THEY KEPT ALSO

 THEY KEPT ALSO

Ezra 3:4-5 (KJV)

They kept also the feast of tabernacles, as it is written, and offered the daily burnt offerings by number, according to the custom, as the duty of every day required;

And afterward offered the continual burnt offering, both of the new moons, and of all the set feasts of the LORD that were consecrated, and of every one that willingly offered a freewill offering unto the LORD.

 

Pastor Tad Lagros did an outstanding job Wednesday of reminding us of the overall layout of the book of Ezra.

 

It’s not a large piece of the Bible, just 10 chapters.

They describe for us the liberating of the Jews from Babylonian captivity.

·   God moved upon the heart of a gentile man to grant them release

·   God moved upon the hearts of key people to lead their return

·   God moved upon the hearts of many to finance the move

 

The return of the people of Israel to the Promised Land happened in several waves, the first of those led by Zerubbabel.

 

Chapter three finds that first wave back into the land, situated in their cities and now, assembled in Jerusalem.

 

I said last time that the chapter can be divided into three sections.

·   The altar and the offerings

·   The feast of tabernacles

·   The foundation of the Temple

 

I was thinking, maybe sections might not be too accurate, but I think it is fair to say three subjects.

 

They are in a specific order in the chapter and I think that is important.

 

The altar came first.

The altar and the offerings represent the Cross of Jesus Christ.

 

Before any other relationship with the Lord can be built one must deal with the Cross.

 

Jesus died.

·   He died without ever having sinned

·   He died for your sins and for mine

 

We live in a time when a lot of people don’t think of anything as sin. 

It’s all good.

·   They can live whatever lifestyle they want

·   They can claim to be whatever gender they want

·   They can mark up and cut up their bodies however they want

 

·   They don’t want their parents to tell them what to do

·   They don’t want the police to tell them what to do

·   They don’t want the President to tell them what to do

 

Everything to them is relative.

If they like it, and it feels good to them, then who is there who has the right to judge them?

 

If they don’t deal with their sin.

If they don’t confess it, grieve over it, repent of it, and come to the Cross of Christ to be forgiven of it, then there is no way to have a relationship with God.

 

Jesus died, not for anything He did, but for everything you did.

If you don’t deal with that, then everything religious is just hypocrisy.

 

They made the altar first.

 

Then notice that the second thing they did was to also keep the feast of Tabernacles.

 

Without getting into a lot of the specifics[1] I will just say that the feast of tabernacles was a week-long event when the Jews would set up temporary shelters and live outdoors for a week.

 

They went camping.

 

I recently tried to find a group in our area that celebrated the feast of tabernacles to get more details of how modern-day Judaizers interpret and practice the week. They are groups who do that all around the world. I could not find an organized group nearby.

 

So I joked a second ago and said they went camping. 

It’s not exactly true, but it’s not far from the truth. As far as I can tell, the only difference would be in purpose, not actual practice.

 

It’s not meant to be a vacation, but a spiritual reflection. 

 

Maybe it would be more like going to the camp in Spokane every summer.

 

I have four points for you

 

First off, the feast of tabernacles was

I. A RECOLLECTION OF THE NATURE OF LIFE

Hebrews 11:8-9 (KJV)

By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.

By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:

 

Acts 7:6 (KJV)

And God spake on this wise, That his seed should sojourn in a strange land; and that they should bring them into bondage, and entreat them evil four hundred years.

 

1 Peter 1:17 (KJV)

And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear:

 

·   Abraham sojourned in a strange land

·   His seed sojourned in a strange land and

·   We are sojourners here in this strange land

 

Hebrews 11:9-10 (KJV)

By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:

For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

 

Every time the children of Israel observed the feast of tabernacles, they recalled that “this world is not their home.”

 

Hey, you and I, we are dwelling in tabernacles right now.

2 Corinthians 5:1 (KJV)

For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

 

People speak about the body being the temple of the Holy Spirit.

It’s really just a tabernacle of the soul of man.

 

It’s temporary.

It’s only designed to get us by until we finally go home.

 

So this group of Jews returned to Jerusalem, the Promised Land, but very early on, they observed the feast of tabernacles and recalled that, even there, they were not yet home.

 

Secondly feast of tabernacles was, 

II. A REMEMBRANCE OF WHERE THEY’D COME FROM

Joshua 14:10 (KJV)

And now, behold, the LORD hath kept me alive, as he said, these forty and five years, even since the LORD spake this word unto Moses, while the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness: and now, lo, I am this day fourscore and five years old.

 

During the wilderness wanderings of Israel, they all lived in tents, tabernacles, for a period of forty full years.

 

Concerning those forty years I would like to say

A. It was sentence from God

For their unbelief.

 

They didn’t trust God that He would give them the Promised Land when they reached it at Kadesh Barnea.

 

They balked.

And because they balked, Hebrews says they could not enter into their rest.

 

They could have gone home, 

·   To fine houses, 

·   To full vineyards and 

·   To raise their families

 

But because they did not believe God, they were consigned to live in tabernacles, many of them for the rest of their lives.

 

Imagine.

They traded, houses, and fertile valleys, and planted crops and walled cities.

 

For walking around in a dry, hot desert for the rest of their lives.

 

How many times have you traded the blessings of God for trying to scratch out a place – just because you wouldn’t trust God and do things His way?

 

B. It was a period of proving

As God developed them into a nation.

 

It was during those years of wandering that God gave them

·   The Law

·   The Tabernacle

·   The Civil Order

Etc.

 

During those 40 years Israel sinned against God, experienced chastening, got corrected and, if you will, grew up.

 

By the time they reached the Jordan River

·   They had a new leader, Joshua

·   They had a new generation, the first one had passed away

·   They were following the Ark across the Jordan

 

They were not perfect, by any means, but they were much more mature than they had been at Kadesh Barnea.

 

Aren’t you glad that God uses chastening to mature you, correct you and to develop you and not to destroy you?

 

None of us will be perfect until we get to heaven.

 

We do things wrong and we have to be corrected for them. But God always uses the correction to mold us more into the image of the Lord, and not to destroy and to defeat us.

 

C. It was a testimony of the grace of God

As He protected and provided for them all that time.

God provided for them 

·   Manna to eat every day

·   Water from the rocks on more than one occasion

·   Quail in abundance when they complained 

He even made it so their shoes never wore out all those forty years.

 

God gave them victories over their enemies and increased their possessions through those victories.[2]

 

When the Jews observed the feast of tabernacles, they remembered they had been wanderers, nomads and vagabonds on the earth.

 

Thirdly feast of tabernacles was, 

III. A REMINDER OF THE COMING SAVIOUR

Matthew 17:1-4 (KJV)

And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart,

And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.

And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him.

Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.

 

When Peter and James and John saw the glorified Christ on the Mount of Transfiguration, they immediately connected it with the feast of tabernacles.

 

Every one of the Jewish celebrations was meant to teach something about Saviour.

The feast of trumpets and the feast of tabernacles related directly to the coming of the glorified Saviour.

 

He came the first time as a Lamb.

He comes the next time as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah.

 

·   He comes glorified

·   He comes triumphant

·   He comes as King of Kings and Lord of Lords

 

No longer will we dwell in tabernacles, but when we see Him, we will be clothed upon in our new house, not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.[3]

 

·   Don’t live for today.

·   Don’t set your sites on things of the earth.

·   Don’t put your hopes on here.

Look for Jesus to come again.

 

Look every day

Look all day

 

Finally feast of tabernacles was, 

IV. A REQUIREMENT FOR THE PRESENT TIME

Ezra 3:1 (KJV)

And when the seventh month was come, and the children of Israel were in the cities, the people gathered themselves together as one man to Jerusalem.

 

All this happened in the first year of Cyrus’ rule.

They had likely left Babylon in the late spring of that year.

Less than six months later, they gathered as one man to Jerusalem.

 

The seventh month was one of the most sacred to them.

Essentially Israel had two holy seasons:[4]

·   One in the spring

·   One in the fall

 

When the seventh month, about the end of September on our calendar arrived, they suspended their work on their homes and gathered in Jerusalem.

 

They had not had time to complete their own homes. 

 

Heading to Jerusalem to observe these holy days is a lesson in priorities.

 

The house of the Lord, and the worship there, was the priority over even their own homes.

 

Conclusion

I want to finish by saying I see here a formula for reviving.

1. Get our eyes of earth

2. Get our eyes focused on Jesus and

3. Get our priorities fixed upon the things of God

 

And, at the very least, there will be personal revival in the house of God.

 

 

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[1] I know someone will think the specifics is what is important.

[2] In the form of land for the 2 ½ tribes.

[3] 2 Corinthians 5:1 (KJV)

For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

[4] With about a three month separation between them.