Jubilee!

Jubilee. Jubilation. Jubilant. Some of the happiest words in the world! At least some that make me feel very happy. :) When I hear them I think of Jesus riding on a donkey into Jerusalem, palm branches waving. I think of the commands in Scripture to "rejoice with singing", "rejoice with the tambourine", "rejoice in the Lord." I couldn't help but think of these things tonight. We attended the community-wide event celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles at Ditto Landing. When we arrived a few minutes late, the Covenant of Peace dancers were doing a beautiful, celebratory dance to Twila Paris's "Kingdom Come". At the end of the song, all the children in attendance were handed tambourines with streamers on them and flags to wave as they made a procession up to the stage, waving their hands and singing "Your kingdom come, You are Messiah!" It was electrifying. Then the children were led to another area to celebrate and learn about the Feast of Tabernacles while the adults heard some stirring messages from the Psalms of Ascent by seven pastors of different faiths within the community including a Jewish rabbi. Their messages were uplifting and inspiring. We sang a few more praise songs, then ended the night with the lighting of the Menorrah, pouring of water, and blowing of the shofar.

I so enjoyed this time of remembrance and celebration with my husband, children, and fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. While I'm not looking into becoming a Jew myself :), I think it is Biblical to continue observing some of these feasts as an additional way to teach our children about the Bible. Particularly the Sukkot, another word for Feast of the Tabernacles, would be fun to observe as a family. From what I've learned about it so far, it was celebrated in the Old Testament for an entire week. People dwell in tents, feast, and celebrate God's goodness and provision as they remember their 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, the end of their captivity in Babylon and return to Jerusalem. All of the Jewish symbolism represents Christ in some way. I think it's cool. :) What a neat way to teach our children Biblical history and make it fun. We should be the most joyful people in the world. Our children should believe that loving God is joyful and celebratory and reason to dance. So I'm wondering. . . do any of you observe feasts or other Biblical celebrations with your family? If so, what do you do?

"As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds His people from this time forth and forevermore." -Psalm 125:3 Amen!