Author: David Robinson
Solomon, the author of Ecclesiastes, wrote how there is a time for everything. There’s "a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance" (Ecclesiastes 3:4). The season of Sukkot is not the time of weeping and mourning. That time was during Yom Kippur. Sukkot is the time of laughing and dancing. Indeed, God explicitly commands us to "rejoice" in this season!
You shall rejoice in your feast, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow who are within your towns. (Deuteronomy 16:14).
Regardless of our role, social status, or life circumstances, Sukkot is a time to be happy and celebrate. What do we have to be happy about, you ask? On the most basic level, we are to rejoice because of God’s provision. In ancient Israel, Sukkot celebrated the gathering of the harvest at the end of the agricultural year. If you are reading this right now, it means you’re alive. That means that God has sustained you to this point with enough food and drink. So there’s one reason to be happy.
In addition to God’s physical provision, Sukkot is a celebration of the Gospel message. We just went through Yom Kippur, which is a commemoration of how God gave His only Son to atone for our sins. On the basis of Yeshua’s sacrifice, we are able take part in the Wedding Feast of the Lamb. Sukkot represents that great day when we’ll all be together in Yeshua’s kingdom. Thus, if you’ve received Yeshua as your Savior, you’re invited! Isn’t that reason enough to be happy?
Happy are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord. (Deuteronomy 33:29a)
Abraham Lincoln once said, “Folks are usually about as happy as they make their minds up to be.” This season is the time to be happy. Make your mind up to be happy today. It’s a commandment.
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