Feast Of Tabernacles
The fifteenth day
of this seventh month shall be
the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days to the
LORD.
Leviticus 23:34
The Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) is
celebrated for 7 days from Tishri 15 to 21. There is a change of
mood in the high holidays from sobering repentance and judgment to
exuberating joy and celebration.
The people of God are commanded to build a
hut (sukkah or sukkot if plural) to commemorate the booths wherein
they dwelled during their journey to the Promised Land (Leviticus
23:42).
God Dwelling With Man
This same time period of Sukkot marked the
beginning of the construction of God's sukkah (mishkan), the holy
sanctuary in the wilderness (Exodus 35-40). The Hebraic word mishkan
means tabernacle. According to the Exodus 34, Moses ascended Mount
Sinai for the second period of 40 days and 40 nights to receive the
second set of tablets. He descended on the day of Yom Kippur,
carrying the new set as a sign of God's forgiveness of Israel for
the sin of the golden calf. This Torah was a symbol of the
everlasting covenant between God and Israel. The next day after Yom
Kippur, Moses relayed God's instructions for building the tabernacle
- His dwelling place with man.
Materials for building the tabernacle were
collected during the days before Sukkot, and they begun building it
(Exodus 35-36). The tabernacle was finally set up about six months
later on the first day of the first month (Nisan 1) in the second
year (Exodus 40:17).
Why is the tabernacle built? It is God’s desire to make Him a
sanctuary so that He can dwell among us (Exodus 25:8). He instructed
the building of the tabernacle in order to establish and foster the
covenant relationship between Him and man.
At the dedication of Solomon's temple
during the festival of Sukkot, Solomon asked, "Will God indeed dwell
on the earth?" (1 Kings 8:2, 27) This was fulfilled when Yeshua
became flesh and dwelt (tabernacled) among us (John 1:14). At His
first coming, He came to earth and dwelt among men for more than
thirty years.
|
Biblical
Records Of Tabernacle |
Reference |
| Yeshua tabernacled among us. |
John 1:14 |
| Peter spoke about his body being
a tabernacle. |
2 Peter 1:13-14 |
| Paul told us that our earthly
bodies were earthly tabernacles. |
2 Corinthians 5:1-5 |
| The tabernacle of Moses was a
tent of habitation. |
Acts 7:44;
Hebrews 9:2-8 |
| Abraham, Isaac and Jacob lived in
tabernacles. |
Hebrews 11:8-9 |
| The tabernacle of David was a
tent or dwelling place. |
Acts 15:16;
Amos 9:11 |
| This tabernacle was the temple of
Solomon. |
1 Kings 5:2-5;
8:1-21 |
| Yeshua entered the temple on the
Feast of Sukkot. |
John 7:2, 27-29 |
| The Bible speaks of a heavenly
tabernacle. |
Hebrews 8:1-2; Revelation 13:6;
15:5 |
| This heavenly tabernacle will
come to earth. |
Revelation 21:1-3 |
| Yeshua is the true Tabernacle of
God. |
Hebrews 9:11 |
The
Divine Covering And Protection
The Sukkah is a remembrance of the
continuous Presence of the LORD dwelling with His people throughout
their wilderness experience. The LORD went before them by day in a
pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to
give them light, so as to go by day and night. He did not take away
the pillar of cloud by day or the pillar of fire by night from
before the people (Exodus 13:21-22). This omnipresent covering of
God is known as the baptism in the cloud (1 Corinthians 10:1-2).
The Tabernacle of God is fulfilled when God
dwelt inside man in the Temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians
6:19). Everywhere we go, we see Him - any time, any place.
The Son of Man is coming with the clouds of
heaven (Daniel 7:13, Revelation 1:7). Herein the clouds can both
represent the believers in Messiah (Hebrews 12:1) and also the glory
of the Lord Himself. The cloud is also seen as a wedding canopy
(chupah).
Then
the LORD will create above every dwelling place of Mount Zion,
and above her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day and the
shining of a flaming fire by night. For over all the
glory there will be a covering. And there will be a
tabernacle for shade in the daytime from the heat, for a place
of refuge, and for a shelter from storm and rain.
Isaiah 4:5-6
The clouds in the wilderness are called the
clouds of glory. The sukkah is therefore a picture of our dwelling
with God in His glorious kingdom in the Millennium.
Themes Of Sukkot
- The Season of Our Joy
- The Festival of Ingathering
- The Feast of the Nations
- The Festival of Dedication
- The Festival of Lights
The
Season Of Our Joy
The Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) is called
the Season of Our Joy.
After forty days of repentance (30 days of
Elul and the Ten Days of Awe) and with our sins forgiven, Sukkot is
truly a time of great joy. We can rejoice as we walk with God
without sins and hindrances. The people of God would have all
perished if not for His mercy and His grace. We are divinely
protected by God. This is the joy of being His people and Him being
our God.
This joy is so great that Sukkot became
known as The Feast (John 7:37). In fact, we are commanded to rejoice
in The Feast (Deuteronomy 16:13-15). While all of the Feasts of the
LORD are times of rejoicing, Sukkot is specifically designated as
the Season of Our Rejoicing or the Season of Our Joy.
The Festival Of Ingathering
Sukkot is the fall harvest festival. Like
the other Feasts of the LORD, Sukkot also has agricultural
significance. It marks the time of the harvest, the final
ingathering of produce before the arrival of winter. Hence, it is
also called the Festival of Ingathering (Exodus 23:16).
Sukkot is the time when the harvests of the
fields, orchards and vineyards are gathered in. The granaries,
threshing floors, wine and olive presses are filled with the fruit
of their labor. Months of toil and sweat are rewarded with abundant
harvest. Every farmer is elated with joy. This is the Season of Our
Rejoicing.
In Isaiah 4:2, it speaks of the righteous
ones who have escaped destruction. They are harvested before the
rest are thrown the great winepress of the wrath of God (Rev.
14:15-20).
Yeshua told us that the harvest would be at
the end of the age (Olam Hazeh). This is found in Matthew 13:39 and
Revelation 14:15. The harvest refers to believers who accept the
Messiah into their hearts (Matthew 9:35-38; Luke 10:1-2; John
4:35-38; Revelation 14:14-18). This harvest is the ingathering of
both Jews and non-Jews. But right now, many of them are in the
valley of decision (Joel 3:13-14).
Jeremiah grieved for a people who were not
a part of the harvest. The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and
they are not saved! (Jeremiah 8:18-22).
There is a Jewish custom of inviting
symbolic guests (ushpizin) each day to join the family in the
Sukkah. It is required by the law of hospitality (Hachnasat
Orechim). These seven honorary guests are namely Abraham, Isaac,
Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron and David. One guest is invited each day
of Sukkot.
Both Jews and non-Jews will live in the
Messianic Kingdom wherein they will see face to face Abraham, Isaac,
Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron, and David. What a joy it will be to
meet the heroes of our faith as we live with the Messiah during the
Messianic era!
The Feast Of The
Nations
Sukkot will be celebrated by all the
nations on earth during the Messianic age (Zechariah 14:16-18). It
is therefore called the Feast of the Nations.
The future observance of Sukkot by the
nations of the world rests upon Israel's election and mission. It is
the primary purpose of the Abrahamic covenant (Genesis 12:1-3). –
"in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."
From Abraham, God raised up a nation of
people, Israel, to be a blessing to the nations. That promise was
fulfilled through a Jew named Yeshua. The greatest evangelism in the
history of the world will be when 144,000 anointed members from the
12 tribes of Israel fulfil their responsibility in proclaiming the
gospel of the kingdom of heaven to the nations (Revelation 14:1-7).
Sukkot is about world missions and world
evangelization. The headcount of the house of Jacob who went into
Egypt was seventy (Genesis 46:27). It was there that they became a
nation. In Numbers 29:12-35, a total of 70 bulls were offered on the
altar during the week of Sukkot. These 70 bulls represented all the
70 nations existent in the earth there and then. When Solomon
dedicated the temple during Sukkot, the seventy nations of the world
were welcomed to participate and celebrate in the Feast (1 Kings
8:41-43).
One amazing thing about Sukkot is the
sacrifices being offered during the period (Numbers 29). When the
offerings are grouped or counted, their number always remains
divisible by seven. There are 182 sacrifices (70 bullocks, 14 rams,
and 98 lambs; totally 182 which is divisible by 7). The meal
offerings totals 336 tenths of ephahs of flour, which is also
divisible by 7. By no coincidence that this seven-day holiday, which
takes place at the height of the seventh month, has the perfect
number of seven imprinted on its sacrifices.
Sukkot is a picture of the Messianic
Kingdom. As the Sabbath falls on the seventh day of the week, the
Messianic Kingdom will fall on the seventh millennium. With the
Lord, one day is as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day
(2 Peter 3:8).
The
Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count
slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing
that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in
which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the
elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the
works that are in it will be burned up.
2 Peter 3:9-10
The
Feast Of Dedication
King Solomon dedicated the temple during
Sukkot (1 Kings 8). Therefore, this festival is also called the
Feast of Dedication.
It was during Sukkot when worship was
restored as the Jews returned from the Babylonian captivity. They
embarked on the reconstruction of the temple (Ezra 3).
The Festival Of Lights
Another ceremony in Sukkot was the
illumination of the temple. According to the Mishnah, at the end of
the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles, the priests and the
Levites would go down to the court of the women. Four enormous
golden candlesticks, each 50 cubits or about 75 feet high, were set
up on the court. Four golden bowls were placed upon them. Four
ladders were laid resting against each candlestick.
Four youths of priestly descent ascended to
the top of the ladders holding jars containing about 7.5 gallons of
pure oil. They then poured the oil for each bowl. The priests and
Levites used their own worn-out liturgical clothing for wicks. The
light radiating from these four candles was so bright that it
lighted up every courtyard in Jerusalem.
The mood was festive and joyous. Even the
most pious members of the Sanhedrin and heads of religious schools
would dance well into the night, holding bright torches and singing
psalms of praise to God. Jerusalem shone like a diamond that night
and her light could be seen from afar.
This light represents the Shekinah glory
that once filled the temple where God's presence dwelt in the Holy
of Holies (1 Kings 8:10-11; Ezekiel 43:5). During that time, the
temple was said to be the light of the world. It was during this
time of the year, in the background of the gloriously lit temple
that Yeshua declared, "I am the light of the world" (John 8:12).
In addition, during the same Sukkot
celebration, in the court of the women of the temple between the
four posts of light, some accusers brought to Yeshua a woman caught
in the act of adultery (John 8:1-11). Yeshua wrote a message on the
ground that drove all the accusers home. What did Yeshua write? The
answer is in Jeremiah 17:13:
O
LORD, the hope of Israel,
All who forsake You shall be ashamed.
Those who depart from Me
Shall be written in the earth,
Because they have forsaken the LORD,
The fountain of living waters.
Yeshua taught the people the true message
of the Feast. Those who forsake God shall be ashamed. Light has
nothing to do with darkness. The evil deeds of the accusers were
exposed. They were trying to trap Jesus as they set up their case
against the adulteress.
Israel was chosen to be God's light to the
nations (Deuteronomy 7:6-8). That’s why God blessed them to be a
blessing to the world. God would use them to show His glory to the
world. Israel's mission was and still is to proclaim to the world
that the God of Israel is the only true God, and there is no other
Savior besides Him (Acts 4:10,12).
But Israel failed in her mission to be a
witness to the world. Not only were the people disobedient to the
commandments of God, they were also not good examples to follow.
They did not become a light to the world. The world hated the Jewish
people for their arrogance and pride. They even rejected Yeshua, the
Light of the world when He came as one of them, showing them
lovingly the way back to God.
Although Israel failed in her mission, this
is not a permanent failure. In fact, God has turned this setback
into a blessing to all nations. Israel has experienced a hardening
in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. And so
all Israel will be saved (Romans 11:25-26). Israel still remains as
God's chosen people, and has a major role to play in the future of
the world (Romans 11:12-15).
The prophet Isaiah spoke of a future time
when Israel would be used by God to bring the message of Messiah to
the nations (Isaiah 62:1-5). Israel will be a blessing to all
nations at that time (Isaiah 19:23-25).
Jerusalem will become the spiritual focal
point of the world. This will be Israel's Golden Age when the King
of Jerusalem, also called the Prince of Peace, reigns in Jerusalem
(Isaiah 2:2-4; Micah 4:1-3).
The day is coming when Israel will be
restored and renewed once again be a light to the nations!