The Thanksgiving Holiday

The Thanksgiving holiday is a cultural celebration that invites us to reflect on the blessings we have received and to give thanks to God for his faithful provision. Although this holiday is not instituted in Scripture, the Bible deeply values communal gratitude: Israel celebrated yearly feasts of thanksgiving that gathered the whole community before the Lord. Leviticus thus commands a cycle of annual feasts where the people came to thank God for his benefits (Leviticus 23), and the law provided for a sacrifice of thanksgiving offered with gladness (Leviticus 7:12). The Feast of Tabernacles in particular commemorated God's provision during the wilderness journey and overflowed with shared joy. Nehemiah 8:10 shows the people gathered, celebrating with gladness, eating the fat and sending portions to those who had nothing prepared: "the joy of the LORD is your strength." So even though the modern Thanksgiving holiday is not a biblical institution, the practice of gathering to give thanks to God most certainly is. A family that gathers around a table to thank the Lord accomplishes something authentically biblical. The believer can sanctify this day by praying with loved ones, reading the Word, recalling the blessings of the past year, sharing with those in need, and giving thanks before the meal — for "every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving" (1 Timothy 4:4). Psalm 100:4 perfectly captures this spirit: "Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name."