We human beings feel nostalgic by nature, longing for "home," a place of warmth, belonging, and permanence which the world never allows us to have. Nostalgia reflects our spiritual homesickness for something we have lost in the past and can no longer retrieve. While we are in the habit of romanticizing history and memories, Scripture reveals that our true Golden Age lies not behind, but ahead-in God's Kingdom. At the Feast of Tabernacles, we learn that Almighty God alone provides true dwelling, identity, and presence during the wilderness journey. The Feast should not evoke a feeling of deprivation, but a joyful remembrance of a faithful God sheltering and sustaining His people. Spiritually, we should consider the temporary dwellings as a foreshadowing of Christ as our ultimate Tabernacle—the divine presence with and within His people. John 1:14 teaches us that the word "tabernacled" (Greek eskenosen) among us—or God pitching His tent with humanity in Christ. John 15:1-8 summons believers to abide in him, just as Israel once abided in God's presence by means of the Tabernacle. Throughout the Scriptures, Almighty God is depicted as our dwelling place, and in Christ, we now have intimate, personal fellowship, not distant worship from afar, but indwelling communion. The Feast of Tabernacles celebrates far more than temporary booths; it points us to the eternal reality that Christ Himself is our true home. Nostalgia forces us to look backward for comfort, but faith looks forward to fulfillment. Our true home is not a memory, but rather a Person, namely Jesus Christ, our everlasting Tabernacle and eternal dwelling with God.

The Tabernacle, along with the temple, served as a place of worship and was considered God's house, the highest place of reverence. It consisted of two rooms separated by a heavy veil or drape, each containing significant furniture crucial for Israel's proper understanding and worship. Every aspect of these structures provides a pattern and model for worship under the new covenant. Daily, officiating priests performed duties in the exterior and the first room, while only the high priest entered the second room, known as the Holy of Holies, once a year on the Day of Atonement. This inner room symbolized God's personal space and the place from which He judged mankind, functioning as both a personal room and a courtroom. The veil separating the rooms holds great importance, and its tearing at the moment of Christ's death opened direct access into the Holy of Holies, signifying that nothing hinders entry to God's presence. This access invites believers to draw near with boldness, assured of His kindness, generosity, and readiness to listen and instruct.

In the journey of faith, the patterns of the Tabernacle become vital to our spiritual understanding and practical holiness. Though we may lack the deep familiarity and reverence for the Tabernacle that the Israelites held, we are called to grasp the spiritual truths embedded within its symbolism. The Tabernacle, as a shadow of greater realities, points us toward the profound access we have to God through Jesus Christ. As High Priest, He has torn the veil, granting us liberty to enter boldly into the very throne room of God, the Holy of Holies, a place once reserved only for the High Priest once a year. This access, made possible by His sacrifice, invites us to draw near to God with eager boldness, to meet with Him not outside, but within the innermost sanctuary of His presence.

Under the Old Covenant, God warmly invited the Israelites to come to the Tabernacle, to participate fully and with understanding in fellowship with Him in His dwelling place among His people. This marked a new era with the completion of the Tabernacle, where God spoke to the Israelites through Moses from a place other than the top of Mt. Sinai. He desired them to know they were welcome to visit with Him, though respectful order was to prevail. Each person and group, including the ministry, had specific roles to perform in this sacred space, ensuring that the process of offering sacrifices for sin and repentance was deeply personal and not treated with detachment. The offerer was fully immersed in the act, bringing the animal, laying hands on it, killing it, and cutting it into pieces, underscoring the costliness and significance of having fellowship with God and receiving forgiveness of sins.