8.1 Key themes⤒🔗

• During the Feast of Shelters, the people of Israel had to live in shelters for seven days.
• In this way they remembered how God had taken care of their ancestors in the wilderness.
• The message of the Feast of Shelters is, rejoice, because God takes care of you on your way to the eternal Promised Land.
• While we live in this world, we are like pilgrims travelling through the wilderness.
• On this journey Christ takes care of us by giving us “living water,” his Holy Spirit.
• We should continually rejoice in God’s care, by bringing two sacrifices:
  - the sacrifice of praise
  - the sacrifice of good deeds

8.2 Leviticus 23:33-36, 40-43←⤒🔗

^33. The Lord spoke to Moses:

^34. Tell the Israelites, ‘On the fifteenth day of this seventh month is the Feast of Shelters for seven days to the Lord. 

^35. On the first day is a holy assembly; you must do no regular work. 

^36. For seven days you must present a gift to the Lord. On the eighth day there is to be a holy assembly for you, and you must present a gift to the Lord. It is a solemn assembly day; you must not do any regular work.

…

^40. On the first day you must take for yourselves branches from majestic trees—palm branches, branches of leafy trees, and willows of the brook—and you must rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days. 

^41. You must celebrate it as a pilgrim festival to the Lord for seven days in the year. This is a perpetual statute throughout your generations; you must celebrate it in the seventh month. 

^42. You must live in temporary shelters for seven days; every native citizen in Israel must live in shelters, 

^43. so that your future generations may know that I made the Israelites live in shelters when I brought them out from the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.’

 © NET Bible

8.3 Remembering the time in the wilderness←⤒🔗

After God saved his people from Egypt, he took them into the wilderness. They had to travel through the wilderness to reach Canaan, the promised land. Because of their many sins, this journey took them 40 years.

During these 40 years, the people of Israel were pilgrims. They had no permanent home. They moved from place to place and lived in shelters (tents). But God took care of them, on their journey to the Promised Land:

• He gave them water in the wilderness (Exodus 15, 17).
• He gave them food (Exodus 16; Numbers 11).
• He kept them safe from enemies (Exodus 17; Numbers 21-24).
• Their clothes and sandals did not wear out and their feet did not even hurt! (Deuteronomy 29:5; Nehemiah 9:21).

Later, in the Promised Land, God gave the Israelites permanent homes. But he wanted them to remember the time when he had taken care of their ancestors in the wilderness. So, he gave them one last feast for the year: the Feast of Shelters (also called the Feast of Booths).

The Feast of Shelters started on the fifteenth day of the seventh month (only five days after the Day of Atonement). For this feast the people of Israel took fruit, branches, and leaves. They used it to build and decorate shelters for themselves.

Imagine thousands of people in Jerusalem, all living in shelters, sharing their food, and telling stories around fires. In this way Israel remembered how their ancestors had lived in the wilderness, and they rejoiced in God’s care.

8.4 Still on a journey←⤒🔗

During the feast the Israelites rejoiced in God’s care for their ancestors. But they also rejoiced in God’s care for them.

The seventh month was a special time of the year. It was the time when the grape and olive harvests ended. These were the last harvests of the year. When Israel saw the fruit in their shelters, they saw God’s care. Even though Canaan was a dry land, God had once again provided rains and harvests. He was still looking after his people.

While staying in their tents, the Israelites remembered that their journey was not yet over. They were still pilgrims, on their way to the eternal Promised Land: God’s kingdom. And God was taking care of them, every step of the way.

Abraham, the father of Israel, had already understood this. He had looked forward to a better home than the land of Canaan. We read in Hebrews 11:9-10,

By faith he [Abraham] lived as a foreigner in the promised land as though it were a foreign country, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, who were fellow heirs of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with firm foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

Rejoice, because God cares for you on your way to the eternal Promised Land. That is the message of the Feast of Shelters.

8.5 Christ’s living water←⤒🔗

One year, on the last day of the Feast of Shelters, Jesus Christ stood and called out, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink. Just as the scripture says, ‘From within him will flow rivers of living water’” (John 7:37-38).

With these words Jesus promised God’s people that he was going to take care of them. Their ancestors had received water in the wilderness. But the water that Jesus could give was much better. It was living water. It would flow and flow, giving them life until they reached the eternal Promised Land.

When Jesus spoke of “living water,” he was speaking of the Holy Spirit (John 7:39). It is the Spirit who gives us life and strength for our journey to God’s kingdom.

Life in this world is like living in a tent (2 Corinthians 5:1-2) and travelling through a wilderness. While we live in this world, we say, “As a deer  longs for streams of water, so I long for you, O God! I thirst for God, for the living God. I say, ‘When will I be able to go and appear in God’s presence?’” (Psalm 42:1-2).

But Jesus, our Good Shepherd, has not left us alone. He cares for us on our journey through this wilderness. He gives us what we need each day. Above all, he gives us the living water of the Spirit. That is why we can rejoice, even through our troubles and tears.

8.6 How to live a life of rejoicing←⤒🔗

How can we live a life of rejoicing in this world? Hebrews 13:14-16 gives us this answer:

For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come. Through him [Jesus] then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, acknowledging his name. And do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for God is pleased with such sacrifices.

These verses speak about two sacrifices. Through the power of our living water, the Holy Spirit, we must continually bring these sacrifices to God:

• The sacrifice of praise (“the fruit of our lips, acknowledging his name”). While we live in this world, let us always praise God for his love and care towards us. And let us speak to others about it.
   
• The sacrifice of good deeds (“do not neglect to do good and to share what you have”). Even when times are hard, we should share God’s care with the people around us.

By bringing these sacrifices, we will be like people who are always celebrating the Feast of Shelters. We will continually rejoice in God’s care, as he leads us to our eternal home!