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The Feast of Tabernacles-The Blessing Passes to Isaac
October 2, 2026

Throughout this feast we have considered the life of Abraham who himself was led by God on a pilgrimage from the country he knew to a land he did not yet know. The journey taken by Abraham took longer than and had more side adventures than we might think about when we consider moving from one location to another. The initial idea of leaving his home country knowing nothing about the land he was going to is often enough for most people to stay right where they are, and yet through faith, Abraham departed along with his wife and household.

When Abraham came to the land God was giving him, he was quick to build an altar to honor God, and when he decided to move locations of his homestead, Abraham was quick to build another altar. When famine came to the land, Abraham could have decided to return home to his country of birth, but having sought a better country for his family and himself by God, Abraham and Sarah journeyed to Egypt. While in Egypt, when Abraham feared for his life and pretended that Sarah was his sister and not his wife, and Pharaoh then took Sarah to be his wife, God quickly brought plagues to Pharaoh and Pharaoh’s household, and that prompted a quick departure from Egypt.

When Abraham and his nephew Lot were trying to manage the wealth of their livestock on the land that God was giving them, and friction developed between their ranch hands over managing the herds, Abraham understood that God was giving them a vast territory, and he suggested to Lot that they reside in different areas of the territory to avoid continued friction, and Abraham was magnanimous enough to let Lot choose first, and Lot chose to live near Sodom. When God understood the people of Sodom were so evil and that death for them was the best option, Abraham talked God into sparing the city if at least ten righteous people could be found living there. When God determined there weren’t ten righteous people living there, instead of also taking the life of Lot and Lot’s family, angels of God rescued Lot and his family from Sodom. Only Lot’s wife died because she looked back on the city.

When God formed a covenant with Abraham, he promised to make a great nation from him at a time when he and his wife were childless. Through Abraham, all nations would be blessed. Abraham knew he and his seed were promised the land they were living in, and because Abraham believed it was accounted to him for righteousness. While Abraham thought of his seed as his descendants, the apostle Paul would show that Jesus Christ is the seed of the promises made to Abraham, and if we are Christ’s, then we are co-heirs according to the promises, co-heirs under the new covenant, a covenant where like Abraham, we look to a city whose maker and builder is God, new Jerusalem.

When Abraham and Sarah were very old, they looked at their aging bodies and were questioning how God would make them parents at their age. God reassured Abraham that he and Sarah would have a son named Isaac, and that the promises would flow to Isaac, and not to Ishmael or the children of household servants. God tested Abraham after Isaac was born, because sometimes people value the blessing given by God more than their relationship with God. To affirm Isaac’s special status with God, Sarah insisted Abraham have Ishmael and his mother leave the household so there would be no doubt that God’s blessings were to go to Isaac, and God told Abraham to listen to his wife. The account of the mothers of Ishmael and Isaac, Hagar and Sarah, serve as an allegory reminding us that Hagar, a bondwoman, represents only a physical existence, and that Sarah, a freewoman, represents freedom in Jesus Christ that leads us to the Kingdom of God and eternal life.

As pilgrimages involving people do, eventually the people get old and die. Sarah would die first, and he would go on to have six sons with Keturah. As he came closer to the end of his life, Abraham gave Isaac all that he had, and also gave gifts to the sons of Keturah while sending them to the east away from Isaac. Abraham died when he was one hundred seventy-five years old, and Ishmael and Isaac buried him in the cave of Machpelah near Mamre where Sarah had already been buried, and as God had promised Abraham, God’s blessing flowed to Isaac.

Genesis 25:1-11
Then again Abraham took a wife, and her name was Keturah. And she bare him Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah. And Jokshan begat Sheba, and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were Asshurim, and Letushim, and Leummim. And the sons of Midian; Ephah, and Epher, and Hanoch, and Abida, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah. And Abraham gave all that he had unto Isaac. But unto the sons of the concubines, which Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts, and sent them away from Isaac his son, while he yet lived, eastward, unto the east country. And these are the days of the years of Abraham's life which he lived, an hundred threescore and fifteen years. Then Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in a good old age, an old man, and full of years; and was gathered to his people. And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, which is before Mamre; The field which Abraham purchased of the sons of Heth: there was Abraham buried, and Sarah his wife. And it came to pass after the death of Abraham, that God blessed his son Isaac; and Isaac dwelt by the well Lahai–roi.

The lives of Sarah and Abraham came to an end and like so many families since then, the younger generation inherits what the older generation leaves them, and in the case of this family, God’s blessing was also in the mix. Isaac was expected to follow in his father’s footsteps, which he did, and then the younger of Isaac’s sons, Jacob was able to secure God’s blessing when his older brother, Esau, despised it. It would be through the sons of Jacob that the twelve tribes of Israel would emerge, and through Joseph, would come the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh.

After centuries of enslavement in Egypt, Moses was born and God would have him lead Israel out of Egypt. Like Abraham, Moses aged and died, and Joshua became the new leader of Israel, much like after Abraham died, the blessings flowed to Isaac. Within a family, the death of the patriarch can bring uncertainty, and within a nation, the death of the leader also can bring uncertainty. That uncertainty can lead to doubt and even fear. After the death of Moses and likely facing uncertainty, doubt, and fear, God told Joshua to continue the work of Moses to lead Israel into the promised land, and to be strong and very courageous, to do all that God expected, that there not even be the slightest of deviations.

Joshua 1:1-9
Now after the death of Moses the servant of the Lord it came to pass, that the Lord spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' minister, saying, Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast. There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them. Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest. This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.

Isaac was there with his father Abraham when God told him to offer Isaac as a sacrifice, and he was also there when Abraham was told not to offer Isaac when the Ram with its horns caught in the thicket was used instead. Like Joshua, Isaac would have lived his life being strong and of a good courage not being afraid, because he had seen God’s presence with his father. There was no uncertainty, there was no doubt, nor was there fear with Isaac. The blessing of God had passed to him. Like Joshua, Isaac would have been expected to do all expected of him by God.

When one generation gives birth to the next generation, it is the responsibility of the older generation to teach the younger generation what God expects. When the younger generation of the household of faith understands what is expected the younger generation will not be fueled by uncertainty, doubt, and fear, as is the case of so many of the younger generation among those who are not yet of the household of faith. The words of the seventy-first psalm have meaning for the faithful who see God as a source of strength and power, who see a need to share the strength and power of God with the younger generation.

Psalm 71:17-24
O God, thou hast taught me from my youth: and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works. Now also when I am old and grayheaded, O God, forsake me not; until I have shewed thy strength unto this generation, and thy power to everyone that is to come. Thy righteousness also, O God, is very high, who hast done great things: O God, who is like unto thee! Thou, which hast shewed me great and sore troubles, shalt quicken me again, and shalt bring me up again from the depths of the earth. Thou shalt increase my greatness, and comfort me on every side. I will also praise thee with the psaltery, even thy truth, O my God: unto thee will I sing with the harp, O thou Holy One of Israel. My lips shall greatly rejoice when I sing unto thee; and my soul, which thou hast redeemed. My tongue also shall talk of thy righteousness all the day long: for they are confounded, for they are brought unto shame, that seek my hurt.

In the seventy-eighth psalm, we can see the desire for the younger generation to do what God expects of them, so that when they have children, they can teach their children to also do what God expects of them.

Psalm 78:1-6
Give ear, O my people, to my law: incline your ears to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old: Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done. For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children: That the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children:

David understood that it was the responsibility of one generation to praise the majesty of God to the next generation, to remind the next generation of all of the incredible things that God has done, so that the younger generation does not forget God.

Psalm 145:1-9
I will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever. Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever. Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable. One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts. I will speak of the glorious honour of thy majesty, and of thy wondrous works. And men shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts: and I will declare thy greatness. They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness, and shall sing of thy righteousness. The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy. The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.

When Abraham was told to sacrifice Isaac, God was testing him because God wanted to know if the blessing of Isaac was of greater importance to Abraham, or if God who gave the blessing of Isaac was of greater importance. Too many times when people are given a blessing by God, the blessing is more important than God who gave the blessing. Isaac lived through that test of his father and would have personally experienced his part on the altar. He would have lived having benefited from the blessings given by God, and he would have come to understand that while blessings given by God are incredible and welcomed, the blessings given by God are never of greater importance than God.

With God, there is no need for Him to wait until a person is wise and old to use that person within His work on Earth. There is no excuse for a younger person to shy away from the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If a younger person lacks knowledge of what is in the Bible, that is what Bible study is for, and Bible study is effective for people of all ages, because the Holy Spirit combined with life experiences helps us to reflect on and understand the teachings of the Bible. We can look to the prophet Jeremiah who must have been young when called by God to serve as a prophet. God specifically told Jeremiah that he could not opt out of his calling by claiming to be too young. God told Jeremiah he was to do everything that God told him without fear, even coming face to face with the powerful people of his time to deliver God’s message.

Jeremiah 1:1-10
The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests that were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin: To whom the word of the Lord came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign. It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, unto the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah king of Judah, unto the carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth month. Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. Then said I, Ah, Lord God! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child. But the Lord said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak. Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord. Then the Lord put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the Lord said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth. See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.

The pilgrimage we are on is a spiritual pilgrimage, a pilgrimage that will take us to eternity and beyond, to a country called the Kingdom of God with its capital city of New Jerusalem whose maker and builder is God. Throughout time, prophets of God have seen visions of the Kingdom of God, including Daniel who saw one like the Son of man coming with the clouds of heaven to God, Who was given an eternal dominion by God over all people, nations, and languages.

Daniel 7:13-14
I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.

The people living during this future time will have advantages that we do not have today. Today when we face challenges of life, we have to rely on what we already know to navigate those challenges, but in this future eternal kingdom, the people will be told what to do to gain the favorable outcome. It will be during this future time that people will be blessed as God will be their God and all the false gods with a small “g” will be discredited and disregarded.

Isaiah 30:15-26
For thus saith the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not. But ye said, No; for we will flee upon horses; therefore shall ye flee: and, We will ride upon the swift; therefore shall they that pursue you be swift. One thousand shall flee at the rebuke of one; at the rebuke of five shall ye flee: till ye be left as a beacon upon the top of a mountain, and as an ensign on an hill. And therefore will the Lord wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the Lord is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him. For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem: thou shalt weep no more: he will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; when he shall hear it, he will answer thee. And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction, yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner anymore, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers: And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left. Ye shall defile also the covering of thy graven images of silver, and the ornament of thy molten images of gold: thou shalt cast them away as a menstruous cloth; thou shalt say unto it, Get thee hence. Then shall he give the rain of thy seed, that thou shalt sow the ground withal; and bread of the increase of the earth, and it shall be fat and plenteous: in that day shall thy cattle feed in large pastures. The oxen likewise and the young asses that ear the ground shall eat clean provender, which hath been winnowed with the shovel and with the fan. And there shall be upon every high mountain, and upon every high hill, rivers and streams of waters in the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall. Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the Lord bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound.

During this future time, the scattered children of Israel of the lost tribes will be returned to the promised land where they will be one nation with one eternal king having David as their king. During this future time, God’s tabernacle will be with the people of Israel.

Ezekiel 37:21-28
And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land: And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all: Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwellingplaces, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God. And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them. And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children's children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince forever. Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And the heathen shall know that I the Lord do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.

Jeremiah wrote of Jesus Christ showing that Jesus would be the righteous branch of David who would be a King providing judgment and justice in the earth, Who would be titled as The Lord Our Righteousness. It will be during this time that everyone will know that God Who brought Israel up out of Egypt is very much alive, but they will think of God in the context of returning the lost tribes of Israel to the promised land.

Jeremiah 23:5-8
Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE Lord OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that they shall no more say, The Lord liveth, which brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; But, The Lord liveth, which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all countries whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land.

Jeremiah writes that there yet remains a time when the children of Israel will once again be the people of God, and that they will return to the land they once possessed.

Jeremiah 30:18-22
Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I will bring again the captivity of Jacob's tents, and have mercy on his dwellingplaces; and the city shall be builded upon her own heap, and the palace shall remain after the manner thereof. And out of them shall proceed thanksgiving and the voice of them that make merry: and I will multiply them, and they shall not be few; I will also glorify them, and they shall not be small. Their children also shall be as aforetime, and their congregation shall be established before me, and I will punish all that oppress them. And their nobles shall be of themselves, and their governor shall proceed from the midst of them; and I will cause him to draw near, and he shall approach unto me: for who is this that engaged his heart to approach unto me? saith the Lord. And ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.

It is during this future time that the message of John the Baptist will be completed. He quoted Isaiah chapter forty verse three when he started preaching, and verse four shows much more will happen in the future, where the topography of valley and mountains will be closer together, and where rough terrain is made more manageable. When this happens, the glory of God will be revealed, as the word of God will stand forever, and God will lead His people as a shepherd cares for his sheep.

Isaiah 40:1-11
Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins. The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field: The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever. O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God! Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.

Isaiah also records what will happen after the day of vengeance of God, when beauty will arise out of ashes, much like a flowering plant might grow in an area that suffered a forest fire. Mourning and sadness will be replaced with joy, and praise will replace despair. The famous places of Israel will be rebuilt, and foreigners will want to come and work during this time. The people that God has chosen for Himself will be seen favorably by other nations as the people of God, enjoying the very best of this world. This future time will be a time of plenty and bountiful excess, and the land will be a land of happiness, a time when the people of God will be seen as a righteous nation before other nations, because during this future time, the people of God will do what is righteous before God. When Jesus first spoke in the synagogue in Nazareth in Luke chapter four, He quoted midway through verse two and then sat down. The incredible time to come during the Kingdom of God happens after the day of vengeance in the second half of verse two.

Isaiah 61:1-11
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified. And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations. And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers. But ye shall be named the Priests of the Lord: men shall call you the Ministers of our God: ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves. For your shame ye shall have double; and for confusion they shall rejoice in their portion: therefore in their land they shall possess the double: everlasting joy shall be unto them. For I the Lord love judgment, I hate robbery for burnt offering; and I will direct their work in truth, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them. And their seed shall be known among the Gentiles, and their offspring among the people: all that see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the seed which the Lord hath blessed. I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels. For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.

We have been called at this time, and it is during the Feast of Tabernacles we especially celebrate the Kingdom of God to come. The Kingdom of God will be a kingdom of righteousness, where God and Jesus Christ lead with righteousness, and righteousness is the standard by which all who live abide. The joy that comes with righteousness is a joy almost too hard to conceptualize, because as much as we strive to seek first the Kingdom of God and God’s righteousness, we live a human experience in a world that has rejected God, and rejected righteousness. There might be many people we know who as part of this world have rejected God and God’s righteousness, but we endure to the end knowing eternal life and our place in the Kingdom of God is awaiting us as we finish the race that is before us. Jesus promised that whatever loss we experience because of faith will be generously compensated when eternal life is given to us.

Matthew 19:27-30
Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore? And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life. But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.

The hope that we have of eternal life and our place in the Kingdom of God, a kingdom of righteousness, a hope that we celebrate during the Feast of Tabernacles is not only a hope for just us. It is a hope for the next generation, our children, and their children, and even distant generations, as many as God will call.

Acts 2:37-39
Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.

When Abraham was called and told to leave his country for a country he did not know, he believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness. He did everything that God asked of him. As Sarah and he got older, they tried to align God’s promise to make of Abraham a great nation, so great it would be like counting the stars of heaven or the sand at a beach. They, like so many since, looked at a promise from God through the human experience and saw the probability of a great nation coming from Abraham decreasing each year as they aged. They began to think that the great nation might come through a household servant, and even when God made it clear that His blessing would flow through Isaac, Abraham had a hard time in letting Ishmael go. It would take persistence from Sarah to have Abraham make Hagar and Ishmael leave, even when God made it clear to Abraham the blessing would flow through Isaac and also promised that through Ishmael twelve princes and a great nation would arise.

The blessings did flow through Isaac, and through Isaac’s son Jacob would be born the twelve tribes of Israel. It is through those blessings we celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles seeking first the Kingdom of God and God’s righteousness, but we also celebrate knowing that God who bestowed the blessings is greater than the blessings given by God. Having considered the generations of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the twelve tribes of Israel, we can look back in the Biblical account to see all that God has done for His people, and today the people of God are found within the household of faith. Just like ancient Israel could look back to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the twelve tribes of Israel, we can look back to the generations of the faithful who once were alive with us and now are sleeping, and just like Abraham looked to a city whose maker and builder is God, we also look forward to the Kingdom of God and new Jerusalem to come, a future time and place when the dead in Christ will have been resurrected and when those who once lived who never were called will have their time of calling. During the Feast of Tabernacles, we celebrate the Kingdom of God and God’s righteousness that will permeate the kingdom. We celebrate a time when the tabernacle of God will be with His people, and God will dwell with His children, and God will be their God. During the Feast of Tabernacles we celebrate a time when God will wipe away all tears from people, and a time when there will be no more death, sorrow, crying or pain.

We celebrate a time when new Jerusalem, Holy Jerusalem, will descend from the heavens from God and will radiate God’s glory more vividly than the most stunning gemstones. This new and Holy Jerusalem will be a city unlike any city ever seen before with giant pearls used as the city gates and streets made out of gold so pure it seems to be clear as glass. Because God and Jesus Christ are there in this new Holy Jerusalem, there is no need for a temple because their presence radiates throughout the city, a city and kingdom of righteousness. We will look more at the new heaven, new Earth, and new Jerusalem tomorrow on the last great day. For now, let us remember that pilgrimage started by Abraham because he believed God and it was accounted him for righteousness. Sarah and the entire household also went on this pilgrimage with Abraham, and even though Sarah and Abraham died, the place of their death is not where their pilgrimage ends, because their pilgrimage will lead them to that same city that our pilgrimage will lead us to. For the faithful who have died in Christ, their pilgrimage is also not over and for generations of faithful yet to come, their pilgrimage will also not stop at their death, because our pilgrimage will take us to the Kingdom of God, a kingdom of God’s righteousness, a kingdom where we will have eternal life, and a kingdom where our pilgrimage leads us to the throne of God and Jesus Christ walking on the clear golden streets of New Jerusalem, a city where the pure river of water of life proceeds from Their thrones. Abraham died and the blessings of God flowed through Isaac. Like Sarah and Abraham our human life will one day come to an end, but our pilgrimage does not end until all we have celebrated during the Feast of Tabernacles comes to pass when we are before the thrones of God and Jesus Christ in new and Holy Jerusalem, because at that time, all sin will have been put away, and we will be living in righteousness, marking a perfect conclusion to our pilgrimage, and the pilgrimage of all who are, have been, and will be of the household of faith.

All verses are from the King James Version.
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