Today begins the seven day Jewish festival of Sukkot. The word “Sukkot” means “booths,” and refers to the temporary dwellings that we are commanded to live in during this holiday in memory of the period of wandering. Christians refer to this festival as the Feast of Tabernacles. Tens of thousands of Jews come to celebrate Sukkot in Jerusalem each year. And there are thousands of Christians who also come to join in the festivities and worship the LORD in the Holy City.
Typical Sukkahs in Israel- wikimediacommons.com
“‘So beginning with the fifteenth day of the seventh month, after you have gathered the crops of the land, celebrate the festival to the Lord for seven days; the first day is a day of Sabbath rest, and the eighth day also is a day of Sabbath rest. On the first day you are to take branches from luxuriant trees—from palms, willows and other leafy trees—and rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days. Celebrate this as a festival to the Lord for seven days each year. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come; celebrate it in the seventh month. Live in temporary shelters for seven days: All native-born Israelites are to live in such shelters so your descendants will know that I had the Israelites live in temporary shelters when I brought them out of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.’ ” Leviticus 23:39-43
If you can imagine coming to Jerusalem anytime during Sukkot in the last 3,200 years, you would find every Jewish home with a Succah, temporary shelter, in their backyard. Today, if you drive around the city, you would find exactly the same. Although now most people live in apartment buildings, they still build their Succah on their patio or balcony. It is a festive sight to behold and entices anyone traveling in the area to want to join in.
Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles), Pesach (Passover/Festival of Unleavened Bread) and Shavuot (the Feast of Weeks/Pentecost) are the three festivals each year that God commanded the Israelites to travel up to Jerusalem to celebrate. These holidays have also become significant for Christians in identifying with their Jewish roots. Sukkot has a dual significance: historical and agricultural. Historically, Sukkot commemorates the forty-year period during which the children of Israel were wandering in the desert, living in temporary shelters. Agriculturally, Sukkot is a harvest festival and is sometimes referred to as the Festival of Ingathering. This agricultural reference comes from the book of Deuteronomy:
Celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles for seven days after you have gathered the produce of your threshing floor and your winepress. Be joyful at your festival—you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levites, the foreigners, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns. For seven days celebrate the festival to the Lord your God at the place the Lord will choose. For the Lord your God will bless you in all your harvest and in all the work of your hands, and your joy will be complete.
Three times a year all your men must appear before the Lord your God at the place he will choose: at the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Weeks and the Festival of Tabernacles. No one should appear before the Lord empty-handed: Each of you must bring a gift in proportion to the way the Lord your God has blessed you. Deut. 16:13-17
Diverse cultures enjoying Sukkot together -http://www.ptbe.org
Not only do Jews celebrate Sukkot by living, or at least eating, in temporary shelters, it is also a time to celebrate the end of the harvest season. Meals are prepared with the freshest of fruits and vegetables. Wine is served at every meal. People invite friends, family, and even strangers into their Succah, on any given day during the seven day period, to share a meal together. It is a joyous and festive time of year. The crisp fall air begins to appear in the Jerusalem Mountains and is a welcome change to the heat of summer. Traditions are made and rituals performed that have been passed down from generation to generation.
Sukkot arrives just five days after the most somber day of the Jewish year, Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. The idea of going from complete self-evaluation and repentance to a sense of complete joy is quite inspiring. This is the beauty of God’s heart for His people. He never intended us to wallow in our sins and mistakes but to repent and move on. To be thankful and joyous for the provisions He has given us. To find joy in the results of the work of our hands and to be blessed by God is a great gift.
The purpose of each and every festival in the Jewish year is to remember what God has done for us. We are in a relationship with the Creator. In every relationship, though, there are expectations. Our expectation is that He directs our paths and leads us to a righteous way of life. His expectation for us is simply stated in those verses in Deuteronomy: “No one should appear before the Lord empty-handed: Each of you must bring a gift in proportion to the way the Lord your God has blessed you.”
This is the season for all God loving people to bring their gifts to God. It is a reminder that our relationship goes two ways. Ecclesiastes 3:1 says, “There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under the heavens.” This is the time to celebrate. Bring the best of who you are and the best of what you have before God and give thanks. And then find someone to celebrate with. Better yet, make your way to Jerusalem and experience the joy of Sukkot in the heart of the Holy City. It will be an experience of a lifetime!
