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The Daily Word of Righteousness
Symptoms of "Tabernacles," continued
Three times a year all your men must appear before the LORD your God at the place he will choose: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks and the Feast of Tabernacles. No man should appear before the LORD empty-handed: (Deuteronomy 16:16—NIV)
"Tabernacles" is different from what we have experienced thus far and infinitely more demanding of us. The reason is, "Tabernacles" is the creation in us of a well of eternal life, not more rain but a well, a well that today can nourish other people and, when the Lord returns, will bring the Life of God to all the members of the saved nations of the earth. We ourselves, our whole personality, are being made life-giving spirits.
So it is written: "The first man Adam became a living being"; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. (I Corinthians 15:45—NIV)
The water of eternal life flows from only one source, and that is the Throne of almighty God. Therefore if the well is going to be established in us, then the Throne of God must be established in us.
If the Throne of God is to be established in us, then King Self must be dethroned. The dethroning of King Self is a prolonged, painful process.
Our sins are forgiven through the blood of the cross.
The power of sin over our life is broken by the power of the Holy Spirit.
The removal of King Self is accomplished by suffering.
There is no other way! We must give assent to the program of the removal of self-will, but stern obedience to the will of God can be learned only through suffering. The Son of God Himself learned obedience by the things He suffered.
The Lord gets at our self-will by putting us in some kind of prison. We are denied that which we desire fervently. We are required to stay in a situation we detest. We are brought low in humility. Our branches are pruned back. Sometimes it seems that God has forsaken us.
It is then that the story of Job, the account of Joseph in prison, and the wailing of Jeremiah in the Book of Lamentations become the bread of life to us.
God is establishing His throne in us. Such periods of imprisonment and denial are symptoms of "Tabernacles."
Notice what Jesus said on the eighth day of the Feast of Tabernacles:
On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." (John 7:37,38—NIV)
The Jewish people celebrate the eighth day of Tabernacles as "The rejoicing over the Law." As we begin to grow in Christ we become more concerned with the "law," with iron righteousness, fiery holiness, and stern obedience to the Father, than we are with anything else. Righteousness, holiness, and obedience become a passion with us. They bring us incredible joy. We rejoice over the law!
"As the Scripture has said" (verse above). This may refer to the twelfth chapter of the Book of Isaiah.
The twelfth chapter of the Book of Isaiah was chanted during the celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles. The Jews, with their intuitive grasp of the meaning of God's symbols, recognized that the twelfth chapter of Isaiah and the celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles were related—as indeed they are!
To be continued.