September 27, 2026
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The word the Lord spoke into my spirit for today is “Temporary Houses.” Temporary houses can be fun or not so fun, depending on the reason for them. On vacation, a hotel room or house rental can be a nice break from the routine and a reason to celebrate. On the other hand, victims of hurricanes, tornados, floods, or fires think of their temporary digs as a tremendous hardship or, at a minimum, a great inconvenience.
One of the most important Jewish holidays of the year is Sukkot, which is the Feast of Tabernacles, or the Feast of Booths, which commemorates the faithfulness of God to provide temporary housing to the Israelites during their time in the desert when God freed His people from the oppression and slavery of Egypt.
Deuteronomy 16:
13 “You shall celebrate the Feast of Booths seven days after you have gathered in from your threshing floor and your wine vat;
14 and you shall rejoice in your feast, you and your son and your daughter and your male and female servants and the Levite and the stranger and the orphan and the widow who are in your towns.
15 “Seven days you shall celebrate a feast to the LORD your God in the place which the LORD chooses, because the LORD your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that you shall be altogether joyful.
The Feast of Tabernacles was celebrated after the harvest was complete and the crops were gathered into the barns and wine vats. The celebration acknowledges that God provided lodging for them in the form of booths (tents) in the wilderness and shows faith that the Lord will bless the harvest and all the work of their hands. It is one of three holidays that requires a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, the others being Passover (Unleavened Bread) and the Feast of Weeks (Shavuot, or Pentecost).
Deuteronomy 16:
16 “Three times in a year all your males shall appear before the LORD your God in the place which He chooses, at the Feast of Unleavened Bread and at the Feast of Weeks and at the Feast of Booths, and they shall not appear before the LORD empty-handed.
17 “Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD your God which He has given you.
Making an offering to the Lord is an essential part of observing these feasts even for Christians today.
Modern Day Sukkot
As we speak today, we find ourselves in the middle of the 2026 Feast of Tabernacles, which began at sunset on September 25 and concludes at nightfall, October 2, 2026. Sukkot is celebrated on the heals of Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement, which was observed this year on September 20-21. Yom Kippur is a day of fasting and prayer in celebration of God’s forgiveness of the people’s sins. The conclusion of Yom Kippur fasting is joyful and leads into Sukkot, another celebration of God’s goodness and mercy.
Jews celebrate Sukkot by building temporary houses, or tents, and living in them during the seven-day feast. This custom is prescribed in Leviticus 23.
Leviticus 23:
39 ‘On exactly the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the crops of the land, you shall celebrate the feast of the LORD for seven days, with a rest on the first day and a rest on the eighth day.
40 ‘Now on the first day you shall take for yourselves the foliage of beautiful trees, palm branches and boughs of leafy trees and willows of the brook; and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God for seven days.
41 ‘You shall thus celebrate it [as] a feast to the LORD for seven days in the year. It [shall be] a perpetual statute throughout your generations; you shall celebrate it in the seventh month.
42 ‘You shall live in booths for seven days; all the native-born in Israel shall live in booths,
43 so that your generations may know that I had the sons of Israel live in booths when I brought them out from the land of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.’”
Now in case you are wondering if we need to pay attention to these Old Testament feasts or the Jewish customs of celebrating them, keep in mind that Jesus observed and attended the Feasts and He spoke into them.
John 7:
1 ¶ And after these things Jesus was walking in Galilee; for He was unwilling to walk in Judea, because the Jews were seeking to kill Him.
2 Now the feast of the Jews, the Feast of Booths, was at hand.
John 7:
14 ¶ But when it was now the midst of the feast Jesus went up into the temple, and [began to] teach.
15 The Jews therefore were marveling, saying, “How has this man become learned, having never been educated?”
John 7:
37 ¶ Now on the last day, the great [day] of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If any man is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.
38 “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.’”
Today’s Word
Housing is one of our primary needs as human beings. Because housing is essential, it can be a source of great anxiety when uncertainty creeps in. My heart goes out to the homeless today, as well as the victims of storms and other natural disasters, as they face a lack in this critical area. Remember to pray for the homeless and to support them financially, if you can, through Christian organizations such as Light of Life Rescue Mission here in Pittsburgh. You can also help storm and flood victims through Samaritan’s Purse, an international, non-denominational Christian, disaster relief organization headed by Franklin Graham, son of the late evangelist Billy Graham.
When we were young, we longed to live independently of our parents. Apartments seemed like the answer, but then we wanted a house. We couldn’t afford to buy a house so we rented and yearned for the day we could own a house. We tended to think of that owned house as our permanent home if only we could get there.
I remember back in the day, early in our marriage, Nancy and I built a house in Indiana, PA and we thought that was our permanent home, until it wasn’t. My job at the coal company ended, and we had to move to the Birmingham, AL area. I lived in temporary housing (an apartment) again until we were able to sell our home and buy another. And that happened again when my job in Alabama ended, and we returned to the Pittsburgh area in the year 2000.
We learned from experience that what we thought were permanent homes turned out to be temporary, some more temporary than others.
The word that God impressed on me for today is that we are all living in temporary houses, until the day that Jesus comes for His bride on the day of the Rapture. Our Lord is preparing our permanent house as we speak.
John 14:
1 ¶ “Let not your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me.
2 “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.
3 “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to Myself; that where I am, [there] you may be also.
4 ¶ “And you know the way where I am going.”
Matthew 7:
24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine, and acts upon them, may be compared to a wise man, who built his house upon the rock.
25 “And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and burst against that house; and [yet] it did not fall, for it had been founded upon the rock.
26 “And everyone who hears these words of Mine, and does not act upon them, will be like a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand.
27 “And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and burst against that house; and it fell, and great was its fall.”
Closing
In closing then, whatever your housing situation is, build your house upon the Rock, Jesus Christ, who is your Lord and Savior. Other houses are built on sand and great is their fall. Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it… (Psalms 127:1)
Jesus is your Day of Atonement, and the preparer of your permanent dwelling place in His Father’s House.
I encourage you to observe the Feast of Sukkot by making an offering unto the Lord as the Holy Spirit leads you. If you need housing, or a financial blessing related to housing, plant a seed in the work of the Lord, and expect your tabernacle to be the harvest of that seed. Remember the promise of Deuteronomy 16:15 “…the LORD your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that you shall be altogether joyful.”
Let us pray.
Father God, thank you for providing us housing in our wilderness seasons. Lord, we pray for those who need temporary housing right now until Jesus comes again. I pray Your blessing and provision over them as they seek to build their houses upon the Rock of Ages. Quicken us by Your Holy Spirit to plant a seed and help build a tabernacle for those in need today and let them count it as a blessing of the Lord. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
If anyone has not yet received the Lord Jesus Christ in their heart, and desires to do so, please repeat this prayer after me:
Father God, I repent of my sin and ask for forgiveness today. I confess and declare with my mouth that Jesus is Lord, and I believe with all my heart that You raised Him from the dead for the forgiveness of sins. Jesus, please come into my heart and change me. Send the Holy Spirit to guide and direct me in wisdom and to enable me to overcome temptation from this day forth. Thank You for my salvation. I look forward to the day of the Rapture when I can be with You forever. Amen.
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