Tabernacles: An Introduction
Paula
White
Tabernacles is one of the three Fall
feasts.
Have you ever noticed that God tends to
do certain things in one season, but allows other things to rest for a while?
God is on His own timetable and His own
calendar. Time is different to God – after all, He sits outside of time.
Because we sit in a box called “time,”
the passage of time appears as a straight line. We don’t know what awaits us
tomorrow or next year. We only know the current moment.
God has already set all things in
motion. In fact, this is a mind-blowing thought, but in God’s time, everything
is already done. He is watching our wills interact with His sovereign plan,
creating destiny.
Because He sits outside of time, time
is circular and cyclical to Him. The cycle of the earth around the sun; the
cycle of the seasons each year, the cycle of rain – all of these are examples
of how time is to God.
So it follows that we are studying the
cycle of the feasts, which mark out the times and seasons for God’s people, and
reveal a great deal about “what” God is doing and “when.”
Your destiny is being worked out in His
timing – it’s only a question of “when” He has determined the right time for
your destiny to be manifested.
It’s not “if” your destiny will be made
manifest because His promises are sure – its “WHEN!” So we had better get a
handle on God’s pattern of doing things.
The Feast of Tabernacles (or “Sukkot”,
or “Feast of Ingathering”) falls on our calendar between sundown on September
18 and sundown September 25th. This joyous feast lasts for 8 days, following
the “Day of Atonement.”
Sukkot is associated with the fall
harvest – God’s people are commanded to rejoice to God for his provision during
this feast!
Traditionally during Sukkot, huts are
erected quickly and are used for eating in during the days of the feast. They are constructed not only to eat
and rejoice in, but to remember the Tabernacle.
As God’s people wandered in the
wilderness, the Tabernacle was made as the place of worship. But after God’s
people acquired the Promised Land, the Temple was built as the place of
worship.
But now, Jesus the Messiah has come in
the flesh, and now is seated at the right hand of the Father.
And now, we New Covenant believers
know, the Temple of God resides within you.
The Feast of Tabernacles is about
fellowship, God’s provision, and the ingathering of the final harvest. During
this time, we’re rejoicing in the fact that Jesus Christ dwells within those
who believe in Him by faith.
God is not confined to a Tabernacle, a
Temple, or any other monument that man can build. For what could hold Him?
Nothing! He desires to dwell in and habitate within us, His people. We are His
habitation!
Back
to Tabernacles
The Tabernacle had 3 levels: the Holy
of Holies; the Holy Place, and the Outer Courtyard.
The Holy of Holies in the tabernacle
was a place of death, fear and dread (especially for anyone who approached at
the wrong time or with the wrong credentials) for Israel.
Now, it may be entered by anyone,
anytime who dares believe God through His Son, Jesus Christ. The Holy of Holies
is now a place of enthusiasm and relief; where we may cast our cares upon Him
who cares for us!
When Jesus was crucified, the second He
gave up the ghost, the veil in the Holy of Holies in the Temple was torn in
half, removing the separation from between God the Father and His creation man.
The Holy Place was where all the
prayers and rituals were performed; offerings were offered, and items of
profound significance were kept. The showbread (often called the “bread of the
presence”) and the incense were two of them, which is a picture of fellowship
and prayers. (Remember, during Sukkot, the people are eating together – which
represents fellowship).
“Behold,
I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I
will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.” Revelations
3:20 [NKJV, Emphasis mine]
The Outer Courtyard was the outer,
external area where people came and went. There was only “one” gate where
people could come in. (Jesus is the “only” gate by which we may enter into
eternal life…).
The outer Court had several important
items. One of them was the altar, and another the bronze laver.
When one entered the Tabernacle through
the “only” gate (JESUS), one could come to the altar, put his hands on the
horns of the altar and receive mercy.
The bronze laver was a place where one
had to wash his hands. When we come to Jesus, we must repent (cleanse our
hands) and obtain His mercy.
Let’s put this all together with
Ephesians 2:19-22:
“Now,
therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with
the saints and members of the household of God, having
been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus
Christ Himself being the chief corner stone,
in whom the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together
for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.”.
in whom the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together
for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.”.
Individually, our bodies are the temple
of God, but corporately, our collective body of Christ also makes up the real
temple of God. Let’s add to our learning of Tabernacles season with one more
verse:
“6 Then
the survivors from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem will go up year
after year to worship the King, the Lord Almighty, and to celebrate the
Festival of Tabernacles.”
Zechariah 14:16
Zechariah 14:16
This verse is being spoken of during
the Millennial Reign of Christ! If we are going to be celebrating the Feast of
Tabernacles after Jesus wins the war with the devil and during the 1,000 year
Millennial Reign, then this feast was a feast that God intended to transcend
time.
The Feast of Tabernacles is about
celebrating our fellowship with God, made possible only by coming through the
“one gate” – Jesus Christ – and having His presence within us individually as
well as among us corporately as the body of Christ on earth; the holy
indwelling of God. We are His habitation!
Partake with us in celebrating this
Holy time- So how do you prepare your heart to be intimate with God?:
1.
Make
the time holy, by setting this time apart from your regular routine
2.
Confession
and repentance matching your actions
3.
Sacrifice-
an offering unto the Lord in honor of Him!
Would you want to have a
deeper relationship with God?
God has made it possible
for you to know Him and experience an amazing change in your own life
by
receiving His Son, Jesus Christ, and have eternal life.
Say the following
prayer:
“Father God, I confess I am a sinner and my sins
have separated me from You.
I am truly sorry.
I now want to turn away from my
past sinful life and live a new life pleasing to You.
Please forgive me, and help me avoid sinning again.
I believe that Your Son, Jesus Christ died for my
sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer.
I invite Jesus to become the Lord of my life, to
rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Thank You that according to
your Word, I am now born again.
Please send Your Holy Spirit to help me obey You,
and to do Your will for the rest of my life. I promise to study Your Word – the
Bible.
Please use me for Your glory.
In Jesus' Name I pray. Amen.”
Related
Posts:
“Sanctuary” Vineyard
lyrics
Lord,
prepare me to be a sanctuary
Pure and holy, tried and true
With thanksgiving, I'll be a living
Sanctuary for You
It is you, Lord
Who came to save
The heart and soul
Of every man
It is you Lord
Who knows my weakness
Who gives me strength,
With thine own hand.
Lord prepare me to be a sanctuary
Pure and Holy, tried and true
With thanksgiving I'll be a living
Sanctuary for you
Lead Me on Lord
From temptation
Purify me
From within
Fill my heart with
Your holy spirit
Take away all my sin
Lord prepare me to be sanctuary
Pure and holy, tried and true
With thanksgiving, I'll be a living
Sanctuary for You
Pure and holy, tried and true
With thanksgiving, I'll be a living
Sanctuary for You
It is you, Lord
Who came to save
The heart and soul
Of every man
It is you Lord
Who knows my weakness
Who gives me strength,
With thine own hand.
Lord prepare me to be a sanctuary
Pure and Holy, tried and true
With thanksgiving I'll be a living
Sanctuary for you
Lead Me on Lord
From temptation
Purify me
From within
Fill my heart with
Your holy spirit
Take away all my sin
Lord prepare me to be sanctuary
Pure and holy, tried and true
With thanksgiving, I'll be a living
Sanctuary for You
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https://paulawhite.org/tabernacles-an-intro/
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