Pack Well for the Feast

It’s almost time.  Trumpets and Atonement are past and the Feast of Tabernacles is at the door.  Some of us have already packed up and gone; others have their bags packed and are just waiting to put them in the car.  And some of us wait until the last minute to do our packing.  Every year you hear stories of what people forget to pack.  Some men have arrived at the Feast and discovered that they forgot to put their dress shoes in the bag.  They find themselves in instant trouble because those old beat up sneakers just do not go with the charcoal pinstripe suit.  Others have left the bag with all their suits hanging in the closet.  They have been in worse trouble.  Appearing at services in shorts and a T-shirt probably is not the best way to appear before God.  There are some who may just intentionally forget to pack at all.  They like what it says in Deuteronomy 14:26, “You shall spend that money for whatever your heart desires.”  And their heart’s desire is to shop.  Why waste time packing when you can just go buy a whole new wardrobe?

When many of us pack for the Feast, we take enough with us to last a month.  I think that we must have carried everything we owned when we went to our first Feast.  The truth is there are some items we really do not need to carry with us.  On the other hand, there are some things you just cannot do without while you are at the Feast.  Today, I want to talk about two items that you have to carry with you. If you have already packed and haven’t put them in, you either need to unpack or toss some items or get another suitcase.

Humility

Our first Feast was at Jekyll Island, Georgia in 1972.  That year the Greenville church was assigned to handle the gargantuan task of parking.  It was a hot and sweaty job. On the Last Great Day, it turned into a wet job.  The skies opened up and the rain poured.  After lunch, everyone wanted to park as close to the tent as possible.  One man got back a little late for his assigned task.  When he pulled into the parking lot and was directed to go left when he wanted to go right, he became irate and informed one of our men “Don’t you know who I am?  I am a member of the choir and I am late for afternoon rehearsal.”  The parking attendant looked at this man and noticed that there was something he had forgotten to pack - or he had already packed it up and put it in the trunk for his trip home.  He definitely did not have it on that day.

What was the item this man had forgotten to wear for the afternoon choir performance?

1 Peter 5:5-6
….and be clothed with humility, for "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble."   6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,

This most important choir member had forgotten to put on humility that day.  The lesson for us is that we need to be clothed with humility every day while we are at the Feast. This is the most important piece of clothing you can take.  If you don’t pack humility, you will be sitting in services without a stitch on. Humility is an attitude that we must put on and wear just like piece of clothing.  There are some things we can go to the feast without, but we cannot leave humility behind.

The dictionary definition of humility is:

1. Marked by meekness or modesty in behavior, attitude, or spirit; not arrogant or prideful. 2. Showing deferential or submissive respect... 3. Low in rank, quality, or station; unpretentious or lowly (American Heritage Dictionary)

If we are clothed with humility, we will be meek and respectful towards others.  We will be “lowly in heart” (Matthew 11:29, 21:5) as Jesus was when He was on earth.  Here’s what Paul told Titus:  

Titus 3:2-3
2 … speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men. 3 [Why?] For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another.

We just need to remember who we are when we begin to get filled with a feeling of self-importance. Have you ever wondered why we fast before the Feast? The fasting we do on the Day of Atonement is about humbling ourselves. We need to be humble when we go to Feast.  Humility is an essential trait we must have before we can serve as a king and priest in the Kingdom of God.  Our fasting on Atonement teaches us that we must be clothed with humility before we keep the Feast of Tabernacles, a time picturing the millennium and our ruling under Christ.  Look at what Christ told the disciples on this subject.

Matthew 20:25-28
25 But Jesus called them to Himself and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them.  26 Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant.  27 And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave —  28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."  

Christ came to serve, not to lord it over.  His example showed us what we must have to rule in the Kingdom of God.  We must have humility.  A humble mind looks kindly on others, treats others with respect, and acknowledges others’ worth.  A humble heart never sees itself in an exalted position, does not have a need to be in an exalted position, and is comfortable with being in the position of servant.  

There are some things we should not pack. Before you go, make sure you toss out all of these things; they just do not go well with what you need to wear each day. Be sure to leave arrogance behind. An arrogant person “is overbearingly proud and demands excessive power or consideration.” Don’t take the superiority complex or self-righteousness or a feeling of self-importance.  Those colors just do not suit you.


Forbearance

The Feast always presents an interesting challenge.  Think of this picture: eight days with two independent-minded adults and five free-thinking children packed together in one hotel room.  Is that not a recipe for disaster?  It surely is if you forget to pack a second absolutely essential item for the Feast.  Make sure you have enough room for forbearance.  If you don’t, your feast will fizzle and, before 24 hours have passed, everyone will be looking forward to getting back to work or school just to have some peace.

Forbearance is the ability to put up with others.  The dictionary says:

Tolerance and restraint in the face of provocation; patience (AHD)

During the eight days of the Feast, someone is going to do something stupid, something that will provoke you.  You may go into services one morning, put your bags down in your chosen seat, and come back to find someone has taken your stuff and moved it to who knows where.  When that happens, you had better have some forbearance.  You may stay with someone who has some rigid rules that they – and you – must live by: you absolutely must not ever press the top or middle of a toothpaste container.  Or you may find yourself rooming the world’s greatest snorer.  

Paul wrote some tremendous words to the Colossians that will help us out, words that we need to put to practice all through the Feast.

Colossians 3:12-13
Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; 13 bearing [forbear (KJV), put up with] with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.

Forgiving, being merciful, forbearing with one another are practices we need now and we will need as rulers in the millennial reign of Christ.  When we are provoked or mistreated, we must always think, “Christ forgave me, so I’ll forgive you.”

This year when we pack for the Feast of Tabernacles we need to make sure we save enough room for two absolutely essential items.  Above all else we carry, we need to remember to pack humility and forbearance.  

Have a wonderful Feast!