It’s time to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles! Tomorrow marks the day that the nation of Israel starts celebrating Sukkot, which is the biblical Feast of Tabernacles. It is a very special time here in Israel and Sukkot is held in reverence and enjoyed by all. Every Jewish households constructs a Sukkah (tabernacle) inside their home, or their balcony, or the roof, or in the backyard.
Leviticus 23:33-34 – “The Lord said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites: ‘On the fifteenth day of the seventh month the Lord’s Festival of Tabernacles begins, and it lasts for seven days.”
Leviticus 23:42-43 – “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.”
Every night during the festive week of Sukkot, Israeli families gather together in their Sukkah (tabernacle) to enjoy a festive dinner together, and to read from the Bible and remember what God has done for the nation of Israel as He took them out of Egypt, and restored them as a nation unto Himself. These Sukkot evenings in the family tabernacles are filled with thankfulness, celebration and joy.
There is a wonderful Biblical significance in Sukkot to us as Believers in Yeshua. The festival of Sukkot serves to remind us of the following:
God is with us and He protects us, just as He protected the Israelites in the desert as they dwelt in huts (tabernacles).
There was no-one found sick among the Israelites as they sojourned the desert. In the same way Yeshua is our Healer today!
In the desert there was no food or water to be found. God opened the heaven and sent the Israelites Manna, and he provided water for them from the rock. Just as He provided for them in the desert, so He still provides all our needs today!
The Holy Spirit led the Israelites in the desert with a cloud during the day and with a pillar of fire during the night. As soon as it moved, the Israelites had to also move and follow. This is a wonderful illustration of how God is leading us even today.
Yeshua himself also celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles. John 7:2,10 – “But when the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles was near, Jesus’ brothers said to him, “You ought to leave here and go to Judea, so that your disciples may see the miracles you do… However, after his brothers had left for the Feast, he went also, not publicly, but in secret.”
Yeshua also went up to the Temple during the Feast of Tabernacles in order to teach in the Temple’s court during the feast which lasted seven days. John 7:14 – “Not until halfway through the Feast did Jesus go up to the temple courts and begin to teach.”
John 7:37 – “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.”
The last day of the feast was the most important day of the feast, and it was honored just like the Sabbath. No one was allowed to work and it was considered to be a day of rest. Also during this day the nation of Israel prayed for rain. The priests would traditionally draw water from the wells and pour it over the altar as they prayed for God to send rain, so that none may thirst and experience drought. Everybody understood the importance and significance of water, even when Yeshua spoke about spiritual thirst compared to the physical thirst and need for water.
John 7:38-39 – “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” By this he meant the Spirit…”
The prophetic future of the Feast of Tabernacles is also vividly described in Zechariah 14:9,16 – “The LORD will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one LORD, and his name the only name… 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.”
Bible prophecy tells us that not only Israel, but all the nations of the earth shall go up to Jerusalem for Sukkot, to honor and worship Yeshua, our King and eternal Tabernacle, as He rules and reigns from Jerusalem over all the earth. At that time Jerusalem will be filled with tabernacles under the open heavens, as the nations flood to Jerusalem to celebrate Sukkot.
Prayer Request – Please pray with me for our Jerusalem Evangelism Outreach on October 3rd:
That every person who joins us for the Evangelical Outreach in Jerusalem will be comforted and healed by the Holy Spirit, and that the Lord will guide me and bless my words as I preach the Gospel to them.
That the Holy Spirit will work in the hearts of the people who will join us for the outreach, and that they will respond to the altar call to receive Yeshua (Jesus) as their Lord and Savior.
For the administrative aspects of this project. Our volunteers will coordinate the people, the buses, and will make hundreds of phone calls before the outreach. Please pray for wisdom and God’s power to be manifested in every aspect of communication and organization.
That all the necessary funds (6,000 USD) will be raised for this very strategic outreach.
For follow up! Afterwards we will also invite all attendees to participate in a course for new believers and to visit our congregation. Please pray that they will take the next step and join the congregation.
May you have a blessed Feast of Tabernacles and may you always abide in Yeshua, our everlasting Tabernacle!
