The sermon 'Sojourners and Pilgrims' by Jason Dohm explores Nehemiah 8:13-18, focusing on the Feast of Tabernacles and its symbolic significance for Christians as 'sojourners and pilgrims.' It emphasizes that believers are citizens of another kingdom and should not be overly attached to this world. The sermon discusses the reading of the Law by Ezra, highlighting the people’s hunger for God's Word and their commitment to learning and obeying it. The Feast of Tabernacles serves as a reminder of God's provision and faithfulness, encouraging believers to rejoice in His goodness. It draws a parallel between the Israelites’ physical rebuilding after captivity and the spiritual rebuilding of a life that honors God. The sermon calls for an active pursuit of understanding the Word of God, leading with God's Word, and living with joy as a reflection of one's faith. It concludes with an exhortation to detach from worldly possessions and focus on the eternal joy found in God.

So today we're continuing our study through the book of Nehemiah. We're in Nehemiah chapter 8, finishing that chapter verses 13 through 18 this week. And the title of the sermon is Sojourners and Pilgrims. It's plucking a description out of 1 Peter chapter 2, where Peter calls New Testament Christians sojourners and pilgrims. But it's a great picture of what the Feast of Tabernacles, which is the central event in our text in Nehemiah, is about.

It's a reminder that we're sojourners and pilgrims, that this world is not our own and that our citizenship is elsewhere. If we go through life with any other mentality, then we are not connected with what Scripture says in many places. Last week in our text, the Word of God had been read and people are weeping. God is pressing conviction on the hearts of all who have heard the law of Moses, what God has commanded His people. And they are seeing what a holy God there is who has made everything.

And they are seeing how many ways they have done things that dishonor Him. And They are pierced to the heart. They are weeping. Nehemiah, Ezra, and the Levites who are teaching the people realize that this is the right sentiment on the wrong day. This is the first day of the seventh month.

It's the Feast of Trumpets. It's a feast day. It's a day that God has designed for His people to come and rejoice in His goodness. It is good to feel the weight of conviction, to know that God is holy and we are not and to mourn over our sins but there are certain days when it's just not the right day for that sentiment and so it is on the feast of trumpets. And so Nehemiah and Ezra say, Eat the fat, eat the best food, drink the sweet, drink the best drinks.

No one is to be left out. So portions are sent to those who hadn't prepared them, so that everyone rejoices together. The poor aren't left out, even the unprepared aren't left out, but they rejoice together. They eat the best foods and they drink the best drinks. And they rejoice before the Lord.

It's not a flesh fest where you just Grab all you can get and eat until you can't eat another bite. It's rejoicing before the Lord. It's rejoicing in God and rejoicing in the presence of God and the sight of God. What a day of rejoicing that must have been. That was the first day of the seventh month.

Now in our text, it's the second day. It's just one day later. As we go to the text, let's pray. God, I thank you for your Word. What a treasure.

I Thank you for these times of rejoicing. Your calendar of worship that calls for so much gladness in you, so much rejoicing. So now God I pray that we would learn to give ourselves to you By giving ourselves to your word, acquiring knowledge and wisdom from it, and by taking advantage of every day that you have given us to rejoice in you, We would find ourselves full in Christ, full of joy, because of the things that you have said to us, and because of the time that you have given us to rest and rejoice. May it be so in Jesus' name, Amen. So I will be dividing the text in half today.

So let's begin by looking at Nehemiah 8, verses 13 through 15. I'll read them again. Now on The second day, the heads of the fathers' houses of all the people, with the priests and Levites, were gathered to Ezra the scribe, in order to understand the words of the law. They found written in the law, which the Lord had commanded by Moses, that the children of Israel should dwell in booths during the feast of the seventh month. They should announce and proclaim in all their cities and in Jerusalem, saying, saying, go out to the mountain and bring olive branches, branches of oil trees, myrtle branches, palm branches, and branches of leafy trees to make booths as it is written.

Verses 13-15 we have learning and obeying the words of God. If you are filling in the handout and filling in blanks, it is learning and obeying. We will fill in your blanks. Learning and obeying the words of God. It is now the second day of the seventh month.

The seventh month is a very special month on the worship calendar. It has the feast of trumpets and then on the tenth it has the day of atonement. And then on the fifteenth it starts a whole week of the Feast of Tabernacles, which is the subject of our text. Now we are on the second day. The Law of Moses doesn't require anything on this day.

The things that are in view in our text are just things that the people think are good and necessary. It's not required by the law of Moses, but they're feeling like it would be good and necessary for them to come to Ezra the scribe and to be instructed out of the book of the law. What we have here is an evident hunger for the Word of God. What a blessing. How cold do you feel sometimes towards the Word of God?

We are ashamed of it, but you know you feel it sometimes too, or at least I do. It is just an encouragement and an exhortation to us when we see this evident hunger for the Word of God. It really permeates the whole text. We're going to see it again in verse 18. In fact, look at the beginning of verse 18.

It says, Also, day by day, from the first day until the last day, that would be the eighth day of this feast, he read from the book of the law of God. So here in our first section, it's The heads of households, of families, and the priests and the Levites, but down in verse 18 it is going to be all the people getting a daily dose of Scripture. There is a very widely spread hunger for the Word of God. The family heads and the priests and the Levites gather to Ezra for teaching, the text says, to understand the words of the law. So They perceive a lack of understanding, or at least an area for growth.

They want to know more than they know about the words of God. They know a man who knows them inside and out. It's Ezra. The heads of the families, the priests, and the Levites gather together for Ezra. I say this about every week, but as we were introduced to Ezra in Ezra chapter 7, we are introduced to him in this way.

In Ezra chapter 7 verse 6 Ezra is called a skilled scribe in the law of Moses. A scribe is an expert in the law. So even among the experts of the law Ezra is a skilled scribe in this law that God gave to Moses. A few verses later in Ezra chapter 7 verse 10, it says that Ezra prepared his heart to seek, do, and teach the words of God. He wanted to seek them, He wanted to do them, he wanted to teach them.

And then later in that chapter, in Ezra chapter 7 verse 25, we have a letter from King Artaxerxes. It's the same king during the time of Nehemiah. And in that letter from King Artaxerxes, the King commissions Ezra to do certain things and in verse 25 he is commissioning Ezra to teach those who do not know the law. That is one of Ezra's main things he is to be doing when he returns to Jerusalem is to teach those who don't know the law of the law. So this is Ezra's sweet spot.

This is what he is best at. This is what he is made for. This is what he has prepared his heart to do. And now men are gathering to Him for this purpose. It must have made his heart glad.

There is a recognition in the Word of God that teachers are to teach the Word of God, and that leaders are to lead by the Word of God. What are teachers to teach in God's economy? The Word of God! What are leaders to lead by according to God's economy? The Word of God, that's how we navigate through this life.

God has revealed Himself to us. What He's like, what He desires from us, what honors from Him. This is our roadmap, this is our blueprint. If we're to honor God, we're to honor His words. And we're to teach the words that He's given to us.

And we're to lead by the words that He has given us. What a beautiful thing to see these teachers and these leaders, the priests and the Levites and the heads of families come to Ezra and say, Ezra teach us the law. Teach us to understand. Increase our understanding of this word so we can lead by this word. So we can teach this word.

Of course we're very familiar with Deuteronomy chapter 6 verse 7. You shall teach them diligently to your children. This is the law of God. You shall teach the law of God diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. This is the duty of heads of houses.

To have the law of God on your lips. And to teach it. When? Oh, Just when you're in your house, and just when you're by the way, just when you lie down, and just when you rise up. That's pretty much all the time.

It's to be the Word of God on our lips. It's the duty of teachers. Fathers and heads of families and mothers who are educating their children should have the words of God on their lips. And we should be leading by these words of God. It's evident from what we have in the text, and we know that at a bare minimum, they've got the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy.

You're not getting through all that in a day. You couldn't even read that straight through probably. Maybe. I don't know. Be really close.

There's not going to be any explanation with it. And so it's not a comprehensive laying out of what they have. I'm sure they have the prophets actually in their hands as well. So there is much more than he is going to be able to teach to these priests, Levites, and family heads in a day. So it is evident, at least to me, that Ezra prioritizes and He takes them to what is most relevant.

What's most relevant on the second day of the seventh month? The Feast of Tabernacles. The Day of Atonement will happen on the tenth. The Feast of Tabernacles will start on the fifteenth. So as part of this day, As part of Ezra imparting understanding to these priests, Levites, and heads of households, he takes them to what is right in front of them.

What is going to be required of the people in the law of God, which is the feast of tabernacles. He prioritizes and takes them to the relevant spot. And what does he find there? That there is to be a proclamation. Listen to Leviticus chapter 23 verse 4.

Leviticus 23 is a chapter that has a lot about the three different feasts, week long feasts that the Lord's people are to observe. In Leviticus 23 verse 4 we find this, These are the feasts of the Lord, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at their appointed times." In other words, the leaders are supposed to take heart to this. There's supposed to be a proclamation when there's an upcoming feast that God has called for in His law. There is supposed to be a proclamation that goes out, prepare for the feast, come to the feast. And that is exactly what we see in our text.

They send word out to all the cities and throughout Jerusalem, prepare for the feast, make ready, come and celebrate the feast. Essentially they say bring the materials needed for the feast. Something is required for the feast of tabernacles. The people are to live in these temporary dwellings that they would construct out of leafy branches. A number of trees and bushes are mentioned.

The trees are mentioned. Myrtles are actually near eastern bushes. They are very leafy and they would be great for making a booth if you were going to live in something, a temporary shelter for a week. So the proclamation goes out, make ready, and come and celebrate the feast. And so even the proclamation to the cities is grounded in the Word of God.

We see this repeatedly. They are finding things in the law of God and then they are doing them right away. They find Leviticus chapter 23 verse 4 says, when the feast is coming proclaim it. Tell people to make ready and to come and to celebrate it and then they do it. What they are doing here in our text is grounded in the Word of God.

They are learning, gaining understanding, and then they are obeying. We see this phrase that we have seen so many times in Ezra and Nehemiah, as it is written. They are seeking out what is written, the words that God has given to His people, and then when they see them, when they understand them, they are obeying them. How does this apply to us today? Well, there are two things that are inescapable.

Number one is this. This is an exhortation to get understanding about the Word of God from the best sources. That's one application from this first section. It's an exhortation to us. Our text is exhorting us to get understanding about the Word of God from the best sources.

That is what is happening in this text. That is what These priests and these Levites and these heads of houses are doing. They are getting understanding about the Word of God from the best sources. Who is the best sources in Ezra and Nehemiah? It is Ezra.

He is the one who has prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord and to do it and to teach it. They are seeking out the best source from understanding and then they are mining that source. They are pulling all the gold out of that mine. That is the first application. The second is, whatever you find, immediately obey.

So, one, you seek it out. You find a great source for understanding. By the way, there are lots of sources. Some of them are great and some of them are horrible. So you can't just take it from any old source.

And that's certainly not what they are doing in Nehemiah chapter 8. They go to the man who has a real, good, firm, grounded understanding in the law of God. And they ask him to explain it. So you don't go to just any source out there. There are many wonderful sources and many horrific sources.

You go to the good sources. Check them. Vet them. Research them. Make sure you're getting it from the good sources.

But when you do, and the Word of God is explained to you, then whatever you find there, do it. For your own happiness. I want to exhort you for your own happiness today. When we go to the Word of God and it says something, just do it for your own happiness. There are other reasons to do it.

We should do it. God Almighty has said it. That is reason enough. But God hasn't left us with that. God has made His Word completely consistent with our happiness.

Do you understand that? God has not set His Word against our happiness. God has set His Word in place for our happiness. When we obey Him, we find ourselves happy if we obey from the heart. We should seek out understanding about the Word of God and then whatever we find, whatever it is, As contrary as it might be to our own inclinations, we should do it.

We will find much joy in doing it. Now verses 16 through 18. The second part of our text. We are back in Nehemiah chapter 8 beginning of verse 16. Then the people went out and brought them, these are the leafy branches, and made themselves booths.

Each one on the roof of his house or in their courtyards or the courts of the house of God and in the open square of the Water Gate and in the open square of the Gate of Ephraim. So the whole assembly of those who had returned from the captivity made booths and sat under the booths. For since the days of Joshua the son of Nun, until that day the children of Israel had not done so and there was very great gladness. Also day by day from the first day until the last day He read from the book of the law of God and they kept the feast seven days and in the eighth day There was a sacred assembly according to the prescribed manner Here verses 16 through 18. We have the feast of tabernacles if you're filling in blanks.

The people prepare, they gather up all the leafy branches that they would need to make their booths and then they come to celebrate. They converge on Jerusalem, the place that was to be for this celebration. And they make their booths. These booths are just temporary shelter. They need to be good enough for a week.

And you're going to dwell in them for a week. And You hope that the weather is nice. It usually is in Jerusalem at that time of year. Those who already have dwellings in Jerusalem, they won't live in those dwellings that week. They'll live on their rooftops in the booths, or the temporary shelters that they've constructed, or down in their own courtyards.

So for those in Jerusalem, you have a flat roof. That is the housing. The houses of that time have flat roofs, so you'll construct your booth on top of your flat roof or down in your courtyard. If you're a priest or a Levite, you're probably constructing it in the temple courts, it says in the courts of the house of God. That would be for priests and Levites.

And then if you are from outside Jerusalem, there are two public squares. There is a public square by the Water Gate, and there is a public square by the gate of Ephraim. And if you are from out of town, you have a place to construct your booth. Verse 17 says four things. Here's what we find in verse 17.

First, this was the whole assembly of those who returned from the captivity. So I don't take that as exclusive, meaning there can't be anybody else, but it is predominantly, it is overwhelmingly celebrated by the assembly of those who had returned from the captivity. Last week? No. Last month?

No. Last decade? No. Last century. The first wave of captives came back almost a hundred years ago from Babylon.

And that's when the largest numbers came back. 50, 000 came back when Cyrus became king of Persia. It has been 95 or 98 years before that the first wave came back. This is probably most of the people who were celebrating in Nehemiah chapter 8. Their descendants came back at that time.

The second wave came back 13 years earlier. So it's been more than a decade since the second wave came back in less numbers, but still it was another group that had returned. So these are people who have been delivered from captivity, that are coming to celebrate. God because of their sins, because they would not obey Him, because they persisted in rebellion for hundreds of years. This is not Israel having a bad week.

This is not Judah having a bad week. These are people that are very stiff-necked and are persisting in rebellion for a hundred years. And so finally the patience of God is up, and Nebuchadnezzar comes and takes them into captivity for seventy years. And then God brings them back. Then the kindness of God doesn't leave them where they deserve to be, but in His kindness and mercy He brings the people back for His own name.

They have been delivered and they are rebuilding. It's a good time to say what we've been saying since the beginning of Ezra. What is happening physically with the rebuilding of the temple, with the restoration of the walls, is a picture of what's happening. They've been delivered from captivity and now you have to figure out how to rebuild a life. It's more than rebuilding a temple.

It's more than rebuilding the walls. You have to rebuild a life that honors God. You've been in a place where you weren't even at liberty to build a life that would honor God in certain ways. In certain ways you could. In certain ways you could obey Him.

But in certain ways, in the type of corporate worship that He had ordained and prescribed, You weren't even at liberty to do it. Well, now they can, and now it's time to come back and rebuild more than just the temple and the walls, but rebuild a life of honoring God according to what He has said. So this is who it is. The first thing it said in verse 17 is that it's those who were brought back from the captivity and they're rebuilding more than just temples and walls. They're rebuilding a life to honor God.

Secondly, in verse 17 It says that they sat under booths. So they build these temporary shelters. And then our text says that they sat under the booths. The NASB and the ESV and the NIV all render it. They lived in the booths.

So I'll give you directly from a Hebrew lexicon. This Hebrew word means to dwell, to remain, to sit, to abide. You can translate it either way. I favor to live in or dwell in because there are eight days, and this is their shelter for those eight days. They are dwelling in these booths for eight days when the activities days are done and When the activities of the day is done, you go back and you dwell in this temporary shelter.

Here is the third thing that we see in verse 17. Since the days of Joshua, Until that day the children of Israel had not done so. The question is, what does that mean? Here's what it can't mean. It can't mean that there hadn't been a celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles at all during that span.

It cannot mean that because there are recorded instances in 1 Kings and 2 Chronicles and Ezra chapter 3 of the Feast of Tabernacles being celebrated. So it can't mean that there was no celebration at all of the Feast of Tabernacles during the span of Joshua to Nehemiah chapter 8. It could mean that there is something about this celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles that is different than any other time since Joshua. There is a distinguishing mark that hasn't been present in a celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles from Joshua until now. Like dwelling in the booths.

If you look at the other recorded instances of the celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles, It never explicitly says that they are dwelling in booths. For instance, if you go back to Ezra chapter 3, when they celebrated the feast of Tabernacles then, it mentions the sacrifices according to what was prescribed, but it doesn't say anything about dwelling booths. So it's possible that there had been sort of a partial celebration where people did converge on Jerusalem and maybe there was some symbolic gesture about living in booths but people didn't as a whole live in the booths. That's possible. Maybe there were partial celebrations, but now there's a comprehensive observance of the Feast of Tabernacles.

Here's what I think it is. Could be that, but I think it's this. I think he's just simply saying that this is a celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles that is unparalleled since the time of Joshua. Unparalleled. And he's linking it to the time of Joshua.

Really the intent is to say there are two mountain peaks. When you look at the celebrations of the feast of Tabernacles, there are two mountain peaks that are higher than all the others. One is at the time of Joshua and now there is a second mountain peak. It is here in Nehemiah chapter 8. I believe that is what our author is telling us.

Think of the Feast of Tabernacles during the time of Joshua. Joshua is the leader who leads the people across the Jordan into the promised land after 40 years of wilderness wandering. So this generation, the Joshua generation, they remember the temporary dwellings. We lived in that last year, in the first year that they are celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles. So God, at the beginning of the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, gives them this law to be observed when they come into the promised land.

You don't observe the Feast of Tabernacles in the wilderness during those 40 years. It's going to be a remembrance of those years, and you're in the middle of those years. There's no feast of tabernacle celebration during the 40 years of wilderness wandering. Now God fulfills all His promises. He brings you into a land with wells you didn't dig, with houses you didn't build, with cities you didn't fortify, with vineyards that you didn't plant.

It's all just plopped into your lap. But God wants to take a week to remember. It wasn't always like this. These were gifts to you. But even before you had all that, I sustained you.

Every morning you woke up, you had manna. Even when the shelters were temporary, even when there were no walled cities, you were exposed to the people around you. I protected you all during that time. I fed you all during that time. So what must the feast of tabernacles have been like during the time of Joshua for the people who trudged through the wilderness for 40 years, and now they've been brought into a land of abundance.

And this is their week to take a trip down memory lane. The next generations would be much more removed from that, But the generation of Joshua, they lived it. What must the Feast of Tabernacles have been like for them? So there was this time of Joshua where the Feast of Tabernacles must have been some kind of a celebration. And now, having been brought out of captivity, it's sort of a second rendition of the same thing it's another mountain peak God's brought us back he did sustain us in Babylon he did sustain us in Babylon he preserved us He preserved our identity as his people.

And then very miraculously, he set us at liberty to come back to Jerusalem. And now they are celebrating the feast of tabernacles again. And our author just gives us these two mountain peaks. And none of the others, as wonderful as some of the other feasts of tabernacles, undoubtedly were. They can't compete with the time of Joshua, and they can't compete with now.

Fourthly, in verse 17, and finally, it says there was very great gladness. This is what characterizes this eight day celebration. Very great gladness. If you go back up to verse 12, last week's text, Nehemiah and Ezra had told the people, Go and rejoice. And it says, because they had understood what was said to them, they went and rejoiced greatly.

These are the exact same two Hebrew words. So in verse 12, they are rejoicing greatly. And then, a half a month later, two weeks later, they are back in Jerusalem for the feast of tabernacles and they are celebrating with very great gladness. Same words. This is not applauding through what was required.

Trudging through the requirements. Plotting along, obeying The letter, ignoring the Spirit. This is a thousand miles away from that. Heaven forbid that we be found plodding along through what God requires of us. What God requires of us.

That is so far from what our faith is intended to be. That it's really sad. They have every right to lay claim to great rejoicing for this week. They have a right to it. They have a right to rejoice in their God.

And if that somehow, through whatever means, becomes A trudging through the requirements of God. Doing outwardly with no heart engagement. How sad. They do it with joy. Great rejoicing.

They do it with gladness. Brothers and sisters, this is the target for everything we do in the practice of our faith. Have you got that? This is our target for everything that we do in the practice of our faith. To have it be done with great rejoicing.

John Piper says this all the time. Fight for joy. Fight for it. Don't be content for one second of your life to plod along outwardly obeying God. Out of duty.

It is our duty. I'm not casting aspersions on duty. It's good to do our duty. But our hearts must be engaged in this thing. They've been brought back from captivity.

It's impossible for these people to just plod along doing external things with no heart engagement. Because they have been set free. They were drug off and changed to Babylon for 70 years, but now God has miraculously set them at liberty. And this is our story, brothers and sisters. We are free.

We were in chains, but now we are free. And we are not free. We are not at liberty to plod along, to trudge through this life without joy. We are not at liberty to do that. It dishonors God if the practice of our faith degenerates into that.

That is not living faith. Our personal prayer, our personal Bible study, our family worship, our corporate worship, how we spend the off hours on Sundays, I mean the hours that we are not together, they are to be infused with joy, with great gladness. What we see in Nehemiah chapter 8, and their celebration of the feast of tabernacles. It's a celebration. It's infused with joy and great gladness and so should the practice of our faith be.

What do we say about God if it isn't? What do you declare about God if you just plot along, if you just trudge through the externals, with no engagement in the heart? If our personal prayer time, and our personal Bible study, and our family worship, and our corporate worship, and the other hours that we spend on Sunday, if they are infused with joy, then we've got something compelling that our children will want to be part of till the end of time. But if you trudge along in your prayer, in your personal prayers, if you trudge along in your personal Bible study, if You trudge along, plod along through your family worship. Your children are going to want nothing to do with this.

And their patterns are going to be different than yours because they looked at what we did in our homes and they said, no thanks. And they said, no thanks. So when you accept less than a joyful practice of your faith, just understand what's at stake, understand what you're doing, understand where that leads in the next generation and the generation after that. It ends up with generations that say, no thanks. It wasn't compelling enough.

Verse 18 is summarized by the final phrase of the chapter, according to the prescribed manner. What you see in verse 18 and what you see in their celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles is that they are doing it according to the prescribed manner. If you go to Exodus 23 and 34, if you go to Leviticus 23, If you go to Numbers 29, there is a lot said about how you are to observe the feast of tabernacles. What we learn in Nehemiah Chapter 8 is that they did it according to the prescribed manner. It is to be an eight day feast.

That is what is prescribed in the law of God. On the first day and on the eighth day you have holy convocations and they are called Sabbath days. They might not actually be the sixth day. They can't both be the sixth day if they are eight days apart, can they? But they are called Sabbath days.

There are to be days of rest and worship. There are to be a holy convocation on the first day and on the eighth day. And in the days in between there are differing sacrifices for each day. And our text tells us that this particular Feast of Tabernacles was celebrated according to Deuteronomy 31. What is Deuteronomy 31 called for?

It calls for every eight years the law of God being read during this feast. So I don't know whether it's the seventh year, did I say eight years? Every seven years. Every seven years the law of God is to be read during this feast. So I don't know whether that was the year or they just decided, this year we have to have the law of God, but it's read every day.

They get their daily dose. The Feast of Tabernacles, If you go to these Old Testament texts that prescribes how they are to be celebrated, you find two great purposes. Are you ready? Here are the two great purposes for the Feast of Tabernacle. Number one is it's a harvest celebration.

The first time, the first two times this feast is mentioned is in Exodus 23 and in Exodus 34. And you find in Exodus 23 and Exodus 34 you find this feast called the Feast of Ingathering. It's the exact same feast, it's just called two different things. The first time you see it appear, it's the Feast of Ingathering. It's the last feast of the year.

It's at harvest time. And you're to get the harvest out of the field and then come and have a harvest party. It's a fall festival. It's a harvest party. And it's described as a party.

This is no lifeless religious thing. This is a harvest party. It's for rejoicing. It would be wrong to have it be any other way. I read one commentary which said that the rabbis say you haven't known rejoicing if you've never been in Jerusalem during the Feast of Tabernacles.

You can't know what rejoicing is unless you've been there. It is a harvest party. You bring in the abundance that God has given to you and then you come and before him you acknowledge his goodness that he provided again this year. He gave you abundance again this year. So the first thing that the Feast of Tabernacles is, is a harvest celebration.

You come and you acknowledge God's faithful care. And that's what the harvest was, God's faithful care for you. Number two, it's a reminder of liberation from Egypt in the wilderness years. God didn't leave you as slaves in Egypt, He brought you out, He set you free, and He sustained you through forty years in the wilderness. The book of Deuteronomy actually begins this way.

In Deuteronomy 1 verse 31 says that God carried them. That's how the wilderness wanderings, the forty years are characterized in Deuteronomy chapter 1. As Moses is speaking to the people about these forty years, he says, God carried us like a father carries his son. So God carried us through these forty years. The Feast of Tabernacles is a reminder of that.

It's a reminder that it's better to be free. It's better to be out of Egypt where they had dinner on the table and a house to live in, but it is better to come out of Egypt and be free, and live in a tent, live in a temporary shelter, live in a leafy house, than it is to have an abundance, but not have your God, not be free to worship Him. Again, think about the wall just having been completed. They were living in great distress and reproach. That's how the book of Nehemiah starts.

So Nehemiah comes back and he leads the people in this great work. They repair and restore and rebuild two miles of wall in 52 days. It's a miracle. But God gives them right out of the gate the Feast of Tabernacles to remind them that wall is not your strength. That wall is not your protection.

That wall is not your provision. It's God. You remember, you live in a booth for a week, you live in a temporary shelter for a week, and you remember it's God who really protects you. He could send you out totally exposed in the wilderness and keep you safe for another 40 years. And He could provide for you just by having something like a honey wafer be available on the ground every morning for 40 years.

And then they cross over the Jordan and they're in the land of abundance and the next morning they go out and There's no more there. It wasn't necessary. He gave it to them every day they needed it and not one day longer. They've restored the wall, but the wall is not their strength. The wall is not what provides for them.

It's God, and The Feast of Tabernacles is the perfect reminder of that. How does this apply to us today? What are we to make of the Feast of Tabernacles in the year 2015? Well, here's one thing. God's dealing with Israel is a great drama.

Did you know that? It is its own history, but at the same time, in 1 Corinthians chapter 10, Paul says, you should look at that, God did that for our example. So we look back on the history of Israel and God is dealing with them and it is a great story for us. It is a great story of us actually. Egypt is slavery to sin.

The Bible says that in a number of different places. Egypt in this great drama represents slavery to sin. And the Exodus represents God's delivery from that slavery. This is a gospel drama that is playing out in the history of Israel. It's a gospel drama.

It's the Gospel set to a play involving millions of people over decades. This is phenomenal. You were a slave, but God set you free, brought you out. There's a promised land ahead. One day you'll cross over the river and all your troubles will be over.

That's part of the gospel drama, but we're not there yet. We're in this interim period where God's providing for us, God's protecting for us. It seems like we are so exposed, and yet every morning we wake up and we find we have what we need again. It's like the wilderness wanderings. And there is a land ahead of us.

And we know about it, but we haven't received it yet. The promised land is heaven in the gospel drama. Here is what Peter says in 1 Peter chapter 2, verse 11. Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lust which war against the soul. Peter essentially says You can't afford to get tangled up in earthly, fleshly, lustful things.

We're pilgrims, we're sojourners, we're passing through, this world is not our home. We're headed to a promised land. We're a people that's been delivered from slavery. We were in bondage, hopeless, but God brought us out of that with a mighty hand. And before us lies heaven.

But In this interim period, you have to act like a pilgrim and a sojourner. You have to know that you are passing through. You have to conduct yourself accordingly. In Hebrews 13, verse 14, The author of Hebrews says, for here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come. Youngsville is not your home.

You don't have a continuing city here. We're seeking a city to come a new Jerusalem We're seeking a better country than the United States of America We have a citizenship that is in another land Our citizenship is in heaven. We're just passing through. So what we take away from the Feast of Tabernacles is that we are a temporary shelter people. We are a tabernacling people.

It would not hurt us to live in a booth for a week a year. We should at least study it. To help us to know that our rejoicing doesn't depend on our stuff. We're free to enjoy our blessings. God has blessed us with many things, with many freedoms, with many provisions.

With many provisions, and we don't have to be guilty that God has been kind to us. But we can't hoard, we cannot hoard, that is not allowable, And we can't have our joy be tied up in that. We have to act like pilgrims and sojourners. We have to see ourselves as people who are just passing through. Applications.

I have four applications. Number one, we should be actively acquiring understanding of the Word of God. Actively. We should be actively acquiring understanding of the Word of God. When I read Nehemiah chapter 8, it seems like we have an insatiable people for the Word of God.

They are gluttonous. On day one, They haven't read to them from sun up to midday. And they're taken by it. They're weeping. They have to be instructed to go rejoice and eat the best food and drink the best drink.

And on day two, they've not had enough. They're not satiated. They're not satisfied. They want more. And so the family heads and the priests and the Levites come to Ezra and say, Teach us more.

And then all the people come together again on the 15th of the month. And they're going to be together for eight days in a row. And every day they bring Ezra out again. Read us more. Read us more.

Read us more. The Tuesday reading, the Wednesday reading, the Thursday reading. We haven't had enough. The Friday reading. No, not enough.

The Saturday reading. It reads that way to me. They're insatiable. They're not satisfied yet. They want more.

They want more understanding. They want more of the Word of God. Turn in your Bibles to Proverbs chapter 2. Proverbs chapter 2. I'm going to read the first nine verses.

This is Solomon to his son. So Solomon is exhorting his son. Proverbs chapter 2 verses 1 through 9. My son, if you receive my words and treasure my commands within you, so that you incline your ear to wisdom and apply your heart to understanding. Yes, if you cry out for discernment and lift up your voice for understanding.

If you seek her as silver and search for her as for hidden treasures, Then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom from His mouth come knowledge and understanding. He stores up sound wisdom for the upright. He is a shield to those who walk uprightly. He guards the paths of justice and preserves the way of his saints.

Then you will understand righteousness and justice, equity and every good path. You understand how active Proverbs 2 is. Son, go get it. Acquire it. Mine it like silver.

Search for it like hidden treasure. Incline your ear. Apply your heart. Cry out for discernment. Look at all the action verbs in Proverbs chapter 2.

Go get it! So I just want to come to Nehemiah chapter 8 and say, brothers and sisters, go get it. It's there for you. It's a well that you'll never hit the bottom of. It's a mine that you'll never exhaust.

You'll never get to the end of the gold. Go, get it, acquire it, cry out for discernment. Be insatiable, be never quite satisfied, always hungry for a little bit more of the Word of God. That's number one. We should be actively acquiring understanding of the Word of God.

Number two, pursue God by His Word and with gladness of heart. I think our text puts that so clearly before us today. This is about the pursuit of God by His Word. That's an important qualifier. If you just pursue God out of the own inclinations of your heart, you'll invent your own religion.

You will. The world is full of those religions. You want to add another one? Go pursue God according to your own inclinations. No, God is to be pursued in a specific way, and it's the best way.

You're not robbed of anything by pursuing God according to His Word. He tells us how to pursue Him. So pursue God by His Word and with gladness of heart. We've got to fight for joy all the time. Fighting for joy.

Not letting our Bible study and our prayer times and our corporate worship and our times of family worship drift into sort of this mechanical, dry, lifeless, oh heaven forbid. That is not worship. So that's number two. Pursue God by His Word and with gladness of heart. Here's what I said next to that in my notes.

Ours is a happy faith. I just want to submit, if you don't have a happy faith, I don't think you have a saving faith. I don't know. And I don't mean that the Christian life is an amusement park every day all the time. There are times that are dry.

There are times that don't feel happy. But overall, on balance, we have a happy faith. If you know nothing of a happy faith, you don't have a saving faith. It can't be true. People who have been set free from their sins, knowing nothing of happiness and joy in God.

I don't believe it. I can't accept it. Ours is a happy faith. Number three. Detach from this world.

Detach. Let loose. I'm not primarily talking about worldliness today. I like to beat on worldliness, but I'm not beating on it today. That's not really what I'm talking about.

I'm certainly not talking about staying away from your neighbors who don't know the Lord. So when I say detach from the world today, I'm not talking about worldliness per se. And I'm certainly not talking about exempting ourselves from relationships with people who don't know the Lord, that would be completely contrary to Scripture. I'm talking about your citizenship. Be so conscientiously citizens of heaven, not at the United States of America.

As earthly nations go, this is probably as good as it gets. This is a great nation to be a citizen of, but it is nothing compared to being a citizen of heaven. Everything here should be held loosely. That's what I mean by detach from this world. If all your tech toys and your comforts were taken from you, Would you still have joy?

That's the question. Detach from the world. Make it so that if all your tech toys and your comforts were taken from you, it would just be a little blip on the joy radar. You could just keep going forward in joy, with joy in this life. You could be deprived of all that.

You could live in a leafy temporary dwelling for a week and rejoice the whole week long. That's what happens in our text. They come out from their comforts, the blessings that God has given them. They just set aside those blessings for a week to say, God is the real blessing. God is our exceedingly great reward, like God says to Abram in Genesis chapter 15.

I am your portion, your exceedingly great reward. That was number three, detached from this world. Number four, listen to Jesus. I'm going to take you to John chapter seven now. John chapter seven.

It's the only place in the gospels that it explicitly says that Jesus is participating in the Feast of Tabernacles. So go to John chapter 7 please. John chapter 7, If you look in verse 2, it says, now the Jews feast of tabernacles was at hand. So this is the context. John chapter 7 verse 2 makes the context clear.

It's the feast of tabernacles. Now look down to verse 37. This is Jesus preaching on the last day of the feast. So remember, there's a holy convocation on the first day, and there's a holy convocation on the eighth day, the last day of the feast. So It's the last day of the feast, it's the eighth day and Jesus is preaching and listen to what he says in verses 37 and 38.

On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out saying, If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as the scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. And then the next verse says he is talking about the sending of the Spirit, the giving of the Spirit. Look at what Jesus says again, if anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me as the scripture has said out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.

This is the foundation for everything we talk about. Any week we talk about something. If you are thirsty, you come to Jesus for a drink. And He gives you fountains of living water that well up within you. You are a sinner.

You are condemned. But God in His mercy makes some sinners thirsty. He Makes them thirsty and they come to him and they drink and he gives them fountains of living water. He actually takes their place. He is their substitute.

They deserve death. He takes their death on his own shoulders. And he sends his righteousness, he imputes that to them. So that when God sees them, he no longer sees the sinner that they were. He sees his perfect spotless son.

And he sends his spirit to indwell you and you're like a tree planted by living waters your roots go down into the river this is the gospel Sinners can be pardoned through the work of Jesus Christ. What a great feast of tabernacle sermon that Jesus preached. Let's pray. God, I thank you for all that we learned, things that we didn't know about the Old Testament economy, the things that you called your people to do under the Law of Moses and why you did. I thank you.

This is such a rich study to study these things and to bring certain truths out of them, pull them forward into the New Covenant to benefit from them even now. Pray, God, that you would bless us as we continue in the time of teaching and in our observance of the Lord's Supper. In Jesus' name, Amen.