Going To and Fro

It’s always interesting to me when we have a Sabbath on a weekday. People all around me are going about their daily business completely oblivious to God’s rest. This is most obvious on days like today, the first Sabbath in the feast of Tabernacles because we sleep every night in a tent in our back yard. We are awakened to the rushing sounds of lots of cars driving on nearby roads, people going to work or school or wherever.

It’s like a prophetic statement about the present and future form of God’s Kingdom. Those of us who take in the whole Bible and do it as if it was food and drink enter in to His rest. We are quiet and joyously focused on the Words of our God and Savior Jesus the Messiah, while so many are focused on their own thing. Those who do not pay attention to the Word of God just keep going to and fro, as it says in Daniel.

But you, Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, until the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.” (Daniel 12:4, ESV)

This, sadly, includes many church-goers and others who wear His name but refuse to do what He says. Knowledge increases; obedience and love decrease. In their own knowledge people who ignore God run in circles, busy accomplishing nothing, exhausting themselves with what they think are good things but bottom line go nowhere. When we ignore God, there is no rest. Take in His knowledge, love and submit and just do what He says, and there is peace and joy and eternal happiness.

Shalom

Bruce

Tabernacles 2012 last day

Today is the last day of Tabernacles, and it’s a Sabbath. One of the things that is clear about observing God’s holidays – we are so out of sync with the rest of the world. We wake to a day of resting, while we listen to the traffic going to work like any other day. We spend time with the Lord while others buy and sell, marry and give in marriage completely oblivious to His will and ways. From a certain perspective we are different, weird, offensive, and intolerant. Though Tabernacles is also called the Feast of Nations (because of the 70 bulls that used to be offered for the nations at this time) the nations ignore it. Just like they ignore the Feast that is partly for their sakes, ignored the bulls, and just like they ignore the greatest sacrifice, the only begotten son of God, Jesus the Christ. It’s no wonder being in sync with God causes us to be out of sync with the world.

Tabernacles 2012 day 2

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14, ESV)

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. (Revelation 21:3, ESV)

Second day of Tabernacles. So much meaning filling and overflowing a simple celebration. Praise God the Father and our Messiah Jesus the Anointed for giving us such wonderful and intimate ways to connect!

Tabernacles 2012

Coming up on Monday – the Feast of Tabernacles. Eight days of parties and camping. We will be pitching a tent in our back yard Sunday afternoon and sleeping in it all week long. We’ll have fires in our fire pit, roast wienies (all beef of course) and marshmallows (s’more, please), singing and blowing the shofar for joy.

This feast causes us to remember what God did for Israel in bringing them out of slavery, rejoice in our freedom in Christ, and look forward to a time when He shall reign and the earth will have peace. Do we have a great God or what? Party, party party, all the time party. This is what He gives us when we stay within the loving boundaries of His wonderful, living Word.

Then everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Booths. And if any of the families of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, there will be no rain on them. And if the family of Egypt does not go up and present themselves, then on them there shall be no rain; there shall be the plague with which the LORD afflicts the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Booths. This shall be the punishment to Egypt and the punishment to all the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Booths. (Zechariah 14:16–19, ESV)