The Feast of Tabernacles also went by the name Feast of Booths. The Jews built makeshift booths during this week to live in as a remembrance of their 40 years of wandering in the desert (Leviticus 23:33-44).
The Feast of Booths mentioned in John 7 is about six months before the cross. The controversy through which Jesus passed in chapters 5 & 6 hardens into a period of conflict in chapters 7-11. There are three definite time indicators which help set this chapter in context:
• the early part of the week (vv.1-13)
• the middle of the week (vv. 14-36)
• the last day of the feast (vv. 37-52)
There are three features about this opening round:
• His brothers did not believe in Him, vv. 1-5
• Jesus was different from them, vv. 6-9
• The crowd was confused about Him, vv. 10-13
In your personal “battles of the booths,” do you deal with unbelieving family members, people who don’t understand your distinctively different lifestyle, or confusion about your faith? Take heart! Jesus knows how you feel.
