Feast of Tabernacles (fwd)

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Forwarded from CONCHR-L:
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Date:    Tue, 8 Oct 1996 16:05:07 -0400
From:    "Loren D. Mendelsohn" <ldmcc@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU>
Subject: Feast of Tabernacles

Last week was the festival of Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles,
which commemorates the forty years that the children of Israel
spent dwelling in tabernacles (or booths) during their wilderness
wanderings.  Sukkot, together with Pesach (Passover) and Shavuot
(Pentecost) is one of the three pilgrim feasts, on which all Jewish
men were required to come before the LORD in His Temple.  The
observance of the feast is described in Lev. 23:33ff and Deut.
16:13ff.  The rabbis have taught that this feast commemorates God's
protection and provision for His people during this time, and it is
also a harvest festival.  As such, Sukkot symbolizes how God
gathers the harvest of His people into His all-embracing sukkah.
It is a very joyful feast, being the only feast described in the
Jewish liturgy as "the season of our rejoicing," and it is the only
feast on the Law commands that "you shall rejoice in your feast"
(Deut. 16:14).  During the time of Christ, Sukkot was considered to
be the most important of festivals.  It was commonly referrred to
as "the Feast" with no other description; everyone understood that
this designation meant Sukkot.  In the days of the Temple, it was
customary to light torches in the Temple to commemorate God's
appearance to the children of Israel as a pillar of fire.  Also, it
was customary on the last day of the feast to pour out water and
sing the verse from Isaiah 12:3: "With joy you will draw water from
the wells of salvation."

Observant Jews build a sukkah and if possible, live in it for the
eight days of the feast.  At the very least, Jews are expected to
eat their meals in the sukkah.  The sukkah has three walls and a
roof made of plant materials.  The roof must be sparse enough  to
offer no protection from the rain.

Beside those found in the Torah, there are numerous references to
Sukkot in the OT.  Most notable, perhaps are the references in Ps.
118 and in Zech. 14:

     The LORD is God,
       and he has given us light.
     Bind the festal procession with branches,
       up to the horns of the altar!
          -- Ps. 118:27

     The every one that survives of all the nations that have
     come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to
     worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the
     feast of booths.
          -- Zech. 14:16

The verse from Ps. 118 is a reference to the command in Dt. 23:40:
"And you shall take on the first day the fruit of goodly trees,
branches of palm trees, and the boughs of leafy trees, and willows
of the brook; and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God seven
days."  In the context of the rest of the psalm, it is clearly
Messianic, having to do with the entrance of the Messiah into
Jerusalem and into the Temple itself (cf. Mt. 21:1-9; Mk. 11:1-10;
Lk. 19:28-38).  The verse (and those following) from Zechariah has
eschatological significance, indicating that in some way Sukkot
will continue to observed even after the Lord's return.

As a Messianic feast, it has a variety of meanings.  As with the
rabbinical interpretation, Sukkot reminds us of our utter
dependance on God's provision.  It is a feast on which we remember
that Jesus is our "well of salvation" who gives the living water to
all who will believe in Him (John 7:2,37ff), and that He is the
true light of the world (John 8:12).  And finally, as with Rosh
haShanah, the feast has special eschatological significance,
reminding us of that great day of harvest, when God will gather in
His children from all the earth to sit at the table of the greatest
Feast, the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.

One additional comment on the eschatological significance of
Sukkot:  One of the meanings of the feast is the idea that God not
only provides, but that He also dwells with His people.  Thus, a
very important aspect of the fulfilment of Sukkot is God's dwelling
with His redeemed people as spoken of in Rev. 21:3: "Behold, the
dwelling <or sukkah> of God is with men.  He will dwell with them,
and they shall be his people,and God himself will be with them."
This verse speaks of the full restoration of (and goes beyond) the
relationship that God had with Adam and Eve in Eden.  I would even
go so far as to say that one of the major purposes of God in
creating the human race was to have a people among whom He could
dwell for the praise of His glory.  I would say that in the
fulfilment of Sukkot, God will accomplish this purpose.

Shalom,

Lon Mendelsohn