Commentaries:
Just about every year, we hear messages reminding us that the Feast of Tabernacles is not a vacation, and we largely agree with that. It has aspects of a vacation—we are away from home, mostly free from work or school responsibilities, with extra money in our pockets, living at a hotel, eating out, and doing activities we do not normally do—yet its purpose is far more serious and spiritual. But do we really believe and display our conviction by doing what we must to share this holy time with the Father, the Son, and one another in the way and in the place God has determined for us to serve Him and our brethren?
Granted, various factors—such as age, health, and unforeseen, insurmountable difficulties—will make it difficult or impossible for us to attend the Feast in the place God has put His name. However, will we let the physical circumstances of our lives determine this without trying to seek God's will diligently so that we do not fail in our duty to appear before Him?
Just as much as the Sabbath is not optional holy time, neither are God's holy days. Leviticus 23:33-36, 39-43 clearly states God's will that we keep the Feast of Tabernacles, as does Deuteronomy 16:13-15.
God blesses those following His financial planning system with such an unusual abundance of physical wealth at this time of year that even the most faithful can fall victim to the deceitful trap of a self-deceptive heart. Such a heart could very well equate the joy of a true feast to the Lord with the mere physical pleasure of a vacation. This brings God's solemn and commanded festivals down to the level of an elective, only to be kept if everything in our lives is just right!
Consider this: If we fail to keep His holy days and rejoice in the way He intends, for His honor and glory, we may not only be letting God down and disappointing Him, but we may also be letting one another down. Who will fill our places in the choir? Who will do our ushering jobs? The message intended to help us grow we will not hear. The widows, whom God planned for us to serve, will not receive the level of service we could have given them. And what about those whom God intended to train in righteousness by serving us in our difficult circumstances? They will never have the opportunity!
What about what God says in Malachi 3:16-17?
Then those who feared the LORD spoke to one another, and the LORD listened and heard them; so a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the LORD and who meditate on His name. "They shall be Mine," says the LORD of hosts, "on the day that I make them My jewels. And I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him."
So we must ask ourselves, what does it say about us if those God-fearers fellowshipping together at God's feast did not include us?
I have seen many dear brethren who have worked so hard to be faithful and honor God. One lady, in pain because of cancer, was transported to the Feast lying in the back of a van. She died two months later, but she was determined to attend as God commanded. God lifted up another dedicated member, also dying, so that, in faith, he could be where God wanted him. One woman traveled halfway around the world, alone, to honor God and be where she knew God wanted her to be.
To these people, the Feast of Tabernacles was not merely an elective time for physical rejoicing. It is the commanded and holy assembly of God's people, who have been called together for His honor and glory in the continuing process of preparing His jewels for the Kingdom of God!
Some of God's people cannot be there because of dire or unforeseen circumstances. That is, sadly, a fact of life in an anti-God world. But we must all examine ourselves and ensure our deceptive hearts have not demoted God's solemn and holy time to a mere elective. When God calls a holy convocation of His people, we should do our utmost to be there!
At this time of year, it should never be far from our minds that the Feast of Tabernacles—and indeed, all of God's feast days—are holy times, set apart by Him to be observed as He commands, to help us to become holy as He is holy (I Peter 1:16).
Mark Schindler
The Feast: Vacation or Holy Time?
Other Forerunner Commentary entries containing Deuteronomy 16:13:
Deuteronomy 16:13-15
