As we continue our study of the
Book of Ezra, we're in Chapter 3 of the Book of Ezra, and we'd
like to read the first four verses of this chapter, Chapter 3 of
the Book of Ezra. And make a couple more comments
with regard to verse 3 that we looked at last week, and then
go into verse 4, which it talks about the Feast of Tabernacles.
The Feast of Tabernacles. Chapter 3 of the Book of Ezra,
verse 1, and when the seventh month was come, and the children
of Israel were in the cities, the people gathered themselves
together as one man to Jerusalem. And they then stood up, Jeshua
the son of Josedek, and his brethren, the priests, and Zerubbabel the
son of Shealtiel, and his brethren, and builded the altar of the
God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings thereon, as it is written
in the law of Moses, the man of God. And they set the altar
upon his bases. And last week we mentioned They
uncovered the old bases to the old altar that had been destroyed
approximately 70 years prior to this. They found those bases
and they established this new altar that had been built upon
those bases. It gives us a great deal of information
about how particular God is and how particular we should be.
that there was no room to put that altar anywhere else except
where it had been original. And we find that the Lord teaches
us a lot about His exactness in the book of Ezra. And in this
passage of scripture, it shares with us again that the old bases
were necessary to keep up what they had once had. And if we
ever lose track, we need to go back to the original. If we ever
lose sight, we need to go back to the original. And I remember
that pastor coming and teaching us, he said, always keep the
main thing, the main thing. So let's not go to the right
hand or to the left. Let's just keep it there. It
doesn't say that they allowed a quarter of an inch or an eighth
of an inch. I was visiting with a man the
other day and he had a carpenter coming over doing some work for
him. After doing two things, he finally let the carpenter
go because his standard and the owner's standard was somewhat
different. He wanted his standard. He was
paying the money. He wanted his standard. So the
guy said, you're just too picky. Well, that might be said about
a lot of things, but in particular, about Christ. He is picky. There
is a narrow way that leadeth unto life. There is a broad way,
and everybody else is on it, but the narrow way, that is the
only way. There's one mediator between
God and man, and that is the man Christ Jesus. So he is very
picky. God is picky. He only ordained
his son to be the propitiation for our sins. And there's nothing
we can add to that. So, as we go on now, in preparation,
this seventh month meant something. They came back to Jerusalem,
to Palestine in the fifth month. They have two months that they're
doing what they're doing, cleaning up, a lot of that to do. But
when the seventh month rolled around, they are going to have
the Feast of Tabernacles. It tells us in verse 4. They
kept also the feast of tabernacles as It is written and offered
the daily burnt offerings by number according to the custom
as the duty of every day required I Find it quite interesting here
before the temple foundation is even laid, here before the
temple has started to be built, before the walls are going to
be built, that we have recorded in God's word that they're going
to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. Now, we found out when we went
through the book of Leviticus that God ordained that they would
keep this feast. And I would like just to read
a couple of verses over in the book of Leviticus chapter 23
that have to do with this, and we find in this passage of scripture
why God wanted the children of Israel to continue. Not only
did he ordain it, but to continue in the Feast of Tabernacles. He had a purpose in it. He wasn't
wasting their time or the lives of a lot of sacrifices. He had a very deep purpose in
it, and we find, and the older I get, the more I need to be
reminded. And that's what the Lord did here with the Feast
of Tabernacles. He's gonna remind the children
of Israel of something very important that he did in their lives. In
the book of Leviticus chapter 23, beginning with verse 33 is
the description of what they are to do. I find it very difficult
at times with what we have here. that I would be able to do exactly
what was required. They had a lot more wisdom and
information. Moses was given a lot in the
mount to how to do the things. There was wisdom given to the
other folks. What I can find in this is a
little bit of what this meant, and that is far more valuable
than us going out here this morning and having the Feast of Tabernacles.
Number one, it's the wrong month. Number two, it's been done away
with in Christ. We don't have these requirements.
They all pointed in a direction. The Passover pointed in a direction. The Feast of Tabernacles pointed
in a direction. And once the person that these
things represented was here, there's no longer any need to
perform those. I was shared a long time ago
and just recently again that the time is coming when we're
gonna reestablish these sacrifices. There's nothing in the word of
God about that. The only way we could get there
from here is to misinterpret a great deal of Old Testament
scripture. If we see Christ, we just see
that's what this is being spoken of. The book of Leviticus, chapter
23, and in verse 33, it tells us the beginning of this. It
says, and the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, and when we were
going through the book of Leviticus, we mentioned time and time again,
as it's brought out in the scripture, there's more that the Lord said
to people directly in the book of Leviticus than any other book. The Lord spoke to Moses, Moses
spoke to the people. That's how it goes. Speak unto
the children of Israel, saying, the fifteenth day of the seventh
month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the Lord.
Seven has a very important position in the numbering of God. It means
perfect. And here we have, this is going
to represent the perfect one. And then, if you would look with
me there in verse 43 of that chapter, we have, this is why
this was given. Leviticus chapter 23 and verse
43, that your generations may know that I made the children
of Israel to dwell in booths when I brought them out of the
land of Egypt, that ye may know that I made them. This was a reminder to them that
God had freed them from Egypt and freed them from the slavery
of Egypt. It was God that did it. Now,
what happens just after they were released really shares with
us if God does something for people who don't know God, they're
gonna complain about it anyway. But those who were there that
understood the gospel, they saw in this Feast of Tabernacles
that God truly sets free his people from all the entanglements. We live in the world, but God
has so completely saved his people that were not of the world, were
just kind of passengers going through. So he shares with us
here in verse 43, your generations may know that I made the children
of Israel to dwell in booths when I brought them out of the
land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God, and Moses
declared unto the children of Israel the feasts of the Lord.
I found it quite interesting that between this time that this
was given, And the next record that we have of the Feast of
Tabernacles is about 500 years. There's not a lot said in the
scripture about it. Now whether the children of Israel
continued in it or whether it was just something that was brought
up from time to time, at this point I can't share that because
I don't know. But I do know this, there's a
long time between the giving of Leviticus chapter 23 and the
next record, and that's found in 2 Chronicles. Would you turn
with me to the book of 2nd Chronicles, the Feast of Tabernacles? It's
to be a constant reminder. What is that to us? What is the
constant reminder to us of being set free from the bondage of
sin and the bondage of the world? It's the blood of Christ. Every
time we hear about it, there is freedom in the redemptive
work of Christ, and we're redeemed by his blood. I was talking to,
texting, I find it very intriguing. I was texting a pastor friend
and just brought up some thoughts about the freedom that we have
in Christ and how we are so at liberty in Christ from all of
the bondage of the law and all the bondage of everything. And
we're made as if we did not fall in the eyes of God. Now we deal
with sin in our lives all the time. In the presence of God, in the
mind of God, in the purpose of God, he has made his people so
free that we get to worship the king. We couldn't do it before,
but we get to worship the king. Now here in the book of 2 Chronicles
chapter eight, we have some thoughts about Solomon. We've traveled
a long period of time from the book of Leviticus to Solomon,
and in between that time, we don't have any direct reference
to the Feast of Tabernacles. Here in the book of 2 Chronicles
chapter 8, Oh, I'm reading chapter 7. Chapter
8. It didn't work. Then Solomon offered burnt offerings
unto the Lord on the altar of the Lord, which he had built
before the porch, even after a certain rate every day, offering
according to the commandment of Moses on the Sabbaths, on
the new moons, and on the solemn feast three times in the year,
even the feast of unleavened bread, and the feast of weeks,
and the feast of tabernacles. So 500 years later, after the
institution of this, we have Solomon brings this up, and he
is performing this. Now how long that lasted, I don't
know, because the next time that we have reference to it is in
the passage of scripture that we just read in the book of Ezra,
and guess what? That's approximately 500 years
later. between the book of 2nd Chronicles and the book of Ezra
is about 500 years. And we read there that they offered
the first thing they did after coming back into Palestine, after
coming back to Jerusalem, after getting ready to build the temple
and then future the walls of Jerusalem. They're free from
Babylonian captivity. Many of them stayed in that captivity. A few came out, came back to
Jerusalem, came back to do what God had told them to do, and
here, two months after they arrived back, they're performing this
Feast of Tabernacles. They're being reminded one more
time, we were set free from Egypt. God took care of us in the wilderness,
and he gave us the land that he promised he would give us.
And the reason that we were in Babylonian captivity is we couldn't
keep it. Babylonian captivity. All right,
so there. Now, the next time that we have
reference to the Feast of Tabernacles is almost 500 years again. Now there's a stop-off point
that I want to go to, and that's in the book of Zechariah. Would
you turn with me to Zechariah 14? The book of Zechariah chapter
14, it doesn't mention here about
having or doing the Feast of Tabernacles, but it gives us
some insight to what God intended for the meaning of it. It is
more than just Israel being set free from Egypt. There is a person
involved in this Feast of Tabernacles that you and I, as believers,
delight in and relish in, and his name is Jesus. He is the
true meaning of the Feast of Tabernacles, just like he's the
true meaning of the Passover, the true meaning of every sacrifice,
every offering ever given, is the person Christ Jesus. They
all pointed to him. Here in the book of Zechariah,
in chapter 14, We have Zachariah was led of the Holy Spirit. I'm
reminded constantly as I read the Bible that these guys were
secretaries. They're not authors. They're
secretaries. They're called on to write down
what the author intended. Very few times do we find that
God actually wrote with his finger one time on stone, That was broken,
he wrote again, and then another time on the walls there in Babylon. But most of the time, he calls
on secretaries to write his word with the intent that there won't
be one change made with regard to his word. In Zechariah chapter
14, and there in verse 16, the scriptures share, and it shall
come to pass that everyone that is left of all the nations which
came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year
to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the Feast
of Tabernacles. Now this is the true meaning
of the Feast of Tabernacles, is to worship the Lord of hosts. And in that same chapter, verses
18 and 19, And if the family of Egypt go not up and come not,
that have no reign, there shall be the plague wherewith the Lord
will smite the heathen that came not up to the feast of tabernacles. You don't come to Christ, don't
blame him. He's the true feast, he's the
true feast of tabernacles, he's the true liberty that we have,
he's the one that has set us free from all the bondage that
we were born into, slavery. Very few people need mercy because
very few people admit that they're in slavery. But once you realize
that we are in slavery to sin, mercy is really a good sound. He's gonna keep us from that
which we deserve. That's mercy. His mercy endureth
forever. That is true mercy. So the only
people that have any comprehension of that is the people that have
had a problem with their very nature. Sinners, we are. All right, and then it goes on
here and tells us in Zechariah chapter 14, verse 19, this shall
be the punishment of Egypt and of the punishment of all nations
that come not up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. Now there's
only one true punishment for keeping not the Feast of Tabernacles,
and that is not having a heart that loves God. That's the problem. All right, now we're gonna jump
from 2 Chronicles Ezra to the Book of John. This is the next
and last time that we have the Feast of Tabernacles brought
up. In the Book of John, we have that there is the Feast of Tabernacles
and they have a visitor to this Feast of Tabernacles. And this
visitor stands up and declares this. We're gonna read that in
just a moment. Now, it appears that over time,
like almost everything that God has ever given, over time, people
have corrupted it in some way. God gave baptism to be a sign
of those who are believers. Over time, it's been corrupted
into a way to get salvation. That is a corruption. The Lord's
Supper, the same thing. Service of God works, it's been
corrupted. We are His workmanship created
in Christ Jesus unto good works and it's been corrupted into
the point that if you don't have works, you're not saved. It's
just like the Lord Jesus, the Apostle Paul, Peter, James, and
John dealing with folks that would come up to them and say,
if those folks are not circumcised, they can't be saved. Well, the
Lord Jesus spoke completely against that. It's not dependent upon
any works that we perform or any habits that we adopt or don't
adopt. It is by grace alone. Well, it
appears that over the time, between the time of Solomon and the time
of Ezra, that there was some corruption that had brought in.
And one of those things was, we don't find it in the Old Testament,
but it appears historically that at the time of the Feast of the
Tabernacles, when it was the temple in Jerusalem, they would
go over to the Pool of Siloam and get gallons and gallons of
water and bring it to the altar and pour it out. Now they were
saying it was symbolic of the water flowing out from the rock.
Another thing that they adopted was that they had great amount
of light at night during the Feast of Tabernacles. Well, in
thinking about this, it drove me over to the Book of Acts.
when the Apostle Paul is on Mount Mars Hill. Guess what? Paul didn't say a word about
Mars or all of the other heathen gods that were there. Didn't
say a word. You know what he said? I see
you have an altar to the unknown God. Now I'm going to tell you
about him. Didn't spend any time talking
about all the heathen gods. There was thousands of them.
Every culture they're just named a little bit different and a
lot of them have human attributes and Some have some divine attributes
and Lord only knows we don't want a God with human attributes
We need the God man He's not a sinner He has no imperfections. He is God, but he came in the
flesh for the suffering of death For giving his life a ransom
for many So in the book of Acts there, it tells us the Apostle
Paul, he's just surmising. I think that that's probably
the way that he did his business. What good is it going to do to
walk up to someone and say, that God you're worshiping is a false
God. You know, that's why I don't
have to study other religions. Religion I thought I had to because
that's the only way you can get to someone is to talk to them
about the falseness of the Paul Let's just read this Acts chapter
17 Then we're going to back up a little bit Acts chapter 17 Acts chapter 17 and verse 22
and 23. Now the corruptions probably
came in to the Feast of Tabernacles. They probably were doing things
that were not there during the original institution. But even
the Lord shares with us that he didn't get after them about
making a mockery out of the feast of tabernacles by introducing
this water or introducing this light. We're gonna find out he
took that to the next level and shares with us, I am the living
water. I am the light. Alright, let's
notice here in Acts though, Acts chapter 17 verse 22. The scriptures
share this. Then Paul stood in the midst
of Mars Hill. Now this is the first time in
my reading that I ever noticed that that was a apostrophe after
the S. It's Mars's Hill. The God Mars. It's his hill. And he says, I
found an altar with this inscription. Excuse me. I perceive that in
all things you are too superstitious or too religious. Not a lot of
difference in the two. For I pass by and behold your
devotions and I found an altar with this inscription, to the
unknown God, whom therefore ye ignorantly worship. Him declare
I unto you. Why waste all the time on the
rest? When you can spend your time on the only. Now, let's go over to the book
of John, chapter 7. John, chapter 7. In John, chapter 7, verse 2,
we have these words. John, chapter 7, verse 2. Now,
the Jews' Feast of Tabernacles was at hand. Ezra, Feast of Tabernacles. 2 Chronicles, Feast of Tabernacles.
Leviticus, Feast of Tabernacles. Zechariah, those who do not come
will have no part. Alright, Feast of Tabernacles
brought over into the New Testament era by these Jews, and now we're
gonna have a special visitor. Now, he was with all of the rest
of them in spirit, but here he is in a bodily form, the Son
of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, the God-man, is here at this
Feast of Tabernacles. Now, it appears that some of
his disciples say, let's go, and he says, I'm gonna stay here
a little bit, and they went on, and then he comes. Now, remember,
at this time in his ministry, he is a hunted person. If they
could have recognized him, it's interesting how he could hide
himself. If they could have recognized him, they would have tried to
arrest him. They tried to do it several times,
but couldn't. So he's a hunted man. He goes
down to the temple at the Feast of Tabernacles. How many people
are there? Supposedly every male in Israel
is there. So we've got all the religious
leaders and all the males and a lot of other folks are there.
It's a really important festival for the Jews. It's the Feast
of Tabernacles. And it tells us here in verse,
John chapter seven and verse 37. Now I can have just seen
as this festival, this feast has been corrupted that they
do go down to the Pool of Siloam. We have a reason. The Lord visited
the Pool of Siloam Healed a man there out of hundreds he healed
a man so if they did go down there and they get all this water
and bring it up in these golden pots and pour it out at the altar
and try to depict what happened in the Old Testament as God provided
for them they never mentioned that when they got that water
they were in full complaint and Twice in full complaint, but
they pour that water out go get some more pour that water out
and here a solitary man stands up John chapter 7 verse 37 John
chapter 7 verse 37 in the last day that great day of the feast
Jesus stood and cried saying, you've seen all of this. You've
watched all of this. It's been a great festival. It's
been all these days, Feast of Tabernacle Days. You've seen
all what's going on. Solitary figure stands up and
says, if any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. He
that believeth on me, as the scriptures have said, out of
his belly shall flow rivers of living water. Now, in three quick
statements, the Lord sums up the entire gospel. If any man
thirst, come to me. Can't make it any plainer than
that. If any man thirst. Now, there's the old saying,
you can lead the mule to water. How many glasses full of water
in a restaurant are thrown down the drain? No wonder they ask
you, what do you want to drink now? Because there's a whole
bunch of people that go to a restaurant and are not thirsty. Well, Jesus
stood and cried that. Here is the gospel. Thirst, come,
drink. Thirst, come, drink. Come signifies
our approval of an object or a person. Now, by nature, we
have nothing that we would approve of God by. We need a new birth
to be able to come to something that we would never come to. There has to be a change of heart,
a change given to us by God the Holy Spirit. And only then will
we come. And then we find out in coming
how thirsty we truly are for righteousness. Because all of
ours is nothing. We have no righteousness of our
own. Not by works of righteousness, which we have done but according
to his mercy he saves us So he is the merciful one and he's
the one that creates the thirst and he is the answer to the thirst
There's no way he's saying we're supposed to drink Jesus and has
been manipulated or monster eyes drink his blood and But drink,
be satisfied internally with the graciousness of Almighty
God in Christ Jesus. Thirst tells us of a need. Come
signifies our approval to an object or person. It expresses
action. It implies the will is operative
to come to Christ. Means a new heart has been given.
Nothing can be substituted for the object to come to. Nothing
can be substituted for Christ. Come unto me. So he, no doubt, has seen this. They've all seen this. Waters
float all over the temple floors there. as they try to depict
something that happened in the Old Testament, and he stands
up, a solitary figure that is hated for his doctrine, but he
stands up and says, if any man thirst, come unto me, and I will
give you water, living water. Nothing can be substituted, not
come to the Lord's table, not come to the waters of baptism,
not come to the priest, not come to the minister, not come to
a mourner's bench, not come to joining a church, but come to
Christ himself and to none other. Come unto me, all you that labor
and are heavy laden. Drink, you cannot drink for someone
else. As much as we may try, We cannot
drink for someone else. And we can't make anybody drink.
But thank God he does, and can, and will. Now, in the eighth
chapter of the book of John, we have, after all this ceremony
has gone on, and many people have been, I like driving into the gorge
and seeing the stars, that light put into that form, I like to
see the lights on the poles downtown, go to other towns and you see
what they do to make this festive holiday for us. Can you imagine
what went on because there was no electricity in the days of
this Feast of Tabernacles? All the fire that was going on
around the temple. Light it up and and then to exercise
with this is kind of the light that led the children of Israel
through the wilderness You cannot Duplicate that kind of light
that's your kind of glory that led them But here is all of this
light around here and the Lord Jesus a solitary figure stands
up again and he has this to say about light and that is found
in John chapter 8 and verse 12 John chapter 8 in verse 12 Then spake Jesus again unto them
saying I Am the light of the world He that followeth me shall
not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. I Now there's something that
the Lord Jesus is sharing with us in this passage. It's brought
out in the book of 1st John. God is light and in him is no
darkness at all. I am the light of the world.
He is the only light. that lights people, that gives
them light, insight, understanding. Well, just a few verses that
have to do with this light this morning, and would you turn with
me to the book of Acts, chapter 26. The apostle Paul shares his
commission. He is before some dignitaries.
He's been asked about why he's doing what he's doing, and he
just shares. Acts chapter 26 and verse 16
He says this is the Commission. I was given when the Lord appeared
to me on the road to Damascus When he brought me to myself
he stopped me he arrested me I Wasn't planning on going to
a prayer meeting down in Damascus I I was planning to go down there
to arrest believers. That was my goal. But he stopped. He's arrested. God interfered with Paul's life. And Paul would later say, thank
you, God. Now he's not Saul at the time.
His name is changed later. But here in verse 15, this is
the commission. Verse 15, and I said, who art
thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom
thou persecutest. Paul never called this one l
or d before Lord that means master he never
had one master, but Gamaliel and he was Paul was second line
He had one master and I was gonna be a teacher of the law now He
thought he had God, but he was didn't and then he goes on to
say oh I am Jesus whom thou persecutest, but rise and stand upon thy feet,
for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee
a minister and a witness both of the things which thou hast
seen and of those things in which I will appear unto thee, delivering
thee from the people and from the Gentiles unto whom now I
send thee, to open, by preaching the gospel, he says, to open
their eyes, to turn them from darkness to light. from the power
of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins,
inheritance among them, which are sanctified by faith that
is in me." Through the preaching of the gospel, there's going
to be sight given. And when we have sight given,
there is one priority in our vision, and his name is Jesus. It's not religion, it's Jesus. Turn with me if you would to
2 Corinthians 4 and verse 6. Jesus Christ is the answer to
the Feast of Tabernacles. He is the one that truly sets
us at liberty. God said, I want you to be reminded
of what I did for you and brought you out of Egypt. We have those few mentions throughout
the scriptures of the Feast of Tabernacles that was to declare
that, and then this Feast of Tabernacles, we have a solitary
figure stand up and say, I am the water of life. I am the light. And here in 2 Corinthians chapter
four, 2 Corinthians chapter four and verse six, who also hath made us able ministers,
excuse me, chapter four and verse six, for God, who commanded the
light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts to
give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in
earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God and
not of us. We have earthen vessels. That's
where this glory is, but he's commanded the light to shine
out of darkness Ephesians chapter 5 and verse 8 Ephesians chapter
5 and verse 8 For ye were sometimes darkness,
but now are you light in the Lord walk as children of light
and We find these kind of words throughout the New Testament
about the light that is truly given that light was given to
those in the Old Testament that were that were born again by
the Holy Spirit God granted them faith Abraham had faith in order
to have that you must have the Holy Spirit and Abel had faith. In order to have that, you must
have the Holy Spirit. You must be born again before you can
exercise that faith. And here, we find that the Lord
Jesus says, I am the light of the world. I dispel darkness. I don't create it in people,
I take it away from them so that they can see me with their spiritual
eyes. Though we've not seen yet, we
believe. So this wonderful teaching the Lord Jesus made of the Feast
of Tabernacles was, I am the living water and I am the light
of the world. This will pass. Now there's,
if you get online, you'll find there's many folks advocating
that we reinstitute the Feast of Tabernacles. We don't have
to. We already have him. He is a person, just as the Passover
is a person. Feast of Tabernacles is a person.
Feast of Weeks is a person. They all pointed ahead, directed
towards the Messiah that would come, and he came at due time,
born of a virgin, born under the law, that he could take care
of all the requirements that were held against his people,
he fulfilled all that command. And he fulfilled it in such a
capacity that God said they have fulfilled it. So all these feasts
have been done away with in the Lord Jesus Christ. The law has
been done away with in the Lord Jesus Christ. His spirit keeps
track of his people. His spirit is the umpire. He's
the one that leads his people. Well, the true meaning of the
Feast of Tabernacles is the Lord Jesus Christ. I would like to
read one other passage, and that's found in 1 John 2. 1 John 2.
1 John 2 and verse 11. Three times in this verse of
scripture is darkness mentioned He that hateth his brother is
in darkness and walketh in darkness and knoweth not whether he goeth
because that darkness hath blinded his eyes That's just how dark
it is triple darkness Over the mind body and spirit of an individual
without Christ so we do as Moses did many years ago and When he
instituted the Feast of Tabernacles, he says, this is speaking of
Christ, because he was a minister of righteousness, Moses. This is pointing to Christ. Don't
get all tangled up in this. Embrace him, the Lord Jesus Christ. And the Lord Jesus shares with
us, I am the water of life. You saw all that? You see the
water flowing out from the rock. They drank that water and were
thankful for one day and the next day they're complaining
again. That's not Christians. Those are lost people. They died
in the wilderness because of unbelief. But God's people thank
God and are found not wanting. All right.