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John 1:14 The Word became
flesh and tabernacled (succah)
among us.
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Leviticus 23:34, 39-43
The fifteenth
day of this seventh month shall
be the feast of tabernacles for
seven days unto the
LORD. On the first day shall be
an holy convocation: ye
shall do no servile work
therein . . . . Also in the
fifteenth day of the seventh
month, when ye have gathered in
the fruit of the land, ye shall
keep a feast unto the LORD seven
days: on the first day shall be
a sabbath . . . . And ye shall
take you on the first day the
boughs [fruit] of goodly trees,
branches of palm trees, and the
boughs of thick trees, and
willows of the brook; and ye
shall rejoice before the LORD
your God seven days. And ye
shall keep it a feast unto the
LORD seven days in the year. It
shall be a statute for ever
in your generations: ye shall
celebrate it in the seventh
month. Ye shall dwell in
booths seven days; all that
are Israelites born shall dwell
in booths; That your generations
may know that I made the
children of Israel to dwell in
booths, when I brought them out
of the land of Egypt: I am the
LORD your God. |
After Tabernacles comes a
final Feast called the "Last Great Day" on
the Eighth Day
|
Leviticus 23:36, 39
, . . . on the
eighth day shall be an
holy convocation unto
you; and ye shall offer an
offering made by fire unto the
LORD: it is a solemn
assembly [margin: "day of
restraint"]; and ye shall do no
servile work therein . . . on
the eighth day shall be a
sabbath. |
The feast of the
tabernacles or booths fell soon
after the third harvest of wine,
oils, fruits and herds. Thus it
is the final harvest festival in
the cycle of the year.
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Exodus 23:14-17,
Three times thou shalt keep a
feast unto Me in the year . . .
the feast of unleavened bread .
. .
the feast of harvest, the
firstfruits [Pentecost] of thy
labors, which thou hast sown in
the field: and
the feast of ingathering,
which is in the end of the
[agricultural, civil] year, when
thou hast gathered in thy
labours out of the field.
Three times in the year all thy
males shall appear before the
Lord GOD |
Tabernacles is a festival
of great joy and celebration when all Israel
came down to Jerusalem in the Autumn season.
This was seven days after wine harvest
began and fell on the 15th of Tishri during
the full moon. (Every month starts at the
new moon. 15 days after that will be a full
moon). Jews made booths made of sticks and
leaves called sukkah. The festival
is therefore called succoth. The roof was to
be made of leaves leaving enough space so
that the sky can be seen though. It was
therefore a family camping out - a great
picnic. The whole family lived and slept in
huts or shelters called Booths. This was to
commemorating the experience of Israel in
the wilderness.
Dwelling in tabernacles is
also a symbol of faith that God will fulfill
His promises:
Heb 11: 8-10 By faith
Abraham, when called to go to a place he
would later receive as his inheritance,
obeyed and went, even though he did not know
where he was going. By faith he made his
home in the promised land like a stranger in
a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did
Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of
the same promise. For he was looking forward
to the city with foundations, whose
architect and builder is God.
|
Leviticus 23:42-43, Ye shall
dwell in booths seven days; all
that are Israelites born shall
dwell in booths, That your
generations may know that I made
the children of Israel to dwell
in booths, when I brought them
out of the land of Egypt. I am
the LORD your God |
Everyone ate in the open
and in accordance with the Eastern custom,
any passerby can join the meal without
regard to who it is: rich, poor, friend, or
foe. The money will not be a problem because
the family can use the tithe money for these
expenses. They were to give it to the poor,
the widows and the orphans along with the
Levites.
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Lev. 27:30-32 "'A tithe of
everything from the land,
whether grain from the soil or
fruit from the trees, belongs to
the LORD; it is holy to the
LORD. If a man redeems any of
his tithe, he must add a fifth
of the value to it. The entire
tithe of the herd and
flock--every tenth animal that
passes under the shepherd's
rod--will be holy to the LORD.
Deut.
12:17-18 You must not eat in
your own towns the tithe of your
grain and new wine and oil, or
the firstborn of your herds and
flocks, or whatever you have
vowed to give, or your freewill
offerings or special gifts.
Instead, you are to eat them in
the presence of the LORD your
God at the place the LORD your
God will choose--you, your sons
and daughters, your menservants
and maidservants, and the
Levites from your towns--and you
are to rejoice before the LORD
your God in everything you put
your hand to.
Deut.
14:23-26 Eat the tithe of your
grain, new wine and oil, and the
firstborn of your herds and
flocks in the presence of the
LORD your God at the place he
will choose as a dwelling for
his Name, so that you may learn
to revere the LORD your God
always. But if that place is
too distant and you have been
blessed by the LORD your God and
cannot carry your tithe (because
the place where the LORD will
choose to put his Name is so far
away), then exchange your tithe
for silver, and take the silver
with you and go to the place the
LORD your God will choose. Use
the silver to buy whatever you
like: cattle, sheep, wine or
other fermented drink, or
anything you wish. Then you and
your household shall eat there
in the presence of the LORD your
God and rejoice. |
The First day of Assembly
During the
First day was a Holy gathering when all
adult male presented themselves before the
temple.
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Deuteronomy
31:10-13,
. . . At the end of every seven
years, in the . . . feast of
tabernacles, when all Israel is
come to appear before the LORD
thy God in the place which He
shall choose, thou shalt read
this law before all Israel in
their hearing. Gather the people
together, men, and women, and
children, and thy stranger that
is within thy gates, that they
may hear, and that they may
learn, and
fear the LORD your God, and
observe to do all the words of
this law: And that
their children, which have not
known anything, may hear, and
learn to fear the LORD your God,
as long as ye live in the land .
. . . |
During the
worship special Psalms were used normally
these were
(1) The fifteen "songs of degrees," or
"songs of ascent," Psalms 120-134, were sung
by pilgrims on the way up to Jerusalem to
keep the Feast. The Levites sang these
psalms as they ascended the 15 steps in the
Temple from the court of women to the court
of Israel. and
(2) The "Hallel (Praise
God) Psalms," Psalms 113-118.
All congregation also went
down to the pool and drank the water.
All through the seven days there was a
sacred procession led by the priests around
the altar singing "This is the day the LORD
has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
O LORD, save us; O LORD, grant us success.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the
LORD. From the house of the LORD we bless
you. The LORD is God, and he has made his
light shine upon us. With boughs in hand,
join in the festal procession up to the
horns of the altar. You are my God, and I
will give you thanks; you are my God, and I
will exalt you." (Ps. 118:24-28)
'The fruit of the goodly
trees' was interpreted as aethrog, or
citron, and 'the boughs of thick trees' as
the myrtle with plenty of berries and the
palm branches not taken from any idolatrous
grove. Every worshipper carried the
aethrog in his left hand, and in his
right the lulav, or palm, with myrtle
and willow branch on either side of it, tied
together on the outside with its own twig.
The lulav was was carried by every
worshipper and vigorously shaken in
celebration with the flute and the trumpet.
| Leviticus
23:40 "You shall take... the
choicel fruit (Etrog) from the
trees, a palm fronds, (leafy
branches and poplars) myrtle
twigs and willow branches of the
stream (Lulav) - and rejoice for
seven days before the Lord your
God." |
Ushpizin
Days from the second day
through the sixth day are called Ushpizin
(which means guest). This is the time people
visited friends, relations and eating
together. All Israel who came from all over
the country gets an occasion to get to know
each other. The idea is that the whole of
Israel is one family. Traditionally it also
was an occassion for young people to find
their mades. On the Third day, Ecclesiastes
is read.
The Sixth day, is a cry
for salvation - a procession shouting
"Hosanna" which means "Save us now"
Shemini Atseret
The Last day is another
Sabbath, called Shemini Atseret (final
Sabbath day). .John 7:37-39. On that day
the sacred procession went round the altar
with the worshippers carrying the palm leaf
lulav seven times instead of one time and
the trumpets were sounded in a reenactment
of the Jericho incident. Here was a new
Canaan to possess which is given by the Lord
again. It is no more physical Canaan, but
spiritual.
At the end of this the
libation ceremony was held. Both libations
of wine and water were made.
While the morning
sacrifice was being prepared, a priest,
accompanied by high pitched flute music,
went down to the Pool of Siloam, and filled
a golden pitcher with its water. ( On
Sabbaths since they cannot travel it was
stored inside the temple the day before)
Another procession from Siloam went to
the Kedron valley, (called Motza) and
brought willow branches. These were used to
decorate the altar of sacrifice. The jug of
water from Siloam will enter through the
'Water-gate as the sacrifice is complete.
It is received with the traditional
threefold blasts. The priest then went up
the rise of the altar where there were two
silver basins with narrow holes-- one for
the wine offering and the other for the
water offering. The priest will then
ceremoniously pour the wine and the water
into these holes which wend down to the
bottom of the altar.
The temple music of the
Psalms of ascention played in accompaniment
of the high pitched flute. When the choir
come to certain points in the worship the
lulavs were shaken as praise and prayer for
thanksgiving and expectation of the long
awaited salvation from God. (The
Temple: Its Ministry and Services, Alfred
Edersheim Chapter 14 The Feast of
Tabernacles )
During this time special
prayers were also made for good rainfall
during the coming season. This Water Pouring
Ceremony commemorated three factors:
1. Dependence of Israel
on God for their daily living. As the feast
of the weeks was the last harvest festival
and since the harvest depends on the rain,
the libation of water indicated the supply
of water and hence the fruitfulness of land
and the life to come.
|
Deut 11:10-15 The land you are
entering to take over is not
like the land of Egypt, from
which you have come, where you
planted your seed and irrigated
it by foot as in a vegetable
garden. But the land you are
crossing the Jordan to take
possession of is a land of
mountains and valleys that
drinks rain from heaven. It is a
land the LORD your God cares
for; the eyes of the LORD your
God are continually on it from
the beginning of the year to its
end. So if you faithfully obey
the commands I am giving you
today--to love the LORD your God
and to serve him with all your
heart and with all your soul--
then I will send rain on your
land in its season, both autumn
and spring rains, so that you
may gather in your grain, new
wine and oil. I will provide
grass in the fields for your
cattle, and you will eat and be
satisfied. |
2 . The water from the
golden jar represented the water that flowed
from the smitten rock and the rock that
followed Israel in their wandering period.
Paul asserts that the rock was indeed Jesus.
Ex. 17:5
The LORD answered Moses,
"Walk on ahead of the
people. Take with you some
of the elders of Israel and
take in your hand the staff
with which you struck the
Nile, and go.
6 I will stand there before
you by the rock at Horeb.
Strike the rock, and water
will come out of it for the
people to drink." So Moses
did this in the sight of the
elders of Israel.
1 Cor. 10:3 - 4 They all ate
the same spiritual food and
drank the same spiritual
drink; for they drank from
the spiritual rock that
accompanied them, and that
rock was Christ. |
3. It looked
forward to the coming of the Mesia and to
the Millennial River of Living Water that
flows from His throne.
| Zechariah
14:16-19, "And it shall come
to pass, that every one that
is left . . . shall even go
up from year to year to
worship the King, the Lord
of hosts, and to keep the
Feast of Tabernacles. And it
shall be, that whoso will
not come up of all the
families of the earth unto
Jerusalem to worship the
King, the Lord of hosts,
even upon them shall be no
rain. . . . This shall be
the punishment of Egypt, and
the punishment of all
nations that come not up to
keep theFeast of Tabernacles."
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It was in this climax
point of the worship that Jesus shouted
with a loud voice:
'If any man thirst,
let him come unto me, and drink. He that
believeth on me, as the Scripture hath
said, out of his belly shall flow rivers
of living water.'
| John
7:37-40 "In the last day,
that great day of the feast,
Jesus stood and cried
saying, 'If any man thirst,
let him come unto me, and
drink. He that believeth on
me, as the Scripture hath
said, out of his belly shall
flow rivers of living
water.' (But this spake he
of the Spirit, which they
that believe on him should
receive: for the Holy Ghost
was not yet glorified.) Many
of the people therfore, when
they heard this saying,
said, 'Of a truth this is
The Prophet.'" |
No wonder the temple
authorities were worried. It was a
direct announcement of his mesiaship.
So the Sanhedran ordered Jesus to be
arrested for disturbing a sacred
ceremony. But the temple police were
afraid to arrest him. They replied,
"Never a man spoke like this Man."
The wine ceremony commemorated the new
era that was to come with the mesia. Jesus
referred to his gospel always as the mew
wine - a message of gladness and joy.
In fond memory of
the guidance and eternal presence of Yhwh
in the desert as the pillar of cloud by day
and the pillar of fire by night, this
festival is also celebrated as a festival of
lights - a Deepavali. As the evening of the
first day of the feast draws near the entire
dwellings and the booths are illuminated by
the seven pronged candlebra fed from the
rich fresh olive oil. In the Court of the
Women, four enormous golden candelabras
fifty cubits high each with four golden
bowls were filled ceremoniously with ten
gallons of oil was lit and the whole land
was covered with the light of the lamp
competing with the full moon. It was here
Jesus shouted, "As long as I am in this
world, I am the light of the world".. The
priests and Levites used their own worn-out
liturgical clothing for wicks. The light
emanating from the four candelabra was so
bright that the Mishna says, "There was no
courtyard in Jerusalem that was not lit up
with the light at the libation water-well
ceremony" (Succah 5:3)
| 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." |
People danced
with flaming torches in their hands, and
sang hymns and songs of praise. Levites,
with harps, and lutes, and cymbals, and
trumpets, and instruments of music stood
upon the fifteen steps which led down from
the Court of Israel to that of the Women,
singing the fifteen Songs of Degrees from
the Book of Psalms. The trumpets sounded at
every step until they reached the Beautiful
Gate facing west. There they acknowledged
Yhvh as their God and repudiated the sun
worship as they recounted these words. :
'Our fathers who were in this place, they
turned their back upon the Sanctuary of
Jehovah, and their faces toward the east,
and they worshipped towards the rising sun;
but as for us, our eyes are towards the
Lord.'
In this festival Jesus tried to argue
with the religious authorities trying to
show them that he was the mesiah "I am the
one I claim to be" and he did miracles if
front of them. Jesus opened the eyes of the
man born blind using the water from the pool
of Siloam. The whole of the Johns chapters
7 to 9 illustrates how Jesus tried to
persuade them to acknowledge Him as the
mesiah then and there. Instead they tried
to arrest him and set up courts to try him
of blasmphemy.
Special
Sacrifices of Tabernacles and Last Great Day
Numbers
29:12-40
|
Burnt Offerings |
Young Bullocks |
Rams |
Yearling Lambs |
|
1st Day
|
13 |
2 |
14 |
|
2nd Day |
12 |
2 |
14 |
|
3rd Day |
11 |
2 |
14 |
|
4th Day |
10 |
2 |
14 |
|
5th Day |
9 |
2 |
14 |
|
6th Day |
8 |
2 |
14 |
|
7th Day |
7 |
2 |
14 |
|
Total |
70 + |
14 + |
98 =
182 |
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8th Day |
1 |
1 |
7 |
Also on each of the eight
days, the meal offering was given, of flour
mixed with oil, three tenths ephah flour
with one half hin of oil with each bullock,
two tenths ephah was one third hin per ram,
and one tenth ephah with 1/4 hin per lamb.
(See
Numbers 15:1-10.) The total of
ephahs of flour for all sacrifices is 336
(48 x 7). Also a kid of the goats was
offered each day for a sin offering.
The
Prophetic Significance of the Festival
Feast Portrays the Second
Coming of Mesia and the begining of
Millenium.
Isaiah
25:6-8, And in this mountain [Zion,
where God will reign,
Isaiah
24:23 and
2:2-3]
shall the LORD of hosts make unto all people
a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on
the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of
wines on the lees well refined. And He will
destroy in this mountain the face of the
covering cast over all people, and the veil
that is spread over all nations. He will
swallow up death in victory . . . wipe away
tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of
His people shall He take away from off all
the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it.
Joel
2:23-29, Be glad then, ye children
of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD
your God: for He hath given you the former
rain moderately, and He will cause to come
down for you the rain, the former [spring]
rain, and the latter rain in the
first month [of the civil year]. And the
floors shall be full of wheat . . . . And I
will restore . . . that the locust hath
eaten . . . . And ye shall eat in plenty . .
. . . [Living Bible,
verse 28:]
After I have poured out my rains again, I
will pour out My Spirit upon all of you!
Your sons and daughters will prophesy; your
old men will dream dreams, and your young
men see visions. And I will pour out My
Spirit even on your slaves . . . [Compare
John
7:37-39.]
Zechariah 14:1-21 A day of Lordis coming
when your plunder will be divided among you.
I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem
to fight against it; the city will be
captured, the houses ransacked, and the
women raped. Half of the city will go into
exile, but the rest of the people will not
be taken from the city. Then Lordwill go out
and fight against those nations, as he
fights in the day of battle. On that day his
feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east
of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will
be split in two from east to west, forming a
great valley, with half of the mountain
moving north and half moving south. You will
flee by my mountain valley, for it will
extend to Azel. You will flee as you fled
from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah
king of Judah. Then Lordmy God will come,
and all the holy ones with him. On that day
there will be no light, no cold or frost. It
will be a unique day, without daytime or
nighttime--a day known to Lord . When
evening comes, there will be light. On
that day living water will flow out from
Jerusalem, half to the Eastern sea and
half to the western sea, in summer and in
winter. Lordwill be king over the whole
earth. On that day there will be one Lord ,
and his name the only name. The whole land,
from Geba to Rimmon, south of Jerusalem,
will become like the Arabah. But
Jerusalem will be raised up and remain
in its place, from the Benjamin Gate to the
site of the First Gate, to the Corner Gate,
and from the Tower of Hananel to the royal
winepresses. It will be inhabited; never
again will it be destroyed. Jerusalem will
be secure. This is the plague with which
Lordwill strike all the nations that fought
against Jerusalem: Their flesh will rot
while they are still standing on their feet,
their eyes will rot in their sockets, and
their tongues will rot in their mouths. On
that day men will be stricken by Lordwith
great panic. Each man will seize the hand of
another, and they will attack each other.
Judah too will fight at Jerusalem. The
wealth of all the surrounding nations will
be collected--great quantities of gold and
silver and clothing. A similar plague
will strike the horses and mules, the camels
and donkeys, and all the animals in those
camps. Then the survivors from all the
nations that have attacked Jerusalem will go
up year after year to worship the King,
LordAlmighty, 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, LordAlmighty, they will have no
rain. If the Egyptian people do not go
up and take part, they will have no rain.
Lordwill 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. On
that day HOLY TO Lordwill be inscribed on
the bells of the horses, and the cooking
pots in Lord 's house will be like the
sacred bowls in front of the altar. Every
pot in Jerusalem and Judah will be holy to
LordAlmighty, and all who come to sacrifice
will take some of the pots and cook in them.
And on that day there will no longer be a
Canaanite in the house of LordAlmighty.
Was Jesus
born on The Feast of the Booths?
Many believe that Jesus was born on the
Feast of the booths. Zachariah was of the
course of Abijah .(Luke 1:5 ) and had to
serve every year five times. If in one year
he was selected (which is done by casting
lot) to officiate as Priest to enter into
the temple to serve at the incense table
during the first term during the tenth week
starting Nissan, then Elizabeth conceived
John almost immediately and Mary conceived
Jesus on the sixth month. This will lead us
to a probable date of birth of Jesus during
the first few weeks of Tishri. If ths is
true Messiah, the "light of the world", was
conceived on the festival of lights
(Chanukah)!
was born the Feast of Tabernacles. This will
give some meaning to John's statement
| John 1:14
The Word became flesh and made his
dwelling (succah) among us. We have
seen his glory, the glory of the One
and Only, who came from the Father,
full of grace and truth.
(See Greg Killian
http://members.aol.com/gkilli/home/index.html) |
It also explains why Joseph took the
fully pregnant Mary also with him to
Jerusalem. But it also raises the question
whether a census would have been set during
the period when all Israel was supposed to
be in Jerusalem.
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