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Monday
Over the last few weeks
I've been speaking to you about the biblical Jewish feasts
of the Lord listed in our bibles in Lev. 23, and how they
all point toward and are fulfilled in the Messiah Jesus
(Yeshua in Hebrew)
We've already looked at the
early spring festivals of Passover, Unleavened Bread and
the Feast of Firstfruits, and how they pointed toward the
crucifixion, death and resurrection of Yeshua. We also
looked at the Feast of Weeks (Shavuot in Hebrew) and how
it pointed toward the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the
Day of Pentecost and the unity of all believers (Jew or
Gentile) in the Messiah.
More recently we looked at
two of the fall festivals - the Feast of Trumpets (Rosh
Hashanah) and the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) and their
connection with the first and second coming of the
Messiah. Today, we'll begin to look at another fall
festival called The Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot in
Hebrew). This feast is also connected with the first and
second coming of the Messiah Jesus.
In Lev. 23:34-44, God told
the Israelites to dwell in "booths" for 7 days and to
rejoice before Him, after bringing in their fall harvest
which He had abundantly supplied. The word "booth" is
pronounced "succah" in Hebrew, and from the plural "Sukkot"
we get the Hebrew name for the Feast of Tabernacles.
Because the Feast of Sukkot
was basically an agricultural festival, God commanded the
Israelites in Lev. 23:40 "to take the fruit of beautiful
trees, branches of palm trees, the boughs of leafy trees
and willows of the brook...". The fruit of the beautiful
trees is a sweet smelling "citrus" fruit called and Etrog
in Hebrew. The branches of the trees are referred to in
Hebrew as the "lulav". On the 15th day of the 7th month,
which is the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles "the
lulav and the etrog" were waved before the Lord in every
direction, acknowledging God's omni presence throughout
the heavens and the earth and to thank him, through a
"wave offering", for providing an abundant harvest. This
was similar to the "waving of 2 loaves of leavened bread"
(Lev 23:17) during Shavuot, the Feast of Weeks, another
agricultural festival celebrated in the late spring.
According to rabbinic
Judaism, the lulav and the etrog have different symbolic
meanings, but to us as believers in Yeshua, we understand
that it points toward Israel and the nations; Jew and
Gentiles, who are all one in the Messiah, just like the
two loaves of bread did as they were waved before the Lord
during Shavuot. Deut 16:14 adds further insight to all of
this, where God commands any Gentiles living amongst the
Israelites to rejoice before the Lord with them, and to
celebrate the Feast of Sukkot together.
Aren't you glad that all of
the feasts of the Lord are for all of God's children? And
aren't you glad that Yeshua broke down the middle wall of
partition and that in Him, we are all one?
Tuesday
Today I would like to
continue to speak to you about the Feast of Tabernacles,
called "Sukkot" in Hebrew. The word "Sukkot" is the plural
for the Hebrew word "Sukkah" which means a booth, or a
tabernacle. In Lev. 23:41-43, God commanded the Israelites
to live in booths for seven days after gathering in the
fall harvest, and to rejoice before Him.
A booth (Succah) is a
temporary dwelling place (flimsily made by intention). It
is a temporary shelter, or a temporary provision. When God
commanded the Israelites to dwell in booths (Sukkot), He
was emphasizing to them and the generations that followed
that their dependence was on Him, and not on a man-made
structure.
The same is true for
believers in Jesus today. Our dependence should also be
totally upon the Lord, not on the temporal things of this
life.
The Succah also pointed
toward our physical bodies which are temporary dwelling
places. I Peter 2:11 says that "we are merely pilgrims and
strangers passing through the earth as we journey toward
the "promised land" (kingdom of heaven). Our dependence
should not be upon our flesh, nor upon anything
materialistic, but upon God.
Still, there was another
reason why God emphasized to the Israelites that they
should live in booths, namely because there would come a
time when He, Himself, would dwell in one, in the person
of Yeshua, Jesus of Nazareth.
John chapter 1 says, "In
the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and
the Word was God and the Word became flesh and dwelt among
us". According to John 7, Jesus attended the Feast of
Tabernacles as it was being celebrated in Jerusalem. Much
of the celebration was in thanking God for providing the
necessary "rainfall" for an abundant harvest.
The celebration also
included "water libations", anticipating God's promise to
the Israelites of sending the Holy Spirit, spoken of by
the prophets. According to John 7:37-39, in the midst of
all these festivities, Yeshua (Jesus) stood up in the
midst of the people on the last and greatest day of the
Feast and cried out, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come
unto me, and from his innermost being will flow rivers of
living water!", speaking of the Ruach Ha Kodesh, the Holy
Spirit that would be given to all those who believe in
Him.
To add even further impact
to all of this, the scriptures strongly indicate that
Yeshua, God in the flesh, dwelling in a "succah", was
actually born during the Feast of Tabernacles. For a copy
of that teaching please contact our Temple office.
Wednesday
For the past few days I
have been speaking to you about the Feast of Tabernacles
called in Hebrew "Sukkot". Some of the basic scripture
references for the Feast of Tabernacles are found in Lev.
23:34-44 and Deut. 16:11-16. Sukkot is one of the most
joyful feasts of the Lord celebrated for seven days from
the 15th thru the 21st of the month of Tishrei, which is
the seventh month of the year according to the Hebrew
calendar.
Yeshua (Jesus), Himself
attended the Feast of Tabernacles according to John 7, and
on the last and greatest day of the Feast He stood up in
the midst of the people and cried out "if anyone is
thirsty, let him come unto Me and from his innermost being
will flow rivers of living water", speaking of the Holy
Spirit.
The Feast of Tabernacles
has different names and themes given to it. It is called
in Hebrew "Chag Ha-asif", (the Feast of Ingathering)
because it celebrated the "ingathering" of the fall
harvest. It is called "Z'man Simchateynu", (the Season of
our Rejoicing). It is called the "feast of Dedication"
because it was during the Feast of Tabernacles that the
Temple of Solomon was dedicated (II Chronicles 7). It is
called the "Festival of Lights" ("Chag Ha Orim" in Heb.)
because of the "glory" of God that filled the Temple of
Solomon.
It is also called "Chag Ha
Goyim" (the Feast of the Nations). This is very
interesting because once again we see that the biblical
Jewish feasts of the Lord are not just for the Israelites,
but for all the nations. In Deut. 16:11-16, God commanded
any "strangers" living amongst the Israelites to celebrate
Sukkot (The Feast of Tabernacles) with them. The word for
"stranger" reads in Hebrew "geyr", which can also mean a
foreigner, an alien, a non-Israelite or a Gentile. From
the word "geyr" we get the plural word "Goyim", which
means "the nations". Not only does God want Gentile
believers in Jesus to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles
with Jewish believers today, but it also has great
prophetic application toward the future. Zechariah 14:16
says that after the second coming of the Messiah and the
battle of Armageddon, it shall come to pass that everyone
who is left of all the nations shall go up year after year
to worship the King (Yeshua), the Lord of Hosts, and keep
the Feast of Tabernacles.
Yeshua is going to rule and
reign the whole earth from Jerusalem for 1,000 years and
each and every year we will all (Jew and Gentile alike)
celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles together in the
presence of the King.
When the 1,000 years are
over, there will be a new heaven and a new earth, a New
Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as
a bride adorned for her husband, and the "tabernacle" of
God will be with us forever (Rev. 21:1-3). Aren't you glad
that we are all the "bride of Messiah". And aren't you
glad that God ordained not only the Feast of Tabernacles,
but all of His Feasts for us to celebrate together, Jew
and Gentile alike.
Thursday
Today I'm going to conclude
the series of teachings on the biblical Jewish feasts of
the Lord (Lev. 23), and how they all point toward and are
fulfilled in the Messiah Jesus (Yeshua in Hebrew).
There are seven major
annual festivals in all; three are celebrated in the early
spring, one in the late spring, and three in the fall. As
you examine the significance of each feast, you will see
that they spell out God's "timeline" for the history of
the world and for the salvation of all mankind. The first
four festivals have already been totally completed in the
first coming of the Messiah Jesus. The last three, which
are the fall festivals, have partially been completed in
the first coming of Yeshua, and will be totally completed
in His second coming.
The early spring festivals
of Passover, Unleavened Bread, and Firstfruits are
celebrated in the first month of the year (Nisan,
according to the Hebrew calendar). They speak of the
"blood of the lamb" shed for our sins by Yeshua, who
became the "bread of affliction" for us (though He was
sinless and without leaven), who also rose from the dead
as the "firstfuits from the ground" on the day after the
Sabbath during the week of Passover. Scripture references
for these three feasts are in Lev. 23:5-12.
The late spring festival is
called the Feast of Weeks (Shavuot in Hebrew). It is
observed 50 days after Passover and Firstfruits in the
third month of the year (Sivan in Hebrew). It points
toward the unity of all believers (Jew or Gentile)
represented by the two loaves of "leavened bread" waved
before the Lord on this day, and toward the outpouring of
the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, the same day the
Feast of Weeks was being celebrated in Jerusalem.
Scripture references for this feast are Lev. 23:15-17 and
Acts 2)
The fall festivals of the
Feast of trumpets (Rosh Hashanah), the Day of Atonement
(Yom Kippur) and the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) are
celebrated in the seventh month of the year (the Hebrew
month of Tishrei).
The Feast of Trumpets
points toward the second coming of the Messiah when the
shofar will sound from heaven, along with a loud shout of
an archangel announcing the return of Yeshua, our Heavenly
Bridegroom and the rapture of the bride of Messiah.
The Day of Atonement (Yom
Kippur) points toward Yeshua as our Great High Priest, and
the "once and for all" blood atonement that He shed for
all sinners. It also speaks of a future "national day of
atonement" in the land of Israel, when they look upon
Yeshua and weep for Him as a firstborn son" (according to
Zech. 12:10).
The Feast of Tabernacles
points toward the birth of Yeshua in His first coming, but
also the millennial reign of Yeshua after His second
coming. After the national repentance of Israel (Zech. 12)
and after the battle of Armageddon (Zech. 14), all the
nations will go up year after year to worship the Lord
during the Feast of Tabernacles. Other scripture
references for feasts are Lev. 23:23-44, I Thes. 4:16, 17,
and Zech. 14:16.
All seven of these biblical
feasts of the Lord are centered around Jesus, our King,
Messiah, and Great High Priest, and all of them are for
all of Gods people, Jew and Gentile alike.
Friday
At the Tabernacle we
emphasize the teaching of the biblical Jewish roots of
Christianity, the unity of all believers and Spirit-filled
Davidic praise and worship, which is one the praise and
worship songs we do at the Tabernacle and also one of the
songs from our latest C.D. call "In the Presence of the
Lord". The name of the song, itself, is "Yeshua, Yeshua"
(the Hebrew name of Jesus). |
