TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
Read: Leviticus 23:39-43
Listen: Leviticus 23
TODAY’S MESSAGE
The Feast of Tabernacles is a national campout. Those who lived outside Jerusalem built temporary shelters and camped around the city. Those in the city built shelters on their roofs. Camping wasn’t merely a fun recreational activity. It’s intentional. When God rescued his people from Egypt, they lived in shelters (tabernacles) while in the wilderness. During this period, God miraculously provided for them and the desert molded them into a people. The Feast of Tabernacles served to draw their memory back to God’s provision in the desert.
The desert is hard space. It’s a space of shortage. Watch this video clip as Pastor Jeff Manion explains it’s also a space we will all find ourselves in. Space we look back on and think we never want to find ourselves there again. It could be a suffocating breakup, sudden unemployment, an accident that leads to a lingering physical problem or a health crisis. God is with us in those deserts—and they offer an opportunity for spiritual growth. Just like the Israelites are to look back and see God’s provision, there’s value in us looking back to recognize God’s provision in difficult seasons. When we choose not to recognize God’s provision, it can be easy to become bitter toward God and assume he wasn’t there with us in the desert.
IN YOUR CHAIR TIME TODAY
Consider how you view the deserts in your life. While they were painful spaces you wouldn’t want to revisit, God was there with you. Try to identify some of the ways God provided for you in those times. If you find yourself battling bitterness against God for those times, reach out to us at btw@adabible.org to start a conversation.
2022 BIBLE MEMORY PRACTICE
Develop spiritual roots and tap in the power of God’s word by memorizing monthly a Bible verse! View previous verses at beyondtheweekend.org/biblememorypractice.
ROMANS 12:10
Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.
Download a printable PDF of the BTW week here.
