Celebrations

You know we complain about the Israelites so much. We think that if we had been there, things would have really been different. I believe the Hebrew word for that is "hogwash." That's why I'm not too hepped up about miracles in our day. I'm not sure they would make that much of a difference. Look at the Israelites. They had them everyday and they still messed up.
But one thing I do like about them is their festivals, their traditions. Now I'm not ready to grow my beard and start singing "Tradition!" from Fiddler on the Roof, but I think they had the right idea on some things. As a nation they celebrated the harvest. You may say, so do we on the last Thursday in November. That has become more of a football fest than thanksgiving. They repented together on The Day of Atonement. And they celebrated together at the Feast of the Tabernacles. Once a week, they looked in anticipation to the Sabbath. I know they really messed up, but the true Jew knew exactly what all of these things were for. It would have been great to have been raised in this. Remember when they crossed the Jordan, they were to take stones for each tribe and they built an altar. It was for a reminder. When their kids asked about those stones, they were to tell them how God delivered them and gave the land they inherited. They had a number of feasts, but they were all to remember what God had done.
We would do good to remember what God has done. That's why it's so important that we gather on the Lord's Day and commune togehter. There's nothing magical. It's not something that gives us eternal life or something that we do to get our ticket punched. It is to remember and to celebrate what God did through His son. I'm looking forward to tomorrow. Have a great day. What's left of it. JW