Living in temporary dwellings is part of God's instruction for observing the Feast of Tabernacles. For Israel this was an annual reminder of their days of wandering in the wilderness prior to entering the land of promise. For new covenant believers' temporary dwells are a reminder of our own mortal temporariness and the temporary nature of our days living in this world anticipating the Kingdom of God.
Why Temporary Dwellings at the Feast of Tabernacles?
Once the rule of God on earth under Christ is established The earth will be full of the knowledge of God” law and HIs path for eternal life. It will be a time of great rejoicing.But what has this got to do with temporary dwellings, tabernacles, or booths?
Leviticus 23:42-43 A temporary dwelling is the signature of this 6th holy feast. In scripture we read of a shelter made of branches. But the church has determined that the construction material is not where the symbolic meaning is to be found. The spiritual lesson is found in the temporariness of the dwelling… so it could be a canvas tent… a camping trailer… or it could be a hotel room. All serve the role of temporariness.
This practice was to be a reminder to Israel of a time when they had been redeemed from the bondage of Egypt… headed for the promised land… but not there yet. That time of sojourning in the wilderness was intended to be short but ended up lasting 40 long years… 40 years of temporariness.
Hebrews 11:8-10,13 the spiritual lesson of temporariness is essential to a life of faith, and hopeful expectation of receiving a glorious inheritance from God. More than just a promise of land, our inheritance is a place in the universe ruling family of God.
You have been redeemed from your bondage to sin and you have God’s unbreakable promise of inheritance. But right now you are kind of in a holding pattern. So the message of the Feast of Tabernacles is not only a look into the future kingdom of God, it is a reminder of your present condition. Heirs, but not yet inheritors. Chosen, but not quite there yet.
Your perspective on this present world is to understand yourself as a stranger, and a pilgrim in it. 1 Peter 2:11, John 17:11,14; Revelation 18:4… actually holding it at arms length.
The Feast of Tabernacles is an annual reminder of the transitory and temporary nature of your present position in the plan of God and within the world itself.
Temporariness of the Flesh
The temporary dwellings of the Feast are also a reminder that your flesh and blood itself is also only a temporary holding pattern. The promise of an eternal inheritance in the family of God is a promise of eternal life. No longer subject to death.
You have been begotten… God has given you the downpayment of eternal life… yet you are still mortal and corruptible flesh. Most of us will die in the flesh before we are resurrected to our spiritual bodies 1 Peter 1:13-14; 2 Corinthians 5:1-2,4; 1 Corinthians 15:53.
Rejoicing at Temporariness
Leviticus 23:40 the rejoicing at the feast is closely connected to the temporary dwellings. Yes there will be much rejoicing in the time of Christ’s rule on earth. Yes, there is much cause for rejoicing today as we anticipate that glorious future… but might we not also rejoice because this life is not all there is!
It's beautiful to be alive… but the world is not always beautiful… be glad that the sin, the injustice, the sadness is only temporary! It is only a temporary dwelling.
It’s wonderful to be alive… but the flesh is not always wonderful… be glad that the sickness, pain, and fear of death is only temporary! It is only a temporary dwelling.
Our Present Purpose
The purpose of our present life is not to care for, focus on, or preserve, the flesh. Neither is our present purpose to fix the world. Our present purpose is to use this time of temporariness to prepare ourself for what comes next.
The message of scripture is clear: the one who is very prepared will be rewarded greatly. THe one who is not prepared may receive very little reward. Meaning your preparation during this temporary time will greatly affect your role in the coming kingdom.
Preparation comes through:
Trials – obedience – good works
Deuteronomy 8:2-9 God put them through trials, and monitored their obedience in the wilderness because He wanted to know where their hearts were. He used that temporary time in the wilderness to prepare them. God uses your time in the temporariness of the world and of your flesh to teach you, discipline you, and prepare you.
Numbers 9:21 maybe there were times when Israel liked where they were, they had found some nice cave near a stream where the kids could play etc. etc. … Maybe they didn’t want to move… who knows if I will find such a nice spot next time. BUT they had to keep their eyes on the cloud and follow the cloud wherever it went.
Romans 8:12 like the Israelites who had to follow God’s lead as it was made known through the moving of the cloud… we must follow God’s lead as it makes itself known to us through His spirit…. Which He has given you to guide you.
Maybe you have some habit, or secret indulgence that holds you back. Some material thing that you are overly attached to… something that affects your decisions. Some things that you need to let go and leave behind.
Some have done quite well in this present world.. Others have not. You might be quite content with the way things are. None of it will last. Therefore we teach you not to become entangled with the world,,, its ups and downs, its pressures and pains, its politics, its wars.
Hosea 12:8-9 when Ephraim was too focused on the security their great wealth gave them God called them back to the days when they lived in tents… the days of their appointed festivals. It is a reminder of what our perspective on these present days should be.
Use these 7 days of temporary dwellings to remind yourself that you are only here as a pilgrim, a sojourner, but also an ambassador, a representative of the coming everlasting kingdom that will replace all this temporariness.
Act accordingly, rejoice in your temporary dwellings knowing all this temporariness will be replaced with what is lasting and permanent
Craig Scott pastors the United Church of God congregations in Raleigh, Greensboro and Jacksonville, North Carolina.
