Main Theme

Presence and future hope.

Today’s Truth

Tabernacles reminds us that God has always desired to dwell with His people. He provided in the wilderness, came near in Christ, lives in us by His Spirit, and will one day dwell with His people forever.

Scripture Reading

This week’s Scripture reading comes from Leviticus 23:33 to 43, Exodus 13:21, John 1:14, John 7:37 to 39, and Revelation 21:1 to 5.

Supporting Scripture

We will also look at Exodus 25:8, Psalm 27:4 to 5, 2 Corinthians 5:1 to 8, Hebrews 11:13 to 16, and Philippians 3:20.

A Feast That Points Us Home

There are some seasons when life feels heavy in a way we cannot quite explain.

We may have food in the pantry, people who love us, a roof over our heads, and a calendar full of ordinary responsibilities. But underneath all of that, there can still be an ache. A homesickness. A quiet sense that even the good things here cannot fully hold the weight of our longing.

I remember sitting at a friend’s house during a hard season, crying and unloading all the things that felt heavy. I was tired. I was overwhelmed. I wanted relief, answers, and some kind of guarantee that everything was going to settle down soon.

And I will never forget what she said.

Sometimes when we get this way, it is a reminder that we are loving the world a little too much. This is a temporary place. We are supposed to be longing for heaven, not the comfort of earth.

That stayed with me.

Not because comfort is wrong. God is kind to give us earthly comforts. A safe home, a warm meal, a deep friendship, laughter around a table, a child’s hand in ours, a peaceful afternoon, these are gifts. But they are not meant to be our final hope.

The Feast of Tabernacles reminds us of that.

It points us back to the wilderness, where God provided for His people in temporary shelters.

It points us to Jesus, who came near and dwelt among us.

It points us to the Spirit, who lives in every believer.

And it points us forward to the day when God will dwell with His people forever.

This feast points us home.

Tabernacles: Remembering the Wilderness

The Feast of Tabernacles, also called the Feast of Booths, was the seventh appointed feast in Leviticus 23. It came after Trumpets and the Day of Atonement, and it was a feast of remembrance, joy, and dwelling.

In Leviticus 23:33 to 43, God told His people to celebrate this feast for seven days. They were to rest from ordinary work, bring offerings to the Lord, rejoice before Him, and live in booths, or temporary shelters. These booths were meant to remind Israel that their ancestors lived in temporary shelters when God brought them out of Egypt.

That is simple enough for us to understand.

God did not want His people to forget what it felt like to be carried by Him.

They had been slaves in Egypt. He rescued them. They walked through the wilderness. He provided for them. They did not have permanent homes, but they had the presence of God. They did not have everything figured out, but they had the Lord leading them.

Exodus 13:21 tells us that the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud and by night in a pillar of fire.

That means the wilderness was not easy, but it was not empty.

God was with them.

He gave them manna. He gave them water. He gave them direction. He gave them His presence.

The booths were temporary, but His faithfulness was not.

That is such an important line for us.

The booths were temporary, but His faithfulness was not.

Every year, when Israel built those temporary shelters, they were remembering, “We lived in tents. We had to depend on God. We did not know the whole path, but He led us. We did not have permanent security, but we had His presence.”

And friend, that is not far from our lives.

We may not be camping in the wilderness, but we know what it feels like to live in temporary places. Temporary seasons. Temporary strength. Temporary answers. Temporary comfort. Temporary stability. Temporary plans that can change with one phone call.

Tabernacles reminds us that temporary does not mean abandoned.

It means we are still on the way home.

God Has Always Desired to Dwell With His People

One of the main threads running through Scripture is that God desires to dwell with His people.

In the garden, God walked with Adam and Eve. After sin entered the world, fellowship was broken, but God did not give up His desire to be near. In the wilderness, He told Moses, “Have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them.”

That is the heart behind the tabernacle.

God was holy, and His people were sinful, but He still made a way to dwell in their midst. The tabernacle was not proof that God was distant. It was proof that God was coming near in the way His holiness required.

That matters because sometimes we think of the Old Testament as if God was far away and the New Testament is when He finally decided to come close. But that is not the story Scripture tells.

God has always been the God who comes near.

He came near in the garden.

He came near in the wilderness.

He came near in the tabernacle.

He came near in the temple.

And then, in the fullness of time, He came near in Christ.

John 1:14 says, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.”

That word dwelling is so beautiful in light of Tabernacles. Jesus did not love us from a distance. He came and tabernacled among us. He put on flesh. He entered our world. He walked our roads. He ate at tables. He wept at tombs. He touched the sick. He welcomed sinners. He came near enough to be seen, heard, known, rejected, crucified, and raised.

Jesus is the presence of God with us.

He is not a temporary shelter. He is the true and better dwelling place of God with man.

Living Water at the Feast

There is another beautiful moment connected to Tabernacles in John 7.

Jesus was in Jerusalem during the Feast of Tabernacles. On the last and greatest day of the feast, He stood and cried out, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.”

That would have been a powerful thing to say during a feast that remembered God’s provision in the wilderness.

Israel knew what it meant to need water. They knew the stories of wilderness thirst. They knew God had provided what His people could not provide for themselves. And there stood Jesus, inviting the thirsty to come to Him.

John tells us Jesus was speaking about the Spirit.

That means Tabernacles does not only look backward to wilderness provision. It also helps us see the life Jesus gives now. He does not only forgive us and leave us empty. He gives His Spirit to dwell in us.

For the woman who feels dry, worn out, and tired from trying to keep everything together, that matters.

Jesus does not tell thirsty women to try harder.

He says, “Come to Me.”

The Spirit of God lives in His people. He comforts, convicts, strengthens, teaches, guides, and reminds us what is true. We are not waiting for God to be near someday only. If we are in Christ, He is near now.

His presence is not fragile.

His Spirit is not seasonal.

His nearness is not dependent on our circumstances feeling easy.

God provided in the wilderness.

God came near in Christ.

God dwells in His people by His Spirit.

And God will one day dwell with His people forever.

Is This Going to Be the Time God Lets Us Down?

That is the question our hearts can whisper in hard seasons.

Maybe we would never say it out loud, but we feel it.

Is this going to be the time God lets me down?

Is this going to be the season He does not provide?

Is this the grief that will finally undo me?

Is this the diagnosis, the disappointment, the child, the marriage strain, the financial pressure, the unanswered prayer, or the waiting that will prove I was foolish to trust Him?

Tabernacles answers that question by teaching us to remember.

Look back.

Did God bring His people out of Egypt? Yes.

Did He lead them through the wilderness? Yes.

Did He feed them when they could not feed themselves? Yes.

Did He give them water where there should have been none? Yes.

Did He dwell among them? Yes.

Did He send Jesus? Yes.

Did Christ die and rise again? Yes.

Did He give His Spirit? Yes.

Will He dwell with His people forever? Yes.

So no, sister, this will not be the time God lets you down.

It may be the time He carries you in a way you did not expect. It may be the time He provides differently than you would have chosen. It may be the time He loosens your grip on earthly comfort and deepens your longing for home.

But He will not abandon His people.

The Feast of Tabernacles teaches us to remember God’s faithfulness in temporary places so we can trust Him while we wait for our forever home.

The Home We Are Longing For

Revelation 21 brings the whole story to its beautiful ending.

John sees a new heaven and a new earth. He hears a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look, God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them.”

That is where the story has been moving all along.

God with His people.

No more separation.

No more sin.

No more death.

No more mourning.

No more crying.

No more pain.

The Feast of Tabernacles points us to that day. The temporary booths will be gone. The wilderness will be over. The ache of homesickness will finally be answered. God Himself will dwell with His people, and we will be home.

This is why we cannot make this world carry the weight of heaven.

It was never meant to.

Our homes are gifts, but they are not forever. Our families are gifts, but they cannot be our saviors. Comfort is a gift, but it cannot be our foundation. Health is a gift, but it cannot be our guarantee. Success is a gift, but it cannot be our identity.

Everything here is temporary.

But God is not.

And when life feels shaky, that truth becomes an anchor.

We are not women trying to build forever out of temporary things. We are women learning to live faithfully in temporary places because our forever home is secure in Christ.

That does not mean we stop caring about this life. It means we hold this life rightly. We receive God’s gifts with gratitude, but we do not ask them to be God. We build homes, love people, make meals, raise children, work, serve, gather, laugh, grieve, and plant seeds of faithfulness.

But we do all of it with our eyes lifted.

Because this world is not our final home.

For Real Life

Tabernacles meets us in the places where we are tempted to cling too tightly to comfort.

It meets us when we are disappointed that life does not feel easier by now. It meets us when we keep waiting for the perfect season to finally feel settled. It meets us when our peace depends on the house being quiet, the kids acting right, the schedule staying smooth, the budget working out, the friendship feeling secure, or the future looking predictable.

Those things matter, but they cannot be our home.

When we expect earth to feel like heaven, we will always live frustrated.

But when we remember that we are pilgrims on the way home, we can receive today with gratitude without demanding that today satisfy every longing.

We can enjoy the gifts without worshiping them.

We can grieve what is broken without losing hope.

We can live faithfully in our temporary shelters because God is with us here, and He is bringing us home.

So this week, pay attention to what you are asking to make you feel safe. Is it control? Comfort? Approval? A certain outcome? A child’s behavior? A clean house? A full calendar? A quiet life?

The Lord may be gently reminding you that those things were never meant to be your shelter.

He is.

The booths were temporary, but His faithfulness was not.

And one day, the temporary will give way to forever.

Strong Lines to Hold Onto

Temporary does not mean abandoned.

The booths were temporary, but His faithfulness was not.

Jesus does not tell thirsty women to try harder. He says, “Come to Me.”

We are not women trying to build forever out of temporary things.

When we expect earth to feel like heaven, we will always live frustrated.

The Feast of Tabernacles teaches us to remember God’s faithfulness in temporary places so we can trust Him while we wait for our forever home.

Reflection Questions

Where do you feel the tension of living in a temporary world right now?

What part of Israel’s wilderness story helps you remember God’s faithfulness?

What earthly comfort are you most tempted to treat like home?

How does John 1:14 deepen your understanding of Jesus coming near?

What does Jesus’ invitation in John 7 show you about your own thirst?

Where do you need to stop asking earth to satisfy what only God can fill?

How does Revelation 21 give you hope for the future?

What would it look like this week to live faithfully in your temporary place while longing for your forever home?

Closing Prayer

Lord, thank You for being the God who dwells with His people. Thank You for providing in the wilderness, coming near in Christ, and giving Your Spirit to live in us. Forgive us for the ways we cling too tightly to the comfort of this world and forget that we are on our way home. Teach us to receive Your gifts with gratitude without asking them to be our god. Help us trust Your faithfulness in temporary places. When we feel weary, thirsty, disappointed, or homesick, remind us that Jesus is near and our future is secure. Thank You for the promise that one day You will dwell with Your people forever. Keep our eyes lifted until that day. Amen.

This Week’s Grace Practice

This week, practice holding one earthly comfort with open hands.

Choose one area where you have been looking for settled peace from something temporary. It may be your home, schedule, finances, family, health, approval, or sense of control. Name it before the Lord and pray, “God, thank You for this gift, but You are my shelter.”

Then read Revelation 21:3 to 5 slowly. Let it remind you where the story is going.

This world is temporary.

God is with you now.

And He is bringing you home.

Teaching Inspiration

This study was inspired in part by The Deep Well with Erin Davis, 7 Feasts season from Revive Our Hearts. The teaching has been adapted for Her View of His Grace women, with our own Scripture study, stories, reflection, prayer, and real-life application.