Thanks Giving

Q. Where does the idea of thanksgiving come from?

In America:
The Pilgrims came to America from Plymouth, England and established what would come to be known as Plymouth, Massachusetts. This was in 1620, which was almost 400 years ago. America was a strange new land and the pilgrims did not know how to survive there. They came from cities in Europe, which had been civilized for thousands of years. For the first few months they were running out of food until a local tribe of Native Americans showed them how to grow native food and build shelters. They also instructed them to store food for the coming winter. At the harvest time they were so happy at the bountiful harvest that they held a feast of thanksgiving to thank God for providing for them. To this feast they also invited the Native Americans who had shown them how to survive, to thank them for their help. That was the first Thanksgiving in America.

In Israel:
Jewish families also celebrate a harvest festival called Sukkoth. Taking place each autumn, Sukkoth has been celebrated for over 3000 years.

Sukkoth is known by two different names: Hag ha Succot, the Feast of the Tabernacles; and Hag ha Asif, the Feast of Ingathering. Sukkoth begins on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Tishri. This is five days after Yom Kippur, which is the most solemn day of the Jewish year.

Sukkoth is named for the huts (succots) that Moses and the Israelites lived in as they wandered the desert for 40 years before they reached the Promised Land. These huts were made of branches and were easy to assemble, take apart, and carry as the Israelites wandered through the desert.
When celebrating Sukkoth, which lasts for 8 days, the Jewish people build small huts of branches, which recall the tabernacles of their ancestors. These huts are constructed as temporary shelters, as the branches are not driven into the ground and the roof is covered with foliage, which is spaced to let
the light in. Inside the huts are hung fruits and vegetables, including apples, grapes, corn, and pomegranates. On the first 2 nights of Sukkoth the families eat their meals in the huts under the evening sky.

Q. What does the Spirit of Prophecy say about Thanksgiving?

Adventist Home pg. 472
“The Need of Guidance in Holiday Observance.–I saw that our holidays should not be spent in patterning after the world, yet they should not be passed by unnoticed, for this will bring dissatisfaction to our children. On these days when there is danger that our children will be exposed to evil influences and become corrupted by the pleasures and excitement of the world, let the parents study to get up something to take the place of more dangerous
amusements. Give your children to understand that you have their good and happiness in view.”

Adventist Home pg. 474
“How Shall We Observe Thanksgiving? -Our Thanksgiving is approaching. Will it be, as it has been in many instances, a thanksgiving to ourselves? Or will it be a thanksgiving to God? Our Thanksgivings may be made seasons of great profit to our own souls as well as to others if we improve this opportunity to remember the poor among us. . . .”

Manuscript Release No. 1546, pg. 222
“Thanksgiving Day will be respected, but how is it used? This day’s privileges are turned out of their proper course and it is made a day of feasting and gluttony. Is it a day to set your tables with luxuries and load them down with sweetmeats and condiments for you and yours? Christ said, ? When thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind: they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.’
Luke 14:13, 14. Now, you may not be at a loss to number how many Thanksgivings are kept according to this rule.

“If you should bring an offering to God upon that day, do you not believe that God would be as well pleased as any one of your earthly friends would be with a present from you? Stop and think of this, and see if you cannot discern your duty and say, I will bring to God a thanksgiving gift for all the
blessings He is bestowing upon me, for the rain in its season, for the sun that makes the seed to vegetate, for the laden boughs, and for the fruits of the harvest.”

It is important that we understand what God means by thanksgiving and what it means to give a testimony, which is often a way of giving a witness to what has happened in our life. Some words in the English language, such as thanksgiving, represent deep and complex concepts. In other languages such as Greek and Hebrew the semantics are much more specific. A concept such as “thanksgiving” is broken into many detailed parts or words. To better understand this we will explore the complimentary meaning of the original Hebrew and Greek words for the concept of thanksgiving.

Psalms 147:1-8
“Praise ye the LORD: for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely. The LORD doth build up Jerusalem: he gathereth together the outcasts of Israel. He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds. He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names. Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite. The LORD lifteth up the meek: he casteth the wicked down to the ground. Sing unto the LORD with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp unto our God: Who covereth the heaven with clouds, who prepareth rain for the earth, who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains.”

It is almost overwhelming when we consider these words written by King David. “He tells the number of the stars; He calls them all by their names” yet the
Lord also “lifts up the meek.” Imagine, God is intimately aware of each one of us. He is not too busy with creating and maintaining an ever-expanding universe, of which the planet earth is comparatively not even as a grain of sand on a beach. He is not too busy dealing with all of the other “sons of God” (Job 1:6) in the universe, nor is He too busy dealing with the billions of angels. No, God is intimately aware of everything that goes on in your mind, your
body, in every aspect of your life. He is intimately aware and interested in even the events and circumstance that we personally are not even aware of. “Who covers the heaven with clouds, who prepares rain for the earth, who makes grass to grow upon the mountains.” Should we not give thanks
to our loving Heavenly father?

Q. What does the word “testimony” mean?

Psalm 19:7
“The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.”
Hebrew word for “testimony”: eduwth (ay- dooth), testimony or witness

2 Timothy 1:8
“Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the
power of God;”
Greek word for “testimony”: Marturion (mar-too-ree-on), witness or evidence given.

Revelation 12:11
“And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.”
Greek word for “testimony”: Marturia (mar-too-ree-ah), to testify, to be a witness, to bear record.

Q. What does the word “thanksgiving” mean?

Let us take another look at the word. Thanksgiving is actually a conjugation of two words: thanks and giving. It is interesting how the word has come to be
viewed from a first person perspective or from how it affects us personally. Giving usually entails benefiting others first. We give a gift to someone else and not usually to ourselves. A child might give their parent a gift as a thank you for loving them and providing for them.

Somehow society seems to have perverted these two individual concepts when putting them together.

In the ceremonial law there was a peace offering and if it was an offering for thanksgiving there was a particular way the offering was to be conducted. Each part of the ceremonial law was symbolic. Each part pointed to Christ and His ministration in some way. Let us read about this thank offering:

Leviticus 7:12-15
“If he offer it for a thanksgiving, then he shall offer with the sacrifice of thanksgiving unleavened cakes mingled with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil, and cakes mingled with oil, of fine flour, fried. Besides the cakes, he shall offer for his offering leavened bread with the sacrifice of thanksgiving of his peace offerings. And of it he shall offer one out of the whole oblation for an heave offering unto the LORD, and it shall be the priest’s that sprinkleth the blood of the peace offerings. And the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings for thanksgiving shall be eaten the same day that it is offered; he shall not leave any of it until the morning.”
Hebrew word for “thanksgiving”: towdah (to-daw), an extension of the hand, confession, a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving.

Let us look at this thanksgiving offering a little deeper:

Verse 12. “If he offer it for a thanksgiving, then he shall offer with the sacrifice of thanksgiving unleavened cakes mingled with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil, and cakes mingled with oil, of fine flour, fried.”

If the offering is an offering of thanksgiving then it needs be with “unleavened cakes mingled with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil”.

Q. What is oil symbolic of?
The Holy Spirit is symbolized by oil.

Q. Who was anointed with oil?
It was Jesus Christ who was anointed with oil.

Q. What are unleavened wafers & cakes?
This represents the sinless character of Christ.

So, proper thanksgiving has to start with the Holy Spirit. The innocent sacrifice of Jesus must purge out the sin that is within us. True thanksgiving is represented by Jesus’ sinless life.

Verse 13. “Besides the cakes, he shall offer for his offering leavened bread with the sacrifice of thanksgiving of his peace offerings.”

Q. What does leavened bread symbolize here?
This represents the sinful nature that we are born with. It is impossible for us ourselves to overcome or change this nature.

Everyone possesses this fallen nature; by ourselves everything is tainted by it.

Verse 14. “And of it he shall offer one out of the whole oblation for an heave offering unto the LORD, and it shall be the priest’s that sprinkleth the blood of the peace offerings.”

Q. What is a heave offering?
It is an offering that is made with extended hands outstretched toward Heaven. It is the priest that sprinkles the blood. It is Jesus that sprinkles His blood. It is impossible for us to know how to give thanks unto God by ourselves. It is impossible to know how to give to God or our fellow man without
Jesus.

Verse 15 “And the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings for thanksgiving shall be eaten the same day that it is offered; he shall not leave any of it until the morning.”

Q. Why did the thanksgiving offering have to be eaten on the same day that it was offered?
Every day we should give thanks to God.
Each new day we should take advantage of the opportunity to give. Each day of life is a new blessing from God.

The concept of thanksgiving entails giving unconditionally just like Jesus did. It comes from the presence of and through the power of the Holy Spirit. It does not come naturally for us. We must thank and give daily.

Psalm 26:7
“That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all thy wondrous works.”
Hebrew word for “thanksgiving”: yadah (yaw-daw), to revere, worship, confess or praise with extended hands, to throw as a stone or shoot an arrow.

Imagine this for a moment. What does the imagery of throwing a stone or shooting an arrow mean? Does an arrow not cover a great distance? To confess and praise over a great distance, so that it may affect others.

2 Corinthians 9:6, 11
“But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which ?soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully… Being enriched in every
thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God.”
Greek word for “thanksgiving”: eucharista (yoo-khar-is-tee-ah), an act of gratitude and worship.

Luke 6: 31-38
“And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise. For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them. And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same. And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love ye your enemies, and do good, and
lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven: Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.”

How often and how easy it is for us to judge or condemn others. How easy to give to someone that you know will return the favour. “What thank have ye?” We must learn to give as God gives, to thank like God thanks; “for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.”

From an article in the Review & Herald, January 15, 1884
“The meetings at Battle Creek were fraught with deeper interest than similar meetings ever held among our people. Many prayers had ascended to Heaven in behalf of this session of the General Conference; and we can testify that Jesus came up to the feast, and was an honored guest at this important
gathering… Faith and love were awakened in many hearts. Spiritual and eternal things became a reality, and not a mere sentiment; a glorious substance, and not a fitful shadow…

“Nearly the whole of Thanksgiving day, Nov. 29, was spent in church. Our morning ?meeting was one of special interest. In a cheerful testimony every one had a thank offering to present to God. In the forenoon we had a Bible-reading on the subject of thanksgiving, and it was clearly shown from the Scriptures that it is our duty to glorify God by offering thanks and praise. This was a most precious season. All were instructed and reproved; for repining at the dealings of God has been almost continual, while gratitude and praise had been seldom expressed and little cherished in the heart. Many confessed that they had cherished doubt and distrust, and had reaped as they had sown; and as they expressed a resolution to reform in this particular, I reminded them that when pretexts for dissatisfaction are presented, we are to say, “Get thee behind me, Satan.” Let every one who has tasted of the love of God praise him for his goodness to the children of men. In this let every soul be whole-hearted and sincere. It is a great cause of gratitude that we understand the nature of this day better than we once did…

“Our meeting closed about two o’clock, and we then took ample refreshments; but we had no time to devote to the preparation of extra dishes. We were having a feast of fat things; we were eating of the Bread of Heaven, and drinking rich draughts from the well of Bethlehem. Jesus graced the feast with his royal presence, and our hearts were joyful in him. The testimonies borne by our brethren and sisters were full of courage and gratitude to God; and their
verdict was, ?Oh, what a Thanksgiving day this has been! It is the best Thanksgiving day I ever experienced!’”

Many countries such as Canada and the United States celebrate a Thanksgiving holiday. But even in countries that don’t, let us each think every day what the true meaning and responsibility of thanksgiving is. We do not offer a thanksgiving offering to God as the Israelites did under the Ceremonial law, yet this does not excuse our similar responsibility under the new covenant in which Jesus through His blood atones for our sin. The thanksgiving offering was in addition to the animal being sacrificed.

There are many in the world around us, in our church, our community and around the world that need your help. There are many opportunities that God places before us to help others that have no capacity to return the favour. May the Lord awaken us to take advantage of these opportunities and
responsibilities.

Think of the many natural disasters that have occurred over the past few months. The Tsunami that impacted almost every continent. Hurricanes, which have left many destitute children with no parents, even in wealthy countries like the United States. Devastating earthquakes like the one in Pakistan that killed tens of thousands instantly and left millions without food and shelter. How about those in our own community? Many of you might think that the problems in this world are overwhelming; and they might be to our human understanding. Do you really believe in God?

Jesus said the poor would always be with us. This does not mean it is an excuse to do nothing for them. It means that the opportunity to help them would also always be with us. Jesus left these people in our care. Jesus did not say to just pray for these people He said to “clothe and feed” them. Jesus wants us to be active and not just passive. He wants us to be proper representatives of Him. What do you think Jesus would be doing if He were on earth
today? Just look at how He lived His life two thousand years ago.
AMEN

John Formosa, Canada