The Feast of Joy

This week (starting Monday evening) is the holiday of Sukkot. The Festival of Sukkot, also called the Feast of Tabernacles, was instituted by God in Leviticus 23:33-43. The Israelites were to have seven days of joy and feasting and living in booths after bringing in the harvest. They were also to bring offerings made by fire. The scriptures say God commanded them to live in tents for seven days and to wave branches, choice fruit, and palm fronds. This is to be done every year so that the descendants of Israel would know that God had the Israelites dwell in booths when He brought them out of Egypt. Verse 41 says it is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come.



Additionally, Zechariah 14:16 declares that in the Messiah's reign, the nations will go up to Jerusalem every year to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles.

We find that in John chapter 7, Yeshua went up to the Temple, as was required by all males, to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. During this feast, the city of Jerusalem would be lit up by huge lampstands throughout the city and they would have a water libation ceremony, the pouring out of an incredible amount of water, starting at the temple.

It was here, during this feast with the backdrop of the huge water libation ceremony, in John chapter 7:37,38 that Yeshua said, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."

What a powerful picture! Here is the Messiah of Israel coming to fulfill the feast requirement that He Himself commanded and He says to come to him if anyone thirsts. Many Christians in the church see Yeshua as separate from the feast being described. They might even refer to this feast as a Jewish feast, thus minimizing it's fullness. I suppose the reason they do this is because most Christians, due to the way they have been taught and due to replacement theology that teaches that God is finished with the people of Israel and all the promises have been transferred to the gentile followers of Jesus, separate God into Old and New Testament gods. For instance, the god of the Old Testament was mean and vengeful and the God of the New Testament is all love and grace. Nothing could be further from the truth! God is not schizophrenic. And because of error in doctrine which has not been corrected on a wide scale throughout history, the church is in the dark concerning the fullness of scripture and most Christians don't see the blessing that is doing what the Lord commanded to be done, and that is for the celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles.

So insistent was the Lord that the Feast of Tabernacles be celebrated before Him, that he commanded the nations to come up to Jerusalem for the Feast during Messiah's reign on earth and that if they do not, their nation will not receive rain for the coming year.

One of the fascinating things about the Feasts is that they ALL have their fulfillment in Messiah Yeshua! He came and fulfilled the Passover, as the sacrificial Lamb, the festival of Unleavened Bread, as our sinless offering, the Feast of First Fruits with His resurrection, and the Festival of Shavuot (also called Pentecost) with the outpouring of the Ruach HaKodesh, the Holy Spirit. These are all the spring feasts. Between the spring feasts and the fall feasts is the time of summer when the fruit ripens and then is harvested. Prophetically, this is the soul harvest of the earth.

How will Yeshua fulfill the Fall Feasts in the future? The first is Yom Teruah- the day of blowing of God's trumpet, the shofar. This is symbolic of God gathering His elect from the four corners of the earth "at the last trump" 1 Corinthians 15:52 and Revelation 11. Christians call this the "rapture". This is followed by the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, which prophetically will also be fulfilled in Yeshua when the whole nation of Israel will "Look upon me, the one they have pierced and mourn for him as one mourns for an only child..."Zechariah 12:10. And "thus all Israel shall be saved" (Romans 11:26).

How will Yeshua fulfill the Feast of Tabernacles in the future?- you may ask. Gloriously!!
Let us not forget that John chapter 1 tells us that "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God..."(1:1)[emphasis mine] and that "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling [tabernacle] among us" (John 1:14). Yeshua, the Word, who was since the beginning, who is God, became flesh and dwelt among us! If that does not boggle the mind and excite your spirit..then are you even alive??

Yeshua will fulfill this feast when He returns again to the earth, as He has promised, and once again make his dwelling place among us and reign His righteous rule. This is when He will set ALL things aright and the restoration of all things and TRUE world peace will take place. No wonder God said to rejoice before Him seven days!! Not only does our God know that man is a party animal!- and that man needs to celebrate something, but He wants to give us something to really celebrate and party ABOUT!

Some of my Christian friends say, "Well, but that was Old Testament, we don't have to do that anymore". I simply ask if they want to tell that to the master of the universe who commanded it to be done throughout all generations, and what they have to say to Hebrews 13:8 which says, "Yeshua, the same yesterday, today, and forever."

I think it is time we start accepting God for who He is and enter into the blessings which are the feasts. We can begin this year! We will be glad we did!

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