#276 Temporary Dwellings

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.

37 These 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:

38 Beside 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.

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. Leviticus 23: 33-44 KJV

What did we learn in the wilderness? They would relive or reenact the time of living in tents, wandering as strangers in a land that would not greet them with open arms. Can we acknowledge the sense of softness, the seduction of ease, and the pettiness of entitlement to which we all fall "victim". Victim is probably a stretch in these matters. A tent provides shelter, the manna was bread and the quail were meat. There was a cloud that protected from the full wrath of the sun, and fire by night to keep their enemies at bay. They had everything they physically needed, but there was still this spiritual problem. We would remain strangers there until the time of Christ and then we become more and more like stranger here, to our friends, our neighbors. It is from the spiritual that we come to realize that this time in tents is only temporary, not worth worry, no room for hate, and preciously short. 

Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 11Beloved, I urge you as foreigners and exiles, to abstainfrom the desires of the flesh, which war against your soul. 12Conduct yourselves with such honor among the Gentiles that, though they slander you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us.… 1 Peter 2:10-12

#275 Remember the Sound

23 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

24 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation.

25 Ye shall do no servile work therein: but ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord.

26 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

27 Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord.

28 And ye shall do no work in that same day: for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the Lord your God.

29 For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people.

30 And whatsoever soul it be that doeth any work in that same day, the same soul will I destroy from among his people.

31 Ye shall do no manner of work: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.

32 It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath. Leviticus 23: 23-32 KJV

The blowing of trumpets is a memorial, and some scholars offer what I believe to be a good interpretation based upon the present audience. They have witnessed God on the mount, received the ten commandments and entered into a covenant. 

18Now Mount Sinai was all in smoke because the LORD descended upon it in fire; and its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked violently. 19When the soundof the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and God answered him with thunder. 20The LORD came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain; and the LORD called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.…Exodus 19: 18-20

See From #170 Caution

It is a reminder of the covenant and a call to repent, as we see it moves in to a feast of atonement, a humble and holy convocation, that requires something from the participant that cannot be over stated. The Lord looks for those who worship Him in spirit and in truth. This is a call to sincere affliction, for whatever soul is not found that way, has like Annanias and Saphira or the sons of Aaron, leaned upon their own way and such strange fire. The call to approach is the call to repent and the same for Christians in this day. It is not a call to arrogance or a comparison with your neighbor, but rather a humble appeal to mercy, an approach made in the blood of One who could only approach. It is no mere holiday, we would like to believe there are no eternal implications or that this is another God that we find in the Old Testament. Beg for sincerity, wisdom and love. I think love itself encompasses these things and would admonish such, but we would warm ourselves in the "light" of our own strange fire here as well. We get the call, we repent and soon we will dwell in tents like strangers. What a glorious day!

15For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who was tempted in every way that we are, yet was without sin. 16Let us then approachthe throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Hebrews 4:15&16