(tm) Tabernacles, and the Law of God
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There is yet another area of salvation common to the feast of Tabernacles and the new heaven and earth reign of Christ. The area is that of the Law of God. The feast of Tabernacles is associated with the formal, oral reading of the Law to every Israelite, from the youngest to the oldest, and to the non-Israelite sojourning among them at the time.
And Moses wrote this law, and delivered it unto the priests the sons of Levi, which bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and unto all the elders of Israel. And Moses commanded them, saying, At the end of every seven years, in the solemnity of the year of release, in the feast of tabernacles, When all Israel is come to appear before the Lord thy God in the place which he shall choose, thou shalt read this law before all Israel in their hearing. Gather the people together, men and women, and children, and thy stranger that is within thy gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear the Lord your God, and observe to do all the words of this law: And that their children, which have not known any thing, may hear, and learn to fear the Lord your God, as long as ye live in the land whither ye go over Jordan to possess it. (Deuteronomy 31:9-13)
Israel was to assemble "in the place that he shall choose," that is, in the place that God shall choose. The place that God has chosen for the revealing of the perfect expression of His Law is the new Jerusalem on the new earth. The holiness of the holy city is the perfect expression and fruition of God’s Law. The beauty of the holy city is the beauty of holiness.
O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the earth. (Psalms 96:9)
Every man, woman, boy, and girl of Israel was to hear the Law, to learn the Law, to fear the Lord, and to obey the Law. Also, the "stranger that is in thy gates," typical of the nations of the earth, must understand and act in accordance with the holiness of the Lord God of Israel.
The Law of God was brought before the people "at the end of every seven years, in the solemnity of the year of release, in the feast of tabernacles."
The Law was given in the wilderness by the hand of Moses. But the Law was pointed expressly at the practices of the Israelites in the land of promise, which proved to be under the supervision of Joshua and the judges who followed Joshua, and then under the kings of Israel.
Notice in particular the directive: "as long as ye live in the land whither ye go over Jordan to possess it." The lessons in holiness that the Holy Spirit is teaching us are given in order to guide our conduct now, and will continue to guide our conduct throughout the coming Kingdom Age and on into the new heaven and earth rule of Christ.
Every bit of personal righteousness, holiness, and obedience of behavior being developed in us at this time will have direct application in the ages to come, and has far-reaching consequences as far as our position in the Kingdom of Christ is concerned.
Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:19)
Ye have said, It is vain to serve God: and what profit is it that we have kept his ordinance, and that we have walked mournfully before the Lord of hosts? And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered. Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another: and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name. And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him. Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not. (Malachi 3:14-18)
And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever. (Daniel 12:3)
For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come. (I Timothy 4:8)
"Having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come." Think of it!
We are being made in the moral image of Christ now so we can rule in righteousness (a rod of iron) throughout the thousand-year Kingdom Age, and so we can radiate the beauty of holiness for eternity in the new heaven and earth reign of Christ.
The eighth chapter of Nehemiah discusses the celebration of the feast of Tabernacles. Let us review this passage as we speak about the association of the feast of Tabernacles with the Law of God.
Here is a prophetic picture of the coming of the Law of God into the earth. The ministers and people were all in their places on this occasion. It is a portrayal of the Day of the Lord.
So the priests, and the Levites, and the porters, and the singers, and some of the people, and the Nethinims, and all Israel, dwelt in their cities; and when the seventh month came, the children of Israel were in their cities. (Nehemiah 7:73)
It is true of us Christians today that as soon as we have made some progress against sin and the enemy (as typified by the rebuilding of the wall of Jerusalem—Nehemiah 7:1), we should be looking to the Lord for opportunities to bring the knowledge of God and His holy ways to other people.
Notice the first verse:
And all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the street that was before the water gate; and they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded to Israel. (Nehemiah 8:1)
It was now possible for "all the people" to gather themselves together "as one man" into the street that was before the "water gate." The wall (against sin, to speak symbolically) had been built. The Lord’s servants were set in their places for the work of the ministry. The "peoples of the earth" were assembled to drink of the water of life.
The people came to hear Ezra read the Law of Moses. What a scene this is! Ezra represents the Christians. The people represent the nations of the earth who will come to the Christians to learn of God.
And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles. (Zechariah 14:16)
Ezra’s reading of the Law took place on the first day of the seventh month, the day of the blowing of Trumpets, and continued through the week of the feast of Tabernacles (Nehemiah 8:18). We see that the last three of the feasts of the Lord—Trumpets, Day of Atonement, and Tabernacles—are associated in significance with the establishing of God’s Law, God’s Kingdom, in the earth.
The most complete expression of the relationship between the feasts of the Lord and the Law of God will occur in the kingdom-wide fulfillment of the feasts of the Lord, which is the new heaven and earth reign of Christ. The purpose of the Law of God is to produce holiness of behavior. The most complete expression of God’s holiness that Heaven and earth will ever see is the holy city, the Wife of the Lamb, the new Jerusalem. The holiness of the new Jerusalem is the holiness of Christ Himself.
The "water gate" and the Law of Moses are linked together in Nehemiah 8:1. This is because the Holy Spirit, who is the water of life, is the heavenly Power who enables us to live righteously and fulfill the intent of the Law. The Holy Spirit judges us, delivers us, heals us, and enables us to live in righteousness, holiness, and obedience to the Father.
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