“You
shall observe the Feast of Tabernacles seven days, when you have gathered from
your threshing floor and from your winepress. “And you shall
rejoice in your feast, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant
and your female servant and the Levite, the stranger and the fatherless and the
widow, who are within your gates. “Seven days you shall keep a sacred feast to
the LORD your God in the place which the LORD chooses, because the LORD your
God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so
that you surely rejoice. “Three times a year all your males shall appear before
the LORD your God in the place which He chooses: at the Feast of Unleavened
Bread, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Tabernacles; and they shall
not appear before the LORD empty-handed.
Deuteronomy 16:13-16 NKJV
Growing
up in Southern California, I was only familiar with two seasons; warm and hot.
It took a move to the Pacific Northwest to experience what four seasons was
really all about and actually having four choices as to which one I enjoyed the
most. It didn’t take long to decide that my favorite is the fall. Just to
experience the relief from the long, hot summer, feel the weather changing to
cooler, and doing yard work as the leaves change color and then fall, and
looking forward to taking it a little easier in the winter all bring me a sense
of enjoyment. I suppose it also brings me a sense of anticipation too as I
enjoy listening to it rain, and then slowly turn to snow as I am big on winter
recreation. (I traded my surfboard for skis)
The
Feast of Tabernacles is the last of the seven feasts appointed by the Lord for
the nation of Israel. It occurs in the fall between the 15th and the 21st of
the month of Tishri, which usually occurs in late September and early October.
It is also known by other names as well, some of these being Sukkot, The Season
of Our Joy, and The Feast of Ingathering. It is the last of the three holidays
in which all Jewish males were required to make the pilgrimage to the temple,
yet as opposed to the others, the word joy (simchah) is used several times to
describe it. I want to look at just a few reasons why this holiday is known as
the “Season of Our Joy”, and consider the possibility it might prove to be a
time we as believers need to “watch” with special anticipation.
“Do you
not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I
say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already
white for harvest! John 4:35 NKJV
Also
known as the Feast of Ingathering, the Feast of Tabernacles celebrates the last
harvest in Israel for the year. Traditionally there are three harvests, these
being the barley harvest, wheat harvest, and fruit harvest. In the fall, after
these three were completed, you would celebrate the finish of your labors for
the year. Obviously it was a time of celebration for your work was done, and
you could look at the results sitting in your storehouse. How often did Jesus
use the illustration of planting and harvesting in His teaching while on this
earth? Could the Feast of Ingathering give us a clue as to when Jesus might
return for His people?
“In My
Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I
go to prepare a place for you “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I
will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be
also. John 14:2-3 NKJV
Known
traditionally as the Feast of Tabernacles or Sukkot, this feast also serves as
a reminder of the time the children of Israel dwelt in the wilderness in
“temporary” dwellings before they were delivered to the Promised Land. During
this feast Jews will construct “Sukkahs”
or temporary shelters and will stay in them to remind them of what the children
of Israel went through during their wilderness wanderings. As believers, we
know that our time on this earth and in these bodies is but temporary as well.
Not only do we have the promise from Jesus that He is building us a new and
eternally permanent home, but will at the rapture present us with new and
eternal bodies as well. Could this feast again be a foreshadowing of that
coming time when our hope in Christ will be rewarded?
Now the
Jews’ Feast of Tabernacles was at hand.
John 7:2 NKJV
On the
last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If
anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink “He who believes in
Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living
water.” John 7:37, 38 NKJV
One
of the more interesting traditions associated with this feast was the drawing
of water from the pool of Siloam. Every day a priest would fill a golden vase
with water known as the living water (mayim
hayim) and take it to the temple where it would be poured out on a corner
of the altar. In these verses from John we see that Jesus used this time of
celebration to announce to the world that He was, in fact, offering mankind the
water of eternal life. John also makes it clear that this occurred on the “last
great day” of the feast. This in fact is a reference to the eighth day which is
known as Shmini Atzeret. It is not
part of the Feast of Tabernacles, but is celebrated the day after and it is
then that the people would begin to pray for rain for the coming year. Water
has always been at a premium in Israel, and without it the land would become
desert. Yet Jesus took this day as an opportunity to announce that He had come
to save the world. Is it no wonder this celebration is also referred to as the
"Season of Our Joy"?
This
last feast seems to be both an end, and a beginning. It is a celebration of
harvest and the end of the year's work, and the beginning of a time of rest to
enjoy the fruits of labor. Jesus came to earth to do the "work" it
required for us to obtain eternal life. How appropriate would it be for us as
believers to experience the rest we so anxiously look forward to at this time
of the year? The Feast of Tabernacles begins this Sunday, and will continue
until next Sunday. During this week why don't you join me in being
"joyful" as we look back at the past year of hard work and pray for
the coming of our Lord and Savior to take us to our "permanent" home?
