As the Feast of Tabernacles approaches, I cannot help but remember 1965, when my family kept our first Feast in Long Beach, California. Even though it was in a city setting and traffic snarled everywhere, it was wonderful. Though brand new to the church, we had heard about the Feast and all it entailed. I recall I did not have enough time off to attend every day, but what I did attend was fantastic.

The speakers talked of the World Tomorrow and how God would bless the entire world with joy, abundance, health, and peace. We would have happy homes, beautiful weather, food for everyone, and teachers to help all learn about God and His truth. They also spoke of our being saved out of this world to assist God in all He will be doing. The Feast put thoughts in my mind that I had never conceived before. We were so glad to have received the truth of God.

Many decades have passed, and another Feast of Tabernacles nears. All year long, most of us live hundreds or even thousands of miles from each other, and we look forward to many happy reunions. We realize the Feast is not a vacation, a chance to get away from mundane work, see new sights, or amuse ourselves, but an opportunity to meet where God will be and to hear His Word. It is the longed-for high point of the year.

Going to the Feast with a little extra income to live richly for eight days is not the be-all reason for attending. Indeed, everyone can have an abundant Feast with everyone pitching in, but getting together before God is the main reason. Hearing His messages and fellowshipping with members of His Family are far more important than the activities a site can offer. Over the years, the church has probably placed too much emphasis on the outside activities of a Feast site, valuing entertainment over God's purposes for His Feasts.

What should we have on our minds as we prepare to go to the Feast this year? What overall message does keeping this festival teach us?

God's instruction about the Feast of Tabernacles in Leviticus 23:33-43 provides several principles we should use to make it meaningful. In verses 40, 42-43, He emphasizes dwelling in booths or tabernacles—or as we say, temporary dwellings. Notice verses 42-43:

You shall dwell in booths for seven days. All who are native Israelites shall dwell in booths, that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God. (Emphasis ours throughout.)

In today's world, it is easy to discount the symbolism that God inserts into His Feasts. In the symbol of booths, He points out that we dwell on this earth for only a short time, and once God has called us, we spend our fleeting lives on a journey to His Kingdom. He must remind us of this each year because as time goes on, if we are not careful, we can begin to feel more like a permanent part of this world and less like the sojourners He has called us to be.

God wants the Feast to remind us that we, like the ancient Israelites, are sojourners freed from bondage to this world through God's gracious acts. We must not think of it as "just another Feast." We must consider Christ's extraordinary sacrifice and all the other gifts, blessings, and advantages God has given that we might know and practice the truth most do not know now. Unlike Israel, we must remain faithful all the way to the Promised Land.

In addition to His instructions in Leviticus 23, God gives two great commands to those who attend His holy Feast. The first is found in Deuteronomy 14:23, speaking of the festival tithe:

And you shall eat before the LORD your God, in the place where He chooses to make His name abide, the tithe of your grain and your new wine and your oil, of the firstborn of your herds and your flocks, that you may learn to fear the LORD your God always.

God says the Feast can teach us to fear Him. The Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (TWOT) says the Hebrew word yārē (Strong's #3372), translated as "fear," is used in five general ways:

1) the emotion of fear, 2) the intellectual anticipation of evil without emphasis upon the emotional reaction, 3) reverence or awe, 4) righteous behavior or piety, and 5) formal religious worship.

The Bible shows that those who fear God will apply it in practical righteousness, avoiding evil and behaving wisely. At the Feast, such a person will hold God in the highest reverence and will thus hear and respond to the messages he hears. In turn, God promises to respond to those who fear Him with physical and spiritual blessings, lovingkindness, and protection.

Still speaking of the festival tithe, Deuteronomy 14 contains a second command:

And you shall spend that money for whatever your heart desires: for oxen or sheep, for wine or similar drink, for whatever your heart desires; you shall eat there before the LORD your God, and you shall rejoice, you and your household. (Deuteronomy 14:26)

"Rejoice" (Hebrew śāmah; Strong's #8055), often also rendered "joy," "joyful," "merry," or "glad," "denotes being glad or joyful with the whole disposition as indicated by its association with the heart . . . and with the lighting up of the eyes" (TWOT). God wants us to drink in His Feast with joy and excitement. While events and objects can cheer a person, Scripture most frequently notes the reason for rejoicing is God Himself and His salvation. God is the main reason His people should rejoice at the Feast.

Certainly, God wants us to enjoy in balance all the good fellowship, food, and opportunities He gives us at the Feast. The Feast is a time to encourage one another over a good meal, share hopes, build relationships, and discuss the astonishing future God has set before us. But most of all, our eyes need to be focused on rejoicing in Him and that rare and excellent opportunity He has opened to us—entrance into His Kingdom!

We need to take the time to consider that we are citizens of the Kingdom of God and sojourners on our way to the incredible place Christ is preparing for us (John 14:2-3). Meditating on such things should give us great hope and add light to our eyes. This perspective will help us to have a proper attitude as we approach and keep this Feast.

The worst thing we can do as we enter this festival season is to complain, or as Scripture puts it, to murmur as the Israelites did (I Corinthians 10:10). Complaining is the very opposite of fearing God and rejoicing before Him. When we complain, we zero in on the few negative things, not on the many positives God has provided. It means we are focused on ourselves, not on our great God.

However, if our focus is outward, we will govern ourselves correctly, displaying an outgoing, serving, and friendly attitude while encouraging and uplifting our brethren. In this way, we should have a wonderful Feast of Tabernacles!