Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles)
Torah: Leviticus 22:26 – 23:44 Haftarah: Zechariah 14 Brit Chadasha: Luke 2
The Season of Our Rejoicing
When I think of Sukkot or the Feast of Tabernacles, three things come to mind: remember the past, fulfill the present, and prepare for the future. That in a simple nutshell is Sukkot. In Lev. 23:39-43 we find this Feast of Yahweh laid out for us. In verse 41 there is something very interesting that many of us have misinterpreted and looked over. It reads, “And ye shall keep it a feast unto YHVH seven days in the year. It shall be a statute forever in your generations:”
Now I am not a rocket scientist but when I read a statute forever I understand that it means forever. If you look the word forever up in a Strong’s Concordance you will find it is the Hebrew word for eternity. Folks it means what it says and says what it means. Stop reading what you believe and believe what you read. Also, in Zechariah you will find that EVERYONE IS COMMANDED TO OBSERVE this Feast and those who don’t will have the whip cracked over them I encourage you to go and read Nehemiah 8:13-18. What in the world would happen if all ‘believers’ would return (return in Hebrew means repent) to YHVH’s Word not in words through lip service only but actions. What would happen if we were like Nehemiah or Ezra? Could we change our nation would our land be healed? Well it is plain and simple many folks don’t want to love Yahweh with all their heart, mind, and souls. It is very evident that we don’t love YHVH like we are commanded to because most ‘believers’ aren’t keeping the commandments of YHVH[2]. Really though what would happen if we all returned to the pure Word and not man’s doctrine? We could turn this world upside down just as the Bondservants of Yeshuah did when they walked the face of the earth. Celebrating Sukkot is celebrating the collective memory of the children of Israel. It’s remembering the desert experience of our ancestors. Also, it’s where we have to learn to trust in YHVH and His provision. We err tremendously when we think that this desert experience was just for the children of Israel. One reason why we celebrate Sukkot is not only to remember these events that happened to the children of Israel as history but to remember them because they are going to become real in our lives. The main reason I celebrate Sukkot is because our Messiah Yeshuah was born at this time. Now I know this ruffles religious folk’s feathers. I was brought up in a ‘church’ where Xmas was/is a golden calf. I have written several articles on Xmas so I will not go into detail other than one simple point. If you went over to Israel and asked any sheep farmer when do you bring your flock in for the winter? They would clearly tell you that they bring them in from the fields of grazing the first part of November because it begins to rain and it is very cold weather during this time and they keep them in until around late Feb. So clearly Messiah wasn’t born on Xmas day. Even though the Protestant church screams that they have broken away from the Catholic church, it still practices many of the Constantine pagan practices. Isn’t it interesting that the Puritans had a law that outlawed the celebration of Xmas and Xmas trees[3]. What did they know and understand that we don’t today? For one thing, I believe that many of the Puritans were obedient to the Scriptures where as today many are obedient to the denominational code of men. You might think that is harsh but it is the truth. I deal with tradition of man more than you can imagine on the mission field here in Central America. If Americans were the ones sending out missionaries all this time then where in the world did the Central American countries get ‘their man made doctrines of tradition’ from? America! Sorry for going down that road but it’s time that we return to the Creator’s Time and the Creator’s Ways and leave our man made garbage behind. Sukkot isn’t just a lesson in history that YHVH did with the children of Israel many years back. It’s part of the preparation where the bride is preparing for the bridegroom. It’s a time where we are preparing and are intimate with our Creator. It’s a time where we are celebrating the birth of our Messiah Yeshuah and longing for the day when he will dwell (tabernacle in the Greek which gives us the language that Messiah was born on the Feast of Tabernacles) among us[4]. Sukkot is about us preparing to become the bride of Yahweh so that we will not be just an invited one or guest but will be the bride[5]. How can we see a picture of the bride and her responsibility to prepare herself to be the bride in keeping the commandments? The pattern is in the story of Rebecca and Isaac[6]. We see Abraham sending his servant (type of the Ruach ha Kodesh or Holy Spirit) to get a bride for his son. Rebecca is found and she says yes without even seeing her soon to be husband. She only heard his name and said yes. She was faithful to enter into a marriage covenant with someone she had never known (type and shadow of you and I; we said yes without even seeing or knowing the Messiah). So in this story we have Abraham (type and shadow of the Father YHVH), Eliezar (type and shadow of the Ruach or Spirit), Isaac (type and shadow of the Son), and Rebecca (type and shadow of the Bride). Isn’t it interesting that most of us have never paid attention to the camels at the well in this story? There is so much to learn from these old camels here in this story and we just read over them and don’t pay any attention at all to them even when they are mentioned 17 times. We find that it was only 10 camels that were sent by Abraham. We know he was a wealthy man and could have sent hundreds of camels over so why in the world just 10? Well it’s because 10 represents whole or complete. Camels also were the only things that could survive the desert trip. In other words they were the only thing which allowed Rebecca a means to reach her soon to be husband and become the bride. So let’s look at this a bit deeper now. The ten camels represent the Word of YHVH, all the commandments of Yahweh to be exact. Remember we can’t live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of YHVH. So we see Abraham (FATHER) sending Eliezar (SPIRIT) along with the 10 camels (COMMANDMENTS or all of the WORD of YHVH) to look for Rebecca (BRIDE) to bring her back and be married to Isaac (SON). So to make this clear we see from the time that the servant called her, Rebecca has been riding on the camels. The text reveals to us that she will not remove herself from them until she finally meets the bridegroom face to face. The camels (commandments of YHVH) not only brought her to the bridegroom, and sustained her along the way but enabled her to become the bride of Isaac. Isn’t it interesting that the first thing she did when she got off the camels (commandments) was to proceed into a tent and consummate the marriage (intimacy)[7]? Folks it is so important that we not only keep the commandments but understand them as well. Keeping the commandments determines who will be the bride. Not keeping the commandments will only allow you to be a person invited or guest at the wedding. Blessings and Chag Sameach Sukkot or Happy Sukkot. Thought for the Week Sukkot is often times referred to as “Season of Our Joy”. It is a time of rejoicing because after the season of Repentance (T’shuvah) and the Redemption of Yom Kippur we understand that our sins have been forgiven and have the joy of walking, knowing, and obeying Yahweh. Until next time blessings. Endnotes [2] John 14:15 [3] http://www.apuritansmind.com/Christmas/DankoChristmasBanned.htm [4] John 1:14 [5] Matthew 22:2-14 [6] Genesis 24 [7] Genesis 24:66-67
[1] Zech 14:16-19