Sukkot - The Purpose

Commonly referred to as the "Feast of Tabernacles" or "Feast of Booths", this is one of three holidays where every Jewish male was required to trek to Jerusalem to attend the festival (the other two were Passover and Pentecost).

Sukkot began yesterday, and it will last until next Wednesday.

I'll make a couple posts during Sukkot.  But today, I want to explain the purpose of Sukkot, both in its original context, as well as the context of the New Testament Christian.

The Original Context

The festival is explained, like many Jewish holidays, in Leviticus 23.  Here are the relevant portions:

Leviticus 23:33-36

33 The Lord spoke to Moses: 34 “Tell the Israelites: The Festival of Booths to the Lord begins on the fifteenth day of this seventh month and continues for seven days. 35 There is to be a sacred assembly on the first day; you are not to do any daily work. 36 You are to present a fire offering to the Lord for seven days. On the eighth day you are to hold a sacred assembly and present a fire offering to the Lord. It is a solemn gathering;  you are not to do any daily work. 

Leviticus 23:39-43

39 “You are to celebrate the Lord’s festival on the fifteenth day of the seventh month for seven days after you have gathered the produce of the land. There will be complete rest on the first day and complete rest on the eighth day. 40 On the first day you are to take the product of majestic trees—palm fronds, boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook—and rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days. 41 You are to celebrate it as a festival to the Lord seven days each year. This is a permanent statute for you throughout your generations; you must celebrate it in the seventh month. 42 You are to live in booths  for seven days. All the native-born of Israel must live in booths, 43 so that your generations may know that I made the Israelites live in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt; I am Yahweh your God.”

The Israelites spent forty years in the wilderness.  Interestingly enough, in our Bible reading, we are in Numbers, during the time of this waiting.

What is important about this waiting?  Here's three takeaways from the wandering story.

     Faith is important.  The people were forced to wander 40 years due to lack of faith in God.  Clearly, for God's covenant community, trusting in God is something to be taken seriously.

     There was an end to the wandering.  After wandering, living in tents, eventually these 40 years passed, and the Israelites moved into houses.

     There was provision.  Their sandals never wore out.  Neither did their clothes.  They were, on multiple occasions, provided with incredible amounts of water, despite being in a desert.  They literally had food fall from the sky.  As angry as God was with the generation that failed to trust Him, He still showered provision upon them.

Jewish families, then, right now are likely in a Sukkah (Hebrew for tent).  They are certainly reflecting on these truths.  But there is more to the story.  As with every Jewish festival, Sukkot is pointing to something greater.  More accurately, someone greater.

New Testament Context

Jesus Christ embodied Sukkot.  Quite literally, in fact.

     As we see in Philippians 2:7-8, Jesus took on flesh (the wording of Paul's actually resembles that of clothing, or a tent):

 

7 Instead He emptied Himself by assuming the form of a slave, taking on the likeness of men.  And when He had come as a man in His external form, 8 He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death—even to death on a cross.

So let us look at these truths through the lens of Christ:

     Faith is important.  The Old Covenant was with a nation.  The means of this covenant was by birth. You were a part of this covenant because you were born an Israelite.  While there were exceptions (Rahab the prostitute as an example), entrance into the covenant community was based on one's DNA.

         For the church, however, God has made His covenant with individual believers.  The means of this covenant is by faith, not birth.  It is not because your parents are Christian that makes you a Christian.  It is because of your faith in God, and His Son Jesus Christ.  If faith was important for a covenant community marked by genetics, how much more important is faith in a covenant community marked by faith!  

     There was an end to the wandering.  We live in a Sukkah, whether we realize it or not.  Our bodies are temporary dwellings. 2 Corinthians 5:1-5 is probably the clearest New Testament passage concerning Sukkot:

2 Corinthians 5:1-5

For we know that if our temporary, earthly dwelling is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal dwelling  in the heavens,  not made with hands. 2 Indeed, we groan in this body, desiring  to put on our dwelling from heaven, 3 since, when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. 4 Indeed, we groan while we are in this tent, burdened as we are, because we do not want to be unclothed but clothed, so that mortality may be swallowed up by life. 5 And the One who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave us the Spirit as a down payment. 

          We will all be changed.  We will put away our earthly Sukkah, and go to our heavenly Home.

    There was provision.  While we are in our Sukkah, our earthly body, God does not ignore us.  Christianity is not a religion concerned only with the afterlife.  We are given provision.  Bread, both physical and spiritual, is provided for us.  We do not go alone in this wandering.  God is with us, for He has given us His own Holy Spirit as a down payment for us.

Jesus is the God of Sukkot.  

Sometime before the end of Sukkot I'll post about how we as a family do Sukkot.  Perhaps it will inspire you to do the same, or just reflect on the truths of Sukkot during this time.