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The Feast of Booths Harvest Thoughts Reference to this feast of the people of Israel first occurs in Exodus 23.16 "Celebrate the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in your crops from the field". (NIV) Later in Leviticus 23.34, more specific instruction is given, "Say to the Israelites: 'On the fifteenth day of the seventh month the LORD's Feast of Tabernacles begins, and it lasts for seven days". This was one of the three great feasts of Israel when the people were expected to appear before the Lord. It is so referred to in John 7.37,38 when "Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." In the King James version along with other translations this festival is referred to as the Feast of Tabernacles. This is not exactly a wrong translation but it is a little confusing since the Hebrew word used for God's dwelling place among his people when they travelled through the wilderness is not the same as the one used for this feast. Rotherham and Strong use the word 'booth' in their translation and so does the R.S.V. and the new Revised English Bible. So what were these 'booths' or 'tabernacles' or tents, and why did God instruct the people of Israel to make them? Leviticus 23.40-43 answers these questions when it says "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...live in booths for seven days:…so your descendants will know that I had the Israelites live in booths when I brought them out of Egypt. I am the LORD your God". At the dedication of the Temple (2 Chron.8.13) Solomon reminded the people of the law which bade them attend the Temple three times a year including the Feast of Booths. After the Jews returned from exile in Babylon they rediscovered the Feast of Booths and there is reference to this in Nehemiah 8.14-18 where the people went into the countryside surrounding Jerusalem and their towns and brought in branches of olive, myrtle and palm. This was healthy pruning of the trees and not acts of vandalism. We are also told in Nehemiah's account that it was a time of 'very great rejoicing'. This kind of celebration continued right up until the coming of Jesus at his First Advent to which reference has already been made. By that time the idea of pouring water out and giving thanks for rain, had developed, and Jesus used the idea to convey what he had to offer to those who would come to him. There may also be a reference back to the experiences in the wilderness when God miraculously gave water to Israel. When a large proportion of the population live just above the 'bread-line' any slight variation in climate and harvest can make all the difference to whether one's family lives or dies of starvation. It is then that this kind of thanksgiving has real meaning. This festival included camping out on the roof tops and in the court yards. One can well imagine the excitement of the younger members of the family. But the making of such a 'shelter' required the strength and skill of the older members of the family. These were shelters not from rain or snow, but from the sun and its heat. At these festivals work stopped and they became truly seven Holy Days. They lived close to neighbouring Canaanite peoples who worshipped the Baal. It was so easy for Israel in it's early days to slip from the true worship of the LORD into the fertility rites of the pagan worship. These festivals, appointed by their God, were intended to direct the thoughts of God's people to the one great almighty Creator of the Universe upon whom they were dependant. But this God was not one to be manipulated. They could not perform certain rituals and say particular formulae and expect that God would do just what they asked. Israel was a trusting family, which looked to God in love for all that He had done for them. In the beginning God had made all things well. Everything was beautiful and functioned perfectly. God had given to mankind the privilege of being stewards of his Creation. "And God said to them 'Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.' And God said, 'Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food'." Genesis 1.28-30 RSV. By these words God had provided the wonderful gifts of creation for the blessing of mankind and at the same time had established the relationship between all living things on the earth. Rebellion against God did not alter the privileges which God had given except inasmuch as mankind was deficient in ability to do the work properly. Man's failure to trust God had undermined his thankfulness for all that He had done and given. Through the ages mankind has abused these gifts and in recent centuries due to the misuse of increased knowledge, has done such harm to the planet that it is reaching a state of being uninhabitable. God's people cannot approve of such desecration of his workmanship. The Old Testament abounds with references to the wonder and the beauty of the earth and all that lives here. The clear relationship of all things that draw breath and the acknowledgement of God's creative goodness is echoed many times. Taking our cue from Israel of old there is scope for God's people to join their hearts and voices in adoration and praise and thankfulness for all that God has given in the natural world. Then to go forth into the world and express those sentiments in our lives. The way we perform our acts of daily worship in the handling of the physical creation and in the use of the wonderful things God has made, is the truest reflection of our heart's devotion to the living God who made us. God's loving protection and provision for his creatures are revealed in the tiny particles from which all things are made to the mighty forces of nature, wind and water, sun and snow. That God will restore to full function the wonders of his creation is shown by Paul in his letter to the Colossians, for Christ is not only head of the Church but supreme over all creation. "For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth... .For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross." Col.1.16-20 (NIV). Human alienation from God has caused disruption throughout all creation. Man's failed stewardship has brought a return in part, to pre-creation chaos in which animal and plant life have shared the results of man's folly. Jesus has been appointed to put that right. The discord in nature, the plagues and epidemics are part of human ignorance and greed. Paul's words indicate that all creation shall be restored to harmony and the blessings of integration of purpose and abounding fruitfulness will bring lasting peace, joy and blessing. So Jesus, in the Temple at the time the Feast of Booths was being celebrated, cried out his invitation to those in Jerusalem, pilgrims and citizens alike, to come to the water of life. There was spiritual drought among God's people and their Messiah was offering them the soul reviving opportunity to come to him. But there was much more to his invitation than personal salvation, great as that is. The invitation was for the Spirit of God to flow out from them to the nations, a work which has only just started. It must go on till God's gifts in the natural world are shared fairly and none hunger and thirst. In the last chapter of the Bible we see that work continuing as the river of the water of life flows out from the throne of God, producing flourishing trees which will spiritually heal and feed the nations. The curse, now upon the natural orders of life on earth, will be removed for ever and mankind will enjoy the fruit of the labours of Christ. Let us Thank the Lord for all his love. DN
Sukot is a Hebrew word meaning "booths" or "huts". Sukot begins five days after Yom Kippur, on the fifteenth day of the Hebrew month of Tishrei. The holiday, which falls in either September or October of the secular calendar, is observed for seven days by Israeli and Reform Jews and for eight days by traditional Jews living outside of Israel. What happened to Sukot after the destruction of the Temple? After 70 C.E., when temple sacrifices were no longer possible, Sukot underwent the same sort of metamorphosis that enabled other Jewish festivals to survive and retain their religious power. Sukot became a synagogue and home celebration, marked by unique rituals and symbols. The Jewish Home, Daniel B. Syme |
The
Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah)