Wisdom Endures Hardship

Israel was commanded by God to celebrate the yearly festival of booths, in remembrance of how the children of Israel lived in tents during their wandering in the wilderness. There is value in that experience.

After the time of Joshua, the keeping of the festival was stopped until after the return from Babylonian captivity, as recorded in Neh 8:14-17: “They found written in the Law, which the LORD had commanded through Moses, that the Israelites were to live in booths during the feast of the seventh month and that they should proclaim this word and spread it throughout their towns and in Jerusalem: ‘Go out into the hill country and bring back branches from olive and wild olive trees, and from myrtles, palms and shade trees, to make booths"-as it is written.’”

“So the people went out and brought back branches and built themselves booths on their own roofs, in their courtyards, in the courts of the house of God and in the square by the Water Gate and the one by the Gate of Ephraim. The whole company that had returned from exile built booths and lived in them. From the days of Joshua son of Nun until that day, the Israelites had not celebrated it like this. And their joy was very great.” NIV

Our joy can also be great when we submit to hardship in service to God. Our lives do not consist of the things we think that we possess, these temporary things that will eventually be destroyed. Our lives must focus on eternal values, if we desire to be pleasing to the Lord Jesus.

Paul warns that we should work to please God, and not become weary in doing good, Gal 6:7-10: “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” NIV

Abraham set an example for us as a wayfarer in a strange land, Heb 11:8-10: “By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.” NIV

Our family went tent camping at Fall Creek Falls the week of June 24-27^th. During the first night I awoke with rain dripping in my face. After some time I got Linda to stir enough for us to move the air mattress so that the water no longer was hitting my head. But water was coming in from several directions. After some time we were almost floating on our mattress. We got up the next morning with continuing rain. When Linda woke Jordan, he felt his wet pillow and said “I sure must have sweated a lot last night.”

We drove home that morning in the rain, dried clothes and bedding, slept at home Friday night, and then returned to our campsite to mop up the water in the tents, and to continue our camping experience. Living in a tent sure makes me appreciate the comforts of home. If we can enjoy such activities as entertainment, we should welcome the opportunity to suffer some hardship in service to our Lord Jesus the Christ.

Buddy Kittrell was the last one to get up Sunday morning. As he emerged from his tent, I began a discussion with him of the value of experiencing living in tents so as to share the festival of booths experience. “I believe there is an article in that,” he said. Maybe so.