Sukkot

The Feast of Tabernacles. When I first felt led to research and write on tabernacles a few weeks ago, I had no idea what that was going to entail. As I am not Jewish, I do not know or understand the depths of any of the Holy Days outside of what I read and study in scripture and from other research. I can do all of the academic study I want, and one thing will still be missing: cultural significance. I live in Northwest Oklahoma, not exactly the same as Israel. My heritage stems from Scotch-Irish, Native American and French, and I grew up small town Oklahoma, riding horses, fishing, and other rural area kid things. To say that I understand the life of someone from modern Israel and the Jewish community, let alone someone from the time of the ancient Hebrews, would be like saying that I grasp the heritage that flows in my veins. I can study about the Choctaw people and my Irish and French ancestors, but I will never fully grasp the depths of the culture because I am a simple American girl. While I may be that, a simple American, it holds no bearing on my heart. A heart that has a deep love of Adonai, who called the Jewish people and recognized them as His own, and through His Son, Yeshua, He has allowed for a gentile like me to be grafted in and given the gift of salvation. Johnathan Cahn put it this way, I may not be Jewish physically, but because of Yeshua, I am Jewish spiritually, and accepting Yeshua is the most Jewish thing you can do.

This post is going to look at the Feast of Sukkot itself, and the eleven commands given to Moses concerning it. I paused when looking at them and thought, why eleven? And when I looked up what words equal eleven in the Hebrew Gematria, I shook my head because, God wowed me once again.

Eleven

Hag - Festival, feast, festive sacrifice

Tab – Good, pleasing

‘Iddo – From the Gematria “Mighty One”. From Strong’s Concordance, “Yahweh has adorned”.

You could say that eleven paints a beautiful picture that Sukkot is a festival or feast that is good and pleasing to the Mighty One. Or even that as the sukkahs were adorned, so Yahweh adorns us as we are the tabernacle and He dwells in and communes with us.

1. Adonai said to Moshe, “Tell the people of Isra’el, ‘On the fifteenth day of this seventh month is the feast of Sukkot for seven days to Adonai.’” Leviticus 23:33-34

If we were to look at this verse from a western perspective, we would think that July 15th was to be the start of the Feast of Sukkot, and we would be wrong. The Hebrew calendar is a lunar calendar where the day begins at sundown rather than sunrise. When we look at the account of creation in Genesis, with each day the scripture reads, “So there was evening, and there was morning”. Our calendar begins the year in January, where the first month of the Hebrew calendar, Nissan, which occurs around March and April. Sukkot takes place in the month of Tishrei, the seventh month, which occurs around September and October, the time of the fall harvests.

2. On the first day there is to be a holy convocation; Leviticus 23:35

The word that stuck out to me in this verse was “convocation”. In Hebrew, the word is miq-rah and means an “assembly, calling the community together, usually for a religious ceremony”. One other word tied to miq-rah is “reading”. In the Complete Jewish Study Bible, it provides a list of the scripture readings for the different feasts, festivals, and fasts. On the first day of Sukkot, Leviticus 22:26-23:44, Numbers 29:12-16, and Zechariah 14:1-21 from the Old Testament are read. The scriptures from Zechariah speak of both Jew and Gentile celebrating the festival of Sukkot and was captured beautifully in a discussion of Yeshua and His disciples in Season 2, Episode 4 of The Chosen. Big James askes what would have to happen for Jews and Gentiles to be eating from the same table, celebrating the feast, to which Yeshua replies, “Something is going to have to change.” He was of course speaking about His crucifixion and resurrection.

3. Do not do any kind of ordinary work. Leviticus 23:35

The first day the people were not to do their usual labor. I was thinking about my life and what ordinary work would be for me. Dishes, laundry, housework, etc. but how much different would it have been for the ancient Hebrews. How did their day-to-day tasks differ from our own? They lived without our modern conveniences and distractions, without the comforts we truly take for granted, like indoor plumbing. A day that they came together, left their ordinary tasks at home, became part of a holy miq-rah and read scripture together, dwelling together in the sukkah. It is a beautiful picture.

4. For seven days you are to bring an offering made by fire to Adonai; Leviticus 23:36

Numbers 29:13-38 lists the offerings for each day of the feast that were to be made. For example, scripture says for day one [13] You are to present a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, bringing a fragrant aroma to Adonai. It is to consist of thirteen young bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs in their first year (they are to be without defect), [14] with their grain offering – fine flour mixed with olive oil, six quarts for each of the thirteen bulls, four quarts for each of the two rams, [15] and two quarts for each of the fourteen lambs.; [16] also one male goat as a sin offering; in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain and drink offerings. Numbers 29:13-16 The Complete Jewish Study Bible states that “The Festival of Sukkot concludes the holiday cycle, with more offerings than all other festivals combined including seventy bulls, one representing each of the nations of the world. (Genesis 10:32)” As each day progressed, the number of bulls sacrificed decreased by one until the eighth day. The rams and lambs stayed the same in number until the eighth day where the total was one bull, one ram, seven male lambs. One male goat was made as a sin offering for all eight days.

5. On the eight day you are to have a holy convocation. Leviticus 23:36

When first looking at this scripture, it is bound to bring about some confusion. How can there be an eighth day to a seven day festival? The eighth day is a mystery that both Johnathan Cahn and Rabbi Jason Sobel talk about in their respective books, The Book of Mysteries and Mysteries of the Messiah, both of which I highly recommend. For this verse, I want to look at commentary from Mysteries of the Messiah about the number eight, and how it relates the eighth day to Yeshuah.

Eight is the number of covenant. God commanded through Abraham, and again through Moses, that every male Jewish child must be circumcised as a sign of the covenant on the eight day. Seven is the number of the completion of the natural world, but eight is the number of the supernatural that causes one to rise above the natural order of things.

Eight is also the number of new beginnings. Thus, as we saw in the introduction, eight is associated with the messianic age. When the Messiah comes, the world will experience a new beginning – literally a “new heaven and a new earth” (Rev. 21:1) – and humanity will finally transcend the Fall and be restored to our supernatural state when we receive our glorified bodies.

This all connects to Jesus, the supernatural Son of David (the eighth son of Jesse), who rose from the dead on the eight day. The Messiah died on Friday, which is the sixth day of the Hebrew week, rested as God did on the seventh day after finishing the work of redemption, and rose on the eight day, which was also the first day of the week. His resurrection caused the supernatural (8) to be made manifest in the natural (7). An eight turned on its side is the symbol of infinity. With the resurrection of the greater David, infinity and eternity broke into time and space.

From Chapter 12 of Mysteries of the Messiah by Rabbi Jason Sobel

6. And bring an offering made by fire to Adonai; Leviticus 23:36

As on each of the previous days, there were to be burnt offerings made on the eighth day as well. On the eighth day there was one bull, one ram, seven lambs without blemish and one goat for a sin offering. As I was pondering the eight days of sacrifices, I thought about the phrase “the sacrifice of praise” and went to Psalm 40: 7(6)-11-(10).

[7(6)] Sacrifices and grain offerings you don’t want; burnt offerings and sin offerings you don’t demand. Instead, you have given me open ears; [8(7)] so then I said, “Here I am! I’m coming! In the scroll of a book it is written about me. [9(8)] Doing your will, my God, is my joy; your Torah is in my inmost being. [10(9)] I have proclaimed what is right in the great assembly; I did not restrain my lips, Adonai, as you know. [11(10)] I did not hide your righteousness in my heart but declared your faithfulness and salvation; I did not conceal your grace and truth from the great assembly.”

In a different Psalm, David made this point again. Psalm 51:17(15)-21(19)

[17(15)] Adonai, open my lips; then my mouth will praise you. [18(16)] For you don’t want sacrifice, or I would give them; you don’t take pleasure in burnt offerings. [19(17)] My sacrifice to God is a broken spirit; God, you won’t spurn a broken, chastened heart. [20(18)] In your good pleasure, make Tziyon prosper; rebuild the walls of Yerushalayim. [21(19)] Then you will delight in righteous sacrifices, in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings; then they will offer bulls on your altar.

It comes down to spirit and truth. (John 4:24) If we do not worship and offer our sacrifices and offerings from a broken spirit and repentant heart, what we do in the physical is not going to matter.

7. It is a day of public assembly; do not do any kind of ordinary work. Leviticus 23:36

As with the first day, the eighth was a day of public assembly. As I began looking at the scriptures that are read on the eighth day, John 7:37-39 are the designated scriptures that are read from the New Testament (for Messianic Jews). [37] Now o the last day of the festival (of Sukkot) Hoshana Rabbah, Yeshua stood and cried out, “If anyone who is thirsty, let him keep coming to me and drinking! [38] Whosoever puts his trust in me, as the Scripture says, rivers of living water will flow from his inmost being!” There is so much significance to why Yeshua stood and said this on the last day of the festival. The CJSB explains it this way,

“The Talmud tells of a custom that developed in the Second Temple period. At that time during this holy day, a priest would take a water pitcher down to the Pool of Shiloach (Siloam), dip it in the water, and carry it back to the Temple. Crowds of people would then form a huge processional behind the priest, dancing, signing, and changing the Hallel Psalms 9113-118) as they entered the Tempe mount. For each of the first six days of Sukkot the processional would circle the Temple altar one time, and on the seventh day there would be seven processionals to magnify the joy. The highlight of the ceremony came when the priest dramatically poured the water on the altar of the Temple. The response of the multitudes was so immense that the Talmud says whoever has not been in Yerushalayim for this ceremony has not experienced real joy. Hence, it became known as Rejoicing of the House of Drawing Water (Hoshana Rabbah).

Why all the rejoicing at this water pouring ceremony? Obviously, it had to be more than the rejoicing in the hope of future winter rains for Isra’el, as important as that might be. Talmudic rabbis speak of deeper truths from Isaiah 12:3 in regard to the ceremony: “Then you will joyfully draw water from the springs of salvation” (salvation in Hebrew is Yeshua, the name of the Messiah). More than the outpouring of temporal water in Isra’el, the Rejoicing of the House of Drawing Water was to prophetically illustrate the days of messianic redemption when the water of the Holy Spirit would be poured out upon all Isra’el.

Imagine the setting: Sukkot was in full swing, and the joy of the first six days was exuberant. On the great final day (Hoshanna Rabbah), the crowds were filled with expectation for the Messiah and the Holy Spirit he would bring. At the very time of the water drawing ceremony, Yeshua made a bold proclamation: “Do you truly want the living waters of the Holy Spirit? Does anyone understand the true significance of this ceremony? If anyone desires what the Bet Ha-sho-evah symbolizes, let him believe in me. I am the Messiah who will pour out the Holy Spirit on Isra’el!”

8. But on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered the produce of the land,

you are to observe the festival of Adonai seven days; the first day id to be a complete rest and the eight day is to be a complete rest.” Leviticus 23:39

Day one and Day eight were to be observed as a Shabbat or Sabbath. It is here that I want to come back to the significance of the eighth day and look at what Johnathan Cahn shared in The Book of Mysteries. This account is written in narrative from and as a conversation between a teacher and a student.

He took me back into the Chambers of Scrolls, approached the ark, removed the scroll, unrolled it on the table to the passage he was looing for then began translating it aloud: “’You will celebrate the feast of the Lord for seven days, with a complete rest on the first day and a complete rest on the eighth day’. It’s speaking of the Feast of Tabernacles,” he said. “But there’s something strange about it. It says you will celebrate the feat for seven days, with a rest on the Eight Day. How do you get an Eight Day from a seven-day feast? Seven is the number of the days in the feast and the days of creation. Every week there are seven days. So then what is the Eight Day?”

“It’s a mystery,” he said. “It’s called the Shemini Atzeret. It means the Gathering of the Eighth Day. The Feast of Tabernacles is the last of the holy days appointed by God, the final feast. So it speaks of the end, the end of days.”

“It’s the very last day appointed by God…the mystery day. And those who belong to God belong to the Eight Day. And when the creation ends, they will enter it…the day beyond days, when the finite yields to the infinite…and its limitations are no more…the age beyond ages…eternity.”

He paused for a moment before continuing, “And one more secret.”

“What?”

“Those who live in the Spirit can partake of the Eight Day…even now.”

“How?”

“Go beyond the end…beyond the end of yourself…and you’ll find out.”

9. On the first day you are to take choice fruit, palm fronds, thick branches, and river-willows Leviticus 23:39 & You are to live in sukkot for seven days; every citizen of Isra’el is to live in a sukkah Leviticus 23:42

When I was younger, we would go camping quite often. One of the most memorable trips was to Colorado. We pitched the tent in a location close to a river, as well as a waterfall. We could use the waterfall as a shower, fish, and swim in the river, and lay out under the stars at night, looking for the constellations or trying to count as many as we could. You never realize how many stars fill the night sky until you are in an area with zero electricity. We did not have cell phones or tablets to distract us, we came together as a family and spent time together. I remember at times it would rain, and we would be inside the tent, listening to the sound of the rain as it hit the tent, and we would talk. We were being a family. In a way, this is how I envision living in the sukkahs for that week, the togetherness. Seeing the stars through the branches on the top of the booth, hearing and feeling any rain that might fall through if it rained.

As I started looking up about the different branches that made up their shelters and some of their significance, the more I have an overwhelming desire to want to visit the Holy Land. To walk the roads they walked, to see the Jordan River, to see the olive and date palm trees. To breathe in the air of Israel.

The branches date palm, thick or leafy branches (I have seen myrtle mentioned), and willow, along with the fruit citron are utilized to create the Lulav, which is shaken together or waved. According to myjewishlearning.com, the blessing for waving the Lulav is as follows:

“Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, who has sanctified us with His commandments and has commanded us concerning the waving of the lulav.”

And additionally, on the first day:

“Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, who has granted us life, sustenance, and permitted us to reach this season.”

As I thought about each type of tree, I started looking for scriptures and studies that tie to the significance of them. I hope that you will click each link included in this post for more in-depth information on each.

Palm – The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar in the L’vanon. Psalm 92:13

Myrtle - [12] Yes, you will go out with joy, you will be led forth in peace. As you come, the mountains and hills will burst out into song, and all the trees in the countryside will clap their hands. [13] Cypresses will grow in place of thorns; myrtles will grow instead of briars. This will bring fame to Adonai as an eternal, imperishable sign. Isaiah 55:12-13

Willow – [3] For I will pour water on the thirsty land and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit on your descendants, my blessing on your offspring. [4] They will spring up among the grass like willows on the riverbanks. Isaiah 44:3-4

One final like that I would like to share is concerning the citron, and it is a beautiful study by Chaim Bentorah.

10. Celebrate in the presence of Adonai your God for seven days. Leviticus 23:40

The KJV of this verse uses the word “rejoice” instead of “celebrate”. As I began looking up rejoice in the Hebrew, what I found did not seem to fit what this festival was describing. Not that there is anything wrong with the word “rejoice”, but the CJSB version using the word “celebrate” or Hagag in the Hebrew, seemed to fit more accurately. Hagag, according to Strong’s, means: to hold a festival, celebrate a festival; this can refer to a religious celebration or a revel. I prefer what The Ancient Hebrew Lexicon of the Bible says regarding the word celebrate. Translation: HOLD.A.FEAST (V) Definition: To commemorate a special event with dancing, rejoicing, and sharing of food The act of performing a celebration. The participants of a festival would gather together and dance in a circle.

I can not help but think of a Jewish wedding feast with this description. As with the Feast of Sukkot, the Jewish wedding celebration lasted for a week. It is a jubilant celebration with feasting, dancing, and blessing. Both Sukkot and the picture of the wedding shows us the relationship we have with Yeshua, and it is found in Revelation 19:7-8 which describes when Yeshua will marry his bride. [7] Let us rejoice and be glad! Let us give him the glory! For the time has come for the wedding of the Lamb, and his Bride has prepared herself [8] fine linen, bright and clean has been given her to wear.

11. [41] You are to observe it as a feast of Adonai seven days in the year; it is a permanent regulation, generation after generation; keep it in the seventh month. [42] You are to live in sukkot for seven days; every citizen of Isra’el is to live in a sukkah, [43] so that generation after generation of you will know that I made the people of Isra’el live in sukkot when I brought them out of the land of Egypt; I am Adonai your God.

What Egypt have you been brought out of? What wilderness have you walked through? As a gentile, I have never celebrated the Feast of Sukkot. To be honest, I have never really known much about it as I have never been taught about it in any church meeting that I have ever attended. I read about it when I made a point to read the Bible cover to cover, but I didn’t stick around and ponder the significance of any of the feasts. As a matter of fact, I’m pretty sure that not much of anything stuck and was rooted into my spirit when I did that. My point is, for a long time, I never stopped and celebrated God bringing me out of my Egypt. I never celebrated Him being with me while I was in the wilderness, even when I didn’t feel Him there. I look back now and see how He was dwelling with me through those times of my life and now, I rejoice and celebrate how He was with me. And it gives me that hope and promise that He will be with me each time He brings me from an Egypt and through a wilderness just as He is with me as I stand on the mountain in the good times. It is the promise of the tabernacle. It is the promise of Immanu El, God is with us. It I the promise of Yeshua. I heard a loud voice from the throne say, “See! God’s Sh’khinah is with mankind, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and he himself, God-with-them, will be their God. Revelation 21:3

It is a beautiful thing to know that I can tabernacle with him now, and that I will tabernacle with Him forever! He is my God, and I am His, part of His Chosen.