4 Verses to Read at Your Thanksgiving Table This Year

Thanksgiving is a time to recognize all the blessings God has bestowed on us. But with Black Friday and the commercial greed that often accompanies the Christmas season in December, we have a tendency to overlook this holiday in November.

Many of us don’t have all believing members in our family, but we may still want to remind ourselves of all the good gifts God has given us throughout this year.

In the Bible, those in the Old and New Testament didn’t have a Thanksgiving holiday. After all, Thanksgiving started in North America in the 17th century when the European Pilgrims had arrived in the now United States. But that doesn’t mean that the Israelites didn’t have holidays in which they expressed gratitude.

As a matter of fact, they had one holiday that had many similarities to Thanksgiving known as the festival of Sukkot or booths.

In this article, we’ll explore the origins behind Sukkot, why it’s important for us to turn to Scripture during all holidays, including Thanksgiving, and we’ll dive into specific passages we should read at the Thanksgiving table this season.

Let’s dive in.

The Jewish Thanksgiving

The Feast of Booths existed long before the American Thanksgiving. This holiday would involve a pilgrimage of the Jewish people to Jerusalem, their capital.

They would dwell in temporary living spaces known as “booths” for seven days during the autumn season. Everyone would use this time to exercise gratitude about all the blessings God had given them throughout the year, and pray for a bountiful harvest the next year, explains Ligonier Ministries.

This time also reminded them of the years the Israelites spent in the desert in temporary homes, awaiting the permanence of the Promised Land of Canaan.

Let’s take a look at Leviticus 23:33-36 which describes this festival.

“The Lord said to Moses, ‘Say to the Israelites: ‘On the fifteenth day of the seventh month the Lord’s Festival of Tabernacles begins, and it lasts for seven days. The first day is a sacred assembly; do no regular work. For seven days present food offerings to the Lord, and on the eighth day hold a sacred assembly and present a food offering to the Lord. It is the closing special assembly; do no regular work.’”

After this, the passages goes on to explain the meaning behind the sacrifices and the specific harvest sacrifices performed during the festival.

Israelites would spend a week not working, reminding themselves of who provided for their needs. They also recognize here who provides for their biological needs through the harvest and sacrifice of food.

For more details on the specifics of this holiday, check out this article at Jewish Voice.

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Comparing Thanksgiving and Sukkot

Now, of course, at Thanksgiving Christians don’t have to sacrifice part of their turkey or cranberry sauce to the Lord, but the holiday does have many similarities to Sukkot.

First, companies and schools alike seem to give at least a few days off to recognize the holiday. Perhaps not intentionally, but they allocate days to dedicate to thanksgiving and gratitude.

Thanksgiving doesn’t last all week, but we celebrate a harvest of sorts. We recognize the bounty God has given us throughout the year and commemorate it by bringing dishes to share with various family members.

No doubt, many of the Israelite holidays involved the reading of Scripture. 

And it never hurts to incorporate the words of Truth into any holiday. Let’s explore some biblical passages to read at the Thanksgiving table this year before we dive into the dishes and receive a consequent food coma. 

In addition to the passages below, make sure to check out more Scripture on the Festival of Sukkot such as Exodus 23:16, Exodus 34:22, Deuteronomy 16:13-15, and more here.

4 Verses to Read at Thanksgiving

Scripture has plenty to say about exercising thankfulness. We could paste entire Psalms passages in this section where David, or other psalmists, spend the entire chapter praising the Lord.

With that said, in this article we’ll provide a list of verses as well as some resources for further reading. If you find a passage that works better for your family’s Thanksgiving, by all means, read it. These passages provided below serve as a diving off point on reminders to celebrate the Lord and all he had done for us.

Let’s dive into some verses.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

This verse reminds us to give thanks no matter what. No doubt, many of us will have a solemn Thanksgiving this year. Perhaps like my family, maybe you have lost someone dear this year. Possibly many families have been torn apart by disease, division, or other circumstances.

Whatever our lot, we choose to praise the Lord in every season. 

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Psalm 106:1 “Praise the Lord! Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!”

Whether we have a bountiful year or a barren one, God’s goodness remains steadfast. His love for us does not change based on what has happened to us.

For many years, and still today, a false idea has persisted in the church that if bad things happen to us that God has forsaken us because of something we have done. But when we analyze the lives of people such as Joseph, Job, and David, we see quite the opposite. Often the most dire circumstances happen to those who exercise great faith and devotion to God.

In all cases, God still reigns supreme and has a wonderful plan for us.

James 1:17 “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”

James reminds us that anything good we’ve experienced this year has come from God. Often families will have a Thanksgiving tradition where they will go around the table and say one thing they are thankful for from the past year. 

If our families do this tradition, we should also add that we acknowledge that the good gift came from God. 

1 Chronicles 16:8 “Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples!”

Here’s an aspect of thanksgiving we often don’t follow through on. Not only should we recognize what God has done for us, but we should share it to all people. In the case of Thanksgiving, we can express to our relatives what God has done in our lives throughout the year.

Thanksgiving provides a perfect time to shine the light of Jesus through our attitude and gratitude. 

For more verses on thankfulness, check out this list. 

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Why Should We Exercise Gratitude?

Maybe we’ve had a terrible year and really will struggle at Thanksgiving to come up with even one thing to be thankful for. So why does Scripture call us to exercise thankfulness in all circumstances?

First, it teaches us not to treat God like a vending machine or genie in a bottle. We praise God whether we’ve had a bountiful or barren year, because God deserves our praise, and because all humans experience different seasons. If we had only bountiful seasons, we would not recognize them as bountiful or blessings. The seasons of dearth and hardship help us to realize the blessing of more cheerful years. 

Secondly, Scripture calls us to give thanks, always. We see David and other figures on the brink of death, pursued by enemies, or facing ailments, and they still lift up praise to God. 

Finally, gratitude really does shift our attitude.

Have you ever met a Christian who seems to rejoice during times both difficult and plentiful? It spurs us on, encourages us, and causes us to want to do the same.

Through our example, others may become curious about the hope in which we have. Therefore, we should express gratitude to change our attitude to become more like Christ. 

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Hope Bolinger is an acquisitions editor at End Game Press, book editor for hire, and the author of almost 30 books. More than 1500 of her works have been featured in various publications. Check out her books at hopebolinger.com for clean books in most genres, great for adults and kids. Check out her editing profile at Reedsy.com to find out about hiring her for your next book project.