The Feast of Tabernacles is significant for us as Christians because it is an appointed time when God moves to accomplish certain things in our lives. It is a time of reflection and a time of testing. During the wilderness wanderings, God tested the Israelites to know what was in their hearts. Would they follow Him? Would they be obedient to Him? Would they trust Him? God said, “I took you into the wilderness to test you.” What was He testing? He was testing their ability to trust Him in all that He had spoken. That is the challenge and foundation of what Tabernacles is all about. Can we trust the Lord? Moses commanded,
“You shall remember all the way which the Lord your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord. Your clothing did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years. Thus you are to know in your heart that the Lord your God was disciplining you just as a man disciplines his son. Therefore, you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him.” (Deuteronomy 8:2-6)1
Likewise, our Christian experience is all about one thing: God is asking us, “Will you trust Me?” It comes down to a personal trust in God. Honestly, I am afraid that we are about to see God’s anger manifested in America. Unless we as Americans can truly learn the lesson of the Feast of Tabernacles, I am afraid that we may suffer His wrath. Remember, America boldly declares on its currency, “In God We Trust.” But do we? I believe that just as God tested Israel in the wilderness, He is testing our words that we would trust Him. What do we need in times of testing? We need a rock. What is that rock? It is our trust in Him (Isaiah 26:3-4).
God tested Yeshua (Jesus) through the same Feast of Tabernacles experience that tested Israel; the same Tabernacles experience by which we will be tested. The testing is clear: Can we trust the Father? Christ was perfected in that testing and said, “I will put My trust in Him” (Hebrews 2:13). Even in the last moments on the cross when Yeshua felt like God had abandoned Him, He said, “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit” (Luke 23:46). At that moment, Yeshua passed the test as He put His life back into the hands of the Father.
God’s purpose during the wilderness wanderings was to create a people who wholly trusted Him to provide for every aspect of their lives. That is the test of Tabernacles. So today we celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles by finally becoming a people who trust in the Lord with all our hearts, knowing that He will provide everything we need. Here is a verse to commit to memory: “And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19). Trust that God will supply all your needs.
1 All Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible 1995 (NASB1995).