Feast of Booths

After these things Jesus was walking in Galilee, for He was unwilling to walk in Judea because the Jews were seeking to kill Him. Now the feast of the Jews, the Feast of Booths, was near. Therefore His brothers said to Him, "Leave here and go into Judea, so that Your disciples also may see Your works which You are doing. For no one does anything in secret when he himself seeks to be known publicly. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world." For not even His brothers were believing in Him. John 7:1-5

There were three time a year that Jewish men were to go to the Temple—to do a pilgrimage. The Feast of Tabernacles or Booth, also known as Sukkot, was one of these pilgrimage festivals. It was also marked by a week-long joyful celebration after harvest where the family built and lived in a shelter made from branches. This was commanded by God through Moses as recorded in the book of Leviticus. Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, 'On the fifteenth of this seventh month is the Feast of Booths for seven days to the LORD.’ Leviticus 23:34. The Hebrew people were not to work during that time and they were to offer burnt and grain offerings to the Lord. The trip to the Temple was what Jesus’ step-brothers were needling Him about. They thought He should go show off His healing gift. But Jesus wasn’t concerned with showing off His talents. He knew that some of the Jews wanted to kill Him and He wasn’t ready for that, yet. Note that it says in this passage that His brothers didn’t believe in Him. We may ask ourselves how can that be since they’d grown up together—but another passage (see Luke 4:16-30) tell us that when Jesus went to Nazareth He was actually chased out of town. They wanted to stone Him. Not exactly a friendly action towards someone they’d known most of his life. So how do you feel about Jesus? If He were here today, how would you treat Him? With respect or would you want to send Him to the wolves…those who were seeking to kill Him?

RSVP: Jesus came to teach, heal and reveal His Father to the world. How will you respond to Him today? Do you want to know His teachings and to know more about Him and His Father?

Prayer~ Lord Jesus, open my eyes, ears and mind to know and understand You at a deeper level.

© 2014 by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.

All scripture quoted from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) unless otherwise noted.