September 29, 2009

  • Feast of Tabernacles

    Feast of Tabernacles paper sent to me via email from the Doorns—Rebecca from reelministries, inc. wrote apparently wrote it…or, at least that is who gave the article to the Doorns.

    OCT 2-9TH, 2009  8 DAYS OF TABERNACLES:  Sukkot is an appointed time that can be much more clearly understood by understanding its prophetic signifigances. Not only does scripture relate it to events yet to come, but Yeshua used its rabbinical traditions as a backdrop for some of his most dramatic teaching.

    How is Sukkot mentioned by the prophets?  Isaiah 56:6-7 reads:"And the foreigners who join themselves to Adonai  to serve him, to love the name of Adonai,and to be his workers,  all who keep Shabbat and do not profane it,and hold fast to my covenant,I will bring them to my holy mountain and make them joyful in my house of prayer;their burn offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar;for my house will be called   a house of prayer for all peoples."

    This theme of the gentiles worshipping God appears several other times in the prophets. Nowhere, however, is it as concrete as at… Zechariah 14:16-17 Finally, everyone remaining from all the nations that came to attack Yerushalayim will go up every year to worship the king, Adonai-Tzva'ot [Lord of Hosts], and to keep the festival of Sukkot. If any of the families of the earth does not go up to Yerushalayim to worship the king, Adonai-Tzva'ot, no rain will fall on them

    Two traditions came out of this passage. First, Sukkot is seen as a holy day for joyously celebrating the time when God will be worshipped by all the earth. Second, Sukkot includes many prayers for water and rain. In Israel, this time of year has Summer's harvests ending, and the rainy planting season approaching.

    What is Numbers 29:12-34 about?  In this passage God directs the Israelites to sacrifice 70 bulls during the eight days of Sukkot, as well as an assortment of other animal sacrifices. Because of how Zechariah relates Sukkot to a time when all the gentile nations will worship God at his temple, the rabbis decided these 70 bulls represented the traditional 70 gentile nations.

    What are the booths about?  The sukkot, or booths, were temporary dwelling places.  The serve two purposes.  First, they remind us of when the Israelites lived in booths as they wandered in the desert for forty years, totally dependent upon God for food, water, and clothing, and direction (Leviticus 23:43, Deuteronomy 1:33, Deuteronomy 8:2-4).  Second, they remind us that our human, earthly bodies are but  temporary, flimsy dwelling places for our spirits.

    Note from RB:   Third point for me:  God dwelt in a tabernacle among His people too during that desert time – I like to think of that as a picture of the convenant  promise that He will one day once again dwell among us.  Rev 21: 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." 5 He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." 6 He said to me: "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. 7 He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son. NIV

    What did Yeshua do on Sukkot?   The seventh chapter gospel of John records what Yeshua did  in Jerusalem on one Sukkot (verse 2). Yeshua arrives in Jerusalem halfway through the eight days of Sukkot (verse 14).  He teaches in the temple and arguments happen.  Then, on the seventh day (called Hoshana Rabbah) he begins a new speech (verses 37-39). Hoshana Rabah (which means "the great praise") was the climax of the Temple rituals for Sukkot.  One of these rituals was the water drawing ceremony. Yeshua had been waiting for its completion.

    For the six prior days, a priest would go to the pool of Shiloach and fill a pitcher with water.  The water was brought back to the Temple court, where it was poured into a basin at the foot of the altar amidst prayers for water and rain.  On Hoshana Rabbah this ritual happened again, then the basin of water was poured onto the hot altar.  The water would turn to steam and rise in a cloud from the altar.  There was already a Jewish tradition interpreting the prayers for water as also asking for God's Spirit.  This noisy, visible path of water leading up and down from the altar was especially seen as appropriate for praying for God's Spirit and the coming messiah, with Psalms 113-118, Isaiah 12:3, and other prayers. The entire Israelite nation (Deuternomy 16:16) was in the temple courts in an ecstatic celebration, asking for the messiah to come.

    There was also bright illumination in the Temple during Sukkot.  On Hoshana Rabbah four 75-foot tall menorah were lit.

    Then Yeshua "stood and cried out, 'If anyone is thirsty, let him keep coming to me and drinking!  Whoever puts his trust in me, as the Scripture says, rivers of living water will flow from his inmost being!'" (John 7:37-38).   Yeshua was saying, "You are praying for water and rain, and I am the answer to those prayers!  You are praying for your messiah, and I am here!"  The crowd clearly undertood (John 7:40-44).  Yeshua was using water, a symbol of Sukkot, to make his point.

    Note from Rosemary: Today I was studying the story of the woman at the well.  Look at what Jesus told her: John 4:6 Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour.7 There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink. 8(For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.) 9 Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. 10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. 11 The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? 12 Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? 13 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: 14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst ; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.KJV

    Compare what He told the woman at the well with what He said at His last Feast of Tabernacles:  John 7:37 On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him."  39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified. NIV

    Jesus WAS the source of the Spirit that the water symbolized at the Feast. He said it in a LOUD voice. He wanted the Jews to know they were looking at a fulfillment in Him.

    End of RB note

    Realize that most scholars agree that John 7:53-8:11 was an inserted story, to see Yeshua continuing his speech in John 8:12 after the uproar had quieted some.  "I am the light of the world: whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light which gives life."  Again, Yeshua was clearly using light, another symbol of Sukkot, to restate his message.  The Pharisees argue with him through the rest of the eighth chapter of John.  Then Yeshua leaves the Temple court and starts more trouble by healing a blind man at the pool of Shiloach (John 9).  Yeshua continues teaching until John 10:21.  At that point, the narration skips ahead until Hanukkah.

    How should believers celebrate?  Sukkot was a harvest festival (for the fruit harvest, as First Fruits was for barley, and Shavuot was for wheat).  We can continue to give thanks for God's provision. RB note: Hence: A THANKSGIVING DAY

    We can pray for others to recognize Yeshua, as his most direct claims to be messiah happened during Sukkot.  RB note: Hence: A day we  look at and pray for world missions

    Most of all, we can pray for our own filling with God's Spirit, even to a quantity as rivers! During the recent appointed times of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur the purity of our relationship with God was renewed. Now we are ready for a great filling of God's spirit.   This is the end of what I am copying from the article.

    Tidbits from:  http://socyberty.com/holidays/feast-of-tabernacles-explained-to-christians/  ----Dwelling in the Sukkah :  The holiday’s main observance involves “dwelling” in the sukkah (booth). The concept of thanksgiving for the harvest remains central, symbolized by the fruits (real or artificial) that decorate the Sukkot (one sukkah , two Sukkot ).

    --Some say the American Pilgrim fathers were influenced by the Jewish observance of Sukkot , from which Thanksgiving Day came.

    --Together with the reminder of Israel’s journey in the wilderness, the rabbis said the sukkah was the symbolic reminder of man’s reliance on Divine protection.

    --During Temple times, part of Sukkot was the water drawing ceremony, when water libations were poured over the altar, to highlight the petitions for rain. In modern Israel, special “water drawing” ceremonies are held during the intermediate days of Sukkot . People play musical instruments and sing biblical songs, such as the well known song, “You shall draw water with gladness out of the wells of salvation”, taken from Isaiah 12:3.

    Excerpts from http://www.godwithus.org/holidays/sukkot_a_practical_guide_for_believers.html .. the seventh day of the festival has much spiritual significance for believers in Yeshua (see John 7:37 +)… as we reach the eighth day, we come to a special holiday, Shmeni Atzeret (literally, the Eighth Day of Assembly). As mentioned in Leviticus 23:36, this day is to be set apart as a Shabbat and a holy assembly. Most traditional synagogues and messianic congregations have special services to remember this time. Messianic Jews and Gentiles are continually looking for the higher spiritual lessons of God's appointed times. Why would God command a special memorial on the eighth day of Sukkot? Besides being the close of the festival, this day may contain a connection to the life of Messiah. If our theory that Yeshua's birth took place on the first day of Sukkot is correct, {then JC was circumcised on the 8th day of the Feast}. .. the Jewish community has added an additional ninth day to Sukkot called Simchat Torah (Rejoicing in the Law). As it's name implies, this day celebrates the revelation of God as symbolized in the Torah scroll. It is a time of tremendous joy, with dancing and lively music.