The Feast of Tabernacles is called the “Great Feast” or simply “The Feast” because it is the culmination of God’s promises wrapped up into one glorious celebration.
All biblical festivals (except Purim) celebrate the cycle of seasons, rains, sowing and harvest. The Feast of Succoth (Hebrew “tabernacles”), is the celebration of the crucial wheat, barley and grape harvests. “Celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles for seven days after you have gathered the produce of your threshing floor and your winepress” (Deut. 3:13).
Homes are filled with the fruits of the long summer’s labor and we are commanded to eat, drink and be merry for an entire week! “Be joyful at your festival—you, your sons and daughters… for seven days celebrate the festival… 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” (vs 14-15).
Similar to the Christian Thanksgiving in the Fall, this is a time to be thankful for the blessings of God with prayers for the coming year. In Israel this makes sense as the Feast begins at the first full moon of the Jewish New Year.
Tabernacles is one of the three Aliyot together with Passover and Pentecost, the festivals during which we are required to “go up” to Jerusalem with offerings to the Lord. For centuries Jews, and now thousands of Christians from around the world, have made their way up to honor God.
On the last day of the Feast we celebrate Simhat Torah, the Joy of God’s Word. It was on this day that Moses commanded the people to begin reading the Torah (Deut. 31:10-11). In Hebrew we call this Parashat Hashavua, a weekly torah portion which concludes on the Feast and restarts with Genesis 1 on the following Shabbat.
Solomon dedicated the Temple during the Great Feast. What better time to celebrate the imminent presence of God among his people than at the beginning of a New Year and the harvest celebrations. In fact, their joy was so complete that the people kept celebrating for another 7 days! (I Kings 8:2)
After the long hot summer, we pray for the Former Rains needed to sow into the New Year. The land has been dry since the Latter Rains which fell right after Pentecost back in June.
Jesus came up to Jerusalem to celebrate on the last and greatest day of the Feast as he stood in the Temple Courts and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink,” prophesying the rivers of living waters that come from those who believe by His Spirit (John 7:37).
Why dwell for the week in a small hut under the stars called a succah? Recalling the 40-years of wanderings in the desert, this is our chance to unburden ourselves from the “cares of this world,” make a fresh start for the New Year and get back to our “first love” relationship with the ever-present, faithful God. It is an annual reminder to prioritize what is important by putting God’s Kingdom first.
What about those Four Species we wave before the Lord?
According to Leviticus 23:39-43, during the Feast we are to take some of the best fruit from our best trees, palm branches and limbs from leafy trees to honor the Lord.
In Israel we use aravah (willow branches) like the children of Israel would gather along the creeks on their way up to Jerusalem for the festival. Dependent on water, these thin twigs would have already dried up by the time they arrived for the festivities; a stark reminder to farmers of what can happen if God doesn’t bless the year with rain.
Hadas (myrtle) with its aromatic fragrance is also used to celebrate the sweet smell of success when we honor God in all our labors. Myrtle does not dry up even after picked and can be found all around Israel because it has a unique ability to endure hardships and yet succeed in growing to three-times its original size.
The etrog or citron fruit is symbolic of fertility because of its large “nipple” that collects the pollen dust. Etrog fruits can be found on the tree all year long through dry and rainy seasons, and the “nipple” remains on the fruit even after it has ripened.
Lulav or palm branch is a sigh of victory. Lulav was waved at times of celebration when a king was crowned, or after a war was won. In order for Israel to be able to cultivate the land they needed to have victory over their enemies. Lulav reminds us that God must give us victory over our enemies if we are to be fruitful in life.
May this special season be full of joy, thanksgiving, prosperity and purpose for you and yours.
