The Meaning of the Feast of Tabernacles

The feast of tabernacles is mentioned several times in the Hebrew Scriptures (Ex. 23:16, 34:22&23, Num. 29:12, Deut. 16:13, 2 Chron. 8:12&13, Ezra 3:4, Neh. 8:17&18), however John 7 is the only reference found to it in the Greek Scriptures.

Can Christ’s words in John 7 and the surrounding chapters, help us understand the meaning and spiritual fulfilment of the final feast?

John 7

2 Now the Jews’ feast of tabernacles was at hand.

37 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.

38 He that believeth on me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

As a Jewish man, Jesus was expected to attend the feast of tabernacles. He would have been inside the temple, likely standing in the woman’s court as he witnessed the celebrations, then gave his speech. 

What Jesus witnessed was not that described in Leviticus 23, the Jews had created their own traditions. However he used their traditions as a launching pad to get his message across.

For seven nights a priest went down to the pool of Siloam, filled a jug with water, then poured it upon the brazen alter. This was accompanied by a fan fare of music, singing and dancing. 

On the last, great day of the feast, when the water ceremony and all the fan fare was over, Jesus stood and cried “if any man thirst let him come unto me and drink…living water” 

LIVING WATER

“Living water” is that which flows from a natural source, as opposed to a stagnant pool of rain water.

The pool of Siloam, a Mikvah used for ceremonial cleansing, was fed by the Gihon Spring hence it contained “living water”.

According to John 4, “living water” represents “everlasting life” through the Spirit.

John 4

10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.

14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

A SPIRITUAL KINGDOM

We also know from John 4 that “everlasting life” pertains to a spiritual kingdom made up of “true worshippers” who worship God “in spirit and in truth”.

John 4

21 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.

23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth:…

We can deduce from John 4 that this spiritual kingdom, would replace the physical temple in Jerusalem.

Jesus said “the hour comes and NOW is” when the Father shall be worshipped in Spirit, NOT in Jerusalem.

The word NOW suggests this spiritual kingdom was imminent.

SABBATH

The next thing I want to touch on in John 7 is the reference to sabbath.

The feast of tabernacles began and ended with a sabbath day. 

Leviticus 23

34 …The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days…

35 On the first day shall be a holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.

36 …on the eighth day shall be a holy convocation unto you…it is a solemn assembly; and ye shall do no servile work therein.

It’s no accident that on the last, great day, (a solemn, sabbath day) Jesus stood and cried “if any man thirst let him come unto me and drink…living water”.

In John 5 Jesus healed a lame man at the pool of Bethesda. This also happened on the sabbath. 

John 5

8 Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.

9 And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath.

The pool of Bethesda consisted of an upper and lower basin. Unlike the pool of Siloam these were not fed by a natural spring, they contained rain water. However, water from the upper basin was sometimes released through a channel into the lower one, resembling “living water”.

When we connect John 5 to John 4 and John 7, we see a spiritual kingdom soon to replace the temple in Jerusalem, in which there is both everlasting life (living water) and sabbath rest.

But wait, there’s one more ingredient to this cake!

RESURRECTION

On the last, great day of the final feast Jesus stood and CRIED, he shouted, his voice was like a trumpet! What are trumpets often associated with in the bible? Resurrection!

If we look further down John 5, we find that the healing of the lame man pointed to a “resurrection” that would happen when the dead “hear the voice of the son of God”.

John 5

21 For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son -- quickeneth whom he will.

25 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.

28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,

29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.

If we look at other chapters surrounding John 7, we find repeated mention of a “last day” resurrection.

John 6

39 And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.

40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.

John 11

23 Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again.

24 Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.

25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:

As I said, the feast of tabernacles was the seventh feast, celebrated in the seventh month for seven days and marked the end of the agricultural year thus was sometimes called the “feast of ingathering” (Ex. 23:16, 34:22).

The “resurrection at the last day” was the “ingathering” that the seventh feast/final harvest pointed to.

MEANING OF THE SEVENTH FEAST

As Jesus stood and cried in the temple on the last, great day of the final feast “if any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink….living water”, he was alluding to a last day “resurrection” in which “they that have done good” would be gathered into a spiritual kingdom to enjoy everlasting life and sabbath rest.

This spiritual kingdom is the New Jerusalem described in Revelation 21&22.

Revelation 22

1 And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.

2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life…

17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.

Here we see a crystal clear river flowing from the throne of God and of the lamb.

Jesus is the SOURCE of everlasting life and sabbath rest.

This was his message to the woman at the well, the lame man at the pool of Bethesda, those who were listening at the feast of tabernacles and it’s his message to you today.

The Feast of Tabernacles- Introduction

In this three part post we will explore Exodus, Leviticus, the Gospel of John, Matthew 24 and the book of Revelation to answer these questions- what is the Feast of Tabernacles? What is its meaning? Is it possible this feast has already been spiritually fulfilled? If so how and when?

Some of you may never have heard of the Feast of Tabernacles. Some of you may celebrate it every year.

Most in Christendom believe in its future fulfilment, however could a close examination of Christ’s words in light of Jewish history, their Calendar, customs and agricultural practices prove otherwise?

SEVEN FEASTS

In Leviticus 23 God instituted seven feasts.

Leviticus 23

4 These are the feasts of the LORD, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim -- in their seasons.

These seven feasts revolved around the Jew’s agricultural lifestyle and were celebrated at specific times as per their Calendar.

The Jewish Calendar is different to the Gregorian Calendar we use today. The Gregorian Calendar is solar, whilst the Jewish Calendar is both lunar and solar, with each month beginning at the new moon.

The first three feasts - Passover (Pesach), feast of unleavened bread and feast of first fruits- were celebrated in the first month, Nisan (March/April) and coincided with the Spring harvest of Barley and Flax.

The fourth feast called the feast of weeks or Shavuot, happened in the third month, Sivan (May/June) and coincided with the wheat harvest.

The wheat harvest was right at the end of Spring and marked the end of the grain season. 

Not until the seventh month, Tishrei (Sept/Oct), did the final three feasts occur- the feast of trumpets (Yom Teruah), feast of atonement (Yom Kippur) and feast of tabernacles (Sukkot). 

These high holy days coincided with the Fall/Autumn harvest of fruits such as olives, grapes, figs and dates. 

The feast of tabernacles was the seventh feast, celebrated in the seventh month for seven days and marked the end of the agricultural year, thus it was sometimes called the “feast of ingathering” (Ex. 23:16, 34:22).

PILGRIMAGE FEASTS

Pesach, Shavuot and Sukkot were “pilgrimage feasts”, meaning every able bodied Jewish man had to visit the temple in Jerusalem to offer the first fruits of his harvest to the priest. 

The purpose of Pesach, was to remember how God spared the first-born of Israel when they applied the blood of a lamb to the doorposts and lintels of their houses. It was also to remember their deliverance from bondage in Egypt. 

In Nisan of around 33AD Jesus was crucified outside the city walls just as the Passover lamb was being killed inside the temple. Thus his crucifixion fulfilled the first pilgrimage feast. He was the Passover lamb.

The purpose of Shavuot was to remember how, 50 days after Israel’s deliverance from Egypt, they arrived at Mnt Sinai where Moses presented them with the 10 commandments. The 10 commandment were like a Ketubah, or Jewish marriage contract. Israel said “we will do” to the Ketubah (Ex. 19:8).

In Sivan of around 33AD (50 days after Christ’s crucifixion), as Jewish men gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate Shavuot, the holy Spirit was poured out and the law was written, not on tablets of stone but upon the hearts and minds of those waiting in the upper room (Jer. 31:33, Heb. 10:16). Thus the second pilgrimage feast was spiritually fulfilled.

SUKKOT

The Hebrew word Sukkot means booths or tents.

According to Leviticus 23, the purpose of Sukkot, was to remember how Israel dwelt in tents while wandering in the wilderness.

Leviticus 23

34 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the LORD.

39 Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in -- the fruit of the land, ye shall keep -- a feast unto the LORD seven days…

42 Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths:

43 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.

A tent is a temporary dwelling place. Israel dwelt in tents because they were on their way to the “promised land”.

From Acts 2 on, God dwelt in his people by way of his Spirit “ye in me and I in you” (Jn. 14:20). 

However our bodies, like tents, are temporal. God wants to tabernacle with us in a permanent sense, for eternity in heaven.

Just as Israel wandered in the wilderness for 40 years before accessing the “promised land”, first century saints were tested and tried in a spiritual wilderness for 40 years (one biblical generation) before accessing their promised land, the city “not made with hands” that Abraham, Peter and Paul groaned for (Hebrews 11:10, 2 Cor. 5:1, 2 Peter 3:13)

Ultimately, this is what the final feast points to.

Let us each work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. God bless.