Micah: You're invited to the feast. Let me finish. You're invited to the Feast of Tabernacles.

Kid: Watcha talking about, Willis?

Micah: Fair enough. What is that? Well, the short answer is that it's a holy gathering that God commanded Israel to keep annually. It reminded Israelites of their place in the world, and it taught them about God's ultimate plan for mankind. But the long answer is...

So first off, the word feast could actually be translated as festival, which is simply a time marked by celebration. And as for tabernacle, that word is often translated as booths, which in this context are...nope.

Man 2: No.

Micah: Not even close. The word booth here means a temporary dwelling, something more like this.

Steve: This game never stops surprising me.

Micah: This day was celebrated in ancient Israel by traveling somewhere, building a temporary dwelling, and living there together for a whole week. It was marked by sacrifices, worship, music, and, of course, food.

This practice reminded Israel of the temporary homes they had while wandering in the wilderness before they found the homeland promised to them by God. Even though the meaning of this feast has stayed the same, some of the practices are a little different today.

For example, since Jesus Christ fulfilled all requirements of animal sacrifices, we don't do that anymore. And for the most part, we stay at hotels, rather than building our own temporary dwellings. But we're still celebrating that we are pilgrims on the earth, that we're living and working abroad, waiting for our own homeland promised by God.

Now, even though the Feast of Tabernacles only happens once a year, we're preparing for it all year long. We set aside 10% of our yearly income specifically for this feast. And what do we spend that money on when the feast comes? Whatever our heart desires.

Let's take a second to appreciate that. God commands celebration. Even though that isn't God's main reason for instituting the Feast of Tabernacles, I think it's one of the most valuable insights into his mind. We often talk about God's law, like, following it is a chore, just more obligations, like paying our rent or eating our vegetables. But one of the lessons of tabernacles is that God's laws are for us.

So, is it a sacrifice to set aside 10% of your annual income? Sure. Is it a sacrifice to take a week off of school and work? Yeah. But God Himself commands us to go and have a good time. And there's no catch. Just leave your day-to-day life behind for a week, and spend that time and money on yourself, your loved ones, and God.

Combine that with the knowledge that tabernacles represent God's ultimate plan for humanity and you can really get a sense of his love for mankind. Sounds pretty important, doesn't it? So why does the Feast of Tabernacles pass by every year with so little attention?

First of all, many believe that the Feast of Tabernacles belongs to other people. They think it's a Jewish holiday or an ancient Israelite holy day that belongs in the past. But in Leviticus 23:2, God says that these feast days are the feasts of the Lord, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations. These are My feasts.

So, whose feasts are they? Not ancient Israel's, not the modern-day Jewish peoples, but the Lord's. And when God says He has made something holy and that we're supposed to proclaim it holy, it's probably a good idea for us to keep it holy. Now you might be thinking, "But Micah, this command was for a certain people at a certain time." When God said, "You shall proclaim them holy convocations," He was speaking to ancient Israel, not any old plaid shirt Henry you might pass on the street on his way to a beer garden.

Well, the evidence just doesn't bear this out. In fact, God seems to have planned out the feast days long before Israel even existed. In Genesis 1:14, all the way back to the beginning, God says, "Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night, and let them be for signs and seasons." This word for signs doesn't mean...and seasons doesn't mean...they mean respectively, distinguishing marks of remembrance and appointed meetings.

Actually, out of the 160 times this word seasons is used, 135 of those times refer directly to the appointed feast days we're talking about right now. So, way back before mankind even existed, let alone ancient Israel, God instituted these feasts. And the whole time, there has been this dream that one day, everyone will keep it. And Jesus Christ Himself kept the Feast of Tabernacles.

In fact, Jesus was so dedicated to keeping this feast that He attended, even though the Jewish people were searching for him there to kill Him. You might ask, "Didn't Jesus live and die to do away with the law so that we don't have to keep archaic days like the Feast of Tabernacles?" Well, Jesus certainly died to forgive us of our sins, and cover us who all sin and are found guilty of keeping His law in a perfect way.

But if He had wanted us to get rid of the entire Feast of Tabernacles, why would He command that it be kept in the future? Zachariah prophesized that it shall come to pass, that everyone who has 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.

So, if God had the feast days in mind since the beginning and Jesus living a perfect life kept the feast days in His time, and even the enemies of God will one day keep them, what makes us think that we as followers of God, are on a hiatus from them now.

The Feast of Tabernacles might be a brand new concept for you, and that is great. It's never too late to start keeping God's feasts. What some see as an old and irrelevant practice is actually law. Not a burdensome law, but a law for our own good. It is the command of a consistent God to His people throughout all time to assemble together with Him.