Rest Assured

I meet so many people today who are overwhelmed with the cares of life. Frazzled by the hustle and bustle of their daily obligations, they find themselves completely exhausted and discouraged.

If you are feeling this way today, I have good news! If you need “times of refreshing” from the cares of life, Acts 3:19 tells you exactly where that may be found: in “the presence of the Lord.”

The Feast of Tabernacles is designed by the Lord as a time for you to find rest and be refreshed in His presence. It’s the third event on God’s appointed times calendar, along with the Feast of Passover and the Feast of Pentecost. However, it is actually one of SEVEN feasts listed in Leviticus 23:

• Passover
• Unleavened Bread
• Firstfruits
• Pentecost (the Feast of Weeks)
• Trumpets
• The Day of Atonement
• Tabernacles

The fact that Tabernacles is the seventh annual feast has profound significance, especially in light of this introductory statement in God’s description of “My feasts” in Leviticus 23:2–3:

“The feasts of the Lord, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My feasts. Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work on it; it is the Sabbath of the Lord in all your dwellings.”

Before describing the seven feasts His people are to celebrate, it’s significant that the Lord reminds us here of the Sabbath principle: There should be six days of work, followed by a day of “solemn rest” when we do no work at all. This was an important pattern originally set by God at the beginning of His creation (Genesis 2:1–3) and then reaffirmed when the Law was given to Moses on Mount Sinai (Exodus 20:8–11).

And the Israelites knew that something very important occurred prior to every Sabbath as they journeyed through the wilderness. God told them in Exodus 16:

“Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you. And the people shall go out and gather a certain quota every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in My law or not. And it shall be on the sixth day that they shall prepare what they bring in, and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily” (vs. 4–5).

So they gathered it every morning, every man according to his need. And when the sun became hot, it melted.

And so it was, on the sixth day, that they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each one. And all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses. Then he said to them, “This is what the Lord has said: ‘Tomorrow is a Sabbath rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord. Bake what you will bake today, and boil what you will boil; and lay up for yourselves all that remains, to be kept until morning’” (vs. 21–23).

“See! For the Lord has given you the Sabbath; therefore He gives you on the sixth day bread for two days. Let every man remain in his place; let no man go out of his place on the seventh day. So the people rested on the seventh day” (vs. 29–30).

As the seventh feast, Tabernacles becomes linked to the principle of the Sabbath. God’s work has already been completed during the other six feasts, and now it is time to rejoice and enter into His rest! A double portion of manna has already been gathered, so there’s no more work to do during this time of rest and celebration.

My friend, Jesus extends this beautiful invitation to you in Matthew 11:28–30:

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Tabernacles is a wonderful opportunity each year to enter into God’s rest. The author of the book of Hebrews tells us:

There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.

Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience (Hebrews 4:9–11).

Don’t let unbelief or disobedience keep you from entering God’s rest! It’s a precious gift to you from your Heavenly Father — beautifully depicted in the seventh feast, the Feast of Tabernacles. Exodus 20:11 tells us, “The Lord BLESSED the Sabbath day and hallowed it,” and the same is true about how He has blessed the Feast of Tabernacles. As the seventh feast, it is set apart as a special time of blessing and refreshing.

Do you want to find this amazing “rest for your soul”? Then the Bible says you need to return to the “ancient paths,” my friend:

“Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls” (Jeremiah 6:16 NIV).

When you incline your heart to the Lord and walk in His ways, He will give you rest and demonstrate His faithfulness:

“Blessed be the Lord, who has given rest to His people Israel, according to all that He promised. There has not failed one word of all His good promise, which He promised through His servant Moses. May the Lord our God be with us, as He was with our fathers. May He not leave us nor forsake us, that He may incline our hearts to Himself, to walk in all His ways, and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, which He commanded our fathers” (1 Kings 8:56–58).

Remember, God’s appointed times are part of the “ancient paths” He has prepared for you. They are anointed times of blessing, refreshing, and peace. Give Him your best, follow His instructions, and get ready to experience amazing, deep rest for your soul.

God bless you!