Our Sunday evening class on Nehemiah recently discussed Israel’s celebration of the “Feast of Ingathering,” which is something like our Thanksgiving, and the “Festival of Booths,” a reminder of when Israel wandered in the wilderness for 40 years. In Leviticus 23:42, 43, God commanded the people to “Live in booths for seven days… so your descendants will know that I had the Israelites live in booths when I brought them out of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.”
Israel had many reasons to be thankful: their deliverance from Egypt, their survival in the wilderness, their success in the Promised Land, their survival in exile, and their success in rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. Living in temporary booths helped Israel understand the temporary nature of this life. But while the fruits of harvest are worthy of celebration, their thanksgiving had a purpose: to teach that it is God who provides for and delivers his people.
As our nation prepares for and celebrates our own Thanksgiving holiday, it seems all too easy for people to be focused on the reasons to give thanks—jobs, health, food, family, and much more—and yet forget about the one who provides it. In fact, when those things for which we give thanks are not as plentiful—when we don’t have jobs, when we’re not healthy, when we have broken families—it’s seems easier to forget to give thanks to God.
Perhaps we can follow the example of Israel in Nehemiah’s time. They were rebuilding their city, as well as their relationship with God, and they took the time to remember all that God had done for them, even when they were unfaithful. Consider Paul’s words in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18: “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” Let us give simple thanks and praise to God for all he has done, and let us do it in such a way that all people will know about God’s love.