God Dwells with Man (Tabernacles)
When the Jewish Festival of Tabernacles was near, Jesus’ brothers said to him, “Leave Galilee and go to Judea, so that your disciples there may see the works you do.” John 7:2-3
In John chapter 7 we read that ‘Tabernacles’ was approaching. Today the devout Jewish believers will follow the same traditions, today Tabernacles begins. The feast was a reminder to God’s people that he would come and dwell with them (Ex. 25).
Later in John chapter 7 we read:
On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified. John 7:37-39
Jesus interrupts their feast to remind the people that God’s dwelling with man is literal, it is not figurative or metaphor. For them the Spirit coming was a future event, whereas now the Holy Spirit is active among those who believe in Him.
Today those of us who follow Christ know this dwelling with God, if the Holy Spirit has taken residence within us. This is a seal, a promise and a guarantee of the future realisation (Eph. 1:13-14); One day we will dwell with Christ in His kingdom, seated on thrones ruling beside Christ over the new Heavens and new Earth!