Eating before the LORD means eating with God as the focus and reason for the rejoicing, not merely eating at the place He chose. Deuteronomy 12 and 14 command Israel to eat tithes, offerings, and the second tithe before the LORD at the central place, rejoicing because of His work and blessing, and to learn to fear Him. Without that focus the Feast is only a party in a religious costume, as Amos and Isaiah show of Israel and Judah. For the New Covenant royal priesthood, eating takes on spiritual meaning. Hebrews 13:9-10 says believers have an altar from which Levitical priests have no right to eat, and it links spiritual teaching with spiritual eating, warning against strange doctrines. The priests' consecration in Leviticus 8 is the pattern for the Feast of Tabernacles: seven days, then a significant eighth day, with eating in the Tabernacle, as close to before the LORD as possible. Daily they ate the ram of consecration, a peace offering, and unleavened bread, all pointing to Christ and to fellowship with God and one another. Being "filled" equips them to serve. Eating symbolizes taking in and applying Christ's words, which are spirit and life. Neglecting Bible study, or calling God's table contemptible as in Malachi 1, risks falling away, as Hebrews 6 warns. The Feast is therefore about present priestly sanctification rather than future prophecy.