Feasts & Festivals Series
Sukkot
The Feast of Tabernacles
9/30/2012
I.
Introduction and review
A.
When America first came into being, it was an agrarian society
1.
The people who came over on the Mayflower were farmers
2.
They grew crops and sought to establish a system of animal husbandry
3.
Their first celebration took place in the fall to rejoice over the harvest that
would sustain them through the coming year
a.
A moderate harvest meant more that likely – survival and no real
hardship
b.
A good harvest meant a better crop the next year because of plenty
of seed crop and a good year
c.
4.
A great harvest ushered in a time of plenty and great joy
There is historical evidence that when those Pilgrims gathered together
that first Fall in 1621, that Sukkot was used as a model for their
celebration and plans to give thanks to the Lord for His provision for them
5.
This holiday eventually became Thanksgiving, and it was made an official
government holiday in 1863
B.
Israel was also an agrarian society, much like our nation in its infancy
1.
They celebrated the spring barley harvest at the Feast of First Fruits
2.
The celebrated the early summer wheat harvest at the Feast of Pentecost
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3.
And finally they celebrated the fall fruit harvest at the Feast of Sukkot or
Tabernacles
C.
II.
In the fall, in Israel they harvested
1.
Grapes
2.
Dates
3.
Olives
4.
Palm oil
5.
Citron
6.
And other types of fruit
Sukkot was spoken of in Leviticus 23:33-43
A.
Feast of tabernacles or booths
1.
hs
Ksukkah {sook-kaw'}
'u
a.
Meaning: 1) thicket, covert, booth 1a) thicket 1b) booth (rude or
temporary shelter)
b.
Usage: AV [31] - tabernacle 12, booth 11, pavilion 5, cottage 1,
covert 1, tents 1
B.
It started on the 15th day of the month of Tishri [the seventh month]
C.
The celebration was to last 8 days
1.
It would start on the 15th day
2.
It would go for 7 days
3.
And then the 8th day would be declared a Sabbath
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D.
The feast is to occur after all of the crops have been harvested [23:39]
E.
There was to be a burnt offering [23:36]
F.
They were required to cut and gather boughs or limbs from four groups of trees
1.
Beautiful trees –
dh
'r'hadar {haw-dawr'} Meaning: 1) ornament, splendor,
honor
2.
Palm trees
3.
Leafy trees –
o[t' `aboth {aw-both'} or A[tb
b
' abowth {aw-both'} Meaning:
`
having interwoven foliage, leafy, dense with foliage
4.
G.
H.
Willow trees or Poplar trees
They were to rejoice before the Lord
1.
For their harvest
2.
In fact, the feast was at times referred to as the Feast of Ingathering
3.
And for what the Lord had done for His people
They were to live in tabernacles or booths [sukkah] which they would build from
the branches they cut and gathered
1.
The booths or tabernacles they constructed were to be similar to the ones
used by the Israelites in the wilderness for 40 years
I.
Sukkot became what the people considered one of the most important and eagerly
celebrated feasts of Israel
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1.
It was one of the most joyous
2.
Consider I Kgs 12:32
3.
This new holiday set up by Jereboam was to serve as a substitute for
Sukkot
J.
III.
Sukkot was one of the three feasts requiring a pilgrimage [Deu. 16:16-17]
The first Sukkot
A.
In the wilderness, at Mount Horeb, Moses was required to return to the mountain
to seek out atonement for the sin of the people in worshiping the two golden
calves
1.
Moses went back up to the top of the mountain, and stayed there for 40
days
B.
When he returned, he had the new tablets of stone containing the ten
commandments, rewritten by God
C.
He had the instructions for Yom Kippur, and
D.
He came back, after that second 40 days, on the 10th of Tishri, the day of
atonement.
E.
But he carried something else with him to the people from God – the plans for the
Tabernacle
F.
And on the 15th of Tishri, they commenced to build the Tabernacle
G.
Between Yom Kippur and Sukkot, the people gathered together the materials to
build the Tabernacle
H.
That is why I believe that the feast should be referred to as the Feast of
Tabernacles, and what is intended to celebrate – the presence of the Lord with
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them
I.
What if upon the completion of our new campus, the Presence of the Lord filling
the building
1.
Exodus 40:33 - 38 He erected the court all around the tabernacle and the
altar, and hung up the veil for the gateway of the court. Thus Moses
finished the work.
34
Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the
glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.
35
Moses was not able to enter
the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the
LORD filled the tabernacle.
36
Throughout all their journeys whenever the
cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the sons of Israel would set
out;
37
but if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not set out until the
day when it was taken up.
38
For throughout all their journeys, the cloud
of the LORD was on the tabernacle by day, and there was fire in it by
night, in the sight of all the house of Israel.
IV.
How Sukkot came to be celebrated
A.
Sukkot was a feast of great joy, celebrating the harvest
1.
Five days before, the people had celebrated Yom Kippur, a very solemn,
grave, and reflective feast, one of repentance and confession of sin
2.
Sukkot in contrast was to be joyous, not only to celebrate all that God had
given to them, but also to celebrate their God’s forgiveness and atonement
of their sin
3.
It was intended to also remind them of God’s provision in the Exodus and
His decision to come and reside with them by sharing His presence with
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them in the Tabernacle
B.
C.
a.
Ever since the garden, God has wanted to live with His people
b.
Consider Rev. 21:1-3c
Secondly the people would build a sukkah
1.
That is a temporary shelter or dwelling
2.
They were to use the limbs and boughs that they gathered to build it
The instructions that the Rabbis developed over the years for building were these:
1.
Choose a site with nothing hanging over it
2.
The floor must be large enough to allow you to sit at a table
3.
The walls must be able to withstand a normal wind
4.
The roof must be made of materials that grew from the ground, while they
allowed the walls to be constructed from other materials
5.
The roof must give shade during the day but allow the viewing of stars at
night
6.
It can be decorated with hanging fruits, flowers, popcorn wreaths,
ornaments and the like
D.
7.
Posters bearing Jewish themes can be affixed to the walls
8.
Christmas tree lights could be hung outside and around the sukkah
When the time for celebration of Sukkot came
1.
2.
On the first night they would recite a blessing and light two candles
a.
Display the blessing
b.
A mitzvoth was a commandment, ordinance or law in the Torah
Before the meal, the Kuddush is recited – it is a recitation seeking
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sanctification
a.
Then the blessing is repeated
b.
The meal usually includes stuffed cabbage dishes and fruit or fresh
vegetable turnovers
c.
The head of the house will invite imaginary guests to the house,
such as: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron, or David
d.
V.
They would prepare a Lulav
(1)
it is a bouquet of palm, myrtle and willow branches
(2)
it would be bound together
(3)
it would be waved or shaken in celebration and praise
Once the Temple was built, there were other ceremonies and celebrations added
A.
The water pouring ceremony (the water libation)
1.
Water from the pool of Siloam would be collected in a golden pitcher
2.
The priest would bring it into the temple and pour it into a silver basin
3.
The golden pitcher symbolized the glory of God
4.
The silver basin pictured purity and righteousness
5.
This was done everyday for the seven days of the feast, but not obn the
eighth day
6.
Now consider:
a.
Isa. 12:3
(1)
the word translated salvation is Yeshua
b.
Eze. 36:25
c.
The Talmud claimed that the water being poured out pictured the
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days of Messianic redemption when the waters of the Holy Spirit
will be poured on all of Israel [Sukkoth 55]
d.
B.
Now consider John 7:1-2, 37-38
The light show
1.
As the water ceremony would be during the day, the Light Show would
occur at night
2.
Four, seventy-five foot tall menorahs would be lit.
a.
These menorahs had large fire bowls on top of them
b.
The young, priests-in-training would climb ladders to fill the fire
bowls with oil and to insert the wicks
c.
They would carry up this ladder a 7 gallon oil jug
d.
The wicks for these lights were made from used priestly garments
e.
These lights could be seen throughout all of Israel
3.
There would be torch dances and much music and singing
4.
The Talmud records a saying that: “He who has not seen the rejoicing at
the show has never seen rejoicing in his life” [Sukkah 5:1]
5.
VI.
Consider now:
a.
Isa. 9:1-2 [Jn. 7:52]
b.
John. 8:12
There are some scholars who suggest that the time of Sukkot correlates with the time that
Jesus was actually born, thereby rejecting a time of birth in the December time frame
A.
VII.
The Prophetic implications of Sukkot
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