Deuteronomy 16:15 “Seven days you shall keep a sacred feast (Chag in Hebrew) to the LORD thy God in the place which the LORD shall choose: because the LORD thy God shall bless you in your produce, and in all the works of your hands, therefore you shall surely rejoice (Sameach in Hebrew).
Sukkot (the Feast of Tabernacles) started a few days ago, and it’s customary to say to everyone this week — Chag Sameach, which literally means joyous festival! As we mentioned, the feast of Sukkot commemorates the time in which God led the Israelites through the wilderness for 40 years, providing them with every need on a daily basis — shelter, food, water, and clothing. You may know that a during Sukkot, a portion of Ecclesiastes is read in the synagogues. Interestingly enough, it speaks of the vanity of materialism.
Hmm. If our focus lies on all of our abundances without acknowledging the Provider, then it is all vanity! But if our focus is on the Lord and His desire for our lives, then He will provide us with all that is pure and holy.
Let’s feast in the Lord today, for all that He has provided for us this season! Let’s take the time to recognize and appreciate all of the abundances God has poured upon us this past year and allow our hearts to overflow with the measure of gratitude that is appropriate given His great generosity!
Copyright 1999-2024 Worthy Devotions. This devotional was originally published on Worthy Devotions and was reproduced with permission.
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The testing of Abraham’s faith was repeated by YHVH throughout the patriarch’s entire life. The tests grew greater as his life advanced, and through every one, whether Abraham passed or not, YHVH proved Himself to be his friend over and over again. Every test or “trial” involved a serious challenge or threat in which Abraham had to trust that the LORD knew what He was doing, asking, or requiring, and that His goodness and faithfulness were unquestionably reliable.
While I was in the States, I read several stories about Ronald Reagan that made me appreciate him as a person and as a leader. But one amusing story really caught my attention and made me smile. When he was a young man, Reagan worked at a radio station and sometimes played records of sermons. His shift at the station was a one-man operation and so, on occasion, Ron would set the record playing and then sneak out for a cup of coffee. One day he got a call while he was at the coffee shop from the station’s owner, ordering him back to the station, and then … he received his termination notice. He’d returned to the station finding the record skipping at a particular point in the sermon…
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The word verily, in this verse, is the Hebrew word “emunah” (em-oo-nah). It also means faith or faithfully. When we trust in the Lord, He declares that He will faithfully feed us. How will we be fed?