The prior post was about the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) which is celebrated (according to Biblical account) on the 10th day of the seventh month - this has now become the "first month" on the Jewish calendar. This post is about the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) which begins on the 15th day of the seventh month and runs for eight days. The instruction relating to the Feast of Tabernacles can be found in Leviticus 23:34-43:
"Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, '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. Seven days ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord: 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; and ye shall do no servile work therein.
These are the feasts of the Lord, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord, a burnt offering, and a meat offering, a sacrifice, and drink offerings, every thing upon his day: beside the sabbaths of the Lord, and beside your gifts, and beside all your vows, and beside all your freewill offerings, which ye give unto the Lord.
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 on the eighth day shall be a sabbath. And ye shall take you on the first day 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."
The Feast of Tabernacles is a special time for me. It is when I celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. The reason for this being such: to me, "dwelling in a tabernacle" means to live in this mortal flesh body. Jesus Christ came to dwell in a mortal body in order to set us free from the bondage of sin (the word "Egypt" is from the root "bondage" in Hebrew) by His death on the cross. Also, in John 1:14, "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth." The word "dwelt" is the Greek word "skenoo" which literally means "to build a tabernacle". This word is only ever used by John and is used once in this reference and four other times in the Book of Revelation. Therefore, if Jesus was born on the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles, then His birth would be on the first sabbath of the feast, and His circumcision (dedication to God) would be on the second sabbath of the feast. Two times to celebrate in the feast week.
I also love the image of the trees in the feast week. Trees are symbolic of the spiritual body - they (figuratively) live for ever. God calls Himself a "green fir tree" (which is ever green) in Hosea 14:8. There were many trees in the Garden of Eden, one of which was the Tree of Life - Who is Jesus Christ. (Ezekiel 31 also describes the story of the trees in the Garden of Eden.) So the imagery of the trees waving their boughs in celebration reminds me of two very happy celebrations in the Bible. The first is described by Isaiah: "For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands (Isaiah 55:12)." The second is known as the "triumphal entry" of Jesus Christ, or "Palm Sunday", when He came to Jerusalem shortly before His crucifixion (as described in Matthew 21, Mark 11, Luke 19, and John 12). Granted, the triumphal entry did not occur during the Feast of Tabernacles, but the imagery is the same. This is where the crowds carpeted the way for Jesus' entry into the city by throwing down their clothes and also branches from the nearby palm trees and shouted, "Hosanna!" (which is Hebrew for "Save us now!") and, "Blessed is He that comes in the name of the Lord!"... both of these sayings being found in Psalm 118.
Beautiful imagery for the Feast of Tabernacles, and truly a time to celebrate when the Word of God came and tabernacled with us. God bless.
