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In the early autumn of the year following the second,
large, general harvest there is a festival we are commanded to keep holy to
Yahweh. It is the last of the three times in the year we are to appear before
Him. By Dave Ganton It
is to be a time of happiness and rejoicing and a time of assembling together.
You can read about this in Deut. 16:13-17. Notice
who are to take part in this festival time. V.14
This is a time to feel great gratitude for all of the blessings that Yahweh has
given us. We are to share this time with others of like mind. All who celebrate
this feast know what a great joy it is and the spiritual food one receives from
the sermons, bible studies, and fellowship.
As
with all of the special times that Yahweh has declared holy, this festival is
also a time of reflection and meditation. As we do this we will come to a
clearer understanding of the meaning of this seven-day festival. (There is
another holy day at the end of this feast that we will cover later. It
also is a very important day.) As
we reflect on the past and the people of Israel living in booths during their
sojourn in the wilderness while awaiting entrance into the land they had been
promised, and look forward to the time of Yahshua’s return, let us remember
that Yahweh does nothing without a reason. The sojourn in the wilderness is a
lesson for us. It can teach us our place in this age and also in the age to
come.
As
stated previously, this time reminds us of the past and points ahead to the
future, but it also symbolizes this present age. It shows us our place in the
scheme of things. In this age Yahweh and Yahshua are concerned with the first
fruits harvest. We as the first
fruits have been planted and are being tended in a foreign land to which we do
not belong. At one time we were citizens, accepted and a part of all this world
had to offer. But Yahweh has called
us to come out of it lest we share in its punishment.
Rev.18:4 Now
we are strangers and foreigners on this earth in this age.
On
reading the story of Abram, it may seem, on the surface, that this is just a
physical inheritance of land. This is all the religions of this world see when
they read it. We must not see it this way but we must understand it in its true
context. As always in everything that Yahweh does, the physical teaches us
spiritual lessons.
Abram,
along with his son Isaac and grandson Jacob were nomads.
Traveling with their herds from place to place as the water and pasture
demanded. They had no country of their own that they could call home. They were
strangers and sojourners wherever they went. Abram had been promised a country
for himself and his descendants if he would follow Yahweh. This was a promise
from Yahweh that was never fulfilled in his lifetime or the lifetime of his son
and grandson. So just what was Yahweh talking about when He called Abram out of
Chaldea and what does all of this have to do with the feast of Tabernacles and
how does it affect us?
Abraham
saw something in the future that attracted him more than a country that would be
his during his physical life on this earth. He entered a life walk in harmony
with Yahweh because of what he saw. We must see this too if we are to succeed in
our life walk with Yahweh and Yahshua.
Yahshua
said that Abraham saw His day and was glad. John 8:56.
Just what did Abraham see? To help us to understand this we must turn to the
story of the sacrifice of Isaac by Abraham. Gen.22:1-18.
How could a loving father who loved his son be willing to sacrifice him? On the
surface this sounds incomprehensible. To find the answer let us turn to Heb.11:17-19
Abraham had faith in the word of Yahweh. He knew that when Yahweh makes a
promise it is sure and unchangeable. Since He had promised that the covenant
would be through his natural offspring Isaac, and his descendants, Abraham knew
that Isaac would have to be alive to make these descendants. Gen.19:17-21
He knew that even if Yahweh required him to go through with the sacrifice of
Isaac, that He was capable to restore him once again to life.
Faith
is not something you get on your own. I have had people tell me they didn't have
enough faith. They would ask me, “How do I get more faith?” One does not get
more faith. Faith comes by the things we see Yahweh doing in our lives. We must
stay focused on Him. He grows our faith by what He does. We do not grow our
faith by what we do.
Abraham
knew this. He had seen the great things that Yahweh had done in his and Sarah's
lives. Rom.4:17-21.
He was a very old man. Sarah was a very old woman. She was past the
natural childbearing years. Yet Yahweh had promised that they would have a
natural born son. This He brought about by His great power. Abraham had lived
through this and knew the power and the faithfulness of Yahweh. This is how he
could sacrifice this son to Yahweh. He knew Isaac's death would have to be a
temporary thing. Because of Abraham’s unfaltering faith, Yahweh did not
require him to go through with this offering but provided a ram instead. Abraham
never lost his focus on Yahweh. We must be the same. Yahweh must always be our
focus no matter what may arise to distract us. What Yahweh says, is and will be.
Nothing can prevent it.
Abraham
also looked forward to the time of Yahshua and His sacrifice on behalf of all
mankind. John 8:56
He knew as we do that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of
Elohim. Rom.3:23
He also knew that the wages of sin is death eternal. Rom.6:23
He knew that the fulfilment of the promise of eternal inheritance made to him by
Yahweh could not happen without the sacrifice of Yahshua to wipe away the sin
that held him, as well as us, in its death grip.
He
was a stranger in the land but he was also a stranger in this world. The
homeland that he awaits is the same one that we are waiting for. This homeland
or kingdom is reserved for us in Heaven until the time of Yahshua's return. 1 Peter 1:3
Blessed be the Elohim and Father of our Master Yahshua Messiah, which
according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the
resurrection of Yahshua Messiah from the dead, 4
To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away,
reserved in heaven for you, 5
Who are kept by the power of Elohim through faith unto salvation ready to
be revealed in the last time.
Let’s
move ahead to the time of Moses to see another example of one who was a stranger
and sojourner in the land and also in this world. Moses was raised by Egyptian
royalty. He was educated by the best of their wise men. He was being groomed to
be Pharaoh. He saw beyond his present day to the time still ahead of us. When
asked to make a choice between a life of royalty and that of a homeless wanderer
leading a stubborn, ungrateful, and backsliding people, he saw beyond to the
true inheritance that would be his. Heb.11:23-27
He
also saw the time of Yahshua and what He would make possible by His death for
sin. Moses had a homeland, as did Abraham and when he was called to leave it as
Abraham had, he did so. He lived as a stranger and a sojourner in the land all
the days of his life. He saw the promised heavenly homeland from a distance as
did Abraham but could not enter just as we can not enter at this time. He was a
stranger in this world as well. He was looking forward in time to something
better as were others such as Seth, Enoch, Noah, Shem, and the
prophets. Heb.11:13-16 These
all had the chance to return to what they were before their call but chose not
to. Verse 15
All chose to remain strangers and wanderers on this earth until the true kingdom
would appear at the return of Yahshua as their king and give them eternal
citizenship. A SOJOURNING KING
There
is someone else who we would not expect to say that he was a stranger with no
homeland to call his own. That is king David. He was the king of Israel. He had
a very beautiful palace with everything he could possibly want. Yet in Psalm 119:19
he says that he is a stranger. In Psalm 39:5-12
David says that he is a stranger and a sojourner as all his fathers were. He
understood that he was in a very temporary state. He says in verse 5 that
the best state of man is vanity. Vanity comes from the Hebrew word “hebel”
#1892 and “habal” #1891 in Strong’s.
It means transitory and unsatisfactory.
With
these things in mind let us come forward to our time now and understand how this
all relates to the Feast of Tabernacles or Succoth. Yahweh commanded that this
festival be kept in temporary dwellings, Succoth. Lev.23:42
The words booth, tabernacle, and tent come from the Hebrew “cukkah”.(pronounced
Sookaw) This is a temporary shelter that one would put up as
protection for themselves or their animals while travelling. This could
also be a cave or shed or barn that might be a permanent building but is only
used temporarily during travel. Yahshua was born in a “cukkah”and was later
moved to a house.
During
this festival we remember the Israelites who lived in tents (cukkah) in the
wilderness while awaiting entrance into the promised land. We also look forward
to the return of Yahshua and spending the millennium and eternity with Him and
His Father. But this time also tells us about the present. We don't just live in
cukkah for the seven days of the festival of booths and the last great day. We
live in cukkah every day of our lives on this earth.
Let
us turn to the writings of Paul to help us to understand this present, temporary
state we are in. 2 Cor.4:18
He tells us that the things we see are temporary but the things not seen
(the spiritual) are eternal. Everything physical will one day pass away. 2 Cor.5:1-4 Paul
likens his physical body to a tent or cukkah. He says that even though the
outward physical body is wasting away, we have a new body made without hands,
eternal and waiting in Heaven for us. It is these permanent spirit bodies that
we will be resurrected into when Yahshua returns. 1 Cor.15:50-54
Peter
also likens our bodies to temporary dwellings. 2 Peter 1:13-14
We who follow Yahweh in this age are in the same condition. We are strangers and
sojourners on this earth living in these temporary dwellings, our fleshly
bodies, while we await our permanent homes. NO LONGER CITIZENS
We
are no longer a part of this world or its ways. At one time we were true
citizens and members of the evil society around us. Eph 2:2-3 We
were once very happy to take part in activities that we now know are evil and
lead to death. Our families, friends, and co workers are surprised that we no
longer join them. 1 Peter 4:3-4 Some even persecute us and say evil
things about us. The longer we are in this way of life the clearer it becomes
how separate we truly are. We are strangers in a world we used to call home.
Those around us think we are strange. When we look around us to the things that
are going on, it is now alien to us. We don't belong. We no longer fit in.
This
is a Friday night and Saturday world. We are a Friday night and Saturday
(Sabbath) assembly. People of this world pursue shopping, drinking, sports, and
all kinds of recreational activities that give pleasure to the flesh. We as a
Sabbath keeping assembly pursue bible study, prayer, worship services,
fellowship and all of the things that give spiritual uplifting and pleasure. We
seek to please Yahweh and Yahshua. Isn't it odd that those of this world and
those who are Yahweh's people turn in totally opposite directions on the
Sabbath? One to the world and one to Yahweh.
We,
at one time made this turn to the world on the Sabbath too. We can no longer do
this. Yahweh has called us as He did Seth, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob,
Eliyah, David and the prophets to come out of our homelands and follow Him to
the eternal land that He has prepared for us. Let us read about the great
company we are in. Heb.11:1-39
Notice that all of these people who were well attested as being
faithful were all aware of Yahshua the Messiah. They all knew what we
know in this age. Yahweh does not change and neither does His instruction.
Notice
verse26.
In verse 13
we are told all of these people died in faith not having received the fulfilment
of the promise but they could see it far off in the future. Seeing this they
acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on this earth. In verse 38
we are told that the world was not worthy of them. This is not only talking
about them. There is no them. The people of Yahweh then and the people of Yahweh now are all “us”
We are all of the same fold. All, from the beginning until now , have the same
Shepherd. Abraham knew our MELCHIZADEK
priest. (Gen.14:18)
All look to Yahshua for guidance and salvation. All are waiting for the same
king. All will obtain the fulfilment of a permanent, eternal kingdom at the same
time. Verses 39-40
WISDOM OF YAHWEH
Yahweh
is so very wise. He knew that we would be few in number and separated since He
works with small numbers and achieves great results. He
knew we would need special times to all come together in one place to worship
Him and to fellowship with each other. Iron sharpens iron and Yahweh's people
encourage and strengthen each other at these special Holy times. The feast of
Booths is one of these special times. All who attend this festival know how
separate we really are from this world. I have never met anyone who was glad
when it was over. All look forward to the time when Yahshua returns and we will
all be together for all eternity. As we come together this year let us remember that we are all strangers and sojourners abiding in these temporary dwellings of our bodies and let us rejoice in each other’s company before Yahweh and Yahshua and gain strength from Them and each other to help us on another years journey through this world. Let us keep this scripture in mind during our sojourning. Heb. 10:35 Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward. 36 For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of Elohim, ye might receive the promise. 37 For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry. HalleluYah!!!!! May Yahweh bless your
studies.
The Feast of Booths, Succoth, or
Tabernacles is a seven day feast. But there is a final holy day, an eighth day,
which is added to this festival time. By Dave Ganton t
has come to be known as the last great day of the feast but it is actually a
separate holy day making up the last of the seven annual Holy days commanded by
Yahweh. It is a bittersweet day full of memories of the beautiful festival time
that we have all shared. But it is a sad day as we face going back into the
world and leaving our beloved brothers and sisters for another year. The seven
days of Tabernacles are a time of refuelling spiritually and physically. They
give us a brief foretaste of the time when we will all be in Yahweh's kingdom
together for all eternity. I want to discuss with you about
the great symbolism of this day and what it means to us as Yahweh's people. This
is the day of the pouring out of water. This pouring of water ceremony is not
listed with the other rituals surrounding this holy time in Lev.23.36. It is believed to have begun at the time of Hezekiah
who was one of the good kings of Judah. Since it is not one of the original
commands should we really take notice of it? Yahshua did and since He is our
example we should also hear what He had to say on this last great day concerning
water and what it means to us. POURING OUT OF WATER
Before
we do that let’s investigate how this ceremony was carried out. On this day
the priest would draw water from the pool of Siloam which flowed under the
temple mount and solemnly poured it onto the altar. This water was brought in
gold containers to the sounds of great jubilation and the sounding of trumpets
that would cease as he poured the water. Following this pouring out, the words
of Is.
12:2-6 would be sung.
"Behold, Elohim is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for
Yahweh ELOHIM is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation." 3
With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. 4
And you will say in that day: "Give thanks to Yahweh, call upon his
name; make known his deeds among the nations, proclaim that his name is exalted.
5
"Sing praises to
Yahweh, for he has done gloriously; let this be known in all the earth. 6
Shout, and sing for
joy, O inhabitant of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of
Israel."
The
word “WELL” above is from the Hebrew Mahyawn It means spring or fountain. Something to take
note of here is that the pool of Siloam was fed by a spring or fountain. This
has great meaning as we will see soon.
It was after this pouring out ceremony that Yahshua stood up
and declared; John 7:37 "If
any one thirst, let him come to me and drink.
Just
what did He mean by this statement? To begin to understand let’s turn to John 4:7-14
There came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Yahshua said to her,
"Give me a drink." 8
For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. 9 The
Samaritan woman said to him, "How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me,
a woman of Samaria?" For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. 10 Yahshua answered her, "If you knew
the gift of Elohim, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’
you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water." 11
The woman said to him, "Sir, you have nothing to draw with, and the
well is deep; where do you get that living water? 12
Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank
from it himself, and his sons, and his cattle?" 13
Yahshua said to her, "Every one who drinks of this water will thirst again,
14
but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst;
the water that I shall give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to
eternal life."
The
woman didn't understand what Yahshua was talking about. We
need have no doubt as to what He meant. John 7:38-39
He who believes
in me, as the scripture has said, “Out of his heart shall flow rivers of
living water." Now this he said about the Spirit, which those who believed
in him were to receive; for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because
Yahshua was not yet glorified.” SPRING, THE HOLY SPIRIT This
water springing up to eternal life is the Holy Spirit that
Yahweh has given us. Why the analogy of water? There are two things that are the
mainstay of physical life; food and water. Without these two things we would not
survive. We would soon become weak and vulnerable to all kinds of illness as our
immune system weakens. We would soon die. This is the very same as our spiritual
life. We need food and water to survive spiritually. Let’s understand fully
what this means. YAHWEH AND YAHSHUA ON THE SPIRITUAL
PLANE Yahweh and Yahshua live on the spiritual plane. They have
provided the things we need to live and survive on the physical plain and they
have also provided the things we need to live and survive on the spiritual
plain. They use things that we can identify with to teach us. Deuteronomy 8:3 And
he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not
know, nor did your fathers know; that he might make you know that man does not
live by bread alone, but that man lives by everything that proceeds out of the
mouth of Yahweh.
Yahshua
repeated this scripture to Satan when He was being tempted after His baptism by
John. Matthew 4:4 But he answered,
"It is written, ’Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that
proceeds from the mouth of Elohim.’"
Now
we can begin to see that everything about Yahweh's plan of salvation centres
directly on Yahshua. John 14:6 Yahshua
said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to
the Father, but by me. Yahshua is called the Word in the evangel of John and also in Revelation 19:13 “He is clad in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is
called is The Word of Elohim.” Let's now begin to connect these scriptures and understand the true food and
water that we need. John
6:32-37 Yahshua then said to them, "Truly,
truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from Heaven; my
Father gives you the true bread from Heaven. 33 For the bread of Elohim is
that which comes down from Heaven, and gives life to the world." 34
They said to him, "Master, give us
this bread always." 35
Yahshua said to them, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to me
shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst. 36 But I said to you that you
have seen me and yet do not believe. 37 All that the Father
gives me will come to me; and him who comes to me I will not cast out.
John 6: 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the
manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This is the bread which
comes down from Heaven, that a man may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread which came down from Heaven; if any one eats of
this bread, he will live for ever; and the bread which I shall give for the life
of the world is my flesh." Yahshua
lived in this body of flesh that He is talking about and gave up this
life for us. He died in the flesh that we might eat of the spiritual bread that
He provides as a resurrected almighty glorious spirit being. The bread that He
mentioned is the word of His father Yahweh that he brought to this earth and
that He imparts to us through the Holy Spirit. Let’s
return now to the scripture John 7:37-39 and Is.12:2-6 and comprehend the great meaning that is in the water that Yahshua is
talking about. The Hebrew for the word “Well” in Isaiah is “mahyawn” As we saw before it means Spring or fountain. In John 4:14 the
Greek word spring in the RSV and well in the KJV is “Paygay” It
means the same as the Hebrew, a spring or fountain. These words are a great help
to us in understanding how this spring of living water works. The well that the
woman was drawing water from was a cistern type well. These wells depend on
runoff water or water from an underground stream below the surface of the earth.
These wells and underground streams depend on surface water for replenishing the
supply. If they are not replenished in this way they will dry up and be
worthless. CONSTANT REPLENISHING
It
is this way with us. We need constant replenishing from water in order to
survive physically. This is what Yahshua meant. But now He offers us living
water that will spring up to eternal life. He used the term spring and it has
great meaning. A spring of water does not depend on surface water or runoff
water to keep it flowing. A spring has its source deep within the earth. It is
clean and fresh and some springs have been running for hundreds and even
thousands of years. They are constant in quality. THE LIVING WATER
The
living water of the Holy Spirit that Yahshua spoke about is this same way. When
we drink water we will soon need more. It will be as if we had never had water
before because our system has used it until it is depleted causing us to thirst
again. Its effects are temporary and must be constantly replenished. This is
water from an outside source. When we drink of the living water of the Holy
Spirit we will never thirst again. It's source is from deep within. It depends
on no outside source. The Spirit is from Yahweh and it is constantly refreshing
us from within. Once we have it there will be no more nagging thirst that we
cannot quench. Just as a spring can not stay within itself for long and finally
comes streaming to the surface so this living water will at the return of
Yahshua well up in us and spring forth to eternal life. POVERTY NOT A PROBLEM
You
do not have to be rich to afford this food and drink. Is.55:1
"Ho, every one who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money,
come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor
for that which does not satisfy? Hearken diligently to me, and eat what is good,
and delight yourselves in fatness. EVERYTHING IN LIFE TEMPORARY In this life everything is temporal nothing is lasting. We eat and we are not
satisfied for very long until we hunger again. We drink and it is the same
thing. We buy goods and they either wear out or rust or maybe they are even stolen. Everything in this
life has only temporary effects. It brings only temporary satisfaction. Before
we knew Yahweh and Yahshua life was very unsatisfactory and permanence was
lacking from our lives. We all had a longing that we tried to answer with
material and physical things. But the longing was for something else that we
could not identify and nothing could fulfil us completely. A LONGING FOR ETERNITY
Psalms 42:1 As a hart longs for flowing
streams, so longs my soul for thee, O Elohim.
Psalms 42:2 My soul thirsts for Elohim,
for the living Elohim. When shall I come and behold the face of Elohim?
Psalms 63:1 O Elohim, thou art my
Elohim, I seek thee, my soul thirsts for thee; my flesh faints for thee, as in a
dry and weary land where no water is.
Psalms 143:6 I stretch out my hands to
thee; my soul thirsts for thee like a parched land. Selah We all longed for this same thing even if we did not know it. We got our first
inkling of how this longing would be fulfilled when Yahweh called us to follow
His Son Yahshua. John 6:44 When we answered the call, repented and were immersed into the name of
Yahshua Messiah, Yahweh gave us His gift of the Holy Spirit we had the first
taste of this life giving water. As we studied His word we had our first taste
of the true bread sent from Heaven. This hunger for something and this thirst
for something that would be truly satisfying was fulfilled. SEED OF ETERNITY All
are born with the seed of eternity in their minds and hearts. No one wishes to
die. Yet from the time we are born death is a certainty. The bread from Heaven
and the living water from the spring
of Yahweh's Spirit reveals to us that this seed can grow and flourish and one
day we will hear these ever so wonderful words; Revelation
21:6 And he said to me, "It is done! I
am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will
give from the fountain of the water of life without payment.
Revelation 22:17
The Spirit and the Bride say, "Come."
And let him who hears say, "Come." And let him who is thirsty come,
let him who desires take the water of life without price.
By Jerry Healan Yahweh
gave this annual festival period to His People Israel who, like Adam, were
unfaithful to Yahweh’s commands, and like Adam, failed.
Yahweh had established a pattern of deliverance by delivering Israel out
of bondage to the land of Egypt through the Passover Lamb. They were commanded
to eat unleavened bread for seven days, observing the first annual holy day at
the beginning of the unleavened festival and the second holy day on the last or
seventh day of the period.
The Passover Lamb was a type of Yahshua the Messiah Who would serve as a
far greater Passover of deliverance during a future deliverance of Yahweh’s
people. The Unleavened Bread was also a type of Yahshua. Leaven is a type of
sin. Sin brings death (Ro. 6:23). Yahshua was without sin (1 Pet. 1:18-21,
2:21-25). He is the true bread from heaven (Jn. 6:32-58) through which we can
become unleavened, washed clean of our sins.
During the period of Unleavened Bread, a sheaf of firstfruits was waved.
This sheaf of firstfruits was a type of Yahshua Who gave His life for His
People, was in the grave for a period of three days and nights, and was
subsequently resurrected from the grave to begin the plan of salvation and the
count-down (50 days) to the next annual holy day, Pentecost.
Pentecost is a type of the firstfruits assembly that was raised up
through the giving of the Holy Spirit on that very day (Acts 2).
The first two annual festival times occur in the spring of the year to
represent the power of Yahweh to bring forth life, especially His power to
restore from destruction and the grave.
After spring comes summer. This is a type of the long period of time that
it would take to complete Yahweh’s plan of salvation. It has been almost two
thousand years now since Yahshua appeared on the earth to initiate the greater
plan of salvation. During this period of time, much corruption has crept in. The
creation is awaiting the manifestation of Yahshua and His resurrected saints so
that the cleansing can begin again in earnest and the kingdom of heaven
established on earth.
The Feast of Trumpets (see our article on this feast day) represents the
time when Yahweh will begin to finalize His plan. The kingdoms of this world
will become His and the center of His kingdom will be focused in Jerusalem.
Trumpets represents the day of Yahweh. The Day of Atonement represents the time
when Israel will be restored and the kingdom power will be given to them. The Feast of Tabernacles begins with the sixth annual holy day. It represents the kingdom rule. A day with Yahweh is |
