The Feast of Tabernacles - John 7:2

John the apostle wrote how, “Jesus walked in Galilee: for he would not walk in Jewry, because the Jews sought to kill him”, and in chapter seven and verse two of his book, John shared how, “the Jews' feast of tabernacles was at hand” where we read:

Now the Jews' feast of tabernacles was at hand.

The verse reads, “Now the Jews' feast of tabernacles ...”. John began with the words, “Now the Jew's feast” or “moreover the festival of the Jewish people by birth, origin and religion” “of tabernacles” which means “pertaining to the festival was observed by the Jews yearly for seven days, beginning with the 15th of the month Tisri (approx. our Oct.) partly to perpetuate the memory of the time when their ancestors after leaving Egypt dwelt in tents on their way through the Arabian desert, and partly as a season of festivity and joy on the completion of the harvest and the vintage (the festival of ingatherings) In celebrating the festival the Jews were accustomed to construct booths of the leafy branches of trees, — either on the roofs or in the courts of their dwellings, or in the streets and squares, and to adorn them with flowers and fruits of all kinds — under which, throughout the period of the festival, they feasted and gave themselves up to rejoicing” was as follows. John shared how the timing of this next event in Jesus' life was at the “feast of tabernacles”.

The verse continues, “... was at hand.” John added the word, “was” which means “existed” “at hand” or “near, imminent and soon to come”. John shared how this “feast of tabernacles” was very close at hand.

When we think through John's words in this verse, we learn the “timing” of this next event in Jesus' life. Step by step John the apostle is taking his readers through the life of Jesus, and although he does not include every action and event in which Jesus was involved, he includes many of them to prove He is indeed the Messiah and Son of God. God loves people, and His desire is to have a personal relationship with each of them through His Son Jesus. Those who study the life of Jesus will begin to understand how deliberate and purposed He was as He “walked” in the earth, and their response should be to yield their lives to Him who knows exactly what He is doing and where He is doing it.

Next time John shares how Jesus' brothers tell Him, “Depart from here, and go into Judaea, that your disciples also may see the works that you do”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".