My goal in this series is our greater joy in Jesus, even in complex struggles intellectually, emotionally, relationally, etc.  So, each time I will offer a buffet on 8 ‘P’s of good news.  Chew and savor whatever helps your joy in Jesus.  “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat!  Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.” (Isaiah 55:1) 

For the rest of Christian Joy 105 we’ll open with another image of Christ’s purpose.  It illustrates God’s fifth “P” (calling us in for worship) and the sixth “P” (sending us to others) as we’ll see in Christian Joy 106.

The 7^th part of Purpose in Christ is seen in the Feast of Tabernacles (or “Booths”):  “Live through Me”.  If you’ve been following Christian Joy 105, you may remember that the Sabbath and spring festivals of Leviticus 23 represented a history of God’s work for the physical and (more importantly) spiritual Life of His people.  Each pointed to the need for the perfect life, death, resurrection of Christ, and all of the graces and blessings to be eternally fulfilled in His return.  But two of the three fall festivals do not represent historical events.  In fact, the only one based in a specific work of God was the Feast of Tabernacles (also called “Ingathering”), and – as the very last one – it is out of sequence.  Why?  And why was it celebrated with many more sacrifices and joy than the others? (Numbers 29:12-38)  And why did John call its last day “the great day”? (John 7:37)  Check out the video.

You may also wonder why this last observance has different names.  Depending on the translation, either ‘tabernacles’ or ‘booths’ refers to the tents in which God’s people lived when He led them out of Egypt through the wilderness. (Leviticus 23:42-43)  It’s also called the Feast of Ingathering because He commanded them to celebrate it during the ingathering of the year’s last harvest.  Why?  God had also required all Israelite men to come with a gift from wherever they lived to the Temple for three annual worship events: Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles.  And Exodus 23:14-17 refers to each by aspects of harvest to remind us of God’s ‘harvest’ over time and in the end. (Revelation 14:14-19)

Again, Sabbaths and spring festivals point to Christ’s past works; the Feast of Trumpets reminds us of His return; and the somber Day of Atonement pictures His final judgment for eternal Life or Death.  So, how are we to daily journey from the misery and eternal death of sin (pictured in slavery in Egypt) for joy and eternal life in God (pictured with Him in the Promised Land) when our flesh is prone to temptation and we live in a fallen world under Satan’s power?  “Tabernacle” in Christ.  See Hebrews 9, and the Greek for ‘dwelt’/’dwelling’/’shelter’ in John 1:14 and Revelation 7:15, 12:12, 13:6, & 21:3.

And the 7^th part of Christ’s Purpose – “Live through Me” – has practical and specific joys.  Lauren and I talk about that daily walk as a real relationship of trust and obedience in Christ resulting in our personal transformation and joy in God and His glory for the world to see among us.  Thus 1 Corinthians 3:16 and 6:19 and 1 Peter 2:1-12 refer to Christians as His ‘living temple’. You can listen below.

If you’d like to know more about who publishes the articles, videos, and other materials on tools4trenches, you can click on the picture of me and my wife.