“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
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 or early October. It is also known by other names as well, some of these being Sukkot, The Season of Our Joy, and possibly most important to our discussion, 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
Known as the Feast of Ingathering, 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. Consider this, though; 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 Church?
“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 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, because 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"?
I posted this article a few months ago but for numerous reasons, quite obviously a lot has happened since then, I felt led to update it and repost it for your consideration. This past week I read a commentary concerning the war in heaven where Satan and his angels are finally cast down to the earth, and the speculation that it may have started on Rosh Hashanah which is taught in the Jewish Talmud. It also refers to the account in Daniel where the angel Gabriel informed him that he had been at war with satanic forces for a period of twenty one days. When I read this, my first thought was that if this war did in fact begin this past Rosh Hashanah, and if it does in fact last twenty one days, it would end on the seventh day of Tabernacles just in time for the eighth day
When the eighth day feast was added by God, He also said it was to be considered as a “solemn assembly”.
“Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days to the LORD. ‘On the first day there shall be a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work on it. ‘For seven days you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD. On the eighth day you shall have a holy convocation, and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD. It is a sacred assembly, and you shall do no customary work on it. ” Leviticus 23:33-36 NKJV
What many don’t realize, however, is that trumpets are blown on the eighth day as well, making this day the last day of the year they will be blown. Is it possible that this day is what is being referred to when we are told the Church will be raptured at the last trump?
“Also in the day of your gladness, in your appointed feasts, and at the beginning of your months, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; and they shall be a memorial for you before your God: I am the LORD your God.” Numbers 10:10 NKJV
This year the eighth day begins on Saturday night, the tenth day of October, at sunset in Israel. 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? I have no idea if that will prove to be the case or not. There are, after all, two deliveries we are told of in the scriptures. One is the delivery of Christ’s Church, the Body of Christ, into His presence by way of the rapture and the other is the delivery of the nation of Israel into the seventieth week of Daniel, otherwise known as the tribulation.
Either way, the important question
for all of us is are we members of the body of Christ or not? Have you made the choice to accept the gift
of salvation made possible by the sacrifice of God’s Son, Jesus Christ?
If not, if you are reading this you still have time to do so before the harvest
of believers occurs. Becoming a believer is simply accomplished by asking
Christ to come into your life and help you live life as He directs. If
you want to do that today, just pray a prayer like this to Him;
"Dear Lord Jesus, I know I am a
sinner. I believe You died for my sins. I want to turn from my sins and
open the door of my heart and life to you. I confess You as my personal Lord
and Savior. Thank You for saving me. Amen."
If you have done this today, or have
done it in the past, you have God’s promise that you will be spared from the
judgment He has promised is going to occur to those who choose not to believe,
and you can join me and all the others in God's family who are praying for the
coming of our Lord and Savior to “deliver” us to our "permanent"
home.
There is an old saying that I have always liked which talks about the rapture and the Church going home to be with the Lord, which you may be familiar with. "When we go up, Satan comes down." Will the war in Heaven be over this coming weekend?
Keep watching.
