Whilst I was moving with the Holy Spirit through the time of Sukkot (note: feast of tabernacles), He led me to Nehemiah 8:13-17. This scripture describes the erecting of temporary shelters under the apostolic instructions of Nehemiah and Ezra, which had not been done since the time of Joshua.
Nehemiah 8:13-17:
13 On the second day of the month, the heads of all the families, along with the priests and the Levites, gathered around Ezra the teacher to give attention to the words of the Law.
14 They found written in the Law, which the Lord had commanded through Moses, that the Israelites were to live in temporary shelters during the festival of the seventh month 15 and that they should proclaim this word and spread it throughout their towns and in Jerusalem: “Go out into the hill country and bring back branches from olive and wild olive trees, and from myrtles, palms and shade trees, to make temporary shelters”—as it is written.
16 So the people went out and brought back branches and built themselves temporary shelters on their own roofs, in their courtyards, in the courts of the house of God and in the square by the Water Gate and the one by the Gate of Ephraim.
17 The whole company that had returned from exile built temporary shelters and lived in them. From the days of Joshua son of Nun until that day, the Israelites had not celebrated it like this. And their joy was very great.
The Time Period of “Emptiness”
The feast of tabernacles is a feast of joy and increasing glory as God first dwelt among the people of Israel in a tent (note: tabernacle) in the desert and He instructed them to be joyous during the time of Sukkot (see Exodus 40:34-35 in conjunction with Deuteronomy 16:13-15). In regard to the scripture from Nehemiah 8:13-17 we can see that there was a time period in which the people of Israel did not conform to the will of God to step into a greater cycle of the joy of God, which God so generously wanted to give to His people every year anew.
This means there was a time of “emptiness“ among the people of Israel during which their strength decreased, as the joy of God is always connected to strength (see Nehemiah 8:10b).
Nehemiah 8:10b:
10b Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
Extend Upwards!
As I meditated over the scripture from Nehemiah 8 the Holy Spirit emphasized the first part of verse 16 (note: printed in bold italic), where it says:
So the people went out and brought back branches and built themselves temporary shelters on their own roofs, in their courtyards, in the courts of the house of God and in the square by the Water Gate and the one by the Gate of Ephraim.
Because we as people of God have recently passed the feast of Sukkot, I would like to encourage every saint to go on a higher level with God. For this step of faith we have to indirectly leave our present familiar faith environment (i.e. our current comprehension of God, our current understanding of the procedure in prayer/ worship, …) in which we have been moving over many years and in which we have grown, to go one step higher with God; and this is connected to the habitation on the roof.
Ultimately, my appeal for this approach simply means building up on that which the Holy Spirit has already established in our lives in the past to receive even more of the things He wants to give us.
We could of course pitch our personal „tent of faith“ in the courtyard, the forecourt or by the gate as revealed in the scroll of Nehemiah but there is a higher way still, where God wants to meet us with His presence (see 1.Corinthians 12:31b).
1.Corinthians 12:31b:
31b And yet I will show you the most excellent (i.e. higher) way.
For instance, had John the seer not gone higher by prompting of the angel, he would never have been able to experience the presence of God in the throne room (see Revelation 4:1-2).
Revelation 4:1-2:
1 After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.”
2 At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it.
Without this higher experience John would merely have been a prophetic messenger ministering the revolutionary gospel of Jesus Christ to the churches; this in itself is wonderful but there is an even greater presence, i.e. the presence of the throne room where the secrets of the presence of God, His being, the twenty-four elders, the angels and the lamb as well as the bride lie hidden.
By “going up higher” the prophet Ezekiel also experienced a greater glory (see Ezekiel 43:5).
Ezekiel 43:5:
5 Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple.
The spiritual act of going higher or rather the building on the top of the roof means that God is first of all interested in having us in His presence by which we then are bound in our spirits as God embraces us. This helps us to comprehend His being and heartbeat and to truthfully reflect it on the earth.
The Spreading of the Message of the Gospel
By this spiritual act of going higher the apostle Peter also entered into a new time where the gospel was taken to a new group of people (i.e. the centurion Cornelius with his family and friends), whom he had not been familiar with; this in turn led to the spreading of the gospel (see Acts 10:9-28).
Acts 10:9-28:
9 About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray.
10 He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance.
11 He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners.
12 It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles and birds.
13 Then a voice told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.”
14 “Surely not, Lord!” Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.”
15 The voice spoke to him a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”
16 This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven.
17 While Peter was wondering about the meaning of the vision, the men sent by Cornelius found out where Simon’s house was and stopped at the gate.
18 They called out, asking if Simon who was known as Peter was staying there.
19 While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Simon, three1 men are looking for you.
20 So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them.”
21 Peter went down and said to the men, “I’m the one you’re looking for. Why have you come?”
22 The men replied, “We have come from Cornelius the centurion. He is a righteous and God-fearing man, who is respected by all the Jewish people. A holy angel told him to ask you to come to his house so that he could hear what you have to say.”
23 Then Peter invited the men into the house to be his guests. The next day Peter started out with them, and some of the believers from Joppa went along.
24 The following day he arrived in Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends.
25 As Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet in reverence.
26 But Peter made him get up. “Stand up,” he said, “I am only a man myself.”
27 While talking with him, Peter went inside and found a large gathering of people.
28 He said to them: “You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with or visit a Gentile. But God has shown me that I should not call anyone impure or unclean.
Let us “extend our faith upwards” to see and comprehend God's being and greatness even stronger.
Amen and Amen.
In His wisdom,
Daniel Glimm
