Intro
I teased it at the end of my last post and here it is! Today I talk about what the Feast of Tabernacles is (and what a tabernacle even is) and how to see Jesus in it. Like Passover, it’s a little more obvious than some. But I’m getting ahead of myself. But first I need to define what a tabernacle is. After that, I can explain the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot in Hebrew) and then show you all how it points to Jesus.
What is a Tabernacle?
First off, it must be known that, outside of the Bible and Jewish/Christian significance, there isn’t any simple definition that a culture would use the word “tabernacle” for. In Hebrew, the word means “Residence” or “Dwelling place”. It was the word used in the Old Testament to refer to the place where God dwelt among them; simply called The Tabernacle, or Tent of Meeting. And it’s in that other name that we can get a simple enough image for our purposes: a tent. Are you all good with that simple definition? Cool. Let’s move on.
Why is there a Feast for Tabernacles?
First of all, it’s not a feast for tabernacles. The Jews don’t celebrate the tabernacle as a concept. And it’s also not a feast to remember The Tabernacle that God directed the Israelites to make as His dwelling place. So, then, what is it? The feast begins on the 15th day of the seventh month (Tishri) on the Jewish calendar. This first day is a special day in which no work is to be done – much like the weekly Sabbath day. Then the feast would continue for the next seven days and during those days, all Jews live in a tent-like (or tabernacle-like) structure. The Old Testament instructs the Jews to build these tabernacles out of various branches and leaves – signifying these dwellings are only temporary.
Here’s the full description found in Leviticus 23.
The Lord said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites: ‘On the fifteenth day of the seventh month the Lord’s Festival of Tabernacles begins, and it lasts for seven days. The first day is a sacred assembly; do no regular work. For seven days present food offerings to the Lord, and on the eighth day hold a sacred assembly and present a food offering to the Lord. It is the closing special assembly; do no regular work.
(“‘These are the Lord’s appointed festivals, which you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies for bringing food offerings to the Lord—the burnt offerings and grain offerings, sacrifices and drink offerings required for each day. These offerings are in addition to those for the Lord’s Sabbaths and in addition to your gifts and whatever you have vowed and all the freewill offerings you give to the Lord.)
“‘So beginning with the fifteenth day of the seventh month, after you have gathered the crops of the land, celebrate the festival to the Lord for seven days; the first day is a day of sabbath rest, and the eighth day also is a day of sabbath rest. On the first day you are to take branches from luxuriant trees—from palms, willows and other leafy trees—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 temporary shelters for seven days: All native-born Israelites are to live in such shelters so your descendants will know that I had the Israelites live in temporary shelters when I brought them out of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.’”
Leviticus 23:33-43 (NIV)
Where it says “Live in temporary shelters”, is the Hebrew word “tabernacle”. Hence the name. I won’t discuss it here, but this passage only hints at the sacrifices made. Numbers 29 gives the full breakdown and it is an interesting read.
Each of the feasts I’ve discussed so far is a commemoration of some sort. This one remembers the time in the wilderness when the Israelites lived in tents and relied on God for His provision. The provision aspect of this is largely remembered in the sacrifices made during this time as well as the timing of it occurring at the end of the harvest season.
Where is Jesus in this Feast?
So now the question is, how does Jesus fit into this feast? John gives us the first hint in his gospel when he says that the Word “made His dwelling among us” (John 1:14). See that word “dwelling”? The word used here is the Greek equivalent of “tabernacle”. So John is saying that Christ “tabernacled” among us. So the first way that Jesus relates through this festival is the simple fact that just as God was with the Israelites in the wilderness, so Jesus came and lived among men.
First or Second Coming
In addition, some scholars believe (and I agree) that Jesus’ birth may have occurred near or during the Feast of Tabernacles. After all, one of Jesus’ names is Immanuel – God with us. And as I went over in one of my posts on Jesus’ birth, He most likely was born in September-October, which is when this festival occurs on the Gregorian calendar. The big theme here is God dwelling with man.
Of course when talking about Jesus coming and dwelling with man, there arises with this festival the question about whether it points to His first or second coming. I already mentioned the first, so let’s look at the second. Some scholars think that rather than Jesus’ first coming, this festival was designed to point to Jesus’ second coming. And while the argument certainly can be made because Jesus will return to live (dwell) with mankind, I disagree for the primary reason that the Jews living in a tabernacle is temporary. They’re not meant to remember their ancestors living in tents in the wilderness as permanent. And Jesus’ first coming was only temporary, but His second coming will go from 1000 years straight into eternity – a permanent arrangement.
Provision
Another key aspect is provision. So how does Jesus fulfill that? Jesus repeatedly refers to turning to God for provision. In addition, Jesus refers to Himself as the source of many things. Things such as “living water”, salvation, the Truth, the Life, etc. He provides us with all these and more.
The Water of Life
A point on the living water. One ritual that developed over the years that occurs during the Feast of Tabernacles is a ceremony of a pouring out of water on the last day. This ceremony was based on several passages on life-giving water. Life-giving water you say? Look at what Jesus says in John 7.
On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”
John 7:37-38 (NIV)
And this is just one of the many places Jesus uses water imagery. By the way, did you notice verse 37 references the last day of a festival? What festival was this? If you guessed the Feast of Tabernacles, you’re right. John 7 records several things Jesus did during this festival. It’s pretty powerful. He clearly was trying to show how the festival points to Him.
Wrapping Up
The takeaway from this post is that God is with you. Always. And you can rely on Him to provide for you. Always. And I’m not trying to preach that at you, I need this reminder as well. But I’m learning to trust Him. And I hope you are as well. See you next time when I tackle the festival all about the trumpets.
Outro
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