Tanakh portion for 15 October 2005, Sukkot

I have been greatly amiss in my writing these days. Life is good, but busy after getting things back in the house after hurricane Rita. I have missed Rosh Hoshana and Yom Kippur, but have stirred my bones in time for Sukkot, also known as tabernacles.

So let us begin: Adonai said to Moshe, “Tell the people of Isra’el, ‘On the 15th day of this seventh month is the feast of Sukkot for seven days to Adonai. On the first day there is to be a holy convocation; do not do any kind of ordinary work. For seven days you are to bring an offering made by fire to Adonai; on the eighth day you are to have an holy convocation and bring an offering made by fire to Adonai; it is a day of public assembly’ do not do any kind of ordinary work…but on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered the produce of the land, you are to observe the festival of Adonai seven days; the first day is to be a complete rest and the and eighth day is to be a complete rest. On the first day you are to take choice fruit, palm fronds, thick branches and river willows, and celebrate in the presence of Adonai your God for seven days. You are to observe it as a feast to Adonai seven days in the year’ it is a permanent regulation, generation after generation; keep it in the seventh month. You are to live in sukkot for seven days; every citizen of Isra’el is to live in a sukkah*, so that generation after generation of you will know that I made the people of Isra’el live in sukkot** when I brought them our of the land of Egypt; I am Adonai your God. (Vayikra*** 23:33-36, 39-43, Complete Jewish Bible)

In passing, let us note some things. First, most Tanakh feasts are to last eight days, that is one full week. This expresses the fullness of time. God created heaven and earth in seven days, and as Christians we know that he sealed his redemption of creation on the eighth day, Sunday, which is both the first and the eighth day. Secondly, as many feasts, no work is to be done on the first or last days of the celebration, just as some of us did no work on Yom Kippur. The prohibition of work on our part is to demonstrate to us that our salvation does not come from our work, but that we must depend on God’s grace, in other words salvation is God’s work, not our own. (By the way, the Roman Catholic and some other churches used to keep octaves of feasts such as Christmas and Easter. It has only been in the last forty years that these octaves have died out.) One other note in passing, from http://www.biblicalholidays.com/Tabernacles/jewishcustoms.htm is the following:
There is thought to be spiritual significance based on the characteristics of the lulav and citron:
The palm bears fruit (deeds) but is not fragrant (spiritual blessing). This is like a person who lives by the letter of the law but does not have compassion or love for others.
The myrtle only has fragrance, but can’t bear fruit. This is like a person who is “so heavenly minded he is no earthly good.” He (or she) may recite scripture, but he doesn’t produce fruit.
The willow can neither produce fruit nor fragrance. This is like a person who is intrigued by different doctrines but never produces fruit.
The citron creates both fruit and fragrance. This is like a faithful believer who lives a balanced life in wisdom before God and man. Believers should strive to be like the citron
(lulav is the wave offering presented to the Lord on the first day of the feast)

Also let us note it is a feast. We are to celebrate God’s providence to us with feasting, dancing and rejoicing! Sukkot, falling in the fall of the year is very much the Hebrew thanksgiving, and the Sukkah is usually decorated with fruits of the season, here in the US with squash and corn, in Europe with cabbage and grapes.

The purpose of Sukkoth is two fold. First it is to remind the people of Israel that they lived in shelters for forty years in the desert. Our family usually set up a Sukkah to eat in during this time, and tents to sleep in. It is easy to think of ourselves being with the Israelites in the desert when we camp out in the back yard this week. But the feast does not only remind us that the Hebrews had to camp out, but of God’s protection. The sukkah is supposed to have a leafy roof that lets sunlight and starlight through because God supplied a sukkah (the cloud) to protect us from the sun by day and the moon by night. Sukkot is a thanksgiving celebration because God provided man (Manna), and water for the forty years in the desert. We are also told that clothing and shoes did not wear out during this trek in the desert.
Yeshua too provides spiritual and physical protection and blessings for us when we walk in his ways. He tells us, “Seek ye first his kingdom, and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Mattityahu**** 6:33) This promise is that when we walk in his ways, we will have what we need to achieve the kingdom, and I do mean what we need, not necessarily what we want. I can say through my own experiences as a missionary in Honduras, I often wanted certain things, but never received them, but the things I needed to complete my mission (say tyres for example) were always forthcoming when I needed them. The trick is to line up our will with God’s. When we are truly seeking the Lord our God with all our heart, mind and strength, then we will be praying for the things we need to advance the kingdom, and the Lord will provide.

Shalom and blessings in the Name of Yeshua


+Mar Michael Abportus
mjthan@quik.com

*Leviticus
**Shelter (can mean tent)
***Shelters
****Mathew