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Feast of Tabernacles: Hope and Being of Good Courage
September 24, 2021

During this Feast of Tabernacles we have studied faith, and today we will expand our study to hope. Without hope, there can be no faith. The Biblical definition of hope shows that faith is what we hope for, sight unseen. When the historical figures in the Old Testament had faith, it was because they had within them a hope.

Hebrews 11:1-2
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report.

In writing to the Romans, Paul shows that what was written for us in what we now call the Old Testament, was written so that we might have hope, which is needed for faith. It is with this hope we glorify God the Father. We glorify by proclaiming God’s divine nature, and also through acts of gratitude. The hope that we have is not just for ourselves. It is a hope that can be shared with others as we accept them as brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ, so that non-believers may see the glory of God and praise Him for His mercy.

Romans 15:4-13
For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus: That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God. Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers: And that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy; as it is written, For this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name. And again he saith, Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with his people. And again, Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles; and laud him, all ye people. And again, Esaias saith, There shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles; in him shall the Gentiles trust. Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.

It is through the Holy Spirit that this hope abounds in us. With the Holy Spirit we should not have just the slimmest margin of hope, but a large portion of hope that will fuel our faith even during the darkest times. From Isaiah, we know that God empowers and strengthens the weak among us so that people of faith who are normally considered weak will run circles around people who normally are considered strong. God can work all types of miracles in our life through faith which is fueled by hope.

Isaiah 40:27-31
Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the LORD, and my judgment is passed over from my God? Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

Our faith and the hope that fuels it stems from the special relationship we have with God the Father. Israel, the seed of Abraham was chosen by God thousands of years ago. Today God calls us into the faith. Today we are chosen by God. Just as Israel was chosen from all of mankind, we are chosen of all of mankind. At times, we might seem like we are all alone. God is with us. God will strengthen us when we are weak and will defend us through righteousness. All who strive against us will be confounded by God, and they will hide so that they are no longer a bother to us. The hope that we have comes with a realization that things will not always be easy. If God defends us, it is because we are attacked. If God strengthens us, it is because we are weak. If God uses righteousness to defend us it is because we will face unrighteousness in our life. As we face these times of trouble, it is NOT time to give up. It is time to hold fast to the faith we have been given, through the hope we have of this promised deliverance. The light of God’s righteousness shines brightest when it is darkest. The light of God’s Holy Spirit within us also shines brightest when we are at the darkest time and place. God is with us and will defend us in good times and bad.

Isaiah 41:8-16
But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend. Thou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the chief men thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art my servant; I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away. Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish. Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find them, even them that contended with thee: they that war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought. For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee. Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the LORD, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. Behold, I will make thee a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth: thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and shalt make the hills as chaff. Thou shalt fan them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them: and thou shalt rejoice in the LORD, and shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel.

We live among men, and God knows how desperately wicked the heart of mankind is, and yet has called us knowing our hearts have that proclivity for wickedness, and that Holy Spirit has transformed our hearts and minds. God promises a blessing to people who trust in God, who hope in God, showing that their spiritual roots will be watered by the river of life, always yielding spiritual fruit.

Jeremiah 17:5-10
Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD. For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited. Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit. The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.

Because we are joined through the Holy Spirit to the living God and Jesus Christ we have hope. We have hope of the resurrection and eternal life. Without this hope all we have is enjoyment of our physical life, and that fades as we age and stops at death.

Ecclesiastes 9:4-10 For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion. For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun. Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God now accepteth thy works. Let thy garments be always white; and let thy head lack no ointment. Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity, which he hath given thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity: for that is thy portion in this life, and in thy labour which thou takest under the sun. Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.

In the darkest of times and in times of national distress we have hope in God. When we see calamity coming to people we know, even if deserved for national sins, we have hope in God who promises to be with us. When we are attacked, when we see the enemy approaching, when we feel all is lost, God is our hope. In the face of what looks like certain defeat by the enemy, God is the hope and strength of His people.

Joel 3:1-16
For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land. And they have cast lots for my people; and have given a boy for an harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they might drink. Yea, and what have ye to do with me, O Tyre, and Zidon, and all the coasts of Palestine? will ye render me a recompence? and if ye recompense me, swiftly and speedily will I return your recompence upon your own head; Because ye have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried into your temples my goodly pleasant things: The children also of Judah and the children of Jerusalem have ye sold unto the Grecians, that ye might remove them far from their border. Behold, I will raise them out of the place whither ye have sold them, and will return your recompence upon your own head: And I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the children of Judah, and they shall sell them to the Sabeans, to a people far off: for the LORD hath spoken it. Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up: Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong. Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O LORD. Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision. The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.

To the church at Philadelphia in the Book of Revelation, an open door is given. Open doors are thought of as opportunities. Hosea calls it a door of hope and writes that a door of hope was given to the children of Israel.

Hosea 2:14-17
Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her. And I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope: and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt. And it shall be at that day, saith the LORD, that thou shalt call me Ishi; and shalt call me no more Baali. For I will take away the names of Baalim out of her mouth, and they shall no more be remembered by their name.

What doors of hope do we have in our life? What can we see that gives us the ability to focus on the Kingdom of God and God’s righteousness? What opportunities do we have before us that have been placed there by God so that we can be stronger and confound those who might despise us? The hope that we have reaches to this future time with an understanding that as we focus on the Kingdom of God and God’s righteousness, we will be taken care of today.

As we move forward through our doors of hope, like David, we can ask to be delivered by God’s righteousness that confounds the wicked among us, knowing that God will remove any traps set by our enemies because our hope in God will be matched by God’s strength, who when needed will strengthen us. If the battles we are fighting are mental and emotional, God will have mercy on us and remove our grief, and will not forget that we have physical bodies with all of the limitations that come with a physical body. God will show us his most wonderful mercy as others speak evil of us, as we do what is needed of us, when we hope in God.

Psalm 31:1-24
In thee, O LORD, do I put my trust; let me never be ashamed: deliver me in thy righteousness. Bow down thine ear to me; deliver me speedily: be thou my strong rock, for an house of defence to save me. For thou art my rock and my fortress; therefore for thy name's sake lead me, and guide me. Pull me out of the net that they have laid privily for me: for thou art my strength. Into thine hand I commit my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O LORD God of truth. I have hated them that regard lying vanities: but I trust in the LORD. I will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy: for thou hast considered my trouble; thou hast known my soul in adversities; And hast not shut me up into the hand of the enemy: thou hast set my feet in a large room. Have mercy upon me, O LORD, for I am in trouble: mine eye is consumed with grief, yea, my soul and my belly. For my life is spent with grief, and my years with sighing: my strength faileth because of mine iniquity, and my bones are consumed. I was a reproach among all mine enemies, but especially among my neighbours, and a fear to mine acquaintance: they that did see me without fled from me. I am forgotten as a dead man out of mind: I am like a broken vessel. For I have heard the slander of many: fear was on every side: while they took counsel together against me, they devised to take away my life. But I trusted in thee, O LORD: I said, Thou art my God. My times are in thy hand: deliver me from the hand of mine enemies, and from them that persecute me. Make thy face to shine upon thy servant: save me for thy mercies' sake. Let me not be ashamed, O LORD; for I have called upon thee: let the wicked be ashamed, and let them be silent in the grave. Let the lying lips be put to silence; which speak grievous things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous. Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men! Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy presence from the pride of man: thou shalt keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues. Blessed be the LORD: for he hath shewed me his marvellous kindness in a strong city. For I said in my haste, I am cut off from before thine eyes: nevertheless thou heardest the voice of my supplications when I cried unto thee. O love the LORD, all ye his saints: for the LORD preserveth the faithful, and plentifully rewardeth the proud doer. Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the LORD.

David’s hope that he had was intertwined with his faith. David knew with God as the source of his strength he needed to fear no one. David maintained this hope within him, that God would protect him throughout his life. He knew he needed to maintain hope by waiting on God, and by living a life of faith through courage.

Psalm 27:1-14
The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell. Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident. One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple. For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock. And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the LORD. Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice: have mercy also upon me, and answer me. When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek. Hide not thy face far from me; put not thy servant away in anger: thou hast been my help; leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation. When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take me up. Teach me thy way, O LORD, and lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies. Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies: for false witnesses are risen up against me, and such as breathe out cruelty. I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.

When Moses was very old, and as the children of Israel approached the promised land, he shared with the people that he would not be joining them there, and that Joshua would lead them into the promised land. Moses shared with the people to be strong and of good courage, and to fear not. These are all elements of hope.

Deuteronomy 31:1-8
And Moses went and spake these words unto all Israel. And he said unto them, I am an hundred and twenty years old this day; I can no more go out and come in: also the LORD hath said unto me, Thou shalt not go over this Jordan. The LORD thy God, he will go over before thee, and he will destroy these nations from before thee, and thou shalt possess them: and Joshua, he shall go over before thee, as the LORD hath said. And the LORD shall do unto them as he did to Sihon and to Og, kings of the Amorites, and unto the land of them, whom he destroyed. And the LORD shall give them up before your face, that ye may do unto them according unto all the commandments which I have commanded you. Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. And Moses called unto Joshua, and said unto him in the sight of all Israel, Be strong and of a good courage: for thou must go with this people unto the land which the LORD hath sworn unto their fathers to give them; and thou shalt cause them to inherit it. And the LORD, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.

After Moses died, God spoke to Joshua and reminded him of his obligation to lead the children over the Jordan river to the promised land. Joshua was reminded that on every bit of soil they would step, all was given by God to the children of Israel, through a promise that was made with Abraham long ago. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Everything that Abraham did was based on the hope of the fulfillment of the promise which is the basis for faith. God was reminding Joshua of this hope that Abraham had so that Joshua would also have this hope. Before ever crossing the river, Joshua was told that all of the land would belong to Israel and that no man would be able to stand against the children of Israel during the lifetime of Joshua, assuring Joshua that God would be with him during his lifetime. He was told that just as God had prospered Moses, God would prosper Joshua. He was directed to not forsake the law of God.

Joshua 1:1-9
Now after the death of Moses the servant of the LORD it came to pass, that the LORD spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' minister, saying, Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast. There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them. Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest. This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.

With that promise and our understanding of God, and knowing how the historical account takes place, we might wonder why there was the need for Joshua to have hope. It’s sort of like being able to look back at how our life has played out as an older person compared to looking forward in life as a younger person. For instance, in my life I have financed cars and homes and have always paid off the debt. Think about the inequality of the lending arrangement. In the United States, when I bought a house, like many others, I financed that debt on a thirty-year mortgage. The lending company made one promise to provide the money to buy the house. I made three hundred sixty promises to repay that debt over thirty years. One promise fulfilled at a moment in time does not compare to three hundred sixty promises fulfilled over thirty years. Why do people ultimately finance a house purchase? In part, it’s because they have this hope that everything will work out in good times and bad times so that they can continue to make monthly payments. People who lack this hope tend to shy away from mortgages.

The same holds true for car purchases. When a person buys a car, very few pay cash. In 2021 in the United States, the average new car price was close to forty thousand dollars. Most people do not have forty thousand dollars to make a cash purchase. Unlike a house which can last beyond a lifetime, cars have a much shorter lifespan. When people buy a car, they tend to buy with the hope that they will be able to make monthly payments, and they also tend to hope that the car will last at least as long as they are making payments on the car, if not a bit longer. They hope that the car will be mechanically sound, not needing repairs beyond normal maintenance. Many in buying a car also buy with safety in mind looking at crash test ratings hoping that in a worst-case scenario, everyone in the car will be protected.

People who own homes and drive cars have insurance. When financing is involved, insurance is typically required by the bank. Certain types of auto insurance or a demonstration of financial responsibility are typically mandated by state law. Some people who have insurance only have it for these reasons. Many people who have insurance are with the insurance company they are with because they have a hope that when there is a claim the insurance company will pay. Sure, there might be a legal agreement for the insurance company to pay for losses covered by the policy, but would you or anyone you know stay with an insurance company if you knew they never or rarely paid on claims? You probably wouldn’t because you would have no hope for repayment.

Many of us have a favorite restaurant or restaurants near where we live. We go to these places because they serve the kind of food we like. We go again and again to these restaurants because from past experience, we know they serve the kind of food we like and we hope to have the same again on the next visit.

Hope is always this look into the future with an eye on the past. When Joshua was told to be strong and of good courage, he was being told to have hope for that future, looking back on the example of what happened with Moses. All of the historical accounts given to us in the Bible are given to us so that we can have this hope looking towards our future, the Kingdom of God, knowing that God delivered on all promises made. We too, are to be strong and of good courage, whether looking forward we see days of sunshine or storm clouds ahead. With God it makes no difference. Remember that David was surrounded by conflict most of his life, and God was there for David. God will be there for us, also.

Moving forward with hope, I encourage each of us to not have hope in a vacuum where we only consider and focus on ourselves. Instead, we need to remember that within the Church of God, we share a common hope, and with that common hope should be a bond that brings us together in unity and brotherly love. Think about it. A single sheet of paper is easy to tear and crumble up. Add another sheet of paper and it becomes harder, and with each sheet of paper added difficulty increases. A standard ream of office copy paper has 500 sheets. I don’t know any person who can rip or crumble up 500 sheets of paper all at once. I doubt there are many who can. That’s why brotherly love needs to be the bond that brings us together. It is through brotherly love that we can share our hope, grow our hope, and fulfill our hope. It is through brotherly love that we can more easily see our future, the Kingdom of God and just like Moses and Joshua who were strong and of good courage to get to the promised land, we will have the hope of the Kingdom of God not worried about what any man can do to us.

Hebrews 13:1-6
Let brotherly love continue. Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body. Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge. Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.

We have hope for the Kingdom of God looking forward because our eye on the past reveals to us that God has our back. Looking back in our life, life may not have gone according to our plans, but we know that God has brought us forward to the place we are now at. For some, there was divine intervention in life. For many, there are the blessings that come day after day throughout life with many blessings also coming with some challenging parts of life. Each and every blessing should remind us of God’s commitment to us. Each blessing should give us greater confidence and awareness to be strong and of good courage, knowing that whatever difficulty we might face, the difficulties of this present age are far, far less than the glory that God will give to us.

Romans 8:18-39
For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it. Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Paul wrote that he was persuaded, he firmly hoped, he was confident, that nothing will separate us from the love of God which is in Jesus Christ. Whether living or dying, a spiritual or earthly influence, what happens now, or what happens in the future, if a high part of life or a low part of life, to Paul it made no difference. Paul had hope, he was persuaded, he was confident, that none of these would separate us from the love of God through Jesus Christ. We know that love of God through Jesus Christ looking forward with hope gives us a vision of the Kingdom of God knowing we too will be strong and of good courage.

All verses are from the King James Version.
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