UNDERSTAND the significance of acknowledging God's blessings; REFLECT on our own attitudes towards God's blessings; and CELEBRATE God's blessings in meaningful and worshipful ways.
FOCAL VERES NEHEMIAH 8:13-18
KEEP IN MIND
"And all the congregation of them that were come again out of the captivity made booths, and sat under the booths: for since the days of Jeshua the son of Nun unto that day had not the children of Israel done so. And there was very great gladness" (Nehemiah 8:17).
AT-A-GLANCE
1. Festival of Booths Reinstated (Nehemiah 8:13-16)
2. Festival of Booths Marks Great Celebration (vv. 17-18)
IN FOCUS
Olivia couldn't help smiling as she watched her grandmother move about in preparation for the family celebration tomorrow. Standing at the bedroom door, she saw Grandma Ellis flip through old albums, some with pictures and others with tattered papers of faded handwriting.
"Ah, yes. This is the one," Grandma Ellis said out loud. Every year during the family's Juneteenth gathering, she made a point of reading a poem passed through her ancestors in commemoration of slavery's end in United States.
"What's that? Olivia asked, already knowing but anxious to hear the story all over again. Hearing it in her family's stories made it more real than the lectures in her African-American studies classes. She'd learned that the celebration that began June 19th, 1865, occurred two-and-half years after President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation. Still, nothing topped the history of how her family marked the knowledge of their new-found freedom over the years. Making herself comfortable on the bed, Olivia waited to hear the familiar words.
Festival and celebrations are a great way to acknowledge and express gratitude to God for His many wonderful blessings.
BACKGROUND
Israel was in exile for nearly 150 years and Judah for 70 years. When Judah was conquered, the Babylonians took the scrolls from the Temple and the Temple artifacts. The captives were forced also to abandon their native language in favor of the language of the captors. Aramic was the language of business for Babylon and later Persia. As was the case in most cultures, only the most elite in society were literate. With the scrolls of God's Word taken and a new language spoken, the people only knew God's Word through the stories of their families and other captives. They had neither seen the word given to Moses nor heard them. Their faith in God was largely based on the accounts kept by those who remembered the Word.
In 538 B.C., 70 years after Israel had been in exile, the first group of Israelites returned to Judah under the leadership of Zerubabbel. A number of years later, in 458 B.C., under the leadership of Ezra, a second group returned. Under Ezra's faithful teaching, most of the people turned from their sins and agreed to reestablish their relationship with God and follow His will for their lives. In 444 B.C., 14 years after Ezra, Nehemiah returned and succeeded in rebuilding the walls. The book of Nehemiah overlaps the book of Ezra, as indicated in today's lesson where the covenant renewal occurs.
SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES
1. What were the people to live in during the Festival of Booths (Nehemiah 8:14)?
2. What did the people gather in order to make the booths (v. 15)?
3. What was read to the people during this celebration, and how long did the celebration last (v. 18)?
DISCUSS THE MEANING
1. Why is it important to celebrate significant historical/cultural events?
2. Why was it important that the ancestral leaders studied the Law to execute the Festival of Booths celebration?
3. Consider Olivia's family celebration (In Focus). Did this gathering honor God? What would make it an even better celebration of God's deliverance?
LESSON IN OUR SOCIETY
How soon we forget when we are delivered from trials and trouble. Today's lesson teaches us that God is concerned about how we receive His blessings, deliverance, and restitution. The Festival of Booths was a joyous occasion, and God wanted His people to keep Him at the center of attention. It lets us know that God loves His people to have a good time. As saints, we can have joy and celebrate life while acknowledging God as the source of every good and perfect gift. However, great celebration should also be coupled with reverent honor of God and His holiness so that He is not taken for granted and our celebrations please Him. How can you turn your next celebration of a family, church or national event into a celebration that honors the Lord's deliverance?
MAKE IT HAPPEN
When you have a celebration, is God invited? Would He be a welcome guest? Would He attend your festivities? As you gather with family and friends, think about how you can plan to incorporate God in every aspect of your joyous occasion in a way that He would be glorified; it would be a great witness to unsaved family and friends.
(Except for The Apostolic Way)
DO YOU NEED MORE WORD?
PLEASE REGISTER FOR "Festival of Booths"
On-Lesson
No comments:
Post a Comment