(FIX YOUR EYES ON THE GLORY OF JESUS) WHEN TENTS AND TOWERS FALL ~ PART 2 ~ A Study in Jeremiah

 

Suddenly my tents are devastated, my curtains in an instant. How long must I see the standard and hear the sound of the trumpet? (Jeremiah 4:20b-21)

When I first began studying this passage, I could not get past the words tents and curtains. Sometimes a book study will lead me off into a side study. This is that. When I read the passage above, my mind instantly went to tents and tabernacles. I knew curtains were the inside walls of the tents nomadic people lived in. The cry that signaled a revolt was, “Every man to his tents, O Israel!” It was a war cry. “Tents” meant home which was an archaic expression dating from the times of their desert wanderings. Tents can be translated tabernacle(s), tent(s), dwelling, place(s), covering, or home. Three definitions are a nomad’s tent (thus symbolic of wilderness life, transience); dwelling, home or habitation; or the sacred tent of Jehovah (the tabernacle).

Four things came to mind as I thought about what could have been in Jeremiah’s mind when he was pronouncing judgment to come. (1) A disobedient prophet, (2) An obedient prophet, (3) The Feast of Tabernacles/Booths/Sukkot, and (4) The hope of restoration for Israel in the future.

A disobedient prophet: When Jonah was first swallowed by the great fish (his temporary accommodations or dwelling place for three days and three nights), he prayed to the Lord his God. In Chapter 2 of the book by his name, he called out in his distress to the Lord who answered him. He cried out for help for he knew it was God who had cast him into the deep. Here is the verse I want to focus on in 2:4— “So I said, ‘I have been expelled from Your sight. Nevertheless, I will look again toward Your holy temple.” We may think that odd if we do not have some understanding of what might be behind those words. On the one hand, it appeared Jonah had been expelled from God’s sight when he was cast into the sea. (Although he is the one who tried to run away from God in the first place!) Has not God given His prophet exactly what he wanted? We must ask the question with Jonah, “Can we really ever be out of His sight?” Look at all Jonah’s words: ‘He answered me’; ‘You heard my voice’. In verse 7, he says that while he was fainting away he remembered the Lord and his prayer came to Him, into His holy temple.

The word for expelled is used in Genesis 3:24 when God drove Adam and Eve out of the Garden after the Fall; in Exodus 6:1 when Pharaoh, under compulsion, would drive the Israelites out of Egypt; in many passages concerning how Israel was supposed to drive out their enemies from the Promised Land; it is also used in the sense of divorce in many places. In 1 Chronicles 17:21 it is the word for driving out nations or Israel’s enemies—And what one nation in the earth is like Your people Israel, whom God went to redeem for Himself as a people, to make You a name by great and terrible things, in driving out nations from before Your people, who You redeemed out of Egypt?

An obedient prophet: Daniel in captivity in Babylon prays in Daniel 6:10 “in his roof chamber he had windows open toward Jerusalem…” (A disobedient prophet who has been trying to run from God’s presence is now talking about looking again toward God’s holy temple; and now an obedient prophet is praying toward Jerusalem. This sounds like another      false religion we might think of; so, what do we make of it? Are we to look to God in prayer in a specific direction?)

1 Kings 8:44 gives us insight when Solomon prayed to the Lord: “When Your people go out to battle against their enemy, by whatever way You shall send them, and they pray to the LORD toward the city which You have chosen, and the house which I have built for Your name, then hear in heaven their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause.” In verses 45-52 of that same prayer: “When they sin against You (for there is no man who does not sin) and You are angry with them and deliver them to an enemy, so that they take them away captive to the land of the enemy, far off or near; if they take thought in the land where they have been taken captive, and repent and make supplication to You in the land of those who have taken them captive, saying, ‘We have sinned and have committed iniquity, we have acted wickedly’; if they turn to You with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies who have taken them captive, and pray to You toward the land which You have given to their fathers, the city which I have built for Your name; then hear their prayer and their supplication in heaven Your dwelling place, and maintain their cause, and forgive Your people who have sinned against You and all their transgressions which they have transgressed against You, and make them objects of compassion before those who have taken them captive, that they may have compassion on them (for they are Your people and Your inheritance which You have brought forth from Egypt, from the midst of the iron furnace), that Your eyes may be open to the supplication of Your people Israel, to listen to them whenever they call to You.”

The Feast of Tabernacles/Booths/Sukkot: The Feast of Tabernacles, also known as the Feast of Booths or Sukkot, was the last of the seven feasts the Lord commanded Israel     to observe. This was one of the major feasts the Lord commanded the people to observe each year by appearing before the Lord in Israel (the place that He would choose in Deuteronomy 16:16). In the 1 Kings 8 passage I referenced above, Solomon dedicated the Temple to the Lord at the time of the Feast of Tabernacles. It was at the Feast of Tabernacles when the Israelites who had returned to rebuild the temple gathered to hear the Word of God in Nehemiah 8. In John 7 Jesus refers to Himself as the river of living water during this Feast. It occurred five days after the Day of Atonement right after the fall harvest had been completed. It was a time of celebration to remember God’s continued provision for the Israelites in the current harvest and during the 40 years in the wilderness. It was a celebration of God’s faithfulness to them to provide for them and to deliver them. As part of this celebration (wherein thousands of people would come together for the Feast), they would build temporary shelters or booths made from branches of trees as temporary dwellings for the eight-day period. There were so many sacrifices that were made during this Feast that all 24 divisions of priests had to take part in the offerings. For more on the specifics of the Feast, see Leviticus 23. The instructions for the Feast were first given right after God had delivered Israel from bondage in Egypt.

A study on the Feasts of Israel is a fascinating one. These feasts were all instituted by God to remind the Israelites in all generations of certain things about God. They also foreshadowed the work and actions of the coming Messiah, a fact that was veiled to most Jews. Jesus’ ministry often took place around the celebration of these Feasts. Jesus, a good Jew, kept every feast perfectly. Much could be said about what these feasts foreshadowed; but just to give a basic overview, the three pilgrim feasts where all Jewish males were commanded to appear before the Lord had significant implications regarding the life of Christ and His work in redemption. The Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread are symbolic of Christ’s atoning sacrifice on the cross. Pentecost marked the beginning of the Feast of Weeks, which was also the time of Jesus’ bodily ascension. The Feast of Tabernacles was symbolic of Christ’s Second Coming when He will establish His earthly kingdom.

We are familiar with what happened on the Mount of Transfiguration, but do we realize how it ties in with this Feast of Booths? Matthew 16:28-17:1-5— “Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.” Six days later Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John his brother and led them up on a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, I will make three tabernacles here, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!” The word kingdom can be translated ‘royal splendor’. Six days later, some would see Christ’s glory which was veiled to the world. I believe a solid case can be made that this event took place during the time of the Feast of Tabernacles. What Peter, James, and John witnessed was the very glory of God in Christ. Moses and Elijah were there representing the law and the prophets. Both men had foretold Christ’s death. Luke 9:31 says that this is what they were discussing. Right away, Peter wants to make three tabernacles for them (a tent, tabernacle, or habitation). The disciples were having a hard time dealing with the revelation of Jesus’ death. Peter, suddenly seeing Jesus’ glory, wants to make tabernacles so that Jesus can dwell there. He wants Jesus to stay!

There is much evidence for the fact that many believe that it was during the Feast of Tabernacles when Jesus was born. In John 1:14, we read: And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. This word for dwelt among us means to “tabernacle” which means to “dwell in a tent.” It would seem John used this word intentionally to point to the fact that Jesus was born during the Feast of Tabernacles. Thus, there is a good possibility that Jesus’ first coming, and His second coming, is represented by this Feast. Jesus did “dwell in a tent”. His body of human flesh veiled the full glory of God.

The Feast of Tabernacles begins and ends with a special Sabbath day of rest. While the Jews were dwelling in their booths, they were to reflect on the fact that God had delivered them out of the land of Egypt but to also keep their mind set on looking forward to their coming Messiah who would deliver them from the bondage of sin. The feasts God instituted should remind God’s people of all ages that it is God who has promised to deliver His people from the bondage of sin and to deliver them from their enemies. Believers today walking through the wilderness of this world also know God’s sustaining hand of provision and protection. We, too, long for our Promised Land (heaven) which means we will at long last be in the presence of God. Until that time, He keeps us as we watch for Christ’s return when He will tabernacle or dwell among us in bodily form.

I will pick this up next time with my last point: The hope of restoration for Israel in the future. I also want to touch on how Jesus is our Sabbath rest.