Duet 16:13-15: 13 “You shall keep the Feast of Booths seven days, when you have gathered in the produce from your threshing floor and your winepress. 14 You shall rejoice in your feast, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow who are within your towns. 15 For seven days you shall keep the feast to the Lord your God at the place that the Lord will choose, because the Lord your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that you will be altogether joyful.” When I lived in New York City, we chose to reside in an uptown Jewish neighborhood and one of my favorite Jewish holidays was the Festival of Booths. Overnight, little man-made huts would pop up on the street, sidewalk, or on any patch of grass that one could find in the city of concrete. At night they would gather together in these booths and feast for seven days. In the midst of my angst and misery of living in NYC, I loved the idea of what this festival embodied. It was not only the quaint idea of building a tent of sorts (just like couch forts from childhood, but better!), but the idea of people gathering together for no other reason than to eat and enjoy each other. It looked like a taste of heaven. Their joy was enticing, beckoning me join them. Which is why it is so interesting to me that Deuteronomy 16:13-15, is the first passage in Scripture to mention joy. During the Festival of Booths, God makes the first declaration for people to embrace joy. (“so that you will be altogether joyful.” vs 15) The booths were erected in remembrance of Israel’s time in the desert, where they followed God’s literal path for 40 years. A testing of sorts, these wanderings were also intended to showcase God’s true love for them as He provided for their every need. My personal favorite verse even says that their clothes never wore out nor did their feet swell (Dt 8:4). Such practical little things that God was concerned about for his children. Not even their feet blistered. Remembrance is at the heart of the Festival of Booths. Remembering that God provides, that He sees all we need, even pain-free feet. What a thing to rejoice in. But notice that God actually commands this joy. “You shall rejoice…” It’s the same language used in the Ten Commandments. Initially I hated discovering this in the passage. My independent heart rails against all the things I’m supposed to do. And furthermore, how exactly does one make oneself joyful? Laugh track, anyone? Real joy can’t be produced. Then I remembered the Indicative/Imperative. (Insert nerdy (but helpful!) knowledge from seminary) Put simply, the Indicative (what God does) and the Imperative (what we are commanded to do), are closely connected throughout Scripture. God never gives His people a command without first stating what He will do or what He has already done for them. God reveals Himself in all His good glory before ever telling us what we “should” do. Verse 15b says, “Because the Lord your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that you will be altogether joyful.” Notice that the “so that” follows what God has done for them. During this time, there was no guarantee that people’s crops would produce what they needed for the year. Famine was a true fear. And if the crop failed, there was no grocery store to pick up needed materials. An abundant harvest = God’s love and care. So this is not forced joy! This is true and real joy. God has provided and made abundantly clear that He loved them. Rejoicing likely overflowed from all of them. So why the command to rejoice? I think we still need to be reminded that all that we have comes from God. Often “the work of our hands” seems like just that, the work is my doing, not God’s. How often have I found myself despairing, unable to see the blessings that God has given me. When I am unable to see God’s blessings, I miss a huge aspect of my relationship with Him. Because He does bless us, even in the midst of hardship, and sometimes we need a command to rejoice to see these blessings. Yesterday a huge wind storm blew into town with gusts up to 80 miles an hour. As I took my morning walk today, I stared at the ground, lamenting the many beautiful fall-colored leaves that at been ripped from the trees. Branches, limbs, and leaves littered the ground as I carefully navigated the sidewalk. How sad I thought. All around me was the carnage from the storm and I found myself depressed, thinking only of loss. And then I chanced to look up at where the leaves had fallen from and found myself smiling. The bright blue sky shown in brilliance and the tress were still adorned in their glorious colors. One small glance changed my perspective. The aftermath of the storm remained, but it was not the only truth. In the midst of my struggles and pains I tend to focus on what I do not have. I see only the negative and suffering I experience. It can seem as if that is all there is in my life. My sufferings can loom so large that it can blot out the joy that still remains, or even the God who walks alongside me. If I only looked at my feet I would only see what had fallen. But it was in looking up that I could see the full beauty surrounding me. I still don’t think you can force joy, but I do think we can miss how God is working for good in our lives. I believe there is a choice before each of us. You can choose joy when you know what God has done for you first. Which is an act of worship in itself. As you turn your eyes back on the Lord and onto His good provision, your heart changes. When you choose joy, you choose God, and true joy follows. Photo by Johannes Plenio on Unsplash
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AuthorHi! I'm Brooke. Welcome to Sing O Barren One! I began this blog after years of unexplained infertility that resulted in five years of trying, four miscarriages, one daughter, and continued secondary infertility. While in seminary, I dove into scripture to help me make sense of my pain and struggle. What type of God would allow this? What I found there changed who I was, how I perceived my struggle, and most importantly my view of God. I wrote this blog as an outpouring of my grief and to joyfully share all that God has taught me. Archives
October 2020
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