At the time of the great fall harvest season, God set His “Feast of Tabernacles.” The word “tabernacle” merely means “booth,” or “kiosk,” a temporary domicile. God said, “And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
“Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the Lord.
“On the first day shall be an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein...Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the Lord seven days: on the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a sabbath.
“And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days.
“And ye shall keep it a feast unto the Lord seven days in the year. It shall be a statute for ever in your generations: ye shall celebrate it in the seventh month.
“Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths:
“That your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.
“And Moses declared unto the children of Israel the feasts of the Lord” (Leviticus 23:33-35, 39-44).
Notice that the Feast of Tabernacles, or little “booths,” was coincident with the time of the gathering in of the fruit of the land—a festival which emphasized the harvest. Notice also that
God said the purpose for their dwelling in these little tabernacles or temporary domiciles for seven days was so that they would remember that God “made the children of Israel to dwell in booths...” God reveals that He has placed within each human being the “spirit in man,” or the human spirit, which, while it has no separate consciousness or intelligence apart from the brain, it is nevertheless spiritual.
Paul wrote, “The spirit itself [God’s Holy Spirit] beareth witness with OUR SPIRIT that we are the children of God” (Romans 8:16). All of us are endowed with the human spirit. This entire eighth chapter of the book of Romans says a great deal about how God’s Holy Spirit is to dwell inside our mortal bodies.
That there is something spiritual in connection with the human brain which man cannot destroy is obvious from Christ’s words. Christ said, “...fear not them which kill the body [Greek: soma] but are not able to kill the soul [Greek: psuche]: but rather fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna” (Matthew 10:28). Notwithstanding the fact that the traditional concept of the “immortal soul” is erroneous, it is clear from Jesus’ words that there IS something spiritual in connection with the human mind which man simply cannot destroy.
Few have understood that God is begetting children; that a new spiritual life is engendered within each human being who repents and receives God’s Spirit. Plainly, it is “created.” Conversion—receiving the begettal of the Holy Spirit—is not merely a change in attitude or outlook; not merely “turning over a new leaf,” or making minor adjustments in life style. It is the creation of a new creature in Christ!