The Feast of Tabernacles

Read John 7:37-39

Hello and welcome to this week’s Devotional Moments. How are you going with the 90 Day’s Challenge? Keep going. I know that life throws curve balls at us, so where possible keep reading. Depending on which day you are reading or watching this we are up to Day 25 which is John chapters 7, 8 and 9. Today, I’ll be sharing the background to what was going on in chapters 7 and 8.

In chapter 7 you’ll notice that John talks about Jesus’ teaching during one of the Jewish festivals. Now, depending on what version you read from it was the Feast of Tabernacles (NIV). This feast is a week-long festival remembering the 40-year journey of the Israelites in the wilderness. Along with Passover and Pentecost, the Feast of Tabernacles is one of three great pilgrimage feasts recorded in the Bible when all Jewish males were required to appear before the Lord at the Temple in Jerusalem.

Throughout the week, Jews back then as well as many today, observe this time by building and

dwelling in temporary shelters, just like the Hebrew people did while wandering in the desert. In the time of Jesus, the Jews would sleep in them. Today, the Jews who observe this Festival mainly eat in them

during that week. In Jerusalem there would be thousands of makeshift tents. It was and still is a joyful occasion as it is a reminder of when God led the Israelites by his presence in the Sinai desert as they lived in tents and that the Lord provided for their every need.

There were a couple of symbolic happenings during this week. First, the Priest would pour water over the alter inside the Temple as a symbol of Israel’s hope for future rains to produce an abundant harvest. It was during the height of this ceremony, on the final day of the feast, that Jesus chose to stand up and say in a loud voice: “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them” (John 7:37-38 NIV). John himself interpreted this to be the Holy Spirit flowing through those who spiritually thirst for God.

There was also another symbolic happening during this week. The four golden oil-lamps in the Court of Women that stood 75-feet high, and candelabras were all lit as a reminder the pillar of fire that had led the Hebrews in their wilderness journey. The light was so bright that it is said to have illuminated the entire city. This was the context for Jesus' declaration: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12 NIV).

I hope that as you read John chapters 7, 8 and 9 as part of the 90-Day Challenge that this information about the Feast of Tabernacles gives you as it did for me some context. Jesus is the Light of the World who has now blessed us with His Holy Spirit flowing through us.

Let’s pray. Dear God, thank you for the rich symbolic history of our faith. May You come and fill me with river of living water – your Holy Spirit. I acknowledge You are the light of the world. Please help us to reflect Your light whether You place us. In Christ’s name. Amen.

David Moyes

Truth About Forgiveness

“For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins”. - Matthew 6: 14-15

Ouch! Doesn’t Jesus say some uncomfortable things sometimes!

It’s one thing to be excited about God’s grace to us , but another to be required to extend that grace to others. Perhaps Jesus knew that the disciples would tend to skip over the “as we forgive others” part of the Lord’s prayer, so He added this footnote so that it would be crystal clear that there was no wriggling out of it!

Forgiving those who have hurt us can seem like a really unreasonable demand- after all, we tell ourselves, doesn’t holding on to the hurt and resentment protect us from being hurt again in the future?

In contrast, Jesus is particularly insistent that forgiveness must be a way of life for His followers.

He continually reinforces the enormity of the debt we have been forgiven in his interactions with his disciples. The parable of the man who was forgiven the equivalent of 200 000 years wages by the king, but would not forgive the one hundred days’ wages his friend owed him, leaves us all fuming with this man’s lack of perspective. But while we are nodding in agreement with the justice of this man’s punishment, he brings it uncomfortably close to home with these words:

”This is how your heavenly Father will treat all of you, unless you forgive your brother from your heart”.

When we realise that all our wrongs have ultimately been committed against God; all our sinful words, deeds, even evil intentions, across our whole life; then what a drop in the bucket someone else’s hurtful actions are in comparison. Instead of clutching on to our own self-righteous indignation, can we allow God to gently use the hurt as an opportunity for self-reflection?

For example, if someone has been talking about us behind our backs; have we never done the same to others? If someone lied to us in a blatant, significant way; have we never lied, perhaps in smaller ways, which we easily justify?

A final thought for today. Author Robin Jones Gun explains that there is a certain Greek word, “aphiemi”, which is used only twice in the New Testament. The first time it is translated, ”Let him go”; spoken to Mary and Martha after Jesus raises Lazarus from the grave. After four days in the tomb, the strips of linen which covered Lazarus’ body would have begun to set like plaster, so a hands-on process of ripping and tearing was needed to free him from his encasement.

This word “aphiemi” can also mean to, “lay aside, let go, omit, forgive”. The second and final time it is used is Luke 23:34: “Father, forgive them, they don’t know what they are doing”.

So, can we peel back the layers of bitterness which may encase our heart, and allow God to set free and revive both our own hard hearts and those who have hurt us?

Are we able to give over those who have hurt us to the forgiveness and healing of our Father, who alone can offer true forgiveness, freedom and restoration?

In this area, perhaps even more than others, we can’t rely on our own strength or warm feelings to do the forgiving. Perhaps this is why Jesus told us to pray for our enemies. When we pray, “Father, forgive them”, we are acknowledging that only He has the power of ultimate forgiveness, and what is impossible for us can be made possible by His Spirit. We can acknowledge our own struggle in this area, and in a sense, leave the heavy lifting of forgiveness to God, who alone makes it possible.

The Log In Your Own Eye

Luke 6:39-

Then Jesus gave the following illustration: “Can one blind person lead another? Won’t they both fall into a ditch? Students are no greater than their masters. But the student who is fully trained will become like them.

“And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? How can you think of saying, ‘Friend, let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.

This is something I’m sure we have all done called out the faults of others while being oblivious to our own. Or perhaps thinking we know more then we do, trying to give advice on something we don’t know about such as relationship, parenting, stress of work/ school.

Jesus is simply saying get yourself sorted before you can help others otherwise you are being a hypocrite by ignoring your own faults and pointing out those of others. I love the language Jesus uses here this realistic exaggeration that helps us to see the ridiculousness of the helpful friend with a log in his eye trying to point out a speck in his friends eye.

We all want to help people out where we can and this usually comes out of a good heart but often, we can do more damage if we haven’t delt with our own log in our eye.

Jesus wants us to be better equipped to lovingly, carefully and unhypocritically help others.