
34 Speak 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.
35 On the first day shall be an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.
36 Seven 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.
Leviticus 23:39-44 King James Version (KJV)
39 Also 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.
40 And 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.
41 And 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.
42 Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths:
43 That 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.
44 And Moses declared unto the children of Israel the feasts of the Lord.
Click on this link for the audio message
Rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days.
Leviticus 23:40
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Leviticus 23:33–36, 39–44
Our group of friends reunited for a long weekend together on the shores of a beautiful lake. The days were spent playing in the water and sharing meals, but it was the evening conversations I treasured the most. As darkness fell, our hearts opened to one another with uncommon depth and vulnerability, sharing the pains of faltering marriages and the aftermath of trauma some of our children were enduring. Without glossing over the brokenness of our realities, we pointed one another to God and His faithfulness throughout such extreme difficulties. Those evenings are among the most sacred in my life.
I imagine those nights are similar to what God intended when He instructed His people to gather each year for the Festival of Tabernacles. This feast, like many others, required the Israelites to travel to Jerusalem. Once they arrived, God instructed His people to gather together in worship and to “do no regular work” for the duration of the feast—about a week! (Leviticus 23:35). The Festival of Tabernacles celebrated God’s provision and commemorated their time in the wilderness after leaving Egypt (vv. 42–43).
This gathering cemented the Israelites’ sense of identity as God’s people and proclaimed His goodness despite their collective and individual hardships. When we gather with those we love to recall God’s provision and presence in our lives, we too are strengthened in faith.
Reflect & Pray
Who can you gather with for worship and encouragement? How has your faith been strengthened in community with others?
Father God, thank You for the people You’ve put in my life. Please help us to encourage one another.
SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
Leviticus 23 outlines the eight festivals in the Jewish religious calendar (including the Sabbath day of rest mentioned in verse 3). God instituted each of these festivals for the benefit and enjoyment of His people. Consider how the Festival of Tabernacles (v. 34) would have looked as it unfolded. The people constructed shelters from branches and foliage and then lived in the rudimentary structures. Although a solemn occasion, the festival was essentially a campout; hence, a time of great joy. How like our infinitely creative God to implement fun into worship and holy remembrance! Tim Gustafson
Leviticus 23:33-36 King James Version (KJV)
33 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
34 Speak 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.
35 On the first day shall be an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.
36 Seven 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.
Leviticus 23:39-44 King James Version (KJV)
39 Also 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.
40 And 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.
41 And 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.
42 Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths:
43 That 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.
44 And Moses declared unto the children of Israel the feasts of the Lord.