The LORD said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites: ‘On the fifteenth day of the seventh month the LORD’s Feast of Tabernacles begins, and it lasts for seven days….On the first day you are to take choice fruit from the trees, and palm fronds, leafy branches and poplars, and rejoice before the LORD your God for seven days. Celebrate this as a festival to the LORD for seven days each year. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come; celebrate it in the seventh month. Live in booths for seven days: All native-born Israelites are to live in booths so your descendants will know that I had the Israelites live in booths when I brought them out of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.’”
Leviticus 23:33-34, 40-43
At sundown last night, the final feast of the annual cycle began: Sukkot (pronounced sue-coat) or the Feast of Tabernacles. This festival lasts an entire week. God commanded that during this week people are to live in booths or tents. The other stipulation is that it is to be a time of rejoicing.
Yesterday I got some help setting up the JUC sukkah (Hebrew for tent, plural is sukkot), a job for an engineer like myself. We hung up some sheets from the trellises holding up grape vines, did a little decorating, put in some tables and chairs, and there it was. Maybe some people will sleep in it this week. It’s a little cool at night now and the bugs may eat us alive. At the very least, some of us will eat our meals out here when possible.
So in this season of Sukkot, give thanks for all the blessings you’ve been given. I’ve felt blessed just being here.Exploring around the city, there are sukkot set up all over the place from businesses to homes. It’s a fun time for people to get together with others and remember the great blessings that God has bestowed upon us.
The festival remembers how the Israelites wandered in the desert for forty years living in tents. It’s also a time to remember that the Messiah “tabernacled” among us (John 1:14). It a future reminder that Jesus will return someday. “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them” (Revelation 21:3). One of the main themes of the Bible is about a God wanting to be with his people.
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice.
~Philippians 4:4