Begin with 2 minutes of silence and stillness before God.

In the 7th Chapter of John, we read about The Feast of the Tabernacle. In my research about this particular festival, I discovered that it is often referred to as a festival of joy. Celebrated in the autumn months, this festival celebrated in many ways God’s abundant provision. To the Israelites, it was celebrated to honor the end of the 40 years of wandering about in the desert. Understanding this scripture reminds me of how joy can come from suffering. The provision for the Israelites following the years of suffering no doubt brought about great joy.

At this particular time in scripture (just before the Passover and Resurrection), there was much confusion about if Jesus was or was not the Messiah. Many who had seen Him perform the miracles believed but others were not convinced. With the division among the people, many believed that Jesus was a good man while others argued that He had deceived them. Jesus did not want to go to the festival in public as He knew that many there were seeking to destroy Him. He was aware, however, that His time had not yet come, therefore, He survived under God’s protection.

For the first days of the festival, Jesus hid Himself from those in attendance, but in the middle of the days of the festival, Jesus went up into the temple and taught. The officers of the high priests were sent to the Festival to seize Him, but even they were not able to do as they were ordered because they believed the words that He spoke.
On the last day of the feast, Jesus spoke again of the living water He told them, “If any man thirsts, let him come unto Me and drink.”

In this scripture, there is much confusion about whether or not Jesus was the Messiah. Many had seen Him do amazing things and believed while others yet doubted. As Christians, how do others see us? Do we reflect Jesus in the way that we treat others? Do we lead with love and with grace?

In the coming week, reflect on how others may perceive you through your Christian walk. Settle on one way that you can improve your witness.

Take 2 minutes to reflect in silence.

Reflection:

• Prayer: Dear God, we are so thankful that You give us joy following seasons of suffering. The Festival of the Tabernacle is a reminder to be thankful for the ways that You provide for our many needs. Help us to remember that our actions tell of our relationship with You even if our words do not. Help us to walk accordingly in ways that are pleasing to You. Amen.

Family Application: John 7

By: Carrington Stuart

Today, our story comes from the book of John and is about Jesus’ teaching. Jesus is the greatest Teacher ever. Could you imagine having Him as a teacher at school? It would be amazing! But not everybody in our story today wanted to hear Jesus teach because some of the other teachers were jealous of Him and not everyone believed Him.

One day, Jesus decided to go to a festival called the Festival of Tabernacles. The festival was like a big party where everyone came to hear people teach about God and to worship God together! While He was there, Jesus started to teach people, too. Some people heard Jesus teach about God and were so happy. They thought that Jesus was the smartest and most amazing person they had ever met! Jesus knew everything about God because God sent Him from Heaven to teach us.

But not everybody knew that. They thought that Jesus wasn’t telling the truth because they didn’t know God like Jesus did! Some of the other teachers called the Pharisees were upset about what Jesus was saying and tried to get their guards to take Jesus away. But God protected Jesus, and He kept teaching the people about God even though some of them were not kind to Him. Because of how brave Jesus was and because He trusted God to take care of Him, a lot of people got to learn about God and began to follow Jesus! How awesome is that?

• How can you be brave and teach others about God this week? Is there anybody that you know who doesn’t know about God? Will you tell others about how much God loves them?
• Prayer: God, I am so grateful that You sent Jesus to teach us more about You! Jesus is the greatest teacher ever, and I can’t wait to tell others about You just like He did. Please help me to be brave when I teach others about You, too. I’m so glad that I get to go to church and read the Bible to learn more about You every day. Thank You for protecting me and loving me, no matter what! We love You, God. In Jesus’ name, Amen.