TabernaclePilgrimage

      This Sabbath's reading portion is titled CHOL HA-MO'ED SUKKOT, which means "the interim days of the Feast of Tabernacles". This Sabbath falls in the middle of that seven-day feast. The Feast of Tabernacles is a seven-day fall feast commanded by the LORD to His people. It is one of three feasts out of the seven in which the LORD requires that His people physically gather in Jerusalem to come before Him: "Three times you shall keep a feast to Me in the year: You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread...and the Feast of Harvest (also known as the Feast of Weeks/Pentecost), the firstfruits of your labors which you have sown in the field; and the Feast of Ingathering (also known as Tabernacles) at the end of the year, when you have gathered in the fruit of your labors from the field. Three times in the year all your males shall appear before the Lord (adon - Lord, master, owner, king, ruler, husband) God." (Ex. 23:14-17). The other feasts may be observed locally, but these three feasts, including Tabernacles, must be observed before the Lord God, which would be at His tabernacle/temple, and later in history that place would be in Jerusalem (1 Kings 8:1-6).

     In one of this Sabbath's reading portions, the LORD is withdrawing from the Israelites because of their continuing sinful and rebellious attitude towards Him: "And I will send My Angel before you...for I will not go up in your midst, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people." (Ex. 33:2-3). However, Moses could not journey on until he received the promise from God that He would indeed continue to be with them in their midst. The presence and identity of the LORD Himself among His people is what separates His people from the other peoples. Moses said: "Now therefore I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) way (derek/darak - way towards, journey, manner, road trodden, direction, a going hence, the way which leads to that place, mode, course/tread, walk, lead forth, guide, bend a bow, archer), that I may know You and that I may find grace (hen/hanan/hana - grace, favor, acceptance, elegance, kindness/mercy, show favor, pity, to bend or stoop in kindness/dwell, encamp, rested, bow down, incline) in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people. And He (the LORD) said, My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest. Then he (Moses) said to Him, 'If Your Presence (panim/pana - face, presence, before and behind, countenance, person/turn, look, prepare, regard, to face, appear) does not go with us, do not bring us up (ala - raised, arose, exalted, ascend, go up, be brought up, be carried away, led up, be offered) from here. For how will it be known that Your people have found grace in Your sight, except You go with us? So we shall be separate, Your people and I, from all the people who are upon the face of the earth. So the LORD said to Moses, I will also do this (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) thing (dabar - word, thing, matter, speak, utter) that you have spoken; for you have found grace in My sight, and I know you by name." (Ex. 33:13-17).

     It was considered absolutely essential to Moses that God dwell, be present among, and travel with His people. This is "Tabernacle". The Hebrew word and roots for tabernacle is miskan/sakan/sakab, meaning "dwelling, place, tabernacle, residence, temple, habitation, tent/dwell abide, inhabit, remain, continue, dwellers, cause to remain, rest/lie down, sleep, rest, lodge, take rest."

     The prophet, Ezekiel, also wrote how the presence of the LORD, which is the meaning of tabernacle, among His people marks them as different from all other people: "My servant David (referring to the immortal Messiah/Christ, the descendant of David) shall be their prince forever. Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; I will establish them and multiply them, and I will set My (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) sanctuary in their midst forevermore. My tabernacle also shall be with them; indeed I will be their God, and they shall be My people. The nations also will know the I, the LORD, sanctify (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) Israel, when My sanctuary is in their midst forevermore." (Ezek. 37:26-28).

     In another reading portion for this Sabbath, King Solomon wrote of the importance of the intimate relationship of grace present when dwelling with God in His tabernacle, especially as the calamity and terror of the last days approach: "Remember now your (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) Creator in the days of your youth, before the difficult (ra - evil, wickedness, hurt, trouble, affliction, adversity, grievous, calamity, harm, distress, misery) days come...Remember your Creator before the silver cord is loosed, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is shattered at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the well...Let us hear the conclusion of the matter: Fear (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) God and keep His commandments, for this is man's all. For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil." (Eccl. 12:1, 6, 13-14).

     We see an example of the calamity that comes upon God's people when they forsake the blessing of being in an intimate tabernacle presence with their God: "For our fathers have trespassed and done evil in the eyes of the LORD our God; they have forsaken Him, have turned their faces away from the dwelling place (miskan - see above: tabernacle) of the LORD, and turned their backs on Him....Therefore the wrath of the LORD fell upon Jerusalem, and He has given them up to trouble (za'ava - a horror, trembling, object of terror or trembling), to desolation, and to jeering, as you see with your eyes. (2 Chron. 29:6, 8).

     One of the Psalms expresses a deep longing for the tabernacle presence of the LORD. The Psalmist wrote: "(David said) I will not give sleep to my eyes or slumber to my eyelids, until I find a place for the LORD, a dwelling place (miskan - see above: tabernacle) for the Mighty One of Jacob....Let us go into His tabernacle (miskan - see above: tabernacle); let us worship at His footstool. Arise O LORD, to Your resting place. You and the ark of Your strength. Let Your priests be clothed with righteousness, and let Your saints shout for joy." (Ps. 132:4-5, 7-9).

     In this place of tabernacle, there is a change in circumstance, a transformation as the LORD answered the desire expressed by the above psalmist: "This (Zion) is My resting place forever; Here I will dwell, for I have desired it. I will abundantly bless her provision; I will satisfy her poor with bread. I will clothe her priests with salvation. and her saints shall shout for joy." (Ps. 132:13-16). The place of the LORD's tabernacle dwelling with men has become Zion, and the great blessings of the LORD are found there.

     Psalm 84 cries out to be in the LORD's tabernacle, where God dwells with man: "How lovely is Your tabernacle, O LORD of hosts! My soul longs, yes, even faints for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God...Blessed are those who dwell in Your house; they will still be praising You. Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, whose heart is set on pilgrimage (mesilla/salal - ways, path, raised way, staircase, ladder, course of life/lift up, cast up, exalt, raise up, make a level way). As they pass through the Valley (emeq/amaq - valley, lowland, open land suited for growing corn or for a battlefield/deep, depth, deep as being unsearchable) of Baca (weeping, lamentation, bewail, mourn, shed tears, weep bitterly), they make it a spring (mayan/ayin - fountain, spring, well, a place irrigated with fountains/eye, sight, fountain, well, presence, face, pleased); The rain (more - early rain, teacher, archer) also covers (ata - cover, enwrap, envelop oneself, clad, array, clothe) it with pools (beraka - blessing, prosperity, praise of God, a gift, benediction, treaty of peace, invocation of good). They go from strength to strength; each one appears before God in Zion. O LORD of hosts, hear my prayer; Give ear O God of Jacob!...For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of My God than dwell in the tents of the wicked. For the LORD God is a sun and a shield; the LORD will give grace and glory; No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly. O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man who trusts in You!"

     Not only does the tabernacle of God cause a transformation, but the pilgrimage in the Spirit that a person makes to the tabernacle dwelling place of God creates a transformation along the way as we saw in the verses above from Ps. 84. We create spiritual highways that change low places of mourning and bitter weeping into pools of praises, blessing, peace and benedictions, or good words. Sometimes we are so overset by the troubling events of the depths that we see now, that we neglect our upward spiritual pilgrimage that transforms the "now" into the dwelling place or tabernacle of God with man, the place of glory and grace.

     There used to be, and still are, pilgrimages from all over Israel and even from the nations of the world to Jerusalem, to the mountain where the temple of the LORD stood. The people would walk up many inclines and steps as they ascended to the House of God. Many believe that the prophets of God have written about another physical temple/tabernacle that will be built in these end times before the return of Jesus Messiah/Christ. These pilgrimages in the natural were shadows of the spiritual pilgrimages we are called to in order to come to that place where God dwells with and in man.

     Moses sought this place of oneness with God (Ex. 33:18-23). Abraham sought a city whose Maker and Builder was God and not man (Heb. 11:8-10). Both Paul and Peter wrote of the House or dwelling place of God, being built not with natural bricks or stone, but of living stones, which are the believers in Christ, filled with the Holy Spirit and faith (Eph. 2:19-22, 1 Pet. 2:4-5). Peter also wrote that by believing in the promises of God, we make a pilgrimage in faith looking forward, as Abraham did, to those new things to come, even a new creation (2 Pet. 3:12-13, see also Isa. 66:22-23). This tabernacle pilgrimage brings forth the transformation from the realm of the prophetic into manifestation (Heb. 10:35-39, and Heb. 11:1-3).

     This is the marvel that awaits us at the end of our spiritual pilgrimage to the tabernacle of God: "Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, 'Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.' Then He who sat on the throne said, 'Behold, I make all things new..." (Rev. 21:1-5).

     This is a similar transformation as the one we read in Ps. 84, above. regarding the Valley of Baca. If we want to see the tears and mourning of these times transformed into righteousness and salvation, let us begin our prophetic pilgrimage to the LORD's tabernacle.

     Jesus left us the most powerful promise concerning His Father's tabernacle and its feast: "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house (oikia/oikos - house, dwelling, abode/house of God, tabernacle) are many mansions (mone/meno - abode, dwelling, indwelling of the Holy Spirit in believers/kept continually, not to perish, endure, remain, lasting); if it were not so, I would have told you. And if I go and prepare (hetoimazo - make ready, prepare, provide, prepare a feast, a supper, a lodging; to receive on coming, things made ready in advance) a place for you, I will come again and receive (paralambano/lambano - to take with one's self, to join with one's self, receive near/take with the hand, take up a thing to be carried, to take in order to carry away, to collect, to gather) you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go you know, and the way (hodos - a travelled way, road, a traveler's way or journey [see "pilgrimage" above], progress, a manner of thinking, feeling or deciding) you know." (Jn. 14:1-4).  

     As Jesus described His Father's tabernacle and the place already prepared within it for us, He also connected this to His return. Our spiritual pilgrimage or "way" to God's tabernacle also anticipates not only Christ's return but our being received or carried away to Him - known as the Rapture (see 1 Thess. 4:16-18). Jesus expected His disciples to make the spiritual pilgrimage to the tabernacle of God, where Christ has prepared to be joined to us, and to return. The promises connected to the Feast of Tabernacles/Ingathering are very deep, eternal, and creation changing.

     If you would like to know more about our tabernacle pilgrimage, you can pray with me: "Father, You have called me to Your tabernacle, made me a living stone in Your tabernacle, and Your Son, Jesus, has also promised me a place in Your tabernacle forever. As I make my spiritual pilgrimage to this destination, I am praying and believing that transformation will follow my steps, that deep places of suffering and tears will be transformed into elevated places of Your abounding blessings. As my spiritual pilgrimage to Your tabernacle progresses, let old things pass away, and let Your new things be manifested. Father, let the gathering in, called the Feast of Tabernacles, of Your salvation harvest be filled and completed with both Jew and Gentile from out of all nations, and let Christ's return be hastened. These promises associated with this feast are almost too awesome to comprehend but help me to learn and walk in them by Your Holy Spirit and Your living Word. I ask for and believe these things by faith in the name of Jesus. AMEN."

      *NOTE: aleph-tav written in Hebrew as אֶת, are the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet. The meaning of the two pictographic Hebrew letters can also be interpreted "Adonai (Lord) of the Cross/Covenant". In the New Testament, these letters are translated as Alpha and Omega written as Α Ω , the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. These letters are those by which Jesus Christ identifies Himself in the Book of Revelation: see Rev. 1:8, Rev. 21:6, Rev. 22:13.

     

TheSublime

This Sabbath's reading portion is called CHOL HA MO'ED SUKKOT. In English this title would translate as "the interim days of the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot)". The Sabbath reading portion comes during the middle of the feast, which lasts seven days, plus an eighth day called Simchat Torah, which is a celebration of the Torah, the Word of God. Briefly described, the Feast of Tabernacles is observed by the Jewish people by building a small shelter, called a sukkah, traditionally made from tree branches, in which they take their meals. It is a joyful feast celebrating the abundance provided by God, especially when His people dwelt in tents in the wilderness after their exit from Egypt. The word "tabernacles", refers to a dwelling, shelter or tent. This feast also celebrates the fall harvest of dates, pomegranates and grapes for wine. The Feast of Tabernacles, though, has great spiritual importance apart from this. Zechariah wrote: "And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left by the LORD (meaning the survivors of the LORD's plague brought against those who fought Jerusalem (see Zech 14:12-13) 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." (Zech. 14:16). Another interesting thing happens in this prophecy of Zechariah's. A transformation has taken place in which even the most commonplace things will have become "HOLINESS TO THE LORD" (see v. 20-21). There is a change that takes place. In the Book of Revelation, as God's heavenly tabernacle, the New Jerusalem, descends from heaven to the earth, "prepared as a bride adorned for her husband", all things have been made new, including the heavens and earth, because the former things have passed away. (Rev. 21:1-5). As we saw in the prophet Zechariah, a complete transformation has been accomplished. Here the change is again connected to "the King": "...the Alpha and the Omega (the Aleph-Tav in Hebrew) the Beginning and the End". This King is the Son of David, the Messiah, Jesus Christ, as He identified Himself in Revelation (see Rev. 1:8, 21:6, 22:13). This kind of miraculous transformation mentioned in these verses from Revelation and Zechariah and connected to "Tabernacles" is what we will be looking at in this Sabbath reading. From the first portion of this Sabbath's reading, we discover that the Feast of Tabernacles is first called "the Feast of Ingathering (asip/asap - harvest [of fruit]/together, assemble, gather, collect, take [away, into, up], remove, fetch) at the end of the year (sana - year, change of season, whole age, second time, alter, to be changed, transmute, to be other, transfer to another place, return, repeat), when you have gathered in the fruit of your (aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega in Greek: title of Jesus Christ in Rev. 1:8, 21:6, 22:13)) labors from the field (sage - country, soil, meadow, land, spread out, empire of a king)." (Ex. 23:16). This is one of the three feasts at which all of the men of Israel must gather together before the LORD every year (v. 14, 17). Looking at the Hebrew words used in the verse above regarding the Feast of Ingathering (Tabernacles), we can see a direct relationship with the end of the age harvest of souls, or fruit, from our aleph-tav labor for the kingdom of the King, the return or second time of Christ, and the "change", or transmutation, and "taking away" that will accompany it. The apostle Paul wrote about this change, in connection to what has been called the Rapture, from the Latin word rapturo/rapio, which means "snatch, seize, caught up, being carried away" to describe the removal of God's people in Christ from earth to heaven: "For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord." (1 Thess. 4:16-17). These verses mention a trumpet (of God). Trumpets, or shofars, were used during the Feast of Ingathering/Tabernacles and other feasts to call the people of Israel to assemble together. For the Feast of Ingathering/Tabernacles, the priest would blow the shofar with all his might from a mountain top for the seven-eight days of the feast. Paul was not finished writing about this "catching away" event, also called harpazo in Greek, that he spoke of in Thessalonians. He also wrote: "...flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God...Behold, I tell you a mystery: we shall not all sleep (die), but we shall all be changed - in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality...then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory." (1 Cor. 15:50-54). Not only are we "caught up" to the Lord, but we must be changed in order for this to happen. the commonplace must become "HOLINESS TO THE LORD", as Zechariah wrote in connection to the Feast of Ingathering/Tabernacles. I call this change as going from the commonplace to the sublime. This is one of the definitions of sublime: "to elevate to a high degree of spiritual purity or excellence; of such excellence, grandeur or beauty as to inspire awe". What institutes this miraculous change in our physical form and spiritual substance? We will see an answer as we contnue in our Sabbath portion for this week. In the next reading, as Moses and the people were told by the LORD to leave Mt. Sinai and continue onward through the wilderness, Moses requested a change to the sublime through grace from the LORD. Moses said to the LORD: "Now, therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I might find grace in your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people.' And He (the LORD) said, 'My presence (panim - face, faces, presence, in the face of) will go with you, and I will give you rest." (Ex. 33:12-14, see also Ex. 34:8-9). Moses continued: "...So we shall be separate (pala - sever, separated, set apart, be distinguished, wonderfully, marvellously), Your people and I, from all the people who are upon the face of the earth.' So the LORD said to Moses, 'I will also do this thing that you have spoken; for you have found grace in My sight, and I know you by name." (v. 15-17). From his position of having found grace with the LORD, Moses had persuaded God to be present among His people, who had just sinned grievously by worshipping the golden calf idol, and to cause Moses and the people to be separated and distinguished from all of the other people on earth. They would become "different". However, Moses wasn't done seeking the sublime from God through His grace. Moses said to the LORD: "Please, show me Your glory." (v. 18). The LORD granted the request of Moses, but it would only be possible to accomplish as God pronounced His grace and mercy to and upon (aleph-tav) whom He chose (v. 19), and as Moses (aleph-tav) stood on a rock and sheltered in a cleft in a rock, with God's (aleph-tav) hand (v. 23) covering him. Then Moses would be able to see the glory of God's (aleph-tav) back (v. 20-23). This shelter in the rock's cleft became a kind of tabernacle or tent in a way. As we will see, the tabernacle becomes a touching place between heaven and earth, between God and man. It is a place where the commonplace becomes the sublime. In another reading selection for this week's Sabbath, King Solomon, in the Book of Ecclesiastes, used all of His wisdom and knowledge to contemplate what under heaven may exist that rose above the commonplace, or vanity, into the sublime. In Hebrew, this book is called Qoheleth from the root word qahal, which means "assembly, congregation, gathering". The Greek title of the book, Ecclesiastes, comes from the root word ekklesia, meaning "called out assembly, congregation, church". So Solomon's words are for a gathered people, which is appropriate for the Feast of Ingathering/Tabernacles. This is how Solomon described his search through his gift of wisdom: "I, the Preacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. And I set (aleph-tav) my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under heaven; this burdensome task God has given to the sons of man, by which they may be exercised (ana - humble, afflict, troubled, become low, bow down, be humbled, chasten oneself). I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and indeed all is vanity, and grasping for wind." (Eccl. 1:12-14). Solomon wrote that men knew that there was a difference between the commonplace and the seemingly unattainable sublime: "All things are full of labor; man cannot express it. The eye is not satisfied, nor the ear filled with hearing." (Eccl. 1:8). Men knew that there was something more that was needed. Solomon acknowledged how he had been gifted in wisdom, knowledge, and understanding, more than all others in Jerusalem. He acknowledged that he had accomplished great works, great riches and great pleasure - all that he had set his hands to do, yet, all of these things had not lifted him from the commonplace into the sublime. All of these things would disappear or just pass to someone else when he died. It was all therefore vanity (v. 16-17, 2:4-11). Solomon in his gift of wisdom considered the dark days that were to come, a description that matches the prophesied tribulation of the end times (Eccl. 12:1-8). All he could say was "Remember now (aleph-tav) your Creator...before the difficult days come" (v. 1). He said, "The Preacher sought to find acceptable words; and what was written was upright - words of truth. The words of the wise are like goads, and the words of scholars (meaning masters of assemblies) are like well-driven nails, given by one Shepherd...Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: "Fear (aleph-tav) God and keep His commandments, for this is man's all. For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil." (v. 10-14). The wisest man on earth could not find a way in his own strength to change the commonplace into the sublime, except to "Fear (aleph-tav) God". There is no method, including philosophies, or various religious practices of the world, by which man can attain the sublime under heaven. However, it is possible and already accomplished though our (aleph-tav) Lord, who joined heaven and earth in Himself. (see Col. 1:19-20, 2 Cor. 5:16-19). In another Sabbath reading portion for this week, a younger King Solomon called a gathering or assembly of all of the (aleph-tav) elders and people of Israel for the Feast of Ingathering/Tabernacles (see 1 Kings 8:65-66), where the (aleph-tav) Ark (aron/ara - chest/pluck [grapes from the vine], to collect, gather, a manger, a lamb) of the LORD would be brought up (ala - ascend, to meet, to be made to go up, be brought up, be taken away, draw up, train, be carried away, be taken up into, to lift oneself, exalt, excel, go from a lower region to a higher, to be made to depart, go up to the sanctuary) from the city of David, Zion, and placed in the newly constructed temple in Jerusalem. (1 Kings 8:1-6). As the priests set the Ark, the glory cloud of God filled the Temple, so that the anointed, set-apart priests could not continue ministering (v. 10-13). According to the prayer of Solomon, the Temple became a house of prayer where all people could come, seek the LORD, and God would hear and answer. As a result of prayer in this Temple/Tabernacle, repentance would be received, sins could be forgiven, plagues and judgments could be stopped, and lands could be healed. The sublime became accessible, and change manifested in the earth and people. We are not talking about a religious building, however, when we speak of Tabernacles. We are talking about a spiritual place where the commonplace becomes the sublime, where heaven touches earth, and God shares His presence with men. Some examples of this kind of tabernacle: the sojourner in a strange land, Abraham, sat before his tent, where God visited him, and prophesied the miraculous birth of a son of promise to elderly Abraham and his wife, childless Sarah; the fugitive on the run for his life, Jacob, laid on the ground with his head on a rock, and saw a ladder that reached between heaven and earth. He saw angels ascending and descending the ladder. Jacob called the place, Bethel, the House of God, because the commonplace faded away into the sublime; the miracle son of promise, Isaac, brought his new bride, who was a sign and an answer to prayer, into his tent, and their descendants became the nation of Israel; in a common stable near Bethlehem, a Savior was born, and the heavens opened and the angels declared the glory and good will of God to all the people of the earth. The commonplace became the sublime. There is another tabernacle of God's dwelling where heaven and earth touch and the commonplace becomes the sublime. It is in the hearts and bodies of believers in Christ (1 Cor. 3:16-17, 1 Cor. 6:19-20). There is one more definition of sublime that would be interesting to look at, and that definition comes from science! True science, unlike false science, never contradicts the Word of God, but confirms and bears witness to it. What can science tell us about the sublime? Here is the scientific definition from chemistry and physics: "of a solid changing directly into a vapor, skipping the liquid state". The example of solid carbon dioxide, or dry ice, is given, as the solid that seems to "disappear" as it turns to carbon dioxide gas. However, sublimation is considered a rare phenomenon. It only takes place in solids that have a very different kind of molecular structure. The change from solid to vapor is not achieved by heat, but by the solid's vapor pressure being equal to applied atmospheric pressure. These sublime solids have a much higher vapor pressure than most other solids. Their internal molecular structure is different from other solids. We will see how the creation mirrors the truths of its Creator in this case. When Paul wrote about our change into the sublime, as it is with these rare solids, it involves a change in the atmosphere. In his verses regarding the raising of the dead in Christ, and the catching away of the living saints, this occurs when Jesus descends into the atmosphere, into the clouds. We are then instantly changed in form and nature. This is very similar to the atmospheric pressure's effect upon the internal vapor pressure of the sublime solids. Sublimation among solids is rare. Jesus told us that salvation is also rare: "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate, and difficult is the way which leads to life, there are few who find it." (Mt. 7:13-14). Although God desires all to repent and be saved (2 Pet. 3:9), not all do. Sublime solids are also created differently from the start. Their rare and different molecular structure allows them to skip liquid form, and transition directly to gas. Scripture indicates that believers in Christ are also created differently: "But as many as received Him (Jesus as Savior), to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." (Jn. 1:12-13). Jesus also said regarding a believer's different creative substance: "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born (gennao/genos/ginome - begat, born, fathered, bring forth/kindred, offspring, individuals of the same nature/come into existence, arise, appear, of miracles, wrought, be fulfilled, be married to) again (anothen/ano - from above, from a higher place, of things which come from heaven or God,from the beginning, again/up, above, on high, of heaven), he cannot see (herao - see, perceive, know by experience) the kingdom of God...Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit." (Jn. 3:3, 5-8). Notice that the meaning of the phrase "born again" is very deep, and perhaps differs from our usual understanding. These verses of Christ speak to our very origin and structure. The scientific definition of sublime solids, which we saw earlier, creates an interesting picture for us as we consider these words of Jesus. Jesus also added that He knew these things because, as One who both ascended to heaven, and came down from heaven, He is a witness to this Himself (v. 11-13). The Feast of Ingathering/Tabernacles has a great deal of meaning to us, as do all the feasts of the LORD. It is the covering, the dwelling, and the Presence/Face of the LORD, and the transformation from old to new, and from the commonplace into the sublime. It is the joining of heaven and earth, and God and man. There is also more information on the Feast of Tabernacles, if you are interested, in the Featured Post column on the right side of this page, in a post titled "Culmination". If you would like to learn more about this very special time for God's people, you can join me in my prayer: "Heavenly Father, You sent Your own Son, Jesus, to earth so that I can become one of Your children, and through Him, to reconcile all things to Yourself. Through Your Son and Holy Spirit, You have made me Your tabernacle where heaven and earth touch, and all things, including myself, are transformed. Teach me more about what it means to be born from the Water of Your Word, Jesus, and Your Spirit, so that I may walk in that knowledge of You, especially as we grow nearer to the harvest of souls and that great ingathering into Your heavenly kingdom from the four corners of the earth. Write Your Words in my heart and upon my mind. I ask these things in the name of Jesus. AMEN."

InterimDays

This Sabbath falls within the seven days of the Feast of Tabernacles, also called the Feast of Ingathering. Because of this, this Sabbath reading is titled Chol Ha-Mo'ed Sukkot, or the "Intermediate days of Tabernacles". Within these intermediate days during Tabernacles, we have the opportunity to consider the great meaning of this feast. There are several scripture readings that are assigned to the seven days of the Feast including Ex. 23, Ex. 33-34, Ecclesiastes Chapters 1 and 12, and 1 Kings 8. For additional thoughts on the Feast of Tabernacles, I re-posted a previous blog entry on the right side of this page titled "Culmination", if you would also like to read it. As I was reading the assigned Sabbath selections for this feast, I found it interesting to see how an understanding or vision of the Feast of Tabernacles was gradually revealed in the scriptures. Even as the understanding of Tabernacles grew from a seemingly simple beginning, no one, aside from the prophets, could have imagined the tremendous depth of meaning that the LORD embedded in this feast. At the start, the feast was given by the LORD through Moses as an occasion to celebrate the harvest, particularly the grape harvest: "...the Feast of Ingathering (asip - "harvest; gather, assemble, collect, to be taken away") at the end of the year, when you have gathered in the fruit of your labors from the field." (Ex. 23:16). For Christians, the thought of harvest and ingathering has a spiritual meaning as a harvest of souls, and a gathering up of believers. The Feast of Tabernacles was a feast that required the bringing of offerings to the LORD, and rejoicing in the provision He has given in the fields. Continuing in the Sabbath reading portion, we see another aspect of the Feast of Tabernacles revealed as Solomon brought the ark of the covenant up to be placed in the new temple which he had built. He also dedicated the new temple with massive amounts of sacrifices. This was done "at the feast in the month of Ethanim (meaning perpetual, flowing, enduring), which is the seventh month (1 Kings 8:2). Solomon offered thanks to the LORD that he had been given the task as the son of David to complete this new house of the LORD (v. 18-19). After the priests placed the ark of the covenant in the Most Holy Place in the new temple, "...the cloud filled the house of the LORD, so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD." (v. 10-11). Solomon spoke of this overwhelming event by saying to the LORD, "I have surely built You an exalted house, and a place for You to dwell in forever."(1 Kings 8:13, see also 2 Sam. 7:12-14, Ps. 132:14). The celebration went on for seven days, and then an additional seven days more when "..the people...went to their tents joyful and glad of heart for all the good that the LORD had done for His servant, David, and for Israel His people." (1 Kings 8:65-66). From the details given here, I believe that the temple of Solomon was dedicated on the Feast of Tabernacles. This joyous feast takes place in the seventh month, and lasts for seven days. As God's glory filled the temple, perhaps Solomon thought that the completion of this great temple fulfilled the Feast of Tabernacles. Solomon must have considered the temple that he built for the presence and worship of the LORD to be the high point of his reign as king of Israel. The temple was magnificent and opulent by all of the accounts in scripture, with an interior covered with gold, and built with the finest and most beautiful materials that could be found. Only the most expert craftsmen were allowed to work on the building and furnishings of this temple. Some since that time have included Solomon's temple on the list of the wonders of the ancient world. From his words, it seems that Solomon felt that this temple would stand forever. All of Israel probably assumed the same thing. It is one of the reasons why they thought that the LORD would never allow Jerusalem to be captured by an enemy - because His House was there. However, this temple would not stand forever. A few hundred years later, a mighty army came into Jerusalem and looted the beautiful and sacred furnishings of this great temple, and destroyed it. The prophets had warned that this would happen as the people of God turned away from Him, worshipped other gods, and became filled with iniquity. However, the Feast of Tabernacles was never just about a harvest of crops, or about the building of a great edifice. In another portion from this Sabbath's readings, we hear again from Solomon in the Book of Ecclesiastes. He draws this conclusion regarding all of man's natural toils and efforts: "I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and indeed all is vanity, and grasping for the wind. What is crooked cannot be made straight, and what is lacking cannot be numbered." (Eccl. 1:14-15). The Feast of Tabernacles is not found in the work of men's hands. Who could have imagined from its first mention that the Feast of Tabernacles would be fulfilled, not by a harvest of crops, or a great building, but by the atonement accomplished by another Son of David, Jesus, who would build a greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, not of this creation? (Heb. 9:11). Who could imagine that the tabernacle of God would be in us? We would become His living temple. His Spirit, His glory and His presence dwells within us. God has placed these treasures in earthen vessels, rather than in a building (1 Cor. 3:16, Jn. 17:21-22, 2 Cor. 4:7). Who could have anticipated that the glory of Christ could dwell in men? In another of this Sabbath's readings, Moses asked to see God's glory, and the LORD had to hide Moses in the cleft of a rock, and cover him with His hand, allowing Moses to see only His back parts as the LORD passed by him (Ex. 33:18-23). The glory given to us is not glory that passes by or fades, but it is a glory that remains (2 Cor. 3:10-13). Moses knew the passing glory of the commandments of God engraved upon tablets of stone, encased in a wooden ark, and placed within a tabernacle of animal skins. Did he ever imagine the living Word of God, Jesus, written upon living hearts, placed within a living tabernacle, sealed by the Spirit of God in the promise of everlasting life? Jesus asked the Father that we be given the same glory as He had from the beginning, and this is the eternal glory that we contain as the tabernacles of God. The Feast of Tabernacles reflects a dwelling with and in God, and He with and in us. The separation or veil between God and man caused by our sin has been removed through Christ (Heb. 10:10, 19-22). The revelation of the Feast of Tabernacles doesn't end there. It is also promised that the Lord will bring a city, New Jerusalem, down from heaven arrayed as a bride adorned for her husband (Rev. 21:2). We are the Bride of Christ (Rev. 19:7-9, Eph. 5:25-27). The original tabernacle built in the desert to house the presence of God is described as a kind of Chuppah, or bridal canopy like those used in a Jewish wedding. This is the inseparable union created by the tabernacle. God will dwell among men, and tabernacle with them, as He has always planned (Rev. 21:3-5). Who could have imagined the greatness hidden in the Feast of Tabernacles: "But as it is written, 'Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him." (1 Cor. 2:9). If you would like to become part of the living tabernacle of God, you can pray: "Lord Jesus, You have made me a living temple, filled with Your Holy Spirit, Your glory, and Your presence. During these days of the Feast of Tabernacles and beyond, show me how to be the Temple of God, not built by human hands, but by Your atoning blood, and the presence of Your Holy Spirit. Open the eyes of my understanding, and lead me to walk in this unity with You. You died for my sins and rose from the dead to bring me near to You and the Father, to make us one. Forgive me Lord, and cleanse me from all that separates me from You. I ask these things in Your name. AMEN."

Tabernacles

 

 

Tomorrow begins the Feast of Tabernacles. It is a commanded feast of the LORD. He wanted His people to celebrate, come rejoicing every year, in every generation (Lev. 23:34-43). As solemn as the recently observed Yom Kippur feast is, this feast is for rejoicing. Many things can and have been said about the Feast of Tabernacles, and every detail involved in the Tabernacle of the LORD, as shown to Moses, is very important. To me, the beauty of Tabernacles is the picture of the love of God that it embodies. The prophetic image of the Tabernacle promises us that it is, and always was, the Father's intention to dwell (tabernacle) among men, whom He so dearly loves. To Moses, God said:

"And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell (let oneself down, to settle down, to lie down, to dwell, abide, be inhabited) among them. According to all that I show you, that is the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furnishings, just so you shall make it."  

                                                                                                               Ex. 25:8-9

In His design of the Tabernacle, God required that the twelve tribes of Israel be encamped on every side of the Tabernacle, so the presence of God could dwell literally in their midst. Everything about the Tabernacle, its outward design and its interior furnishings, were pointing prophetically to the way which our Father had provided for man to come into His presence- through His Son, Jesus. According to rabbinical tradition, the three entrances of the Tabernacle, into the Outer Court, into the Holy Place, and finally into the Holy of Holies, were named "THE WAY", "THE TRUTH", and "THE LIFE". Jesus identified Himself in this same manner (Jn. 14:6), as the only living path to His Father. None of the world's "religions" present as their awesome privileged goal the manner of approach into the personal presence of the Almighty Creator, the Highest, Himself. Yet, God wants this more than anything else. He deeply desires this company and fellowship with man as His greatest will and plan. 

The sukkah (booth, tabernacle, tent) that is built by a Jewish family as they observe the Feast of Tabernacles is to remind them of when Israel dwelt in the midst of the presence of God after He miraculously delivered them out of the bondage of Egypt. It represents His provision and protection, His loving care for them. The Tabernacle and Presence in the midst of man as protection and provision are expressed in scripture:

"Oh, how great is Your goodness, which You have laid up for those who fear You, which You have prepared for those who trust in You in the presence of the sons of men! You shall hide them in the secret place of Your presence from the plots of man; You shall keep them secretly in a pavilion ("sukkah") from the strife of tongues."   Ps. 31:19-20

And:

"...then the LORD will create above every dwelling place of Mount Zion, and above her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day and the shining of a flaming (gleaming, polished point of a weapon or spear) fire (supernatural fire, altar fire) by night. For over all the glory there will be a covering. And there will be a tabernacle ("sukkah")  for shade (shadow, a defense) in the daytime from the heat (desolation, drying heat, dagger, cutting weapon), for a place of refuge, and for a shelter from storm (inundate, overwhelm) and rain."  Isa. 4:5-6

When Jesus came to us in the flesh, He came as a Tabernacle, to dwell among men, who could then be in the presence of His glory:

"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."  Jn. 1:14

Through His coming in the living flesh, His sacrifice, and  His resurrection, Jesus fulfilled the purpose of the Tabernacle. This allowed the subsequent infilling of the Holy Spirit to "dwell" in each believer on His name. We also then became living, spiritual tabernacles (1 Cor. 3:16, 2 Cor. 6:16) of the presence of the glory of God in the midst of men for their provision and protection, and for the purpose of being a living "signpost" (Zion) to all men of "THE WAY" to the Father through His Son (Christianity began as a Jewish sect called "The Way".) 
The Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands (Acts 7:48), but in living Tabernacles: the sukkah must be constructed of living branches and leaves. In the beginning, God planted (fastened) a living Sukkah to the earth in the form of the Garden of Eden, and then placed man within it (Gen. 2:8-9). The LORD walked in the midst of that living sukkah, and fellowshipped personally with the man.

We see the eternal will of God for tabernacle among men at the close of the Book of Revelation:

"And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, "Behold the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away."  Rev. 21:3-4

Can you imagine Almighty God gently wiping the tears from each of our eyes? This is the love He wants to express in His Tabernacle, and the intimate, personal fellowship He has always desired with each of us.

This is the picture of God's profound love that I find in the Feast of Tabernacles. Can there be any greater reason for remembering it with rejoicing?

 

Our Father desires to tabernacle with men.



Debate

We are currently in the season of the last of the fall feasts of the LORD, as He commanded Israel. It is the Feast of Tabernacles. It is the feast that joyously celebrates the harvest, and recalls the time in the wilderness when God's people dwelled in tents, and God dwelled among them. This feast also includes the promise of God that He will dwell again in the midst of men.
We have an account of this feast, and Jesus' attendance of it, in the New Testament:
"On the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me as the scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified."   Jn. 7:37-39
Many in the crowd who heard Jesus that day thought that He surely was the Prophet, and the Messiah. There was, however, a great division among the people because of Him (v. 43). Even at the time of this feast, which was months before the Passover feast during which Jesus would be crucified, the leaders of the Temple had dispatched the Temple officers to arrest Jesus. The officers came back empty handed because they also were divided when they heard Jesus speak. The chief priests and the Pharisees asked them why they had not brought Jesus back with them, and the officers replied, "No man ever spoke like this Man!"
The Pharisees scolded them saying, "Are you also deceived? Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed in Him?"  The leaders also pointed out that the crowd believed Jesus because they were ignorant of scripture (v. 32, 45-48).
Their argument was that if none of the rulers or Torah experts believed in Him, then it couldn't be so, and Jesus must be a charlatan.
The people's own ears and hearts were telling them, "He must be", but the Torah experts were saying, "He couldn't be."
One of the issues that the Torah experts clung to in denying that Jesus was the Messiah, and an issue that also divided the people, was the fact that Jesus was from Galilee. According to their knowledge of scripture, none of the prophets had said that the Messiah was to come from Galilee. Instead, the Messiah was to be from Bethlehem (v. 42, 52).
We know from the Gospels, that Jesus was indeed born in Bethlehem as the result of an order from the Roman emperor to take a census of the people. Joseph, as a descendant of David, had to return to the birth town of his family, Bethlehem, in order to be accounted for and registered. He had to bring his very pregnant wife, Mary, with him. Thus Jesus did fulfill that Messianic prophecy, and many others.
As far as Galilee is concerned, the very great prophet Isaiah gave us a subtle hint regarding the mystery of Galilee:
"...In Galilee of the Gentiles...The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined."
And just a handful of verses later, we read:
For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace..."    Isa. 9:1-2, 6
The verses around Isaiah's prophecy regarding Galilee is a promise that the yokes of burdens will be broken. The staff and rod of the oppressor will be removed. Though Galilee was held in low esteem in Jesus' day, even the meaning of its name has a connection to the One whom we know as our Messiah, Jesus. In Hebrew, Galilee refers to a circle, or ring shape. Its root meaning includes "to roll (away) a stone". Those who know the details of the resurrection of Christ, will recognize the rolling of the stone away from the opening of the grave in which He had been buried (Mk. 16:1-4).
Though the Torah experts of Jesus' day could not find Him in the scriptures, He is present from Genesis through Revelation. Jesus told those who made scripture their study:
"You search the scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life." 
                                                                                                               Jn. 5:39-40
However, many of those who were unlearned in the scriptures, whom the religious leaders scorned for their ignorance (Jn. 7:49), were able to identify Jesus as the Messiah because of what they heard Him say, and what they witnessed Him do. Their souls identified Him, and knew Him. When the disciples came in contact with Jesus after His resurrection, but did not recognize His form, they realized that Jesus had been with them, and they exclaimed.
"Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the scriptures to us?"   Lk. 24:32
The Messiah is also discerned in the heart.
The Feast of Tabernacles that Jesus attended was a time of division and debate, much like today. God the Son, the Messiah, the Savior, was in tabernacle with them in their midst, but the most scripturally trained could not, or would not discern it.
There's a lesson in that for all of us. As I was reading this account of the Feast of Tabernacles in scripture, and the tragically wrong opinions of those scriptural experts during that great feast, the thought occurred to me that just when we think we know the scriptures, we find out how little we really do know. That's the way it should be, I think.

Our Father fills our hearts, as well as the scriptures, with the knowledge of His Son.