“I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth.” (Job 19:25, NIV)
The Feast of Tabernacles specifically celebrates God’s dwelling with humanity. It is this element which most clearly shows the Messianic significance of this Feast in the Old Testament. When Solomon built the first temple, it was on Sukkot that the Spirit of God descended upon it – God came to dwell with man visibly in the Temple on the day that God Himself set aside to mark His dwelling with Man (1 Kings 8). From the research of Joseph Good we can determine from the Scriptures and other records that it during Sukkot that Jesus was born.
During this festival all the people in Israel were to assemble in Jerusalem and the surrounding towns (Ex 34:22-23; Deut 16:16). With so many people there at once (also because of a census – Luk 2:1), it is no wonder that Mary and Joseph could not find a room. Therefore, it would be reasonable to assume that the only shelter Joseph and Mary could find would be a temporary dwelling, built to shelter and feed all the incoming animals for the festival. So, when she gave birth to Jesus, she had to place him in a manger (Luk 2:3-7). A manger is a trough from which animals feed in their stalls in a stable. In Hebrew, a stable is called a sukkah (the singular form of sukkot)!
During the original festival the Israelites were to dwell in booths for seven days (Lev 23:42). It served as a reminder: “That your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.” (Lev 23:43). Another term for the Messiah is “the Branch”(Isa 11:1; Jer 23:5; Zec 3:8). It is interesting to note, concerning the “Branch” which would “bear fruit,” that God told the children of Israel to collect fruit to eat, as well as branches to build their booths, on the first day of the Feast of Sukkot (Lev 23:40).
Matthew Henry explains it well: “The mercy of God to them, that, when they dwelt in tabernacles, God not only set up a tabernacle for Himself among them, but, with the utmost care and tenderness imaginable, hung a canopy over them, even the cloud that sheltered them from the heat of the sun. God’s former mercies to us and our fathers ought to be kept in everlasting remembrance.” This feast was fulfilled partially when Jesus Christ the Messiah came to the earth to be with man: “And the Word became flesh, and did tabernacle among us …” (Joh 1:14).
In John 7:37-39 Jesus attended a Feast of Sukkot or Tabernacles in Judea. On the last day of the Feast, Jesus said in a loud voice, “If a man 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.” By this he meant the Holy Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. The Jesus who came to the earth is the One who is to come (John 14:28) – He is the fulfillment of the Festival of Sukkot. Job, the oldest book in the Bible, boldly proclaims this truth: “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end He will stand upon the earth.” (Job 19:25, NIV)
Many beautiful traditions are linked to the annual Festival of Booths. For example, it is traditional to invite guests into one’s booth for a festive meal each night of Sukkot. Among the list of invitees are some auspicious names: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron, David, and Job, now all part of the cloud of witnesses (Rom 12:1). Selah.
Sukkot is the great festival, the culmination of all the appointed times.
- Selah: Ask God to minister to you about the cloud of witnesses.
- Read: Deut 27; Songs of Solomon 1; Zeph 2.
- Memorize: Son 1:2 Delve deeper: Read Celebrating the Jewish Year: The Fall Holidays: by Steinberg, & Greenstein
