Can you believe it is only four days to Thanksgiving? Help! So much to do as I prepare a sit-down dinner for about 80 of us. What a great time it will be. There is nothing more wonderful than gathering together as a family to fellowship and feast together. Did you know that God loves feasts and celebrations? Yes, they are very biblical.
Psalm 89:15 states: “Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O LORD, in the light of thy countenance.” Once again, we notice that these “blessed” people are the “happy happy” people. Some translations say: “Oh the happiness!” Others say, “Oh the joy!”
This happiness comes to those who know the joyful sound. What is this joyful sound? The Hebrew word means “the trumpeting of trumpets and shouts of joy.” Most Bible commentators state that it speaks of the trumpet calls to the annual feasts of Israel. It’s a call to feasting and celebration.
Let’s read Numbers 10:10 (NLT): “Blow the trumpets in times of gladness, too, sounding them at your annual festivals and at the beginning of each month. And blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and peace offerings. The trumpets will remind the LORD your God of his covenant with you. I am the LORD your God.”
It is obvious that the early children of Israel were a trumpet-blowing, joyful shouting people. Not only did they rejoice and blow the trumpets on their feast days but over their daily burnt offerings!
Psalm 27:6 (NLT): “At his sanctuary I will offer sacrifices with shouts of joy, singing and praising the LORD with music.” This speaks of the daily morning and evening sacrifices, encouraging us to also come before the Lord with our families each morning and evening. We don’t do it out of religiosity, but with joy, and even shouts of joy. As the people of God, we are not meant to be a boring people, but filled with joy and praise o God. Oh, the happiness of those who know the joyful sound.
Here’s something else God says about our feasting times. In Deuteronomy 14;26 we read: “And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink (help, can’t believe this in the Bible, yes, the King James Version), or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat there before the LORD thy God (in the presence of the LORD), and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine household.”
The conclusion of our Scripture today says: “they shall walk O LORD, in the light of thy countenance.” God wants us to really celebrate and rejoice when we feast together. And it’s not separate from God. We do it IN HIS PRESENCE. God wants to join us. He loves to celebrate and feast with us. This is the heart of God. Many people have a totally wrong concept of God.
Prepare to feast in God’s presence this Thanksgiving and may you know the joyful sound.
Love from Nancy Campbell
The Thanksgiving Picture by Normal Rockwell. Rockwell's wife, Mary is in this painting, and the family cook, Mrs. Thaddeus Wheaton, is serving the turkey, which the Rockwell family ate that day. The painting was created in November 1942.