FOR WEDNESDAY : JOY TO THE WORLD

[cimi]

October 15
Wednesday


JOY TO
THE WORLD

READ:
Deuteronomy 31:19-13
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The Word became flesh
and dwelt among us,
and we beheld His
glory, the glory as of
the only begotten of
the Father, full of grace
and truth. __John 1:14
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When Christmas displays go up before Halloween displays come down, I long for the days when people didn't think about Christmas until after Thanksgiving. However, there may be a legitimate reason to celebrate Christmas in October.

No one knows the exact day when Jesus was born, but December 25 is unlikely. His birth may have been in autumn, when the weather was still warm enough for shepherds to be outdoors with their flocks. We know that Jesus was crucified on Passover, and that the Holy Spirit came on Pentecost. So some scholars have reasoned that Jesus' birth may have occurred on another Jewish holiday, the Feast of Tabernacles, or Sukkot.

Although we cannot know for sure, we do know that it would be in keeping with God's way of working to send His Son__the Word made flesh who "Dwelt" ("tabernacled") among us (John 1:14)__on the Feast of Tabernacles. Sukkot was a time when observant Jews lived in temporary dwellings and listened to the Word of the Lord being read (Deut. 31:10-13).

For Jews, Sukkot is "the time of our rejoicing." For all of us, our time of rejoicing is the birth of Christ, who brings the joy of salvation to all the world. __Julie Ackerman Link
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``````````````````Tidings, glad tidings! God is love,```````````````
```````````````````To man He sends His salvation!````````````````
```````````````````His Son beloved, His only Son,`````````````````
````````````The work of mercy hath begun. __Montgomery``````````
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The date of Christ's birth may be debatable,
but the fact of His life is indisputable.

**********Today's Bible Reading __ Deuteronomy 31:9-13***********

9 So Moses wrote this law
and delivered it to the
priests, the sons of Levi,
who bore the ark of the
covenant of the LORD, and
to all the elders of Israel.

10 And Moses commanded
them, saying: "At the end of
every seven years, at the
appointed time in the year of
release, at the Feast of
Tabernacles, 11 when all
Israel comes to appear
before the LORD your God
in the place which He
chooses, you shall read this
law before all Israel in their
hearing. 12 Gather the people
together, men and women
and little ones, and the
stranger who is within your
gates, that they may hear
and that they may learn to
fear the LORD your God and
carefully observe all the
words of this law, 13 and that
their children, who have not
known it, may hear and
learn to fear the LORD your
God as long as you live in
the land which you cross the
Jordan to possess."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>INSIGHT<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with
the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands,
that is, not of this creation (Heb. 9:11). The author of Hebrews
portrays the heavens as pure, perfect, and changeless. The heavenly
tabernacle is the perfect prototype for the earthly tabernacle and
the only one that was ultimately needed. The earthly tabernacle
with all its beauty and meaning still was only a shadow of reality of
Christ's redemption for us in the heavenly places. Christ is both the
Lamb of God and the Great High Priest. __Dennis Fisher

__Adapted from IVP Bible Background Commentary