In Zechariah... the Feast of Tabernacles (or, the Feast of Booths) is spoken of with Gentile involvement.
Since there is a new covenant for Israel, and since this was a prophecy that may have already had it's fulfillment, is this still for today?
Leviticus 23:34 NASB20 - "Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, 'On the fifteenth of this seventh month is the Feast of Booths for seven days to the LORD.
Deuteronomy 16:13, 16 NASB20 - "You shall celebrate the Feast of Booths for seven days when you have gathered in from your threshing floor and your wine vat; ... "Three times a year all your males shall appear before the LORD your God at the place which He chooses: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Booths; and they are not to appear before the LORD empty-handed.
Deuteronomy 31:10 NASB20 - Then Moses commanded them, saying, "At the end of [every] seven years, at the time of the year of the release of debts, at the Feast of Booths,
2 Chronicles 8:13 NASB20 - and [he did so] according to the daily rule, offering [them] up according to the commandment of Moses, for the Sabbaths, the new moons, and the three annual feasts--the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Booths.
Ezra 3:4 NASB20 - They also celebrated the Feast of Booths, as it is written, and [offered] the prescribed number of burnt offerings daily, according to the ordinance, as each day required;
Zechariah 14:16, 18-19 NASB20 - Then it will come about that any who are left of all the nations that came against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of armies, and to celebrate the Feast of Booths. ... And if the family of Egypt does not go up or enter, then no [rain will fall] on them; it will be the plague with which the LORD strikes the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths. This will be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths.
John 7:2 NASB20 - Now the feast of the Jews, the Feast of Booths, was near.
Nehemiah 8:14 NASB20 - And they found written in the Law how the LORD had commanded through Moses that the sons of Israel were to live in booths during the feast of the seventh month.
Thank you JacobMartinMertens for your question about: "And it shall come to pass,
that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles...And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that
have no
rain; there shall be the plague, wherewith the LORD will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles. This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles. " KJV
The Bible uses parable language to describe believers and non-believers (Psalm 78:1-2, Mark 4:34). The Feast of Tabernacles is along those lines. For example, Jesus tabernacled amongst us (John 1:14). We read: "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us". The word used for dwelt here is defined in the concordance as:
- to fix one's tabernacle, have one's tabernacle, abide (or live) in a tabernacle (or tent), tabernacle
- to dwell
So the feast of tabernacles is about the word dwelling among us. If we have God's word in us, if we receive Jesus in that sense, then we are living in the word, that is living in tabernacles, living in Jesus. If we do not receive the word, the gospel, then we are called heathen in parable language. In that case we would be the unsaved. Egypt is a picture of this, parable language for the unsaved, in the Zechariah verses you mention. Notice that those nations that were against Jerusalem (against saved people, in parable language) have become saved such that they go up (spiritually speaking) to worship the Lord who is now able to tabernacle or dwell amongst them. They are able to live in his words, if you will. But those who are unsaved, do not live or 'tabernacle' in his word, and so have a plague so to speak. That plague is that they are unsaved.
The Old Testament is not disregarded as a part of the Bible since Jesus has come, but it
speaks of Jesus and his new covenant. It just does so using parable language. For example, In Leviticus 14 we read about a ritual: "Then shall the priest command to take for him that is to be cleansed two birds alive
and clean, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop: And the priest shall command that one of the birds be killed in an earthen vessel over running water: As for the living bird, he shall take it, and the cedar wood, and the scarlet, and the hyssop, and shall dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird
that was killed over the running water: And he shall sprinkle upon him that is to be cleansed from the leprosy seven times, and shall pronounce him clean, and shall let the living bird loose into the open field.
"
Here is a ritual that almost sounds like voodoo if you just do it for the ceremony. But if you realize it is using parable language to describe Jesus' sacrifice to cleanse a sinner and send him into the world with the gospel, then you realize that you don't need to do the ritual any longer. You just need to be cleansed from sin by Jesus.