The Old Testament
Deuteronomy 16:13-17 (CEV)
After you have finished the grain harvest and the grape harvest, take your sons and daughters and all your servants to the place where the Lord chooses to be worshiped. Celebrate the Festival of Shelters for seven days. Also invite the poor, including Levites, foreigners, orphans, and widows. The Lord will give you big harvests and make you successful in everything you do. You will be completely happy, so celebrate this festival in honor of the Lord your God. Each year there are three festivals when all Israelite men must go to the place where the Lord chooses to be worshiped. These are the Festival of Thin Bread, the Harvest Festival, and the Festival of Shelters. And don’t forget to take along a gift for the Lord. The bigger the harvest the Lord gives you, the bigger your gift should be.
Exodus 23:16 (AMP)
Also you shall keep the Feast of Harvest [Pentecost], [acknowledging] the firstfruits of your toil, of what you sow in the field. And [third] you shall keep the Feast of Ingathering [Booths or Tabernacles] at the end of the year, when you gather in the fruit of your labors from the field.
Exodus 34:22-24 (AMP)
You shall observe the Feast of Weeks, the firstfruits of the wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the year’s end. Three times in the year shall all your males appear before the Lord God, the God of Israel. For I will cast out the nations before you and enlarge your borders; neither shall any man desire [and molest] your land when you go up to appear before the Lord your God three times in the year.
Exodus 40:34 (AMP)
Then the cloud [the Shekinah, God’s visible presence] covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle!
LEviticus 23:33-44 (AMP)
And the Lord said to Moses, Say to the Israelites, The fifteenth day of this seventh month, and for seven days, is the Feast of Tabernacles or Booths to the Lord. On the first day shall be a holy convocation; you shall do no servile work on that day. For seven days you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord; on the eighth day shall be a holy convocation and you shall present an offering made by fire to the Lord. It is a solemn assembly; you shall do no laborious work on that day. These are the set feasts or appointed seasons of the Lord, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to present an offering made by fire to the Lord, a burnt offering and a cereal offering, sacrifices and drink offerings, each on its own day. This is in addition to the Sabbaths of the Lord and besides your gifts and all your vowed offerings and all your freewill offerings which you give to the Lord. Also on the fifteenth day of the seventh month [nearly October], when you have gathered in the fruit of the land, you shall keep the feast of the Lord for seven days, the first day and the eighth day each a Sabbath. And on the first day you shall take the fruit of pleasing trees [and make booths of them], branches of palm trees, and boughs of thick (leafy) trees, and willows of the brook; and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days. You shall keep it as a feast to the Lord for seven days in the year, a statute forever throughout your generations; you shall keep it in the seventh month. You shall dwell in booths (shelters) for seven days: All native Israelites shall dwell in booths, That your generations may know that I made the Israelites dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God. Thus Moses declared to the Israelites the set or appointed feasts of the Lord.
Numbers 2:2 (NCV)
The Israelites should make their camps around the Meeting Tent, but they should not camp too close to it. They should camp under their family flag and banners.
Psalm 20:4 (CEV)Then you will win victories,
and we will celebrate, while raising our banners in the name of our God. May the Lord answer all of your prayers! |
Psalm 60:4 (CEV)You gave a signal to those
who worship you, so they could escape from enemy arrows. |
Psalm 95:1-3 (CEV)Sing joyful songs to the Lord!
Praise the mighty rock where we are safe. Come to worship him with thankful hearts and songs of praise. The Lord is the greatest God, king over all other gods. |
Psalm 149:2-3 (CEV)People of Israel, rejoice
because of your Creator. People of Zion, celebrate because of your King. Praise his name by dancing and playing music on harps and tambourines. |
THE HALLEL: PSALMS 113-118
Psalm 113 (CEV)Shout praises to the Lord!
Everyone who serves him, come and praise his name. Let the name of the Lord be praised now and forever. From dawn until sunset the name of the Lord deserves to be praised. The Lord is far above all of the nations; he is more glorious than the heavens. No one can compare with the Lord our God. His throne is high above, the heavens and the earth. God lifts the poor and needy from dust and ashes, in ruling his people. When a wife has no children, he blesses her with some, and she is happy. Shout praises to the Lord! Psalm 114 (GNT)When the people of Israel left Egypt,
when Jacob's descendants left that foreign land, Judah became the Lord's holy people, Israel became his own possession. The Red Sea looked and ran away; the Jordan River stopped flowing. The mountains skipped like goats; the hills jumped around like lambs. What happened, Sea, to make you run away? And you, O Jordan, why did you stop flowing? You mountains, why did you skip like goats? You hills, why did you jump around like lambs? Tremble, earth, at the Lord's coming, at the presence of the God of Jacob, who changes rocks into pools of water and solid cliffs into flowing springs. Psalm 115 (NLT)Not to us, O Lord, not to us,
but to your name goes all the glory for your unfailing love and faithfulness. Why let the nations say, “Where is their God?” Our God is in the heavens, and he does as he wishes. Their idols are merely things of silver and gold, shaped by human hands. They have mouths but cannot speak, and eyes but cannot see. They have ears but cannot hear, and noses but cannot smell. They have hands but cannot feel, and feet but cannot walk, and throats but cannot make a sound. And those who make idols are just like them, as are all who trust in them. O Israel, trust the Lord! He is your helper and your shield. O priests, descendants of Aaron, trust the Lord! He is your helper and your shield. All you who fear the Lord, trust the Lord! He is your helper and your shield. The Lord remembers us and will bless us. He will bless the people of Israel and bless the priests, the descendants of Aaron. He will bless those who fear the Lord, both great and lowly. May the Lord richly bless both you and your children. May you be blessed by the Lord, who made heaven and earth. The heavens belong to the Lord, but he has given the earth to all humanity. The dead cannot sing praises to the Lord, for they have gone into the silence of the grave. But we can praise the Lord both now and forever! Praise the Lord! |
Psalm 116 (NIV)I love the Lord, for he heard my voice;
he heard my cry for mercy. Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live. The cords of death entangled me, the anguish of the grave came over me; I was overcome by distress and sorrow. Then I called on the name of the Lord: “Lord, save me!” The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion. The Lord protects the unwary; when I was brought low, he saved me. Return to your rest,my soul, for the Lord has been good to you. For you, Lord, have delivered me from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before the Lord in the land of the living. I trusted in the Lord when I said, “I am greatly afflicted”; in my alarm I said, “Everyone is a liar.” What shall I return to the Lord for all his goodness to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord. I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his faithful servants. Truly I am your servant, Lord; I serve you just as my mother did; you have freed me from my chains. I will sacrifice a thank offering to you and call on the name of the Lord. I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people, in the courts of the house of the Lord-- in your midst, Jerusalem. Praise the Lord. Psalm 117 (ESV)Praise the Lord, all nations!
Extol him, all peoples! For great is his steadfast love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord! Psalm 118Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his love endures forever. Let Israel say: “His love endures forever.” Let the house of Aaron say: “His love endures forever.” Let those who fear the Lord say: “His love endures forever.” When hard pressed,I cried to the Lord; he brought me into a spacious place. The Lord is with me;I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me? The Lord is with me; he is my helper. I look in triumph on my enemies. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in humans. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes. All the nations surrounded me, but in the name of the Lord I cut them down. They surrounded me on every side, but in the name of the Lord I cut them down. They swarmed around me like bees, but they were consumed as quickly as burning thorns; in the name of the Lord I cut them down. I was pushed back and about to fall, but the Lord helped me. The Lord is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation. Shouts of joy and victory resound in the tents of the righteous: “The Lord’s right hand has done mighty things! The Lord’s right hand is lifted high; the Lord’s right hand has done mighty things!” I will not die but live, and will proclaim what the Lord has done. The Lord has chastened me severely, but he has not given me over to death. Open for me the gates of the righteous; I will enter and give thanks to the Lord. This is the gate of the Lord through which the righteous may enter. I will give you thanks, for you answered me; you have become my salvation. The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes. The Lord has done it this very day; let us rejoice today and be glad. Lord, save us! Lord, grant us success! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. From the house of the Lord we bless you. The Lord is God, and he has made his light shine on us. With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession up to the horns of the altar. You are my God, and I will praise you; you are my God,and I will exalt you. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. |
The NEw Testament
John 7:2-19 (GW)
The time for the Jewish Festival of Booths was near. So Jesus’ brothers told him, “Leave this place, and go to Judea so that your disciples can see the things that you’re doing. No one does things secretly when he wants to be known publicly. If you do these things, you should let the world see you.” Even his brothers didn’t believe in him. Jesus told them, “Now is not the right time for me to go. Any time is right for you. The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I say that what everyone does is evil. Go to the festival. I’m not going to this festival right now. Now is not the right time for me to go.” After saying this, Jesus stayed in Galilee. But after his brothers had gone to the festival, Jesus went. He didn’t go publicly but secretly. The Jews were looking for Jesus in the crowd at the festival. They kept asking, “Where is that man?” The crowds argued about Jesus. Some people said, “He’s a good man,” while others said, “No he isn’t. He deceives the people.” Yet, no one would talk openly about him because they were afraid of the Jews. When the festival was half over, Jesus went to the temple courtyard and began to teach. The Jews were surprised and asked, “How can this man be so educated when he hasn’t gone to school?” Jesus responded to them, “What I teach doesn’t come from me but from the one who sent me. Those who want to follow the will of God will know if what I teach is from God or if I teach my own thoughts. Those who speak their own thoughts are looking for their own glory. But the man who wants to bring glory to the one who sent him is a true teacher and doesn’t have dishonest motives. Didn’t Moses give you his teachings? Yet, none of you does what Moses taught you. So why do you want to kill me?”
Colossians 2:16-17 (NLT)
So don’t let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating certain holy days or new moon ceremonies or Sabbaths. For these rules are only shadows of the reality yet to come. And Christ himself is that reality.
The Apocrypha/Deuterocanon
1 Esdras 5:50-53 (NRSA)
And some joined them from the other peoples of the land. And they erected the altar in its place, for all the peoples of the land were hostile to them and were stronger than they; and they offered sacrifices at the proper times and burnt offerings to the Lord morning and evening. They kept the festival of booths, as it is commanded in the law, and offered the proper sacrifices every day, and thereafter the regular offerings and sacrifices on sabbaths and at new moons and at all the consecrated feasts. And all who had made any vow to God began to offer sacrifices to God, from the new moon of the seventh month, though the temple of God was not yet built.
The Works of Flavius Josephus
ANtiquities of the jews: Book VIII, Chapter 4, Paragraph 1
When King Solomon had finished these works, these large and beautiful buildings, and had laid up his donations in the temple, and all this in the interval of seven years, and had given a demonstration of his riches and alacrity therein, insomuch that any one who saw it would have thought it must have been an immense time ere it could have been finished; and would be surprised that so much should be finished in so short a time; short, I mean, if compared with the greatness of the work: he also wrote to the rulers and elders of the Hebrews, and ordered all the people to gather themselves together to Jerusalem, both to see the temple which he had built, and to remove the ark of God into it; and when this invitation of the whole body of the people to come to Jerusalem was every where carried abroad, it was the seventh month before they came together; which month is by our countrymen called Thisri, but by the Macedonians Hyperberetoets. The feast of tabernacles happened to fall at the same time, which was celebrated by the Hebrews as a most holy and most eminent feast. So they carried the ark and the tabernacle which Moses had pitched, and all the vessels that were for ministration, to the sacrifices of God, and removed them to the temple. The king himself, and all the people and the Levites, went before, rendering the ground moist with sacrifices, and drink-offerings, and the blood of a great number of oblations, and burning an immense quantity of incense, and this till the very air itself every where round about was so full of these odors, that it met, in a most agreeable manner, persons at a great distance, and was an indication of God's presence; and, as men's opinion was, of his habitation with them in this newly built and consecrated place, for they did not grow weary, either of singing hymns or of dancing, until they came to the temple; and in this manner did they carry the ark. But when they should transfer it into the most secret place, the rest of the multitude went away, and only those priests that carried it set it between the two cherubims, which embracing it with their wings, (for so were they framed by the artificer,) they covered it, as under a tent, or a cupola. Now the ark contained nothing else but those two tables of stone that preserved the ten commandments, which God spake to Moses in Mount Sinai, and which were engraved upon them; but they set the candlestick, and the table, and the golden altar in the temple, before the most secret place, in the very same places wherein they stood till that time in the tabernacle. So they offered up the daily sacrifices; but for the brazen altar, Solomon set it before the temple, over against the door, that when the door was opened, it might be exposed to sight, and the sacred solemnities, and the richness of the sacrifices, might be thence seen; and all the rest of the vessels they gathered together, and put them within the temple.
Antiquities of the Jews: Book XI, Chapter 5, Paragraph 5
Now when they kept the feast of tabernacles in the seventh month and almost all the people were come together to it, they went up to the open part of the temple, to the gate which looked eastward, and desired of Esdras that the laws of Moses might be read to them. Accordingly, he stood in the midst of the multitude and read them; and this he did from morning to noon. Now, by hearing the laws read to them, they were instructed to be righteous men for the present and for the future; but as for their past offenses, they were displeased at themselves, and proceeded to shed tears on their account, as considering with themselves that if they had kept the law, they had endured none of these miseries which they had experienced. But when Esdras saw them in that disposition, he bade them go home, and not weep, for that it was a festival, and that they ought not to weep thereon, for that it was not lawful so to do. He exhorted them rather to proceed immediately to feasting, and to do what was suitable to a feast, and what was agreeable to a day of joy; but to let their repentance and sorrow for their former sins be a security and a guard to them, that they fell no more into the like offenses. So upon Esdras's exhortation they began to feast; and when they had so done for eight days, in their tabernacles, they departed to their own homes, singing hymns to God, and returning thanks to Esdras for his reformation of what corruptions had been introduced into their settlement. So it came to pass, that after he had obtained this reputation among the people, he died an old man, and was buried in a magnificent manner at Jerusalem. About the same time it happened also that Joacim, the high priest, died; and his son Eliasib succeeded in the high priesthood.