Why feast of tabernacles

It is a sacred assembly, and you shall do no customary work on it. It shall be a statute forever in your generations. You shall celebrate it in the seventh month. All who are native Israelites shall dwell in booths, 43 that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.

The Jewish people constructed makeshift tents, just as the Israelites while roaming in the desert, for the feast to commemorate their liberation from Egypt by the hand of God. This joyful holiday is a recognition of God's salvation, shelter, provision, and trustworthiness.

The Feast of Tabernacles is a 7-day autumn celebration honoring the year pilgrimage of the Israelites in the desert. Along with Passover and the Festival of Weeks, Sukkot is one of three notable pilgrimage feasts found in the Bible when all Jewish men were expected to come before the Lord in the Temple in Jerusalem. The image above is of a Tabernacle in Timna Park from Wikipedia. Sukkot commences five days after Yom Kippur, from day of the Hebrew month of Tishri which occurs in September or October.

In , the Feast of Tabernacles will begin on the evening of Friday, October 2, and end on the evening of Friday, October 9. On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the produce of the land, you shall celebrate the feast of the LORD seven days. On the first day shall be a solemn rest, and on the eighth day shall be a solemn rest.

And you shall take on the first day the fruit of splendid trees, branches of palm trees and boughs of leafy trees and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God seven days. You shall celebrate it as a feast to the LORD for seven days in the year. It is a statute forever throughout your generations; you shall celebrate it in the seventh month. You shall dwell in booths [sukkot] for seven days. All native Israelites shall dwell in booths [sukkot], that your generations may know that I made the people of Israel dwell in booths [sukkot] when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.

Today Jewish people all over the world, not just in Israel, construct sukkot to celebrate this joyous festival. Usually this takes the form of a small hut with natural plant material, such as branches or bamboo. Then decorations and furnishings are added to make it feel festive and comfortable. Depending on the weather and climate, one might eat meals or even sleep in the sukkah each night. The four plants mentioned in the verse identified as a citron fruit, palm branch, myrtle branches, and willow branches are bound together.

Each day, participants shake them in each direction as an expression of prayer and worship. On the seventh day, called Hoshana Rabbah , there are prayers for rain. In ancient times, these prayers accompanied a ceremony in which water from the Pool of Siloam was poured on the Temple altar.

Sukkot may contain symbols of the past, but it is a future-focused holiday. It occurs at the very culmination of the calendar: after the harvest, in the seventh month, on the fifteenth day the full moon , and lasting for seven days. As the Prophet Zechariah declared, one day all nations will flow to Jerusalem for the festival.

So why not start now? Feast of Tabernacles , festivals , Lulav , sukkah , Sukkot. He was the chief translator of The Delitzsch Hebrew Gospels and works to develop liturgical resources that will strengthen Messianic Judaism.

More articles by Aaron Eby. Torah Club has transformed into study groups all over the world. These lamps were 75 feet high menorahs and candelabras that were lit in the temple at night to remind Israel of the pillar of fire that had led them in their wilderness journey. The light was so bright that it is said to have illuminated the entire city. This ceremony was also a reminder that God had promised to send a light to renew Israel's glory, release them from bondage, and restore their joy.

Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. The people knew that the promise of light was intrinsically linked with the messianic hope.

The light of this ceremony only lit up Jerusalem and would eventually be extinguished. In this statement he was implying that he was not just a good teacher, or a prophet but the light of God - the same light that led them through the wilderness in Sinai; the shekinah glory of God that they were crying out for.

The very real presence of God. The Feast of Tabernacles is also a prophetic feast that looks to the future age. It points towards a time when God will again tabernacle on earth, when Jesus comes and restores all things.

They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 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.

The lamb Jesus is its lamp. This week is a good time to reflect and thank God for his provision and presence in our lives, and to remember that he is the source of our security and hope, not man-made structures.