| Introduction Israel's religious life was marked by official times when the Church would gather to celebrate the goodness of the Lord. These were especial times set aside for rejoicing in the goodness of the Lord. The three most important corporate times of celebration and rejoicing were the three pilgrim feasts. During these feasts, all circumcised males were to come to Jerusalem to celebrate there and then they were to go home to celebrate with their families. The first of these pilgrim feasts was the Passover. Israel celebrated their deliverance from Egypt and the Lord's bringing her into the Promise Land. Passover was celebrated in the spring at the same time as the Feast of Unleavened bread. 50 days later the Church celebrated the Feast of Pentecost (Feast of Weeks in the Bible). It celebrated the goodness of God in the spring harvest. The last of the pilgrim feasts was the Feast of Tabernacle. This feast was the bringing to the Lord the very first fruits of the fall harvest. It is also called the Feast of Ingathering. Our passages this morning revolves around the Feast of Tabernacles. I. When the Bible Speaks, God's People Listen. A. After a daylong preaching service in which Ezra with the help of the Levites read and explained the whole book of Deuteronomy, the leaders of Israel gathered together to study the Bible some more, 13. "Notice that the people in this revival had an insatiable appetite to learn more about the Scriptures." Edwin yamauchi 1. It is the second day of the seventh month – see 7:73b-8:1 2. This is not a meeting of the people – notice the participants: heads of houses (clans), priests, Levites, and Ezra. 3. It is a glorious thing when the leaders of God's people are serious about studying the Bible in order to do what it says. a. Notice that they are not just there to read the Bible. b. They want to understand the words(every word) of the law – the word understandcarries the sense of appropriating what is being understood. c. The Church needs leaders who will appropriate the wordsof the law. Acts 6:1-4– Now in those days, when the number ofthe disciples was multiplying, there arose a complaint against the Hebrews by the Hellenists, because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution. Then the twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, "It is not desirablethat we should leave the word of Godand serve tables. Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of goodreputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business; but we will give ourselves continuallyto prayer and to the ministry of the word." B. What they found written in the law of God, that they did, 14-15. 1. It is likely again that they are reading the book of Deuteronomy since we get the feeling that they went back to what had been read in public the day before. a. That being the case, the passage that triggered their conscience on the issue of the Feast of Tabernacle is Dt. 16. Dt. 16:13-17– You shall observe the Feast of Tabernacles seven days, when you have gathered from your threshing floor and from your winepress. 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 arewithin 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 giveas he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord your God which He has given you. b. Another reason for thinking that they were studying the book of Deuteronomy is that they make no mention of the Day of Atonement which was to happen on the 10thday of that same month – Deuteronomy does not speak of the Day of Atonement. 2. The leaders realized that in 13 days they were supposed to celebrate this feast, 15. 3. It is not recorded here, but it is obvious that they got the word out to the people of Israel about the feast since v. 16 tells us that the people celebrated the feast at the appointed time. 4. It is possible that there was resistance on the part of the people, but the impression we get is that they did all that their leaders told them willingly and even happily. C. I want us to see that, when they saw in the Bible that they were supposed to do something, they listened to it and then did it – both the leaders and the people. 1. There wasn't a counting of cost – this was very inconvenient for them. 2. There wasn't a waiting for someone to do it first. 3. There wasn't a demand that something be done for them first. 4. They trusted that what God said was worth doing. Ps. 33:4-5– For the word of the Lord isright, and all His work is donein truth. He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord. 5. Would you stop for a moment and consider whether that is how you view the Bible? a. Would you take a look at your attitude toward what you see and hear from the Bible? b. Is it a "yes Lord" attitude, or a "yeah right" attitude? c. What settle things for you as far as what you think, believe, and do? d. We see in these old saints a good illustration of what James teaches us. Jam. 1:22-24– But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it,and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. e. This is also a good illustration of what the Confession teaches concerning saving faith. WCF 14:2– By this faith, a Christian believes to be true, whatsoever is revealed in the Word, for the authority of God himself speaking therein: and acts differently, upon that which each particular passage thereof contains; yielding obedience to the commands, trembling at the threatenings, and embracing the promises of God for this life, and that which is to come. But the principal acts of saving faith are, accepting, receiving, and resting upon Christ alone for justification, sanctification, and eternal life, by virtue of the covenant of grace. II. The Feast Celebrated, 16-18. A. People came from Jerusalem itself and from the surrounding districts. 1. The people who lived in Jerusalem built tents or booths on the roofs or courtyards. 2. The people coming from outside Jerusalem built their tents or lean-tos in the public areas of the city. B. It was a joyous celebration that hadn't happened in that way for centuries, 17b. 1. This doesn't mean that Israel hadn't celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles since the days of Joshua because we know of several of them including one just a few years earlier recorded in Ezra 3:4. 2. The difference here is the joy with which the feast was celebrated, 17c. C. For seven days they celebrated the goodness of God as they heard the Word proclaimed to them each day, 18a. D.The feast ended with a solemn, sacred assembly on the sabbath day when they worship the Lord corporately in a way that was different than the other 7 days. "You canchoose to engage in worship dutifully and heartlessly. You cando and say all the right things but be devoid of any warmth, tenderness, or sense of euphoria. You canmake worship appear the most lifeless and boring activity of the entire week (check the body language of defiant teenagers or irritated individuals who sense a longer sermon than usual, and you will see what I mean!). on the other hand, you can choose to be content. You can choose joy, by reveling in God's goodness, basking in covenant faithfulness, and being overwhelmed by blood-bought forgiveness." Derek Thomas {TRANSITION: now that we have looked at what is going on in Neh. 8:13-18 and understand what is going on, we should ask ourselves what the significance of this feast is. Why is it that the Holy Spirit saw fit to record for all of history this joyful celebration? III. What Is the Significance of the Feast of Tabernacles? A. The Feast of Tabernacles celebrated two things that end up being one thing. 1. God's goodness in providing the fall harvest. 2. God's goodness in bringing Israel through the wilderness and into the Promised Land. 3. Both celebrations are about the goodness of God. B. This feast helped the people of God remember the 40 years they wandered in the desert without a fixed roof over their heads because they did not trust in the Lord nor believed his promises. Num. 14:20-22, 32-33– Then the Lord said: "I have pardoned, according to your word; but truly, as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord—because all these men who have seen My glory and the signs which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have put Me to the test now these ten times, and have not heeded My voice, they certainly shall not see the land of which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who rejected Me see it…. But as foryou, your carcasses shall fall in this wilderness. And your sons shall be shepherds in the wilderness forty years, and bear the brunt of your infidelity, until your carcasses are consumed in the wilderness." C. This is feast also helped the people of God remember God's protection during the difficult years of the wilderness wanderings. 1. Remember that they had everything provided for them. a. Their clothes and shoes never wore out. b. Manna and water were right there, even the eventual quail for a change. c. They had military victories that were not commensurate with whom they were. 2. It is easy to see why the people of Nehemiah's day were so glad to celebrate this feast, after all they had just been brought out of captivity back into the Promise Land by the same God that provided for their forefathers in the wilderness. D.This feast reminded them and remind us that we don't have a lasting city in this world and that we are sojourners in this life. 1. For a whole week, they were to live in make-shift lean-tos made of branches. 2. Yes, God had brought them into the Promised Land and there was a measure of rest, but even in the Promised Land they are still passing through as pilgrims. Heb. 13:14– For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come. 1 Pt. 2:1-12– Beloved, I beg youas sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, byyourgood works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation. E. This feast reminded them of the abundant provision of the Lord in the Promised Land represented by the fall harvest. 1. The wilderness wanderings ended when they were bought into the land flowing with milk and honey. 2. Even that was a foretaste of something much greater. Heb. 4:8-11– For if Joshua had given them rest, then He would not afterward have spoken of another day. There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God didfrom His. Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience. F. This feast reminded them and us of the joy of the Lord. 1. The law specifically commanded that the feast be celebrated joyfully. Dt. 16:14– 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 arewithin your gates. 2. In our passage, joy is expressed to God in the form of worship. a. We often think that the worship service should cause us to be joyful, and there is a sense that it should. b. But the worship service is primarily a demonstration of the joy we have in the Lord. "Joy is not an accident of temperament or providence; it is a matter of choice. Yes, on the whole, we choose to be joyful. True, there are occasions when joy comes unsolicited – a kiss from heaven that warms our hearts. But Paul found no incongruity in commanding the Philippians to be joyful." Derek Thomas G.One last thing – this feast reminds us of Jesus. 1. He wandered in the wilderness for 40 days tempted on our behalf and he resisted it! 2. He, God the Son, took upon himself flesh like ours – mere booths – and pitched his tent among us. Jn. 1:14– And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. 3. He provides for his Church. Eph. 4:7– But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift. Mt. 25:21– His lord said to him, 'Well done,good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.' 5. This life is not our final destination – heaven and eternity is!
Because Jesus is our feast, we rejoice in him. And when he speaks, we listen and obey. He has spoken. It is all the Bible. Let us listen and obey.
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