Today’s Scripture Reading
(November 15, 2018): Numbers 29
In the United States,
Thanksgiving is only a week away. In recent memory, Thanksgiving is a day
dedicated to turkey and football. (Every year I say that I am going to declare
myself an honorary citizen of the United States at this time of the year so
that I can take part in at least the watching football part – after all, I am
one of a half dozen Detroit Lions fans in the world. And every year something
seems to intrude on my time and destroy my plans. We will have to see what
happens this year.) Thanksgiving in the United States has a dual focus. It is a time of celebration and
thanks for the harvest, which has just recently been
taken off of the field. But it is also a remembrance of the Pilgrims and
other pioneers who made a number of sacrifices
as they settled onto the North American continent. Admittedly, the historical
element of Thanksgiving has been questioned
in recent years.
On the fifteenth day of the
seventh month, Israel was told to hold a sacred assembly and begin a week-long
festival. Officially, the celebration is known as “Sukkot” or “The Festival of
Tabernacles.” And like Thanksgiving in the United States, “The Festival of
Tabernacles” has a dual focus. First,
like Thanksgiving, it is a celebration of the harvest. It is a time to thank
God for all of the provisions that he has given to the nation over the recent growing
season. But there is also a historical component to the festival. It is a
memory of the time that Israel spent in the wilderness, a time before they
entered into and took possession of Canaan. During the celebration, the people
left their houses and for the week camped outside in temporary shacks or booths.
The booths reinforced the manner in which their ancestors had lived for the forty
years that they had spent in the wilderness.
Sukkot was first commanded in Leviticus 23. What is maybe significant
about the command is the timing of it. Leviticus 23 is at the beginning of the forty-year
wilderness journey. This passage in Numbers takes place at the end of the
wilderness journey. But what is important to note is that the events that Sukkot
were meant to draw attention to had not yet happened. There had been no harvest
in the wilderness. And the people were still living in their temporary
shelters. At the time that the Festival was
first mentioned, and even here as Moses stresses
it, Sukkot could not be celebrated.
Here, Sukkot is a promise to
the people. The day is coming when you will bring in a harvest of the things
that you have grown which will support you in the winter months to come. The
day is coming, when you will live in houses and these temporary tents will be a
memory of a time long past. And when that
day comes, remember and celebrate the harvest which God has given to you, and
the guidance that God provided for your ancestors as he brought them through
their journey in the wilderness.
A better day is coming. And
that, too, is a reason to give thanks.
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Numbers 30
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