Feast of Tabernacles is an ordained feast of God - OKORO

Feast of Tabernacles is an ordained feast of God - OKORO

The Special Adviser to Delta State Governor on Rural and Community Development, Rt. Hon. Emmanuel Okoro, has hit on the need of the Feast of Tabernacle's celebration, as Gks celebrate the feast Online from December 13th to 20th, 2020.

According to his words backed up with bible references, he stated;

"ONE of the most important festivals that God ordained for His true worshippers to celebrate in this age of the end of the world, is the Feast of Tabernacles. Yet it is the one most of those who profess to be Christians treat with utmost neglect.

"The Feast of Tabernacles is an annual festival that was instituted by the Almighty God since the days of Moses the prophet during the historic journey of the Israelites from Egypt to Canaan. God’s instruction was to the effect that the feast should be celebrated on the 15th day of the seventh month of the Jewish year, and to last for eight days. On that occasion the children of Israel were by law enjoined to make offerings to the Lord and to dwell in booths as a memorial of their experience in the wilderness when God made them live in booths under His protection. The ordinance concerning the feast is recorded in Leviticus 23: 33-43. God said; “Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the Lord seven days: on the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a sabbath. And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days it shall be a statute for ever in your generations: ye shall celebrate it in the seventh month. Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths: 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: I am the Lord your God.”

"Furthermore, in Deuteronomy 16: 13-17, it is written: “Thou shalt observe the feast of tabernacles seven days, after that thou hast gathered in thy corn and thy wine: and thou shalt rejoice in thy feast, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite, the stranger, and the father- less, and the widow, that are with- in thy gates …and they shall not appear before the Lord empty: every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord thy God which he hath given thee.”

"No doubt, the Feast of Tabernacles was of great significance to the Jews. It was also known as the Feast of Ingathering for the fact that it was usually celebrated when they had gathered in their crops." – Exodus 23: 16; 34: 22.

"The reading of the law of God to the hearing and understanding of the people was a very important event in the celebration of the feast. This was so because of the sanctifying effect the law was capable of having on the Jews so “that they may learn, and fear the Lord your God”. – Deuteronomy 31: 10-13.

"When the Jews returned from Babylonish captivity and resettled in Canaan, there was an occasion when they gathered together and caused the book of the law of God to be read to the hearing of all of them. It was on the second day of that occasion when “the chief of the fathers of all the people, the priests, and the Levites” were assembled before Ezra, the scribe, so as to under- stand the words of the law, that they came across the ordinance of the Feast of Tabernacles. As it is written: “And they found written in the law which the Lord had commanded by Moses, that the children of Israel should dwell in booths in the feast of the seventh month: and that they should publish and proclaim in all their cities, and in Jerusalem, saying, Go forth unto the mount, and fetch olive branches, and pine branches, and myrtle branches, and palm branches, and branches of thick trees, to make booths, as it is written.”

"Following this discovery from the law book, the people went all out to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles with great jubilation. The grandeur of the occasion was tremendous, and the rejoicing of the celebrants was so much that Nehemiah recorded that “since the days of Jeshua (Joshua) the son of Nun unto that day had not the children of Israel done so”. The prophet then stated: “And there was very great gladness. Also day by day, from the first day unto the last day, he read in the book of the law of God. And they kept the feast seven days; and on the eighth day was a solemn assembly, according unto the manner.”- Nehemiah 8: 14-18.

"Christ’s Participation"

"It is of great interest to note that Jesus Christ, the Founder of Christianity, celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles and thus set the pace for his followers. The occasion afforded him a good opportunity to discharge his functions as a great teacher of truth- “a Minister of the Sanctuary, and of the true Tabernacle”. – Hebrew 8: 1, 2.

The record of St. John about Christ’s participation in the celebration of the feast is as clear as it is fascinating. He stated that when the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles was close at hand, the brothers of Jesus Christ asked him to go to Judea for the feast so that his disciples might see his works. They portrayed him as one who sought to publicise himself and so they urged him derisively to go and “shew thyself to the world”. – John 7: 2-4. Some people ignorantly argue that those brothers of Jesus were his disciples. No, they were not. It is clearly written in verse 5 that “neither did his brethren believe in him”. They were his brothers in the flesh being the children of Mary. Jesus Christ was a man with a mission and so he always took care to guard against the machinations of his enemies who hated him for exposing their evil deeds and whose desire was to make his mission a failure. Therefore, he told his brothers that the right time for him to go to the feast had not yet come. He added: “The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil.” – Verses 6-8. After his brothers had gone to the feast, “then went he also up unto the feast, not openly, but as It were in secret”. This he did because the wicked Jews looked for a chance to kill him. But when the festival was half over, he no longer hid himself neither did he conceal his identity any more, rather he entered the temple and taught a vast multitude the doctrine of God. And when the Jews expressed astonishment at his learning and Intelligence, he declared: “My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me." – Verses 10-17.

"On the last and great day of the feast, Jesus Christ was very conspicuous in view of the active part he played. With great enthusiasm and earnestness, and in his characteristic convincing clearness, Christ directed a soul-saving message to all peoples of the earth. As it is written: “In the last day; that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” – Verses 37, 38.

"From the foregoing, it is abundantly clear that Jesus Christ celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles, and it is nothing short of unfaithfulness, therefore, for any of his disciples to refrain from following the example of Our Lord and Saviour by celebrating the feast"

"Yes, this year's celebration of the feast is online due to the current situation of the country and the world at large. It is of great importance for us all to note that when we do according to God's will, we would still have God's blessings, even when we keep the feast in our various homes or by watching the live stream," he concluded.