While worshiping God away from home in temporary dwellings during the Feast of Tabernacles is in keeping with the command found in Leviticus 23:42-43, there may be times in your life in which you find yourself having to observe at home.

One year when my wife was due to have our first child during the Feast of Tabernacles, we had to stay home. It felt so empty and lonely knowing that almost all of the brethren were gone enjoying the Feast together while we were stuck at home alone.

God tells us that the time is coming when the whole world will celebrate the Feast! Use this time at home to think about how beautiful, wonderful and lovely it will be when everyone will be in unity together!

If you can’t attend the Feast this year, take heart! You can have a fulfilling Feast of Tabernacles at home!

Here’s how you can nurture an atmosphere of Feast worship in your home to ensure you are refreshed, instructed and strengthened during this special yearly celebration with God.

Make Bible-reading a part of your daily routine

The Feast is a training seminar for God’s truth. Plan to use these eight days to spend time in study. Take time to learn more about this future time by studying the scriptures about the Kingdom and Millennium. Memorize and meditate on Scripture. Each day, choose a Scripture verse or passage to focus on, and write down the verse or verses so that you can keep them nearby for reference throughout the day. If able, listen to the Feast messages taught online each of the eight days. If a particular sermonette or sermon strikes an interest, spend time studying the topic further that day.

Make conversation with God a top priority during this time

When God says we should celebrate the feasts, he uses a Hebrew word that means “appointed times” or “appointments.” Honor this appointment with God and demonstrate your love for Him by taking uninterrupted time to be alone with Him. Look for ways to use Scripture in prayer daily. For example, thank God for Isaiah 2:4, which teaches that the Feast of Tabernacles foreshadows a time in which “they will beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.” Ask God that he help you to gain more peace in your heart now. Pray for the ability to effect peace in your life and those around you.

Feast your eyes on God’s Creation

Seeing God’s glorious handiwork in nature often leads to focus on the new world that Jesus Christ will usher in at His return. The book of Psalms is filled with examples of worship inspired by the psalmists’ awe in the beauty of God’s creation. Take time to enjoy nature in and around your home. Open your windows and let in the light. Take a walk and take special notice of all the beauty that showcases God’s glory in creation. Watch a nature documentary either online or from the library. There are many beautiful nature photos online or books with photos from the library to help you delight in God’s creation!

Reflect on the time noted in Psalm 23:2 when He will make us to lie down in green pastures as He leads us beside the still waters.

Praise the Lord in song

Include hymns and songs of worship and praise in your daily worship at home. Play musical recordings that draw you into worship. Select hymns and worship songs that will tune your heart to praise God throughout the day. “Be filled with the Spirit; speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 5:18-20).

The largest benefit of the Feast of Tabernacles is the rejuvenation of our spiritual lives.

If you are unable to stay in temporary dwellings, focus on the fact that the Feast of Tabernacles reminds us of the temporary nature of our physical life, and it helps us to focus on what’s permanent: our goal for eternal life in God’s Kingdom.

God tells us that the time is coming when the whole world will celebrate the Feast! Use this time at home to think about how beautiful, wonderful and lovely it will be when everyone will be in unity together!