Let Us Keep the Feast!

The Feast offers a special opportunity to worship God, hear His Word and strengthen our relationships with brethren from around the world. For seven days at the Feast of Tabernacles, followed by the Eighth Day, we gather before God to rejoice together.

The Feast of Tabernacles pictures the wonderful 1,000-year reign of Jesus Christ after His return. Its unusual name comes from God’s instruction for Israelite families to dwell in booths—or tabernacles—during the autumn Holy Day season. This reminded them that their ancestors lived in temporary dwellings while traveling through the wilderness toward the Promised Land (Leviticus 23:42-43). We, too, are pilgrims in this present world, looking forward to the establishment of God’s Kingdom on earth at Jesus Christ’s return.

Leviticus 23 introduces these observances as “the feasts of the LORD” and commands that they be proclaimed as holy convocations. They are not merely our feasts or those of any religious organization; they belong to God. During the seven-day Feast of Tabernacles and the Eighth Day that follows, we gather to worship our great God and look forward to His Kingdom—a time of peace and restoration when His righteous purpose will extend throughout the world.

God commands His people to observe the Feast of Tabernacles and to assemble before Him. Fulfilling that command requires traveling to a designated Feast site. God also provides a financial system—the saving of the festival, or second tithe—to help His people prepare for and observe His annual festivals.

“You shall truly tithe all the increase of your grain that the field produces year by year. 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” (Deuteronomy 14:22-23).

Attending the Feast can require planning, travel and sacrifice. God anticipated that some journeys would be long and provided practical instructions to make attendance possible. The Songs of Ascent also reflect themes of help, peace, mercy and trust in God as worshipers traveled toward Jerusalem.

“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” (Deuteronomy 14:24-26).

The annual festivals observed at this time of year focus on Christ’s return and the establishment of the Kingdom of God on earth. The Feast of Trumpets pictures Christ’s return and the saints’ resurrection; the Day of Atonement pictures humanity’s reconciliation to God as Satan is removed; and the Feast of Tabernacles celebrates Christ’s loving rule over the earth for 1,000 years. 

Worldwide peace will come only through His intervention and a righteous government, ultimately fulfilling the prayer, “Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10).

Isaiah describes that future time when the nations will go to Jerusalem to worship God and learn His ways:

“The mountain of the LORD’s house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow to it. Many people shall come and say, ‘Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths.’ For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem” (Isaiah 2:2-3).

Paul’s exhortation regarding the Feast of Unleavened Bread—“Let us keep the feast” (1 Corinthians 5:8)—also calls for the willing, faithful and joyful attitude we should bring to all of God’s festivals. So let us rejoice in keeping the Feast of Tabernacles this year.

Traveling to the place where God has placed His name and living temporarily away from one’s normal routine reinforce the Feast’s lesson that we are pilgrims looking forward to God’s coming Kingdom. God expects His people to make attending the Feast in person together at the place where He has placed His name a priority. 

“And you shall rejoice in your feast, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant and the Levite, the stranger and the fatherless and the widow, who are within your gates. Seven days you shall keep a sacred 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 surely rejoice. Three times a year all your males shall appear before the LORD your God in the place which He chooses: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Tabernacles; and they shall not appear before the LORD empty-handed. Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD your God which He has given you” (Deuteronomy 16:14-17).

Each of God’s festivals centers on Jesus Christ—our Savior, High Priest, King and Judge, through whom the resurrection is made possible. Zechariah 14 also shows that the nations will be required to worship the King and keep the Feast of Tabernacles during Christ’s millennial reign.

“And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. And it shall be that whichever of the families of the earth do not come up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, on them there will be no rain” (Zechariah 14:16-17). This concerns deliberate refusal to obey Christ, not those prevented from attending by circumstances beyond their control.

Scripture does not provide an exhaustive list of circumstances that may prevent attendance. Nevertheless, illness, advanced age, disability, caregiving responsibilities, confinement and other circumstances beyond one’s control can make attendance impossible.

God’s people should not remain home merely for convenience or to pursue personal interests. When serious obstacles prevent attendance, the matter should be considered prayerfully and, when appropriate, with ministerial counsel.

When extenuating circumstances prevent attendance, God’s people can register to tune into Feast messages, access Church services and other Feast-related content from home.  Although this cannot replace the community and shared experience of attending in person, it helps them stay connected and focused on the Feast’s meaning. 

Congregations can further support those unable to attend by staying in touch and encouraging them throughout the Feast so they do not feel forgotten or isolated.

If you are unable to attend the Feast in person this year, you can register online.

As the Feast approaches, may each of us prepare with joyful anticipation and a renewed desire to draw closer to God and one another. May this Feast deepen our vision of God’s coming Kingdom and strengthen our commitment to live by God’s values today.