“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. Three times
in a year shall all thy males appear before the LORD thy God in the place which
he shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks,
and in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the LORD
empty:” Deuteronomy 16:13-16 KJV
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. I don’t know about any of you, but my favorite has always
been the fall. Just to experience the relief from the long hot summer, feel
the weather changing, doing yard work as the leaves change color
and then fall, and especially 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, then watching as it slowly
turns to snow.
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.
“Say not ye, There are yet four months, and [then] cometh harvest?
behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are
white already to harvest.” John 4:35 KJV
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 unto myself; that where I am,
[there] ye may be also.” John 14:2-3
KJV
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 KJV
“In the last day, that great [day] of the feast, Jesus stood and cried,
saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth
on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living
water.” John 7:37, 38 KJV
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, as well as 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 we as believers to experience the rest we so anxiously look forward to at this time of the year? If this year is the year the Father decides to take us home, and a great many believe that it is, the harvest season is right in front of us. Everyone is afforded a choice as to where they will spend eternity, and if your desire is to spend that eternity in Heaven with our Father, Paul tells us in his letter to the Romans exactly how to do that.
“that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” Romans 10:9-10 NKJV
I pray you have, or will, make the choice to accept the gift of eternal life offered to us all by the death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Keep watching.
