A little background on today’s passage:

When the Lord brought the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt, they wandered in the wilderness for 40 years before eventually entering the Promised Land. During that 40 year period, they lived in tents, and at the center of the encampment was the tabernacle, the place where God’s presence manifested itself. (You can read about this in the Book of Exodus.)

As the Lord prepared the people to enter the Promised Land, he gave them a series of laws to guide their national life. One set of laws dealt with religious holidays. The last holiday mentioned was the Festival of Booths or Tabernacles, which was meant to remind the Israelites of their time wandering in the desert:

“‘So beginning with the fifteenth day of the seventh month, after you have gathered the crops of the land, celebrate the festival to the Lord for seven days; the first day is a day of sabbath rest, and the eighth day also is a day of sabbath rest. On the first day you are to take branches from luxuriant trees—from palms, willows and other leafy trees—and rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days. Celebrate this as a festival to the Lord for seven days each year. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come; celebrate it in the seventh month. Live in temporary shelters for seven days: All native-born Israelites are to live in such shelters so your descendants will know that I had the Israelites live in temporary shelters when I brought them out of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.’”

Leviticus 23:39-43

Even today, Jews in Jerusalem will move out of their houses and apartments for a week and live in temporary shelters, in observance of The Festival of Tabernacles.

Today’s Scripture

John 7:1-13