|
Sukkot/Feast of Tabernacles
or Booths ...
Sukkot is a week long festival which calls
for the Jewish people to build booths to remember the
time that they lived in booths (Heb- sukkot) during
the forty years in the wilderness (Lev
23:42-43). This holiday occurs at the end
of the harvest. Therefore, Sukkot is also to be a time
to give God thanks for the produce of the year (Deut
16:15). Some consider this to be the "Jewish
Thanksgiving." This feast is a reminder of the
reality of God's provision and presence during the forty
years in the wilderness as well as in the present day.
Due to these themes, Sukkot is commanded to be a time
of great rejoicing (Deut 16:14).
John 1:14 says,
"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us…"
The Greek word for "dwell" literally means
"to fix one's booth." In Messiah, God literally
came to fix His sukkah (or booth) among us. The entire
7th chapter of the book of John occurs during Sukkot.
The prophet Zechariah also reveals that Sukkot will
be a special time of worship during Yeshua's Messianic
reign on earth for both Jews and Gentiles (Zech
14:16).
Ways to celebrate:
For families, build a sukkah (booth/tabernacle)
to spend time in during the week of Sukkot. You can
be sure that if it is in a visible location people will
want to know what it is! Dwelling in the sukkah provides
a great object lesson to remind families of the themes
that go along with this holiday (mentioned above). Eating
meals under the sukkah is very common. Inviting guests
over to the house for a night under the sukkah is another
way to celebrate. Congregations can also build their
own community sukkah which can accommodate larger gatherings.
Whether at home or at a congregation, decorating the
sukkah is a fun and meaningful experience. It is traditional
to hang fruit, vegetables, corn, and most anything that
is coming out of the ground during the fall. Many get
quite creative in decorating the sukkah.
|
A sukkah in Israel
|
