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16 Then the survivors from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord Almighty, and to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles. 17 If any of the peoples of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord Almighty, they will have no rain. 18 If the Egyptian people do not go up and take part, they will have no rain. The Lord will bring on them the plague he inflicts on the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles. 19 This will be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles. ~ Zechariah 14:16-19
We return to our study of Zechariah 14 where we have discovered what God has in store for His people at the end of the Tribulation. Today, the Lord reveals what will happen to those who reject embracing the humility that enables them to cry out to Him for His salvation. In addition, in today's text, the Lord gives us a slight peak into what the Millennium will be like.
In v.16 of today's text we read, "Then the survivors from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord Almighty, and to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles."
After the Tribulation and the Day of the Lord, there will be those out of the nations who will have believed in the Lord Jesus as their Messiah, who will come to Jerusalem to worship God. These will literally come out of those nations which came against Jerusalem, though they themselves did not agree with what their nation did to Israel. These, will be those who believed on the Lord Jesus at some point during the Tribulation. And, these from all over the world, will, during the Millennium, go to Jerusalem from year to year to worship the Lord during the Feast of Tabernacles.
The Feast of Tabernacles is a celebration of God's presence among His people. Annually the people of the world will go to Jerusalem to enjoy the feast of God's presence. Along with Passover and Pentecost, the Feast of Tabernacles is one of three major pilgrimage feasts given by God to Israel around which the Jewish calendar pivots. This feast, the feast of tabernacles, is unique from the other two annual pilgrimage festivals in that it is the only of the seven feasts in which Gentiles could participate.
In v.17 of today's text we read, "If any of the peoples of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord Almighty, they will have no rain."
If people from nations do not come to Jerusalem for this annual feast, during the Millennium, their land will experience drought. During the Millennium, worship will not be optional. And so they’ll keep the Feast of Tabernacles which is a commemorative feast of the presence of God leading His people out of Egypt. This all underscores the fact that during the Millennium, not everyone will be "born again." Sadly, at the end of the Millennium, many will choose to rebel against God and choose their eternal state in Hell with the Devil and his demons.
In v.18-19 of today's text we read, "18 If the Egyptian people do not go up and take part, they will have no rain. The Lord will bring on them the plague he inflicts on the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles. 19 This will be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles."
Anyone who rebels against God during the Millennium will suffer the consequences of forfeiting the protection of God in their lives. When we ignore God's word, we avail ourselves to the dangers of evil. When we reject God's protection in our lives through His word, the truth is not allowed its position to guide us in its way.
Now, God has to punish rebellion; He can not allow the slightest sin to go undealt with because the slightest sin will undermine all that is good, true and righteous. So, the punishment of all who will come not to keep the Feast of Tabernacles will be a plague.
The Feast of Tabernacles occurred in the autumn of the year when the summer crops had been harvested. It was then that God gave the Israelites this feast. His goal was to remind His people of their dependence upon Him. The truth is, our success has always been dependent upon His work in our lives.
The origins of the feast of Tabernacles can be found in the Five Books of Moses, where we are told that the Lord commanded all Israelite males to appear before him three times a year at the place He would designate. They were not allowed to come before God with empty hands. The feast centered on acknowledging the Lord God as their ultimate provider. It was actually considered the most significant feast of all the feasts for Israel. One way we see this is in its name. In several verses in the Hebrew Bible, it is referred to as the "festival of the Lord." Eventually, it became common to refer to it simply as "the festival."
The Feast of Tabernacles was a seven day feast, and the people came with a piece of citrus fruit in their left hand, symbolic of the fruitful land that God gave them. And, in their right hand, they had branches of three different trees: a palm branch, a willow branch, and a myrtle branch, or pieces of it, emblematic of the stages of the wilderness wanderings before they got into the Promised Land.
To inaugurate the feast, the priest led the procession of people with a golden pitcher in his hand which he eventually dipped into the pool of Siloam in Jerusalem. Then, he walked up to the temple where he poured the water on the stones of the altar. The pouring out of the water was symbolic of the water that God gave Israel from the rock while they traveled in the exodus through the desert.
On the last day of the Feast, the people were led by the priest to Siloam to get water. After getting the water, the priest and the people marched around the altar seven times, singing Isaiah 12 with joy. On the sixth march around the altar, the priest was met by another priest with a pitcher of wine. Water is symbolic in the Scriptures of the Word of God. Wine is symbolic of joy. This is the message of the feast: the joy of God in the life of the believer through the Holy Spirit.
In John 7:37 we read, "On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.”
Imagine how powerful that experience was for all who were there that day at the Temple in Jerusalem. The Lord Jesus then said, "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified."
Once the believer in Christ is “Born Again,” he has a whole new perspective on life. He has passed from the darkness into the light of God’s wisdom. As with all the Lord's commands, he recognizes the many benefits of walking in God’s truth. One major benefit is that of gratitude.
Cicero once said, "Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others." Research has shown that practicing gratitude boosts the immune system, bolsters resilience to stress, lowers depression, increases energy, determination, and strength, and even helps us sleep better.
Gratitude turns our gaze away from self and toward God, reminding us of our desperate need of Him. When we are dependent upon the Lord, it allows us to appreciate and affirm the value of Him as our Provider and Protector. And, all else flows out of this experience with God.
In John 7:38 we read, "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." The stream we learned about in yesterday's passage is analogous of the Holy Spirit and the life He brings to the willing heart. It is in the context of gratitude that the Holy Spirit empowers us with His joy. Nehemiah reminds us that the joy of the Lord is our strength.
In Nehemiah 8:12, in response to the reading of the Law, “all the people went away to eat and drink, to send portions of food and to celebrate with great joy because they now understood the words that had been made known to them.”
In Psalm 51:12, David prays that God would “Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.”
And, in 1 Thessalonians 1:6 Paul tells this church that "You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit."
