November 5, 2024

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“’[On that Day] 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)

REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

I will admit, reading verses 12-21 and hearing “On that day people will be stricken by the Lord with great panic” is hard to imagine. Yet, I cannot forget that “on that Day” speaks to a singular time which is yet to come. However, we are given reminders of that particular day in advance so that we will be ready for it. That preparation comes in stages which we can read about in the course of Israel’s becoming a nation unto God. I have a strange suspicion that the course has not yet been fully run. Given the current events as they unfold daily in the Middle East, there is still more that must be done and will be done. Paul speaks to the Church about “…running the good race and fighting the good fight.” (2 Timothy 4) He said he had already done so. I believe this was an indicator of acknowledgment for the end of his life as it was drawing near. His list of events which had occurred during his ministry to the Gentiles should humble us. He was not bragging about “look what I have endured for the sake of the gospel.” He was sharing the reality of what Jesus had promised for those who would put living for Him first. He spoke of days of trouble, hardships, persecutions and even death because “the world hates Me and My name.” Yet, there was a glorious future promised as well for those who fought the good fight and kept pursuing the end as one who runs the race to the finish line. Mighty ones of God, we have not reached the finish line. Nor had those in Zechariah’s time reached the finish line. In truth, the mention of “The Feast of Tabernacles,” or The Feast of Booths, was a long established celebration ordained by God for the purpose of remembering the goodness and favor of God.

The Feast of the Tabernacles happened, and happens, in the Fall of the year. It symbolizes the last of the harvest gathered in. It is a harvest festival which mirrors the first harvest festival of the year which is Pentecost. God loves the rhythm of life as it comes and goes, ebbs and flows. It is filled with meaning that can be seen on the surface with the simplest and most ordinary of meanings. It also has a meaning which resonates deep into the spirit and soul of a person and people. David knew of such rhythms. He shared them in the psalms he wrote as a journal of his own journey with God toward God. In Psalm 42, David mentions “…as the deep call to the deep.” In Psalm 23, David brings our attention to “…the still waters flow.” He does so alongside “green pastures.” From the surface to the depths, our spiritual lives rise and fall, ebb and flow, move as the Holy Spirit does like the wind across the face of the earth. Even now, I hear the wind blowing outside the window and know that leaves are being captured from the trees and moved into new places. They will be gathered in piles and burned or collected for a moment to allow children to jump in them or they will become heavy with water and slowly disintegrate into the soil with a richness prepared for future life. It is a cycle of life which happens naturally as God designed it. It is no accident. Nor did the Feast of Tabernacles just happen.

The other day, in my angst about the world’s incessant desire to celebrate Halloween (in whatever manifestation is chosen to placate one’s conscience), I asked myself “What if we truly aligned ourselves with the festivals of Israel’s faith journey?” Being Fall, my mind quickly went to the Feast of Tabernacles, or Booths. There was no sense of death and foreboding. There was desire to trick, prank or scare. It was not a celebration of death and evil spirits. It was not a season of praise meant to supplant an unholy practice concocted by humans to explain why there is evil in the world. It was a harvest festival celebrating bringing in the last of sheaves before the winter’s breath would come over them inviting them into a long winter’s nap. Nothing was wasted. If nothing was wasted, then was there anything spared? This is a part of the beauty of the harvest. It was commanded by God to leave fruit on the edges of the field or on the low branches of the trees. It was to be left for the stranger, the foreigner, the destitute to benefit from the harvest which God had provided. We hear it in the story of Ruth and Boaz. We are led to a similar revelation on Mount Tabor where Jesus was revealed in full glory before the three disciples in the presence of Moses and Elijah. Remember Peter’s response: “Let’s build booths and remain here.” Oh, the desire to capture that mountaintop experience only to be reminded that we are given the responsibilities of the valleys and the plains below. What if we, as mighty ones of God, embraced that “harvest” festival and celebrate life instead of becoming entangled with “Halloween” and the convoluted and world-tainted night of the dead and deadly? Would things seem different for us, to us and in a new perspective as befits our calling as “a light to the world, the salt of the earth and a priesthood of all believers”?

And here is where I have found myself in this reflection on the terrible atrocities accorded to God’s will in Israel and indeed in the world because of sin, humanity’s utter declaration that they will not believe in the power and presence of Almighty God. I can get lost in the “did God do it,” “will God do it” and “why would God do it.” Or, I can see in the middle of this “day of judgment” the Feast of Tabernacles and the call to dwell in the moment praising God for being true to His word. His word separates the wheat from the chaff. The wheat is gathered into storehouses for the future provision of the people. The chaff is gathered into piles and pyres to be reduced to ashes and dust and returned to the earth out of which a new planting and a new harvest would be raised. And as it is “the last Harvest” and thus symbolizes the completion of the work, I can also hear the harvest of souls being gathered in. In these verses, the remnant is out of all the nations. Those who survive (called to repentance) come together during that week and give thanks to God that all was not lost. Those who refuse will suffer drought or worse in their lives. One can read the surface level meaning as easily as another can read into the depth of the heart, mind and soul. The purpose of God is to gather all who believe into one community and share in the bounty of His blessing. They come with no distinction apart from believing in God. “In Christ,” remember, “there is no south or north, east or west, male or female, slave or free, Jew or Gentile; rather it is one great fellowship of love throughout the whole wide earth.”

TODAY’S PRAYER IN RESPONSE TO GOD’S WORD:

Father, before we were conceived in the womb, You had already formed us in Your love and by Your Spirit brought us into being. Each one of us is blessed with the opportunity of doing right, being good and producing the fruit of the Spirit in order that others be fed the truth of that same love so that the two will become one. It is our soul’s sincere desire to embrace the oneness You have in mind so we would know we are Your people and You are our God. Lead us in that discovery of the truth and the manifestation of that love for us all. In Jesus’ name, we pray. AMEN.