Rabbi Schneider - It's Time to Celebrate
Shalom, beloved ones. Today we find ourselves in a time of celebration because this is the season of Sukkot, or we say in English, the Feast of Tabernacles. This is the third holiday of the Lord during this fall holy season. We began several weeks ago with the Feast of Trumpets, Yom Teruah, or Rosh Hashanah. And then we had Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, a very serious and solemn day.
Today we're celebrating the climax to this holy season with the Feast of Tabernacles. The Feast of Tabernacles was a time where Israel celebrated before the Lord and thanked Him. It was a feast of thanksgiving for all that God had provided for them as they were reaping in their fall harvest. It was also a time where the Lord commanded all of Israel to come to Jerusalem and to present to Him a special offering. In fact, in the book of Deuteronomy, we call it in Hebrew Devarim, the Lord told His people, Israel, "Three times a year you shall come to Jerusalem and present to me a special offering".
Those three times are Passover, and Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks that we call in Hebrew Shavuot, and now this season, the feast of Sukkot or Tabernacles. It's interesting that in forging His relationship with His people, God spoke to them about honoring Him with their finances. Because when we surrender to the Lord with our finances, we surrender our heart. Beloved, let's use this time of year to truly express our Thanksgiving to the Father for King Jesus. And let's honor Him in a special way with our finances.