Neh 8:15-16 | KingComments | STEP | Whoever is engaged in the Word with the desire to know God’s will, will discover God’s will. Here it happens in relation to the Feast of Booths. During their examination of the law, they find the commandment about living in booths in the seventh month ( ; ; ; ). This feast is to be held when all the harvests of the land have been gathered. That is why it is also called the “Feast of the Ingathering” with the statement that with it also “the end of the year” has come ( ). The time of effort is over; they no longer need to be busy with their work, but may rejoice in the results. When the whole harvest of the land has been gathered, can it be otherwise than that the whole assembly, full of thankfulness to the LORD, celebrate a feast for Him? When we oversee all the blessings with which God has blessed us, can it be any other than that our hearts overflow with thankfulness and joy? The feast begins with a sabbath rest – which does not mean that the first day of the feast also falls on a sabbath – and it ends with it. The Feast of Booths speaks of the millennial realm of peace, the great day of rest for creation, a rest in which the nations will also share ( ). The day of rest at the beginning speaks of the beginning of a period of rest that follows. This represents the beginning of the millennial realm of peace, the time called the “administration of the fullness of the times” ( ). This is the time when God’s intention is fulfilled, namely “the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth” ( ). Christ will then reign over creation together with His church as the true Adam with His wife. The LORD wants them to celebrate this feast to remind them of the time when He led them through the wilderness, where they lived in tents and not in houses. He takes their thoughts back to the time immediately after their deliverance from Egypt, to His care for them during the wilderness journey. He also lived with them then in a tent. The memory of His care and His proximity will have filled them with great gratitude. Unlike the Passover, which can be celebrated in the wilderness, the Feast of Booths cannot be celebrated in the wilderness, but only in the land. It is a harvest festival and there is nothing to harvest in the wilderness. When they discover the precept for this feast during their examination of God’s Word, they do not find anything new, but rediscover a forgotten truth. For centuries it had been in the law. But the book of law has become a forgotten book. As a result, God’s precepts for the feasts have also been forgotten. God was withheld what He is entitled to from His people. His people were no longer aware of the blessings associated with doing His will. That awareness is coming back to the surface through this examination. In Christianity, the Bible has also become a forgotten book. Many Christians barely read it. The heart does not go out to the Lord Jesus and what He values. However, as soon as the Word takes hold of the hearts again and the wrong thing is confessed and forsaken, the inquiring Christian goes from discovery to discovery. He discovers what has been in the Word for centuries, but what now takes on luster and meaning for him. Whether it is about the rapture of the church, the celebration of the Supper or the future of Israel, every new discovery is given a place in heart and life. The researchers of the law don’t announce their discovery and then leave it to each person’s politeness with what they will do with it. No, they are aware of their responsibility and issue an order to make booths. In doing so, they do not give any clues as to what they believe are more appropriate to the current situation of the time in which they live. They give orders to act “as it is written (cf. ). There is no question of adopting new forms with old content. Their actions are determined by what “they found written in the law how the LORD had commanded through Moses “. What is true of the feasts for the time of Moses, is true undiminished and unchanged for the days of Nehemiah. Also for our time the Word is as current as in the days in which God had His Word written down.

‏ Nehemiah 8:15-16

Rediscovering the Feast of Booths

Whoever is engaged in the Word with the desire to know God’s will, will discover God’s will. Here it happens in relation to the Feast of Booths. During their examination of the law, they find the commandment about living in booths in the seventh month (Exo 23:16; Lev 23:34; Num 29:12; Deu 16:13-15). This feast is to be held when all the harvests of the land have been gathered. That is why it is also called the “Feast of the Ingathering” with the statement that with it also “the end of the year” has come (Exo 23:16).

The time of effort is over; they no longer need to be busy with their work, but may rejoice in the results. When the whole harvest of the land has been gathered, can it be otherwise than that the whole assembly, full of thankfulness to the LORD, celebrate a feast for Him? When we oversee all the blessings with which God has blessed us, can it be any other than that our hearts overflow with thankfulness and joy?

The feast begins with a sabbath rest – which does not mean that the first day of the feast also falls on a sabbath – and it ends with it. The Feast of Booths speaks of the millennial realm of peace, the great day of rest for creation, a rest in which the nations will also share (Zec 14:16-19). The day of rest at the beginning speaks of the beginning of a period of rest that follows. This represents the beginning of the millennial realm of peace, the time called the “administration of the fullness of the times” (Eph 1:10a). This is the time when God’s intention is fulfilled, namely “the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth” (Eph 1:10b). Christ will then reign over creation together with His church as the true Adam with His wife.

The LORD wants them to celebrate this feast to remind them of the time when He led them through the wilderness, where they lived in tents and not in houses. He takes their thoughts back to the time immediately after their deliverance from Egypt, to His care for them during the wilderness journey. He also lived with them then in a tent. The memory of His care and His proximity will have filled them with great gratitude. Unlike the Passover, which can be celebrated in the wilderness, the Feast of Booths cannot be celebrated in the wilderness, but only in the land. It is a harvest festival and there is nothing to harvest in the wilderness.

When they discover the precept for this feast during their examination of God’s Word, they do not find anything new, but rediscover a forgotten truth. For centuries it had been in the law. But the book of law has become a forgotten book. As a result, God’s precepts for the feasts have also been forgotten. God was withheld what He is entitled to from His people. His people were no longer aware of the blessings associated with doing His will. That awareness is coming back to the surface through this examination.

In Christianity, the Bible has also become a forgotten book. Many Christians barely read it. The heart does not go out to the Lord Jesus and what He values. However, as soon as the Word takes hold of the hearts again and the wrong thing is confessed and forsaken, the inquiring Christian goes from discovery to discovery. He discovers what has been in the Word for centuries, but what now takes on luster and meaning for him. Whether it is about the rapture of the church, the celebration of the Supper or the future of Israel, every new discovery is given a place in heart and life.

The researchers of the law don’t announce their discovery and then leave it to each person’s politeness with what they will do with it. No, they are aware of their responsibility and issue an order to make booths. In doing so, they do not give any clues as to what they believe are more appropriate to the current situation of the time in which they live. They give orders to act “as it is written (cf. Ezra 3:4).

There is no question of adopting new forms with old content. Their actions are determined by what “they found written in the law how the LORD had commanded through Moses “. What is true of the feasts for the time of Moses, is true undiminished and unchanged for the days of Nehemiah. Also for our time the Word is as current as in the days in which God had His Word written down.

Celebrating the Feast of Booths

Also the interest in God’s Word by the people was not a fleeting feeling. When the precept is presented to them, they show great willingness to act upon it. They go out to fetch branches of leafy trees and make booths.

1. They do this at home, on the roof, bringing their whole family under the influence of this feast, as it were.

2. They do it around their house, bringing their contacts with the neighbors under the influence of this feast, so to speak.

3. They do it in the courts of God’s house, indicating that they involve God in this feast.

4. They also make booths in the square at the Water Gate. By doing so they show that they are celebrating this feast in accordance with God’s Word.

5. Finally, they make booths in the square at the Gate of Ephraim to show that they are celebrating as one people.

For a similar celebration of the Feast of Booths, the writer goes all the way back to “the days of Joshua”, i.e. to the early days of the people in the land. That’s about a thousand years ago. They do not argue that this feast cannot be that important, because even in the glory days of Solomon – although it is celebrated (2Chr 7:8-10; 1Kgs 8:2) – it is apparently not celebrated in the way they do now. It is sufficient for them that it is written in the law of Moses given by the LORD. That alone is decisive for an obedient people, and not how it has been dealt with in earlier days or what has been done with it by esteemed leaders of the people.

Previous mentions of the celebration of a feast do not go so far back. When in the days of the revival under Hezekiah, the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread were celebrated, it is mentioned that it had not been celebrated in this manner since the days of Solomon (2Chr 30:26). This is a reference to a celebration that took place about two hundred and fifty years earlier. If in the days of the revival under Josiah, the Passover is celebrated, it is mentioned that it had not been so celebrated since the days of Samuel (2Chr 35:18). This is a reference to a celebration that took place about five hundred years earlier.

Also in Christianity, what God gave to the church in the beginning was soon lost. Think of the gifts for which there was soon no more room due to the introduction of a clergy. Nevertheless, we can learn the following from this chapter. At a time of great decay in Christianity, a weak remnant that wants to be obedient to God’s Word can be a testimony reminiscent of the early days of the church. It will never be with the same strength and radiance to the outside world as it was then, but it will be accepted by God in connection with then.