Friday, 2 October 2020

To live in sukkot

Tweet

"You are to live in sukkot for seven days; every citizen of Isra'el is to live in a sukkah, so that generation after generation of you will know that I made the people of Isra'el live in sukkot when I brought them out of the land of Egypt; I am ADONAI your God." (Leviticus 23:42-43, CJB)

For a week we are to give up the security and comfort of our permanent dwellings and live in a sukkah, which is temporary and flimsy. Maybe more so than for some years, we can appreciate how transitory and uncertain this life is. We had many hopes and plans for this year, and how many of them have had to be abandoned or changed due to the effects of Covid-19?

And maybe that is the point of Sukkot, to remember that life IS uncertain, life ISN'T always easy, we CAN'T rely on our surroundings. And is that depressing? It shouldn't be! Because when we take away all the clutter, all the things that we depend on and distract us, we realise that all we have left is all we need: G-d. When we find Him again and rely fully on His faithfulness to carry us through the deserts of life, then we find freedom and can rejoice. Rejoice because He is always permanent, always there, always supplying all our needs.

This Sukkot, as you look out at the stars, think about the One who made those stars and commanded us to celebrate before Him for seven days in sukkot. Let us all remember that He is faithful and rejoice in the good things He has given us this season!

"They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; neither shall the sun beat down on them, nor any heat; for the Lamb in the center of the throne shall be their shepherd, and shall guide them to springs of the water of life; and God shall wipe every tear from their eyes." (Revelation 7:16-17, NASB)