articlesforchristians

Feasts of Tabernacles

This is a joyful feast. According to Deuteronomy 16:13‑15 Thou shalt observe the feast of tabernacles seven days, after that thou hast gathered in thy corn and thy wine: And thou shalt rejoice in thy feast, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite, the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are within thy gates. Seven days shalt thou keep a solemn feast unto the Lord thy God in the place which the Lord shall choose: because the Lord thy God shall bless thee in all thine increase, and in all the works of thine hands, therefore thou shalt surely rejoice.

The Torah (1st five books of the Old Testament) explicitly commands three things regarding the festival of Sukkot:

1. To gather the four branches (Lev. 23:40)
2. To rejoice before the LORD (Deut. 16:13‑14; Lev. 23:40)
3. To live in a sukkah (booth) (Lev. 23:42)

A few facts to consider:

• This Feast was to remind the people of their time in the wilderness going to the promise land.
• Revelations 21:3 and then I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “See! The tabernacle of God is among men, and He will live among them, and they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them [as their God,]
• During this feast the priests would perform many rituals. These Jewish rituals point found new meaning in the New Testament.
  •  John 7:37-39 Now on the last and most important day of the feast, Jesus stood and called out [in a loud voice], “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink! He who believes in Me [who adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Me], as the Scripture has said, ‘From his innermost being will flow continually rivers of living water.’” But He was speaking of the [Holy] Spirit, whom those who believed in Him [as Savior] were to receive afterward. The Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified (raised to honor).
    • So, as the priest was pouring the “living water” at the altar and praying for rain for the coming months, Jesus stood up and declared that the living water was actually the Holy Spirit that would flow from the innermost being (belly) of the believer.
    • Joel had prophesied that the Messiah would come and pour out the Spirit of God on the entire world.
      • Joel 2:28-29 “It shall come about after this That I shall pour out My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and your daughters will prophesy, Your old men will dream dreams, Your young men will see visions. “Even on the male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.
    • This was fulfilled in Acts Chapter 2.
    • The festival of Sukkot has a prophetic dimension awaiting fulfillment. As the “Day of Ingathering” of the harvest, Sukkot prefigures the gathering together of the Jewish people in the days of the Jesus’s reign on earth (Isa. 27:12‑13; Jer. 23:7‑8). Indeed, all of the nations of the earth that survived the Great Tribulation will come together to worship the LORD in Jerusalem during the Feast of Sukkot (Zech. 14:16‑17). Sukkot, therefore is a vision of the world to come. Sukkot also foreshadows the LORD’s sheltering Presence over Israel in the millennial kingdom. No longer will Israel be subject to the oppression of the ungodly nations of the world, but God Himself will place His sanctuary in her midst (Ezek. 37:26‑28). Jesus did indeed come to “sukkah” (or “tabernacle”) with us (see John 1:14) in order to purge away our sins and to redeem us to Himself.
      • John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
        • remember tabernacle means to dwell
    • There is an interesting prophecy in Zechariah chapter 14.
      • Zechariah 14:16-19 Then everyone who is left of all the nations that went against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and celebrate the Feast of Booths (Tabernacles). ¹⁷ And it will be that whichever of the families of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, there will be no rain on them. ¹⁸ If the family of Egypt does not go up [to Jerusalem] and present themselves, then no rain will fall on them. It will be the plague with which the Lord will strike the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths (Tabernacles). ¹⁹ This will be the [consequent] punishment [for the sin] of Egypt, and the [consequent] punishment [for the sin] of all the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths (Tabernacles).
    • I really like what Revelation 21:3 says about Tabernacles.
      • And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.

How to Celebrate Sukkot: for anyone wanting to participate in this feast now. Remember doing this or not doing this does not affect your salvation. However, this can be a great learning experience for you and your family. Don’t be like the pharisees and think that doing this or any other thing makes you more Holy than anyone else.

The festival of Sukkot is celebrated for seven days (i.e., from Tishri 15‑21) during which we “dwell” in our sukkah by reciting various blessings, eating meals there, singing songs, and waving our lulavs.

Preparations for the Holiday

We begin preparing for Sukkot immediately following the Yom Kippur holiday. The following things help us to get ready for the holiday:

1. Build and/or decorate a Sukkah. (I just use my wonderful car porch.)
   • you could build a sukkah
   • you could use a tent
   • you could use a car porch
   • you could use a gazebo
2. Obtain lulav.
   • buy one
   • make one
3. Make yourself happy. We are commanded to rejoice during the holiday of Sukkot for the blessing of God’s provision and care for our lives (Deut. 16:14‑15).
4. Read the Bible

Steps for Celebrating Sukkot

On the evening before Sukkot begins, we will do the following:

1. Light the Holiday Candles
   • To sanctify the occasion, we light the holiday candles 18 minutes before sundown (i.e., on Tishri 14). As the celebration begins, we will move into the “new day,” that is, the first day of Sukkot.
   • Say the blessing and then light the candles. The Blessing is…
     • Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the Universe, who sanctifies us with his commandments and commands us to light the candles of Sukkot (Tabernacles).
2. Thank God for the Season
   • After sundown on the first night of Sukkot (only) we recite a blessing to thank God for bringing us to this season in our lives. The Blessing is…
     • Blessed are You, Lord our God, Master of the universe who has kept us alive and sustained us and has brought us to this special time.
   • You may also want to thank the LORD for the holidays as a revelation of Jesus at this time. This Blessing is…
     • Blessed art You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who has given us holidays, customs, and seasons of happiness, for the glory of our Lord Jesus, the Light of the world.
3. Say Kiddush: a blessing over the wine/ grape juice/ fruit of the vine
   • Before eating the holiday meal in the sukkah, we recite kiddush. Here is the shorter blessing over the wine.
     • The shorter blessing is…
       • Blessed art Thou, LORD our God, King of the universe, Creator of the true fruit of the vine Jesus. amen.
4. Recite the Sukkah Blessing
   • After reciting the holiday kiddush, we (joyfully!) recite the traditional blessing over the Sukkah. The blessing is…
     • Blessed are You, LORD our God, King of the universe, Who sanctifies us with his commandments and commanded us to dwell in the sukkah.
5. Recite blessing for the bread
   • Before partaking of our meal in the sukkah, we recite ha‑motzi (the blessing over the bread). The Ha-Motzi is: 
     • Blessed art Thou, LORD our God, King of the universe, who brings forth the living bread from heaven.
6. Eat a meal
   • After this we enjoy our meal together in the sukkah. Traditional foods include stuffed cabbage and kreplach containing fruit or fall harvest vegetables; dishes made with honey and pastries.
7. Wave the Lulav
   • We face east while holding the lulav bundle in our right hand and the etrog in the left hand. We then lift them together with the etrog pointing downward and recite the lulav blessing.
     • Blessed are You, LORD our God, King of the universe, Who sanctifies us with His commandments and commanded us regarding the waving of the lulav.
     • After reciting the blessing, we turn the etrog right‑side up, put both hands together, and then “shake” the lulav (i.e., reach out then draw in) three times in each direction: front, right, back, left, up and down.
       • These six directions indicate the surrounding presence of God.
       • Note that it is entirely appropriate to recite the blessing and “wave the lulav” at any time during the festival of Sukkot, day or night.
8. Sing praises to the LORD
   • After reciting the Hebrew blessing and shaking the lulav around, it is customary to recite (or sing) Psalm 136.
     • Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever. Give thanks to the God of gods, for his steadfast love endures forever. Give thanks to the Lord of lords, for his steadfast love endures forever; to him who alone does great wonders, for his steadfast love endures forever; to him who by understanding made the heavens, for his steadfast love endures forever; to him who spread out the earth above the waters, for his steadfast love endures forever; to him who made the great lights, for his steadfast love endures forever; the sun to rule over the day, for his steadfast love endures forever; the moon and stars to rule over the night, for his steadfast love endures forever; to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt, for his steadfast love endures forever; and brought Israel out from among them, for his steadfast love endures forever; with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, for his steadfast love endures forever; to him who divided the Red Sea in two, for his steadfast love endures forever; and made Israel pass through the midst of it, for his steadfast love endures forever; but overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea, for his steadfast love endures forever; to him who led his people through the wilderness, for his steadfast love endures forever; to him who struck down great kings, for his steadfast love endures forever; and killed mighty kings, for his steadfast love endures forever; Sihon, king of the Amorites,  for his steadfast love endures forever; and Og, king of Bashan, for his steadfast love endures forever; and gave their land as a heritage, for his steadfast love endures forever; a heritage to Israel his servant, for his steadfast love endures forever. It is he who remembered us in our low estate, for his steadfast love endures forever; and rescued us from our foes, for his steadfast love endures forever; he who gives food to all flesh, for his steadfast love endures forever. Give thanks to the God of heaven, for his steadfast love endures forever.
9. Celebrate in the Sukkah
   • Perhaps more than any other Jewish holiday, Sukkot has an atmosphere of celebration and delight. The Torah explicitly mentions that we are to rejoice during this festival, and we do so by listening to festive music, talking about the meaning of the holiday, praying together, eating holiday food, and just relaxing inside the sukkah with family and friends.
10. During the subsequent days (and nights) of Sukkot we will perform these same steps, though we skip step number 2 after the 1st night.