Bible readers are first
introduced to the details of the Feast of Tabernacles, called Sukkot
in Hebrew, in the
book of Leviticus. These guidelines for the observance of this
Feast were given to Moses while the people of Israel were still
at Mt. Sinai only weeks after they had left their bondage in
Egypt.
Leviticus 23:33-43
The LORD said to Moses, "Say to the Israelites: 'On the
fifteenth day of the seventh month the LORD's Feast of
Tabernacles begins, and it lasts for seven days. The first day
is a sacred assembly; do no regular work. For seven days present
offerings made to the LORD by fire, and on the eighth day hold a
sacred assembly and present an offering made to the LORD by
fire. It is the closing assembly; do no regular work. 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 rest, and the
eighth day also is a day of rest.
On the first day you are to take
choice fruit from the trees, and palm fronds, leafy branches and
poplars, 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 booths for
seven days: All native-born Israelites are to live in booths
so your descendants will know that I had the Israelites live in
booths when I brought them out of Egypt. I am the LORD your
God.' "
We only have
detailed records of a single example in Old Testament times of the
way in which the Feast of Tabernacles was actually celebrated.
Nehemiah 8:13-18
On the second day of the month, the heads of all the families,
along with the priests and the Levites, gathered around Ezra the
scribe to give attention to the words of the Law. They found
written in the Law, which the LORD had commanded through Moses,
that the Israelites were to live in booths during the feast of
the seventh month and that they should proclaim this word and
spread it throughout their towns and in Jerusalem: "Go out into
the hill country and bring back branches from olive and wild
olive trees, and from myrtles, palms and shade trees, to make
booths"-as it is written. So the people went out and brought
back branches and built themselves booths on their own roofs, in
their courtyards, in the courts of the house of God and in the
square by the Water Gate and the one by the Gate of Ephraim. The
whole company that had returned from exile built booths and
lived in them. From the days of Joshua son of Nun until that
day, the Israelites had not celebrated it like this. And their
joy was very great. Day after day, from the first day to the
last, Ezra read from the Book of the Law of God. They celebrated
the feast for seven days, and on the eighth day, in accordance
with the regulation, there was an assembly.
Although many
Bible readers assume that this Feast was only a temporary
custom, given to the Israelites and intended only for them,
there is a passage in the writings of the prophet Zechariah that
seems to refute this assumption. The context of the prophecy is
the time after the coming of the Messiah to set up the Earthly
kingdom, a time which many Christian groups label "the
Millennium."
Zechariah 14:16-19
Then the survivors from all the nations that have attacked
Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the
LORD Almighty, and to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. If any
of the peoples of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship
the King, the LORD Almighty, they will have no rain. If the
Egyptian people do not go up and take part, they will have no
rain. The LORD will bring on them the plague he inflicts on the
nations that do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles.
This will be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all
the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Feast of
Tabernacles.
Jesus at the
Feast of Tabernacles
In the New
Testament, we meet the Feast of Tabernacles again. An extended
passage in John tells us of Jesus' appearance in Jerusalem one
year at this Feast time, when He did extensive teaching. The
climax of this visit is described in John 7:
John 7:37-40
On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said
in a loud voice, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and
drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said,
streams of living water will flow from within him." By this he
meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to
receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since
Jesus had not yet been glorified. On hearing his words, some of
the people said, "Surely this man is the Prophet."
Many
commentators assume that Jesus specifically chose this day on
which to use the metaphor of water because of the elaborate
water ceremony on that day that had become a custom of the Feast by that time.
And at the same time he used a metaphor of light:
John 8:12
When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light
of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness,
but will have the light of life."
Many
think this reference may have been a direct allusion to the fantastic
displays of lighting at night during the Feast. You can read details about
the water ceremony and the light displays in
Jewish Feast & Holy Day Customs: Sukkot.
The Symbolism of Tabernacles
The ancient "portable sanctuary"
built by the Israelites to hold the Ark of the Covenant is
called, in the King James Bible, "The Tabernacle." But when
referring to this temporary building, the biblical Hebrew word
used is mishkan. The word means "dwelling place" or
"residence."
Full-size replica of the Tabernacle in the Wilderness, in Israel
In this context, the idea is that the Tabernacle
was where God was "dwelling" when on Earth and communicating
with Moses (and later the High Priest). The same Hebrew word can
be used to describe the permanent, massive Temple that was built
later in Jerusalem.
Even though the King James Bible
uses the same English word, tabernacle, to describe
the
"dwellings" to be made for all of the people to use for the
Feast of Tabernacles, there is no connection between this kind
of tabernacle and the single Tabernacle used for religious rites
in ancient Israel. The Hebrew word translated as tabernacles is
sukkot (singular: sukkah), and is actually the
word for a simple, perhaps even makeshift, shelter such as the
kind of "lean-to" a modern hunter or hiker might make
while in the woods, or an ancient shepherd might build in the
countryside while tending his sheep, or an ancient farmer might
make to temporarily stay in out in his vineyard at the busy time
of the grape harvest.
Thus the comment in Leviticus 23
above is referring to the fact that while the Israelites were
out in the wilderness waiting to enter the Promised Land,
eventually wandering for forty years, they did not have
"permanent homes," but had to rely on temporary shelters. Nor
did they have permanent lands where they could plant crops and
build storage for food supplies. They had to rely continually on
God's provision of food through manna for all of those forty
years, and rely on Him to protect them from the elements that
could not be kept back by such flimsy dwellings. He was their
shelter from both the cold winds and the burning sun.
Isaiah refers to this metaphor
when he speaks of a future time when God will once again provide
such shelter, the Messianic Age.
Isaiah 4:5-6
Then the LORD will create over all of Mount Zion and over those
who assemble there a cloud of smoke by day and a glow of flaming
fire by night; over all the glory will be a canopy [Hebrew chuppah:
like the chuppah or canopy used in Jewish wedding
ceremonies].
It will be a shelter [Hebrew sukkah:
tabernacle] and shade from the heat of the day, and a refuge and
hiding place from the storm and rain.
The metaphor of a tabernacle is
also used in this passage from the New Testament, which uses the
Greek word that is used when speaking of the Feast of
Tabernacles:
John
1:14
And the Word [referring to the One who became
Jesus] became flesh, and dwelt [Greek: skenoo: “encamped” or
"tented" or "tabernacled"] among us (and we
beheld his glory, glory as of the only begotten from the
Father), full of grace and truth.
In other words, while we live our
fleshly human existence, we are temporary, as if living in
tents. And Jesus came from Heaven and took on a similar "tent"
and experienced dwelling with mankind. As Paul put it:
2 Corinthians 5:1-5
Now we know that if the earthly tent [Greek
skenos: tabernacle]
we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal
house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan,
longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, because when
we are clothed, we will not be found naked. For while we are in
this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to
be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so
that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now it is God
who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the
Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.
Now that you
have an overview of the Biblical background, symbolism, and
Christian significance of the Feast of Tabernacles, you may wish
to explore some of the ways in which Christians observe this
Feast. The 3Rs:Feast of Tabernacles
article provides a variety of descriptions and suggestions for
such observance.
See the
Feast of Tabernacles Scripture Collection
for a concise set of the primary passages from the Old and
New Testament related to the observance of the Feast of
Tabernacles and the Eighth Day Assembly.
Jesus: The Reason for These
Seasons
Many people who accept Jesus
Christ as Savior and Lord, whether they refer to themselves as "Christian" or
"Messianic," observe the Feast of Tabernacles as a time of worship,
fellowship, and celebration. They believe that this Feast, along with the other
Feasts and Holy Days described in Leviticus 23 and Deuteronomy 16, are shadows pointing to the
reality of Jesus. And they believe that there are valuable spiritual lessons to
be learned year by year through actually physically setting aside these Times
of Refreshing as
"appointments with God."
For more about the biblical Feasts
in general, see the article Theme Times elsewhere on
this Times of Refreshing website.
For an
explanation of the Biblical background and Christian
significance of each of the Holy Days and Feasts as
they come in their seasons, explore the links below:
T.G.I.S.
The Weekly Sabbath
Let My People Go!
The Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread
On Fire!
The Feast of Pentecost
Reveille!
The Day of Trumpets
Together Again
The Day of Atonement
Roughing It
The Feast of Tabernacles
The Edge of Eternity
The Eighth Day Assembly
For sources of the Hebrew, Greek,
and English definitions in this and other articles on this website, see the
Information page.
For sources
of the Biblical quotations in this and other articles on this
website, see the Information page.
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Ministries. For more of Pam's inspirational and educational
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