Feast of Tabernacles: The Living Water

John 7:37-37  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.

(If you are just joining me in this study, you may feel the need to catch up on the previous lessons.  For the introduction, click here.  Part 2 is about the sukkah, and part 3 contains information about rejoicing with the lulav and etrog.)

There are many components to this annual autumn harvest festival we call the Feast of Tabernacles.  It’s a joyful time of celebration in Israel.  In addition to commemorating God’s provision for the Israelites during their 40 years in the wilderness, this feast is also a ‘rehearsal’ for the millennial reign, when Jesus will fulfill it by coming to ‘tabernacle’ with His people in a new heaven and a new earth.  From a practical viewpoint, these 7 days are also set aside to praise the Lord for his provision of rain and an abundant growing season.  Praises are also accompanied by prayers for sufficient rain in the upcoming months to grow future crops. Since Israel was an agricultural society, they were dependent on plentiful rain.  So dependent, in fact, that in biblical days the rabbis would teach every scripture relating to water in the days leading up to the feast.  When the feast days finally came, ceremonies took place every day at the temple.

On the first day of Sukkot, one priest, accompanied by a joyful procession of people, went to the pool of Siloam to draw a pitcher of water to be poured on the altar.  A similar procession, led by a second priest, headed to the Kidron Valley to get willow branches.  The priests would time their groups to meet back at the temple at the same time to begin the ceremony.

Large willow branches were put on either side of the altar, and bent at the top to form a canopy.  The regular, daily sacrifices were offered, as well as special sacrifices designated especially for the feast.  The water from the pitcher was poured on the altar, showing gratitude for rain and prayers were offered for future rain.  As the people shook their lulavs and etrogs toward the altar, they would walk with the priests around the altar one time, singing Isaiah 12:1-3:

And in that day thou shalt say, O LORD, I will praise thee:  though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me.  Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid:  for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.  Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.

Another passage of scripture was sung (Psalm 113-118), called The Great Hallel (Hosanna).  These are songs of praise to God.  After the ceremony was over, people would return to their sukkot (plural of sukkah) to share time with family and friends, eat meals together, and even discuss the lives of great biblical characters.

The water pouring ceremony, circling the altar one time with shaking of lulavs/etrogs, and singing of songs took place on days 2-6 as well.

Day 7 is the culmination of the feast.  It is called Hosha’na Rabba (the day of the Great Hosanna).   On this day, the same activities are done.  However, this time, the priests and people marched around the altar 7 times while shaking the lulavs/etrogs and rejoicing after the pouring of the water.  (Does this sound even a bit familiar?  You know, a story about marching around a city once per day and 7 times on the 7th day?  🙂 )

The Great Hallel (Ps. 113-118) is sung.  Here is a short passage from that portion of scripture:

Psalm 118:22-26  The stone which the builders refused is become the head of the corner.  This is the LORD’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.  This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.  Save now, I beseech thee, O LORD:  O LORD, I beseech thee, send now prosperity.  Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the LORD:  we have blessed you out of the house of the LORD.

This water pouring ceremony is the context of John 7:37-38 (above).  Jesus was teaching at the temple on the last day, this 7th day of ‘the feast’.  The Feast of Tabernacles was also called simply ‘the feast’ because it was known as the most important.  Jesus is proclaiming Himself as the Messiah, the source of living water, at the very time they are pouring water on the altar asking for God’s provision and singing about Him!  Although most had no idea their Messiah was there, or refused to believe, others realized at that moment He was actually speaking to them.

The pouring of water is also a beautiful symbolism of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on us .  We have continual access to the ‘living water’ in Jesus!

After all of the festivities are complete, everyone returns to their homes, remembering the goodness of God in bringing them out of temporary dwellings back into their permanent homes.  Those that celebrate Sukkot choose to inconvenience themselves for a period of 7 days to remind themselves in a tangible way the goodness of God’s provision every day of the year.  Home is very nice after living in a temporary shelter, even for a week!

As we close this season of Sukkot, may we remember how great a God we serve.  He keeps and shelters us daily, and pours His love upon us.  We should continually rejoice in His presence and remember His great acts.  One day, we will celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles with Him personally…what a time that will be!!

Thank you for joining me for this series of lessons.  God bless you!

The Lulav and Etrog: Rejoicing!

Leviticus 23:40  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.

Please forgive my delay in writing this post in this series on Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles.  My family has just returned from a Sukkot gathering.  We spent 3 days in Black Mountain, NC with several families celebrating the feast.  We were disappointed that we had to leave (we weren’t able to stay the entire week this time), but had a fabulous experience, which I will share in a future blog.

If you’re joining me in the middle of this series, and would be interested in reading the previous posts, you may read the introduction here, and the second post on the sukkah as God’s dwelling place here.

As we covered in the previous posts, the Feast of Tabernacles has a two fold fulfillment.  It is first a remembrance of the days the Israelites lived in tents during their 40 years roaming the wilderness, and how God protected them.  Its future fulfillment is when Jesus comes back to earth, and we rule with Him in the millennial reign.  It is also a time of extreme joy and thanksgiving to God for His provision in providing crops for that year.

One thing that I found interesting, and even giggled a bit about, is the fact that this is a festival in which rejoicing is commanded.  Happiness is the order of the day no matter the circumstances around.  It is first and foremost about praise to God, which should always prevail no matter our personal circumstances.

Historic writings reveal part of the celebration in Jerusalem.  Four huge candelabras were built and lit.  During the festival, they were attended continually by several young men.  The candelabras were so tall, the young men had to ascend and descend ladders to keep the oil reservoirs full, so they would continue to burn.  It was said the light was so bright, it lit the entire city.  The people danced, singing hymns and praise songs up until the wee hours of the morning.  This was definitely a time of joy for them!

One of the activities enjoyed by God’s people during this time is the construction and waving of the fruit and branches mentioned in Lev 23:40.  The lulav and the etrog are used all 7 days of the feast.

The lulav consists of 3 branches:  palm, myrtle (leafy branches), and willow (poplar).  They are wrapped together into one piece, and waved every day at the festivities that take place at the synagogue daily during the feast.  This collection of branches is held in the right hand.

The etrog is actually a citron fruit, which looks much like a lemon, except the skin is very bumpy.  It is held in the left hand and waved at the same time.  The lulav and etrog are waved during seasons of great rejoicing in Israel.  They are used both at the Feast of Tabernacles and at Passover.  Each part of these has a special significance.

The willow (poplar) produces no fragrance or fruit.  It is symbolic of those that never read the Word, nor obey it.

The myrtle (leafy branches) produces fragrance but no fruit.  This represents those that read the Word, but don’t obey it.

The palm branch produces no fragrance, but produces fruit.  This symbolizes those that do not read the Word, but live a good, moral life.  It can also represent those that live by the letter of the Bible, but have no compassion or love toward others.

These are held and waved in the right hand.  The right hand is symbolically the hand of salvation.  As this is waved, it is in hope and prayer to God that they will be saved, because they are in need of the saving knowledge of Jesus.

The etrog, in contrast, has a pleasant smell and taste.  This represents those that read the Word, and then go on to obey it.  These are sweet in the sight of the Lord.  It is held and waved in the left hand.  They need not be in God’s right hand of salvation because they have already been redeemed!

As the lulav and etrog are being waved, shouts of ‘Hosanna!’ are heard in praise to God.   This does not only take place at the Feast of Tabernacles, but also at Passover.  This is exactly what was happening in Matthew 21:8-11 when Jesus is riding into Jerusalem on a donkey.  The people were spreading their branches in the way, and shouting ‘Hosanna!  Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’

After the feast comes to a close, the lulavs and other branches used in decoration are beaten against the altar.  The leaves will fall easily now, as it’s been a week since they were cut.  Immediately following, the children will clean up the leaves, and peel and eat the citron, relishing its sweet taste and fragrance.

Sukkot is a time of ‘rehearsal’ for the day when there is a new heaven and a new earth, and we enter the millennial reign of Christ.  We will be ‘eating’ his goodness (as the citron) and rejoicing in joyful worship.  At the same time, the unbelievers, those that chosen not to receive Christ (the lulav), have been cast away from God for eternity, even as the deteriorated branches.

Let us rejoice, remembering His great acts, and looking ahead to the time of the final ingathering of his children (his sweet fruit), when we live with Him forever!

Shadows of the Messiah – Passover #2

Exodus 12:1-5  And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying,

This month shall be unto you the beginning of months:  it shall be the first month of the year to you.

Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house:

And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb.

Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year:  ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats:

You may see Part 1 (introduction) of this series here.

The cry had gone up from the children of Israel to God in heaven, pleading for deliverance from the slavery of Egypt.  By this time in the sequence of events, Moses had come and told Pharoah to let God’s people go.  Even when the Lord did many mighty wonders by the hand of Moses, Pharoah’s heart was still hardened every time, and he refused to allow his work force to leave.  The plagues had come and gone, but it still wasn’t enough.

This would be the last and final plague.  The Israelites were to choose a lamb.  This lamb would be their sacrifice.  They would apply the blood to the doorpost of their homes, so the death angel would not kill the firstborn of their household that night.  They were preparing to ‘pass over’, or leave the place of their slavery, and head to freedom.

Passover, which began last night at sundown (March 29, 2010), occurs on the 14^th day of the first month on the Jewish calendar.  The lamb was chosen for each household on the tenth day of the month, so they had several days to inspect the lamb and prepare to leave Egypt.

Historically, this is how it’s done.  The family will choose a lamb for the Passover sacrifice on the 10^th of the month.  It will be tied near the door of the home, and will spend days 11-13 being inspected to ensure it’s free of blemishes (deformities), and is as perfect as possible.  God gets the best they have to offer.  During those 3 days, imagine how it must be, especially for the children.  They play with it, and would probably begin to get attached to it, even though they know this lamb will die, as a remembrance of that time of passing from slavery to freedom.

Fast forward to the 10^th day of the 1^st month many years later in Jerusalem in Matthew 21:8-9:

Matthew 21:8-9  And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way.

And the multitudes that went before and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David:  Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.

This is where Jesus comes into Jerusalem, riding on a colt.  He is preparing for His death, burial, and resurrection.  This is the day He came to the place that would culminate in his crucifixion as the ultimate sacrifice for our sin.  As He came into Jerusalem, people threw their cloaks and tree branches before Him, rejoicing.   This is the event the Christian church commemorates as Palm Sunday.

Tree branches are waved in Jerusalem during times of rejoicing (Leviticus 23:40).  The Feast of Tabernacles in the fall is the time for the former rain (the first rain for new crops), and Passover is the time of the latter rain (the rains before harvest).  The branches are waved at these times in rejoicing to God.  They hold in their hands a Lulav (loo’-lahv) and an Etrog (e’-trog) at the same time, and wave them.  They are waved at the same time one is shouting ‘Hosanna!’.

The tree branches (Lulav) are twined together and held in the right hand.  They consist of a Palm frond, a Myrtle branch, and a Willow branch.  The Etrog is held in the left hand.  This is what they represent:

Willow – The wicked – Those who smell and taste badly – They never read God’s Word and never obey it.

Myrtle – The sinner – Those who smell good and taste badly – They read God’s Word, but don’t obey it.

Palm – The mocker – Those who smell badly and taste good – They don’t read God’s Word, but live a moral life.

All 3 of these represent souls that are lost.  These 3 branches are waved together in the right hand, which is the hand of salvation.  In the end of time, when God separates the righteous from the wicked, he placed the righteous on the right, and the wicked on the left.  These branches are held in the right hand, in hopes that those that are unsaved will become saved, and will not suffer the final judgment.

The Etrog is a piece of citrus fruit, held in the left hand.  It represents the redeemed that smell good and taste good…those that read God’s Word and obey it.   It is held in the left hand, because the righteous are already redeemed and have salvation.  They are the ones like a tree planted by the rivers of water.  This is what the Jews are doing during Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem on the 10^th day.

On the 10^th day of the first month, the ultimate Passover lamb enters the town in preparation for His death.  The process continues in the next message.  God bless you all!

Portions of this message were taken from a teaching by Dr. Karl Coke, a dear friend and mentor of ours.  He is an expert in Hebrew, Greek, and Biblical culture.  You may visit his website at http://www.karlcoke.com.