The Bible tells us to “taste and see that the Lord is good.”
But when do you get to do that as a family?
Our family enjoys our weekly Shabbat dinners and we make rather merry at Christmas but, if for some reason the goodness of the Lord is not totally clear to my kids, there’s one time per year where we pull out all the stops.
Sukkot (or what the Bible calls the Festival of Tabernacles).
We start with our annual Deuteronomy 14 Costco run.
Deuteronomy 14 is when the Israelites were commanded to spend some of their tithe money on “whatever your appetite craves”:
“spend the money for whatever you desire—oxen or sheep or wine or strong drink, whatever your appetite craves. And you shall eat there before the LORD your God and rejoice, you and your household.” (Deuteronomy 14:26)
So, trying to be very careful and disciplined about how we steward our tithe we bought, well, all of this…
(don’t worry we didn’t crave the Pine-Sol)
Then we build our Sukkah.
During the days of Sukkot we sit in our Sukkah and consider that God is our protector, provider, covering, and coming King. Sukkot is about remembering we are still sojourners here on Earth and that our hope is set in the future when God comes to dwell with us forever.
And finally we party! Sukkot is a seven-day festival, which means every night for seven days we eat, laugh, tell stories, sing, study Scripture, and play games or what the Bible simply calls “rejoice.”
Today is the last and greatest day of Sukkot.
We’ve had an amazing week, and every time we say goodbye to Sukkot for another year, I’m not totally sure of exactly what my kids learned. Maybe they learned that God is their refuge or that faith is the only portal through which we get to the New Jerusalem.
But there’s one thing I’m always sure my kids have learned—God is good.
Jeremy
This entry is a part of Jeremy’s Journal, a newsletter Jeremy sends out every Wednesday morning to encourage you on your parenting journey. You can sign up to get them every Wednesday here.
