A Profound Contrast to This Present World

In a few weeks we will have the opportunity to step for a brief time out of the world portrayed by these sad and somber scenes and into the pictures of a better world to come. I'm speaking of the Feast of Tabernacles when for eight days we will savor the taste of good food, friendship, entertainment, and comfortable housing centered around inspired sermonettes and sermons.

Presenting the Feast as I have above, it may seem at first blush to be rather self-indulgent. But think back to the time that God commanded the observance of the festivals to the nation of Israel. Famines, poverty, loneliness, malaise and discouragement have been a part of the human condition throughout time. Jesus said, "The poor you always have with you." And even within Israel when it was completely subject to God, there were laws about caring for the poor. Yet God instructed His people to celebrate this sumptuous Feast. Why? No one would question God's concern for the needy. Why would He insist on what is in some ways an elaborate party when the cost of putting it on would be of great help to those in need if given to them instead? The needy were also included in the command. That is, they too, were expected to observe this lavish Feast. Why would God command them to do that, instead of them using money for better, more practical needs?

As a backdrop, we need to be reminded of Deuteronomy 14:22-26: "And you shall eat before the LORD your God, in the place where He chooses to make His name abide, the tithe of your grain and your new wine and your oil, of the firstborn of your herds and your flocks, that you may learn to fear the LORD your God always. But if the journey is too long for you, so that you are not able to carry the tithe, or if the place where the LORD your God chooses to put His name is too far from you, when the LORD your God has blessed you, then you shall exchange it for money, take the money in your hand, and go to the place which the LORD your God chooses. And you shall spend that money for whatever your heart desires: for oxen or sheep, for wine or similar drink, for whatever your heart desires; you shall eat there before the LORD your God, and you shall rejoice, you and your household." This reveals there was a spiritual element to the Feast; it was not just a blowout party. The result was to benefit the observers spiritually, and in a lasting way.

Why So Extravagant?

At the same time, the Feast is extravagant the way God set it up—but I am not criticizing this. Knowing that the Feast spoken of here is an eight-day period, and that people were to consume one tenth of their yearly income during that time, we know it was extravagant! Celebration in a high-handed way is also a festival theme. What made it so? Money! Even in ancient Israel, some dealt in money, and that money enabled the Feast-keepers to live like kings and queens. But is it only money that makes the Feast so special?

There are many people who have abundant money to spend on vacations, and many who have extravagant parties lasting for days at a time. Yet those good times are not the same as the Feast. There is a family element to the Feast. "You and your household" reads the command. It certainly adds to the richness of the Feast to observe it as a family. Is that what makes it the Feast? Again, many families take wholesome vacation time together to travel to some of the same resorts at which we hold the Feast of Tabernacles. None of us think that a family vacation is the same as the Feast. When God began to send prophets to the people of Israel, and later Judah, He stirred those holy men of old to write and speak repeatedly about a golden age to come. Isaiah 25:6 captures the essence of that oft-repeated theme: "And in this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all people a feast of choice pieces, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of well-refined wines on the lees."

God promised a time of incomparable prosperity to come for these peoples. The Feast of Tabernacles was an annual opportunity to dramatically step into that world to come. Year following year, it renewed the hope of the faithful that one day this world with its evils would be no more. It is this broader vision of enacting a piece of the golden age to come that propelled the Feast of Tabernacles far beyond merely a party or a celebration. It was literally a grand spiritual exercise, one that could, as the initial command offered, help the participants learn to fear the Lord their God always. Of course, this was not so clear to Israel as it is to the church of God today.

Part of the prophets' message was the pledge of leadership of a type that would see the world through to the declared noble goal. A great King was to come to make the world permanently as prosperous and as wealthy as the brief Feast of Tabernacles. "For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, everlasting Father, Prince of Peace" (Isaiah 9:6). He was known by the Hebrew word meaning "anointed one"—the Messiah. The comparable word in the Greek language of the New Testament is more familiar—Christ.

"You Are The Christ," The Anointed One

The students of Christ realized as well that He was the Messiah, the one anointed to bring about the marvelous world pictured by the Feast of Tabernacles. "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Matthew 16:13). Of course, Christ continued preaching the theme of the Old Testament prophets, the good news that the kingdom of God was to be restored (Mark 1:14-15). Christianity usually fails to associate the message of the kingdom with the gospel and thereby misses the full impact and understanding.

To many who would say they believe the Bible, the Feast of Tabernacles seems foreign, even offensive. Yet "Christian" means a follower of "Christ," who is the Messiah, the one anointed to bring about the golden age that is dramatically portrayed in the Feast of Tabernacles. Through the early church leaders, Christ expanded and amplified the ancient promises to include all peoples, not just Israel. Yet the New Testament makes clear the fact that God has not reneged on His promises of old. He has added to them! "For this is the covenant that I will make [yet future] with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people" (Hebrews 8:10).

Speaking of individual spiritual conversion, herein is revealed a key factor not covered in detail by the prophets of old. The ancient prophets' message of hope for the golden age did not die when Christ came! To the contrary, Christ said it would continue to be preached until the kingdom actually comes (Matthew 24:14). Christianity does not see Christ as Messiah, nor as associated with the promises to Israel to establish a golden age. The church of God does.

It is perfectly logical to see the need to continue God's command to observe the Feast of Tabernacles for eight days and to keep it in the sumptuous way God instructed. We refocus away from the concerns that so easily distract us onto what is truly important. It is not a matter of gluttony or self-seeking while others are in dire need. It is an invitation to taste the world tomorrow, to lift the spirit, to bolster one's courage, to renew one's commitment to the gospel message! It is a reminder of the reality of the future, of the value of our work.

Please Go To The Head of The Line!

For a moment, imagine the day-to-day challenges and miseries of this human life to be like waiting in a long line. At the head of the line is the end of life as we know it and the beginning of life the way it was promised from ancient times. A utopian existence; a world free of suffering; a world without evil.

Attending the Feast of Tabernacles is like receiving an invitation to go to the head of the line to see what is in store for all! Of course we will have to return to this miserable world once the Feast is over. But we are invited to go to the head of the line to peek at what will be. More than peek into the future, we are bidden to taste of it. The experience is given us so that we will soldier on in this difficult life. It is a time out, a breather, a respite, a retreat, a time of refreshing. It is a way to stop the world for a little while.

This great Feast experience doesn't just happen. In some ways, each of us determine its success or failure. God provides the framework for us. Unless we resolve to harmonize with its spiritual element, the Feast may be just a party or a family outing. Remember why the Feast is commanded. Decide to approach it in that spirit, seeking both to receive and to give a taste of the world tomorrow to others.

Who are "others?" They are your spouse, children, extended family; your roommate; the church "family" of acquaintances you know well; the church family you do not know well; the non-church peoples with whom you will interact in the course of your travel to and from as well as your stay at the Feast. All of these are "others" with whom you will share the Feast experience. This marvelous Feast, with its rich history and profound meaning, is coming in just days from now. You have been personally invited by our Heavenly Father to participate, both to receive and to give a taste of the golden age of the kingdom to come.