September 29, 2012

• Sukkot: Feast of Tabernacles

  Since tomorrow night begins Sukkot, I thought I might re-post this explanation for you, from… a few years ago.  It’s good, informative… you’ll enjoy it.
  

  I was catching up on e-mail this morning, and FFOZ’s e-drash (link) was on the Feast of Tabernacles.  And I’m going to post it here, because it was THAT good.  My comments follow.

  The Feast of Tabernacles

  The Apostle John uses a verb form of the same Greek word that is used to translate the Hebrew word for “booth” (sukkah) when he wrote, “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt [tabernacled] among us.” (John 1:14) He tabernacled among us, and He will tabernacle among us again in the messianic future.The celebration of the Festival of Booths (Sukkot) celebrates the Messiah who once tabernacled among us, now tabernacles within us, and in the future will again tabernacle among us.

  

  The last appointment on God’s Leviticus 23 calendar is the Feast of Booths, a seven-day harvest celebration. The Hebrew name of the festival is Sukkot, a word that means “shelters, stables or huts.” These temporary, tent-like structures are often translated as “tabernacles” in our English Bibles.  The festival is so named because Israel is commanded to annually build such dwelling places as a reminder of the post-exodus years when they lived in huts and booths, following God in the wilderness.¹ Sukkot is a time of joy and celebration, a time to celebrate the harvest and revel in God’s goodness.

  Many beautiful traditions are attached to the annual Festival of Booths. For example, it is traditional to invite guests into one’s booth for a festive meal each night of Sukkot. Among the list of invitees are some auspicious names: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron and David. Each are specially invited to come into the booth and pull up a chair at the table. Obviously, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron and David are unlikely to actually attend the meal, since they are all dead. That, however, is the point of the ritual. The Feast of Booths anticipates the Messianic Age, when the dead will be raised to life again and we will all sit at the table with the aforementioned in the kingdom of heaven.

  When Messiah comes, He will bring in the final harvest of God’s kingdom and institute an age of peace and prosperity upon the earth. The prophets relate that day to the festival of Sukkot, a day when every man will sit beneath his own vine and fig tree.² Isaiah 4:6 tells us that God will spread a tabernacle of glory over Jerusalem.

   According to the prophets, the Feast of Booths celebrates a time when all nations will ascend to Jerusalem bearing tribute to King Messiah and celebrating the festival. In that day, all nations will ascend to His throne in Jerusalem in order to celebrate the Festival of Booths (Tabernacles). Obviously, this is a very important festival for disciples of Messiah today.

  Sukkot is the great festival, the culmination of all the appointed times. Sukkot is to the other festivals what the Sabbath is to the other six days of the week. As such it is a fitting foreshadowing of that great celebration of creation when the entire world will live in peace and brotherhood under the reign and rule of the righteous Messiah King. Just as the weekly Sabbath foreshadows the millennium, Sukkot also looks forward to that great age. Therefore, the festival of Sukkot, like all the festivals, foreshadows Messiah.

  aNNa’S NoTe:  This is where I get ALL giddy on you.  I never thought of Sukkot as the culmination of eras, or the culmination of feasts, or the ‘Sabbath’ of both!  Isn’t that totally kewl?!  I knew it was one of three feasts that the Jews were COMMANDED to celebrate in Jerusalem (they had to travel there for it!). 

  The 7 visitors is very interesting.  I’m not sure why they chose those visitors… I would’ve thought they’d've gone with Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, and Yeshua, for the six covenants that have come, and leave the last one open for the covenant to come, but it’s fascinating, nonetheless.  Wow… tonight we’re having a visitor!  ((Sorta.))

  The John 1 reference I have talked about before.  The Word became flesh and tabernacled among us… I believe is a veiled reference to when Yeshua was born.  In other words, I believe Sukkot is Yeshua’s birthday – NOT X-MESS.  X-Mess is NOT scriptural – Sukkot is.   It’s the day He put on His ‘temporary dwelling’ (aka body) and came to live among us.  If you want to put out your Nativity, this is the time!   If you want to sing ‘Away in a Manger’ and ‘Joy to the World’ and “The first Noel”… now is the time!

  As for the future implications, this feast is NOT yet fulfilled, as we do not dwell (tabernacle) with the Father.  Someday in the future, after we are taken up bodily from Earth, the Judgment is meted out, and the old heavens and Earth pass away, there will be a New Heaven and Earth… and we will dwell (tabernacle) there with Him – the Creator, Himself!  Will that NOT be a glorious thing?  Can’t wait!  It’s what we look forward to!

  So this is a HUGE time – a time of looking back at Israel’s wandering before reaching their Promised Home, and our time of wandering here before reaching OUR Promised Home.  A time of looking back at Christ’s first coming, as a babe in a manger… and the time coming in the future when He will dwell among us again – this time as King!  SOOOOO much richness packed in seven mere days!

  • 11:11 am
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