Feast of Tabernacles: A Harvest Festival for God's People
A commentary by
Larry Walker
United Church of God pastor, Bend, Oregon
In the little Midwest farming community where I grew up one of
the highlights of the year was the annual Sweet Corn Festival. A major
packing company sponsored this event at the end of the harvest season.
There was plenty of sweet, juicy corn on the cob for everyone. The celebration
included a parade and carnival with lots of fun for the whole family.
Fall is the season for harvest festivals. An online search for "harvest
festival" produced over 50,000 listings. Celebrating the end of
a successful harvest after a season of hard work seems like a natural
thing to do. This custom dates back many centuries.
Thanksgiving, one of the most enjoyable holidays in the United States,
began as a gesture of gratitude to God for the blessings of the bountiful
harvest of the first full year in the New World.
The Pilgrims had arrived too late to grow many crops and, without fresh
food, half the colony died from disease. The following spring the Iroquois
Indians taught them how to grow corn and other crops in the unfamiliar
soil and showed them how to hunt and fish.
In the autumn of 1621, bountiful crops of corn, barley, beans and pumpkins
were harvested. The colonists had much to be thankful for, so a feast
was planned. Many of the original colonists continued to celebrate the
autumn harvest with a feast of thanks, which soon became a national holiday.
God instituted the Feast of Ingathering as a special fall harvest festival
for the ancient nation of Israel (Exodus 23:16; 34:22). The Israelites
were instructed to bring a tenth of their harvest along with firstborn
animals of their herds and flocks to a central location to rejoice with
other families by feasting and sharing their harvest bounty with the
needy (Deuteronomy 14:22-27).
This annual weeklong celebration was also called "the Feast of
Tabernacles" (Deuteronomy 16:13, Leviticus 23:34) as a reminder
of the temporary dwelling places of the Israelites on their journey to
the Promised Land of Canaan. So they were instructed to build temporary
shelters to stay in as part of their celebration (Leviticus 23:40-43).
Jews still observe this Festival today as Sukkot, which derives its
name from the sukkah or temporary dwelling. Rabbinic tradition
infers a theme of the fragile mortality of human life as an additional
meaning of the sukkah.
Jesus kept the Feast of Tabernacles (John 7:2-8, 37-40). The apostles
and the early church also kept the Holy Days that were given originally
to Israel. In fact the Church began on the Day of Pentecost (also known
as the Feast of Weeks).
In addition to their historical legacy, these Holy Days offer "a
shadow of things to come" in the plan of God (Colossians 2:16-17).
Both Paul and Peter referred to our physical human body as a "tabernacle" that
we dwell in during our journey toward the promised Kingdom of God (2
Corinthians 5:1-8, 2 Peter 1:13-14). When Jesus Christ returns to earth
to establish that Kingdom of God on earth, the dead in Christ will be
resurrected to eternal life and will rule with him for a thousand years
(1 Corinthians 15:50-52, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17, Revelation 1:6; 2:26,
3:21; 5:10).
The Bible also speaks of a great spiritual harvest to take place at
that time (Matthew 13:30). The millennial rule of Jesus Christ will result
in a time of universal peace and prosperity. All nations will begin keeping
the Feast of Tabernacles as their annual harvest festival of thanksgiving
(Zechariah 14:16).
I have kept the Feast of Tabernacles for decades as a foretaste of that
coming utopia. For the past few years I have had the privilege of serving
as the coordinator of a regional celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles
sponsored by the United Church of God. It is one of many sites where
this Feast is observed not only in the United States but also in many
other nations worldwide. For more information about specific sites you
may go to http://www.ucg.org/feast/.
 Unfortunately,
the meaning and importance of the Feast of Tabernacles and other Holy
Days of the Bible has long been lost in traditional Christianity. You
can learn much more about all of God's Holy Days in our free
booklet, God's
Holy Day Plan: The Promise of Hope for All Mankind.
Request or download your copy now.
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