We have entered the season of The Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) on God’s calendar. It is the only feast in which God calls us to rejoice!
“and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God, you and your son and your daughter and your male and female servants and the Levite who is in your town, and the stranger and the orphan and the widow who are in your midst, in the place where the LORD your God chooses to establish His name.” (Deut. 16:16, italics, underscoring & boldface mine)
Everyone, yes, everyone is commanded to rejoice! We have been given a command to rejoice . . . and for seven days! Seven is the number of spiritual perfection!
“Celebrate this as a festival to the Lord for seven days each year” (Leviticus 23:41).
That seven-day rejoicing prepares our minds to realize that our lives should be lived in complete joy (not only for seven days, but always) because we know the One in Whose presence there is fullness of joy and at Whose right hand there are pleasures forevermore! That indeed is spiritual perfection!!!
The angels understood this when they said to the shepherds:
“Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.” (Luke 2:10) They spoke the language of Sukkot.
The wise men who saw the star knew that this season had brought them the Messiah, so Matthew records that:
“When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy” (Matthew 2:10).
From prison, Paul tells the Philippians:
“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!”
When the host of heaven sees the reason that we should be rejoicing, they say:
“Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.” (Rev. 19:7).
What does this have to do with you? You have been called to rejoice! It is a command! Difficult times will come and life happens, BUT we have been commanded to rejoice. So let us, together, push past this veil of flesh! Let us silence the voices of this world that tell us we have nothing to rejoice about! Let us be like the angels, the shepherds, and the great host that stood before the throne and say to one another, “REJOICE!” God gave us the greatest Gift ever, the Gift of His Son and with Him come the fulfillment and the future hope of great promises.
Yes, we DO have a reason to rejoice. Moreover, He says when we rejoice during this Festival, our joy will be made complete.
“For the Lord your God will bless you in all your harvest and in all the work of your hands, and your joy will be complete.” (Deut. 16:14-15)
PRAYER: Abba, thank you for giving us this season as a reminder that this is how we should live . . . in complete joy regardless of our circumstances. As we celebrate The Feast of Tabernacles, thank you for blessing our harvest, the fruit of our hands, and for making our joy complete.
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