Sukkot - The Feast of Booths
The 23rd chapter of Leviticus contains the Biblical Holidays, or the Feasts of Adonai. Seven in all, Sukkot, often translated as the Feast of Booths, is the culmination of the other six. After the gravity of Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement, Sukkot is especially light and joyful, lasting seven days with an extra Sabbath tacked on for good measure.
Again the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘On the fifteenth of this seventh month is the Feast of Booths for seven days to the LORD. On the first day is a holy convocation; you shall do no laborious work of any kind. For seven days you shall present an offering by fire to the LORD. On the eighth day you shall have a holy convocation and present an offering by fire to the LORD; it is an assembly. You shall do no laborious work.
‘These are the appointed times of the LORD which you shall proclaim as holy convocations, to present offerings by fire to the LORD–burnt offerings and grain offerings, sacrifices and drink offerings, each day’s matter on its own day– besides those of the sabbaths of the LORD, and besides your gifts and besides all your votive and freewill offerings, which you give to the LORD.
‘On exactly the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the crops of the land, you shall celebrate the feast of the LORD for seven days, with a rest on the first day and a rest on the eighth day. Now on the first day you shall take for yourselves the foliage of beautiful trees, palm branches and boughs of leafy trees and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God for seven days.
‘You shall thus celebrate it as a feast to the LORD for seven days in the year. It shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations; you shall celebrate it in the seventh month. You shall live in booths for seven days; all the native-born in Israel shall live in booths, so that your generations may know that I had the sons of Israel live in booths when I brought them out from the land of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.’” So Moses declared to the sons of Israel the appointed times of the LORD. Leviticus 23:33-44
Sukkot is a moed, one of the appointed times of Adonai. Strong’s concordance defines moed as: “an appointment, that is, a fixed time or season; specifically a festival; conventionally a year; by implication, an assembly (as convened for a definite purpose); technically the congregation; by extension, the place of meeting; also a signal (as appointed beforehand): - appointed (sign, time), (place of, solemn) assembly, congregation, (set, solemn) feast, (appointed, due) season, solemn (-ity), synagogue, (set) time (appointed).”
Moses learned all about these times while Adonai taught Him on Mt. Sinai. He told Moses that these moedim, these appointed times, were to be kept by all of the sons of Israel. If you consider yourself to be among the offspring of Israel, either physically or spiritually, the Most High God has made these appointments with you. Since so many of us are only just waking up to this fact, let’s learn more about this feast.
First, this festival lasts for seven days, with the first day being designated as a “holy convocation.” What exactly does that mean? It means, according to Strong’s concordance, “something called out, that is, a public meeting (the act, the persons, or the place); also a rehearsal: - assembly, calling, convocation, reading.” In other words, this is a meeting that Adonai considers to be Holy or set-apart for His people. Notice also the idea of it being a rehearsal, indicating right from the start that this is only a foreshadowing of things to come. But we’ll get to that later.
One might ask, “What do we do for those seven days?” According to the instructions above, we are to present sacrifices to our Elohim (God), burnt offerings of meat, grain and libations (wine). We are also told to go and gather branches and build for ourselves booths, or tabernacles, and to live in them for the length of the festival. Most believers simply eat their meals in this shelter, but more and more are taking this time to do a little camping, believing this to give them a better understanding of what it was like to live in the wilderness, relying on our Elohim’s provision. But we were also told to present offerings by fire unto Adonai, and in Numbers we can read about all of the sacrifices that He has specified for each day.
Without a Temple in which to offer these sacrifices, how could we possibly keep this command? By studying the sacrifices listed above, one can easily see that the idea of most sacrifices is to give unto Elohim the best of the best, and then enjoy it in His company. The sacrifices were cooked on the altar, and then returned to the one who made the sacrifice. He would return with the meat to his household and enjoy what his Elohim has provided for he and his family. Sounds like a big ole barbeque to me! (Minus the pork, of course.)
Adonai wants us to live in booths to remind us of the days of the Exodus, when the children of Israel lived in the desert for forty years. Why would He want us to do this? Could it be that He wants us to learn what they learned… to totally rely on Him for their protection? Are there other lessons from the Exodus out of Egypt that we need to learn during this time? And what has the Exodus to do with the times that lay ahead?
We have seen that we are to take branches, build huts, and live or at least eat in them for seven days. We have also been told that the first day is a Sabbath, or a day of complete rest. After the seven days, Adonai has given us another Sabbath, extending the festival one more day. It’s as if our Elohim is saying that He enjoys our company so much that He doesn’t want us to leave, asking us instead to hang around for another day. Remember, He loves us very much!
The Feast of Booths is mentioned many times throughout Scripture. It is one of the three pilgrimage feasts, where Adonai commands all men to appear before Him, in the place where His name dwells. His invitation extends to everyone, including the stranger who lives in our towns, as seen in Deuteronomy 16:
“You shall celebrate the Feast of Booths seven days after you have gathered in from your threshing floor and your wine vat; and you shall rejoice in your feast, you and your son and your daughter and your male and female servants and the Levite and the stranger and the orphan and the widow who are in your towns. Seven days you shall celebrate a 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 will be altogether joyful.
“Three times in a year all your males shall appear before the LORD your God in the place which He chooses, at the Feast of Unleavened Bread and at the Feast of Weeks and at the Feast of Booths, and they shall not appear before the LORD empty-handed. Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD your God which He has given you. Deuteronomy 16:13-17
Many historians believe that the original Thanksgiving celebration was actually an attempt by the Pilgrims of Plymouth to keep Sukkot. You see, the reason they were so persecuted is because they believed the entire Bible to be applicable to their daily lives. The Pilgrims didn’t celebrate Christmas, or the other traditional Christian holidays, as they understood the pagan origins of these celebrations. Naturally they would want to celebrate their first harvest in the manner God commanded. After all, it was the season of their joy!
Just before Moses died, he gave the Israelites their last instructions. Once again, he tells them to keep this feast, but this time he adds one more command:
Then Moses commanded them, saying, “At the end of every seven years, at the time of the year of remission of debts, at the Feast of Booths, when all Israel comes to appear before the LORD your God at the place which He will choose, you shall read this law in front of all Israel in their hearing. Assemble the people, the men and the women and children and the alien who is in your town, so that they may hear and learn and fear the LORD your God, and be careful to observe all the words of this law. Their children, who have not known, will hear and learn to fear the LORD your God, as long as you live on the land which you are about to cross the Jordan to possess.” Deuteronomy 31:10-13
At this point in time there was only one copy of the Torah, the Books of Moses. Unlike today, with Bibles found in the dollar stores, the children of Israel simply did not have the access that we have to the Word of God. Knowing that it would be some time before His Word was available to the common man, Adonai made provisions for His people in commanding the reading of the Torah every seven years. The Sabbatical Year, or the year of rest for the land and the people, was the perfect opportunity for this activity, as most everyone would be able to make the appointment since they were not busy working.
How are we to understand the appointed times if we don’t hear about them? We can’t. Neither will we know about them. Without the reading of Torah, we can’t possibly follow the instructions of God (Torah also means, “instructions; teachings”). This is the idea behind the fact that faith comes by hearing the Word (Romans 10:17). Even though we now all have our own copies of the Word, we should still read it aloud. The Word of God has incredible power when spoken aloud. Remember, Adonai spoke the world into existence.
When the Temple was first built, Solomon made sure that the people kept the Feast of Sukkot, just as his father had done before him. Unfortunately, Solomon fell into idolatry near the end of his reign and his sons after him followed his example. It wasn’t long before the Laws of God were ignored and the children of Israel punished for their adultery. The judgment upon Judah (the Southern Kingdom) was noted as being not only for idolatry, but also for refusing to give the land its Sabbath rest. It wasn’t until this rest had been achieved that He allowed a remnant of Judah to return to the land and rebuild Jerusalem and the Temple.
Both Nehemiah and Ezra were among those who returned from exile in Babylon. Once they had the altar rebuilt, they gathered together the remnant to find the Levite priests so they could begin the altar service. This occurred on the first day of the seventh month: Rosh Hashanah. While they were gathered together, the sons of Israel asked Ezra the scribe to read from the book of the Law (Torah) that had been found in the ruins of the Temple.
Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people for he was standing above all the people; and when he opened it, all the people stood up. Then Ezra blessed the LORD the great God. And all the people answered, “Amen, Amen!” while lifting up their hands; then they bowed low and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground. Also Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, the Levites, explained the law to the people while the people remained in their place.
They read from the book, from the law of God, translating to give the sense so that they understood the reading. Then Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “This day is holy to the LORD your God; do not mourn or weep.” For all the people were weeping when they heard the words of the law. Then he said to them, “Go, eat of the fat, drink of the sweet, and send portions to him who has nothing prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”
So the Levites calmed all the people, saying, “Be still, for the day is holy; do not be grieved.” All the people went away to eat, to drink, to send portions and to celebrate a great festival, because they understood the words which had been made known to them.
Then on the second day the heads of fathers’ households of all the people, the priests and the Levites were gathered to Ezra the scribe that they might gain insight into the words of the law. They found written in the law how the LORD had commanded through Moses that the sons of Israel should live in booths during the feast of the seventh month. So they proclaimed and circulated a proclamation in all their cities and in Jerusalem, saying, “Go out to the hills, and bring olive branches and wild olive branches, myrtle branches, palm branches and branches of other leafy trees, to make booths, as it is written.”
So the people went out and brought them and made booths for themselves, each on his roof, and in their courts and in the courts of the house of God, and in the square at the Water Gate and in the square at the Gate of Ephraim. The entire assembly of those who had returned from the captivity made booths and lived in them. The sons of Israel had indeed not done so from the days of Joshua the son of Nun to that day.
And there was great rejoicing. He read from the book of the law of God daily, from the first day to the last day. And they celebrated the feast seven days, and on the eighth day there was a solemn assembly according to the ordinance. Nehemiah 8:5-18
It is obvious that the children of Israel were unaware of the Laws of God until that point, as they needed to have it all explained to them. Apparently they were not fluent in Hebrew so they needed translation as well as explanation. Once they realized that they were missing out on one of Adonai’s Appointed Times, they instantly set about to observe it, because they truly had a heart for God. This is repentance; this is turning back to His ways.
I would like to share another time that Sukkot is mentioned in Scripture:
After these things Yeshua was walking in Galilee, for He was unwilling to walk in Judea because the Jews were seeking to kill Him. Now the feast of the Jews, the Feast of Booths, was near. Therefore His brothers said to Him, “Leave here and go into Judea, so that Your disciples also may see Your works which You are doing. For no one does anything in secret when he himself seeks to be known publicly. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world.” For not even His brothers were believing in Him. John 7:1-5
Even in Yeshua’s day everyone made his or her way to the Temple during Sukkot. It was something that every good Jew was expected to do… how much more so if you claim to be Messiah? Yeshua did go to the feast; only He went alone for it was not yet His time. That would come during another season.
All week long the people were talking about Yeshua, only not openly for fear of what the ruling class (Pharisees, Sadducees) might think. Then, in the midst of the week, Yeshua began to teach in the Temple. This is a very bold thing for a carpenter from Galilee to do. Naturally, He stirred them up by what He said and what He did, especially the fact that He healed on Shabbat (Sabbath). But the biggest stir came on the last day of the feast:
Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Yeshua stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’” But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Yeshua was not yet glorified. John 7:37-39
After the Temple was rebuilt, the daily sacrifices for Sukkot began to include water. Because rain was so badly needed for the coming growing season, the Levites included a water libation ceremony, taking water from the spring of Gihon, also called Shiloah, which is located in the Kidron Valley. Adonai may not have commanded this, so it would be considered more of a freewill offering. The following quote comes from the Temple Institute’s website (http://www.templeinstitute.org):
Every day of the festival, the priests descended down to the Shiloach, accompanied by all the congregation assembled in the Temple. There, they filled a golden flask with 3 lug (about 1/2 liter) of the pure water. Ascending back up, carrying the flask with song and elating with that singular feeling that comes only from fulfilling the Holy One’s will, the gathering entered back into the Temple through the Water Gate, one of the gates on the southern side of the court (it received its name on account of this event-Shekalim 6, 3). As they entered the gate, their steps were greeted by the sound of trumpets and shofar-blasts, in fulfillment of the prophet Isaiah’s words (12:3) “With joy you shall draw water out of the wells of salvation.”
Once in the Temple, the priest who had the honor of performing this service now carries the golden flask up the altar ramp. At the top, he turns to his left. Since the ramp is located at the south side of the altar, this means that the Cohen now faces the southwest corner; it is here that the libations were poured. Here at this corner, two silver cups were fixed on the top of the altar, sitting next to each other. The one further east received the wine libations that are poured out every day at the time of the daily tamid sacrifice; the other was designated for this service, which took place on exclusively on Sukkot.
Each of these cups featured a narrow opening into which the libations were poured. These openings were of two different sizes; the cup that received the water libation had a bigger opening than that of the wine. This is because the wine and water libations were poured out at the same time, and it was a necessary requirement that they flow at the same pace and reach the bottom of the altar simultaneously. Since water is thinner than wine and therefore flows faster, the opening for the water was narrower to accommodate for this. Thus the two liquids were kept flowing at the same ratio.
As the procession led back to the Temple, the people would cry out, “Hosanna!” Did you notice that this spring was referred to as, “the waters of salvation”? The name “Yeshua” means salvation. It was at this point that Yeshua stood up and proclaimed to all: “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’” Imagine what you’d be thinking if you were witness to these things! These waters are called “living waters” and Yeshua means salvation! Knowing all of this brings a deeper meaning, a deeper understanding of what occurred and what Yeshua was really saying.
It is evident by these events that Yeshua Himself celebrated Sukkot. But this is not the only time we see a correlation between Yeshua and Sukkot. That would be His birth. It is very well known that December 25th is not really the birthday of Yeshua. In fact, that was the birthday of a false god, the son of the sun god, also known as Mithra. Many claim that we can’t possibly know when Yeshua was born, but if you look at the birth of John the Baptist, which occurred during Passover, knowing that the cousins where approximately six months apart, one can easily see that Yeshua must have been born during the seventh month. Many have speculated that He was born on Rosh Hashanah or Yom Kippur, but as there was no room in Bethlehem, a suburb of Jerusalem, it would appear that the town was full due to not only the census, but the pilgrimage feast as well. Think about it, if you had to travel to Bethlehem from Galilee to register, wouldn’t you simply wait until Sukkot when you had to go that way anyway rather than making a special trip? If you want to celebrate the birth of Messiah, celebrate Sukkot!
The festival of Hanukkah has its origins in Sukkot as well. When the Maccabees reclaimed the Temple, it was too late to celebrate Sukkot, but having the desire to worship in the Temple, they decided to celebrate it anyway, even if it was a little late. In the process, they also dedicated the new altar, which also takes seven days, with the altar being fully dedicated on the eighth day. Coincidence? I think not. It seems that Sukkot may be a reminder of the time we dedicated the new altar, as another one of the themes of this holiday is the rededication of our lives to Adonai. We also see aspects of “Palm Sunday” here, as the people gathered palm branches to wave and cried out, “Hosanna!” just as they would during Sukkot. I wonder why…
Ezra and Nehemiah are not the only prophets to write of Sukkot; Zechariah also spoke of this feast, but his view was of a future Sukkot… the one which is to occur in the Millennial Kingdom.
Behold, a day is coming for the LORD when the spoil taken from you will be divided among you. For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be captured, the houses plundered, the women ravished and half of the city exiled, but the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city. Then the LORD will go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fights on a day of battle.
In that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to west by a very large valley, so that half of the mountain will move toward the north and the other half toward the south. You will flee by the valley of My mountains, for the valley of the mountains will reach to Azel; yes, you will flee just as you fled before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah.
Then the LORD, my God, will come, and all the holy ones with Him! In that day there will be no light; the luminaries will dwindle. For it will be a unique day which is known to the LORD, neither day nor night, but it will come about that at evening time there will be light.
And in that day living waters will flow out of Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and the other half toward the western sea; it will be in summer as well as in winter. And the LORD will be king over all the earth; in that day the LORD will be the only one, and His name the only one.
All the land will be changed into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem; but Jerusalem will rise and remain on its site from Benjamin’s Gate as far as the place of the First Gate to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king’s wine presses. People will live in it, and there will no longer be a curse, for Jerusalem will dwell in security.
Now this will be the plague with which the LORD will strike all the peoples who have gone to war against Jerusalem; their flesh will rot while they stand on their feet, and their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongue will rot in their mouth. It will come about in that day that a great panic from the LORD will fall on them; and they will seize one another’s hand, and the hand of one will be lifted against the hand of another. Judah also will fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the surrounding nations will be gathered, gold and silver and garments in great abundance. So also like this plague will be the plague on the horse, the mule, the camel, the donkey and all the cattle that will be in those camps.
Then it will come about that any who are 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 to celebrate the Feast of Booths. 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. If the family of Egypt does not go up or enter, then no rain will fall on them; it will be the plague with which the LORD smites the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths. This will be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths.
In that day there will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, “HOLY TO THE LORD.” And the cooking pots in the LORD’S house will be like the bowls before the altar. Every cooking pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be holy to the LORD of hosts; and all who sacrifice will come and take of them and boil in them. And there will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the LORD of hosts in that day. Zechariah 14:1-21
It would appear to me that Adonai is very serious regarding this festival and the need to keep it during His reign, as He clearly states that any nation who does not attend this Appointed Time, their land will not have the rain that it needs. This is a very serious threat. Obviously we are to keep this feast in that day, so why not keep it now?
There are many other teachings associated with Sukkot, but I’m not going to take the time now to go into them. It is my prayer that you will go and investigate these things yourself. What I would like to focus on now is more of the prophetic aspects of this feast, focusing on the command to gather palm branches.
After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands; and they cry out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures; and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, “Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen.”
Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “These who are clothed in the white robes, who are they, and where have they come from?” I said to him, “My lord, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. For this reason, they are before the throne of God; and they serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne will spread His tabernacle over them. They will hunger no longer, nor thirst anymore; nor will the sun beat down on them, nor any heat; for the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and will guide them to springs of the water of life; and God will wipe every tear from their eyes.” Revelation 7:9-17
Between the palm branches, the water and the tabernacle, it sounds quite a lot like Sukkot to me! It is the seventh feast of Adonai and it is literally the Feast of the Seventh Month. Seven is the number of God’s perfect plan, as demonstrated in the creation week. One could easily spend months just studying this aspect of the feast.
Revelation chapter 18 cries out, “Fallen is Babylon the great!” Chapter 19 tells us what will happen next:
Then I heard something like the voice of a great multitude and like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.” It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Then he *said to me, “Write, ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’” And he *said to me, “These are true words of God.” Revelation 19:6-9
Sukkot has always had the idea of marriage associated with it. Back at Shavuot (Pentecost) we became betrothed to our beloved when we declared, “All that You say, we shall do!” Over the summer, we get to know our betrothed better, preparing for the day He will return for us. As the trumpet sounds on Yom Teruah (Rosh Hashanah) we are reminded that His coming is eminent, and when He does return, each will have to answer to our King, but we who are called by His name will celebrate with Him. A Jewish wedding has a little something called chupah (canopy), and resembles a small tabernacle. Remember, He will spread His tabernacle over us.
Yeshua spoke to them again in parables, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. And he sent out his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding feast, and they were unwilling to come.
“Again he sent out other slaves saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited, “Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fattened livestock are all butchered and everything is ready; come to the wedding feast.”‘ But they paid no attention and went their way, one to his own farm, another to his business, and the rest seized his slaves and mistreated them and killed them. But the king was enraged, and he sent his armies and destroyed those murderers and set their city on fire.
“Then he *said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. Go therefore to the main highways, and as many as you find there, invite to the wedding feast.’ Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered together all they found, both evil and good; and the wedding hall was filled with dinner guests.
“But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes, and he *said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes?’ And the man was speechless. Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ For many are called, but few are chosen.” Matthew 22:1-14
The Kingdom of God is what awaits us when the world, as we know it, comes to an end. Here Yeshua Himself ties this with a wedding. He does likewise in Matthew 25 with the parable of the Ten Virgins. In Luke we also find a similar reference:
“Be dressed in readiness, and keep your lamps lit. Be like men who are waiting for their master when he returns from the wedding feast, so that they may immediately open the door to him when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those slaves whom the master will find on the alert when he comes; truly I say to you, that he will gird himself to serve, and have them recline at the table, and will come up and wait on them. Whether he comes in the second watch, or even in the third, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves. But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have allowed his house to be broken into. You too, be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not expect.” Luke 12:35-40
We need to prepare, according to Yeshua, so that when the time comes that He returns, we will be found alert and ready to serve Him. Part of this preparation is the rehearsal of what is to come. Like an actor who has memorized his lines, we too must be prepared by practicing our part in the events ahead.
The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost. Revelation 22:17
Having now studied a little bit about Sukkot, the verses above take on a whole new meaning. We can also see how the mixing of the water and the wine foreshadowed the mixing of the water and blood of Yeshua when the Roman soldier stuck a spear in His side. Studying the feasts and festivals helps us to have a clearer picture of the plan of God so that we can be ready for what is to come. He told us these things for a reason.
Still there are many who ask why we should celebrate these feasts and festivals. Isn’t studying them enough? As one who has kept the feast, I assure you that there are certain lessons that you can only learn “in the camp.” If you celebrate the feast with others, you learn just what it was like to live among all of those other believers in close quarters where showers might not be a daily routine. Even if you celebrate alone, you learn to rely on Adonai to provide good weather for your time with Him. If he doesn’t, there is a reason, and we can learn that as well.
The prophet Zechariah tells us that we will be keeping this feast during the Millennial Kingdom and John’s Revelation seems to indicate that this is the first thing we will be celebrating when His Kingdom comes. If this is the case, that Yeshua Himself celebrated it and we will be celebrating Sukkot in the Kingdom to come, why not celebrate it now as well? Remember, Yeshua told us that He did not come to do away with the Law (Torah – first five books of the Bible – the teachings that God gave Moses), then why did we “do away” with Sukkot? Why do we celebrate Yeshua’s birth in December rather than when He probably was born, during Sukkot?
To me, the best reason of all to celebrate not only this feast, but the other six as well is because it is His command.
“You shall thus celebrate it as a feast to the LORD for seven days in the year. It shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations; you shall celebrate it in the seventh month. You shall live in booths for seven days; all the native-born in Israel shall live in booths, so that your generations may know that I had the sons of Israel live in booths when I brought them out from the land of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.” Leviticus 23:41-43
Perpetual statute: appointed, custom, manner, ordinance, or statute that is always, from ancient time, eternal, forever lasting, perpetual, at any time, from the beginning of the world without end. Look it up in a concordance if you don’t believe me. It seems pretty clear to me that our Elohim wants us to keep Sukkot as an appointed time from now until eternity passes away. I don’t see why He would want us to take a break just because we are in the time of the Gentiles, which is almost up anyway.
With Sukkot being such a joyous celebration, I don’t see why we wouldn’t want to observe this commandment. Sukkot gives us a glimpse into the World to Come. It joins us with all of those Israelites of the past who have kept the feast, down through the ages, including not only the apostles, but also Yeshua Himself. Most brides get rehearsal dinners; why can’t we?
If we want to have an intimate relationship with our Lord and Savior, Yeshua the Messiah, we must bend our will towards His. We need to do exactly what He tells us to do or we are straying. He has bought us for a price and He has the power to decide when and where we are to worship Him, and in what manner. He has that authority. Period. Once we learn this, we consider our ways and turn our steps towards His statutes (Psalm 119:59), just like the Jews did when they returned from Babylon.
Everyone is invited to the wedding feast, but only those who have prepared and are in their wedding clothes will be allowed to remain. Many will respond to the invitation, but only the few who are ready will be able to attend, for many are called, but few are chosen. Rehearsals prepare one for the final performance; will you be ready when He returns?
“Now it shall be, if you diligently obey the LORD your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I command you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth.
“All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you if you obey the LORD your God: Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country. Blessed shall be the offspring of your body and the produce of your ground and the offspring of your beasts, the increase of your herd and the young of your flock. Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.
“The LORD shall cause your enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before you; they will come out against you one way and will flee before you seven ways. The LORD will command the blessing upon you in your barns and in all that you put your hand to, and He will bless you in the land which the LORD your God gives you. The LORD will establish you as a holy people to Himself, as He swore to you, if you keep the commandments of the LORD your God and walk in His ways.
“So all the peoples of the earth will see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they will be afraid of you. The LORD will make you abound in prosperity, in the offspring of your body and in the offspring of your beast and in the produce of your ground, in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers to give you. The LORD will open for you His good storehouse, the heavens, to give rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hand; and you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow.
“The LORD will make you the head and not the tail, and you only will be above, and you will not be underneath, if you listen to the commandments of the LORD your God, which I charge you today, to observe them carefully, and do not turn aside from any of the words which I command you today, to the right or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them. Deuteronomy 28:1-14
With obedience comes the blessing. This is not legalism, which is puts burdens on folks, but the joyful celebration that enables us to restore the unity of the believers of God, since we have turned our ways towards His statutes, no longer turning to the right or to the left, but simply following His commands. I am not going to tell you how to keep the commands; I am going to encourage you to keep them in the manner that the Holy Spirit, the Ruach HaKodesh, leads you. That is His job. Mine is to simply encourage you to try. Won’t you try for the blessing?