The Adulterous Woman From Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power

Welcome to Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power and thanks for stopping by for your break today, the first day of our new series, The Adulterous Woman. Sounds interestingly scandalous, huh? Grab your coffee and come on in.

Before I introduce you to a couple of very important people in this true story, allow me to give you some historical background so you don’t feel as though you are coming into the middle of something. Come with me to a time long, long ago, to an annual feast, a party, if you will. It’s called the Feast of Tabernacles, aka, Feast of Sukkah. Let me give you a little background on this particular feast because I think it will add to the framework of The Adulterous Woman.

During this feast, many Jewish families construct a sukkah (סֻכָּה), a small hastily-built hut in which to eat meals throughout the festival. The sukkah is used to remember the huts [plural: sukkot] Israel lived in during their 40 year sojourn in the desert after the exodus from Egypt. The celebration lasts for eight days in Israel and nine days in the Diaspora (the dispersion of Jews living beyond Egypt).

During the first and last days of Sukkot no normal “work” is permitted as required in Lev. 23:39. In other words, these are days of rests, which is where “Sabbath” comes from. The intervening days of Sukkot are called Chol Ha-Mo’ed, half-holidays during which usual work activities are permitted.
There is incredible spiritual significance to each one of the festivals introduced to Israel at the time of the Exodus and observed by Jesus and the First-Century Church. Deuteronomy 16:14-15 reminds us that this particular feast was/is to be a time of rejoicing for the blessing of God’s provision and sovereignty for and over our lives and because it is memorialized by rejoicing, it is considered especially important to give charity during this time of year.

I hope you weren’t bored with this history that surrounds this particular party we’re going to attend. The older I get, the more I appreciate knowing the grass roots of cultural traditions and religions, especially when they are rooted in Biblical principles. Many believe that the Old Testament is no longer relevant to our lives today, but when I take these pieces and add them to what we are going to be talking about in this series, I see all kinds of relevance sparkling, reminding me of the importance to rejoice over His provision and sovereignty in and over my life. How about you?

Join me Wednesday as we continue laying the foundation for “The Adulterous Woman.”
Intrigued,
Evinda

P.S. Don’t forget to join us live today at 1:00 Pacific time at www.blogtalkradio.com/Chicklit-Power for more chit-chat on breaking free from co-dependency!