HAG HA SUCCOTH THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES

Rabi Isaac Gabizon, Beth Ariel Montreal, September 29, 2012

Shalom – Hag Sameah.

Today we are looking into this great feast – the Feast of Tabernacles – Sukkoth – It is the last and 7^th fall feast of Israel – it is like the Sabbath of the Feasts – it is the most joyful of the feast –In Leviticus it is called the feast of the Lord, later in the history of Israel, in 1 Kings 8 it is twice, and simply called, the feast.

Prophetically Sukkoth symbolizes a time we are all longing for – a time where peace and love will reign – A time where there will be no sickness and where man will live in harmony with his neighbor, with nature, and especially, with his God – This period of time we call the Messianic Times or the Millennium, it is this longing that was at the root of the hope of godly men and women throughout the Scriptures – Sukkot is where man’s deep seated nostalgia of a better world, is finally fulfilled.

And there is one command, one peculiar необычная command we find in this feast – there, God commanded the Israelites to rejoice – God gave Israel no such command for the other festivals –

Here He does – He asks them to celebrate, to be cheerful весёлым, to smile, to laugh.

Who said that the Mosaic Law was only strict and severe? We often tend to look at the message of the Bible and its prophecies as gloomy мрачное and depressing гнетущее – but, ultimately, they point to very happy ending… for those who acknowledge their God.

And furthermore, to stress the meaning of Sukkoth – God commanded the Jews to detach themselves from their everyday routine, He ordered them to move out of their dwelling and to live in small booths – The Jew was to live in there – eat in there – sleep in there – for a period of seven days – year after year.

What was the reason behind this command? Why would God require every Jew to leave the comfort of his home and stay in a flimsy хрупкой booth made out of branches?

The reason touches us all today, Jews and Gentiles –

The booth or Sukkah in Hebrew, was to remind us all of the transient скоротечной nature of our world today. Not to be lured соблазнитесь into believing that we have or we can attain heaven here on earth – This feast reminds us that there is another place, a better and more sturdy прочное place created by God for those who desire to be with Him –

These Sukkahs tell us that this life here – is only temporary, momentary –

And tradition ordered that these Sukkahs were to be decorated with “handmade рукодельными carpets and tapestries гобеленами – with nuts, almonds миндальными, peaches, pomegranates and branches of grape” so remember that there is better world out there –

Interestingly, some even adorn the sukkah with onions in keeping with the verse, “Mankind shelters in the shadow of Your wings” (Ps. 36:8), since the Hebrew word for “under the shadow” (b’tzeil) is close to that for onion (batzal) – tradition did not want to miss anything.

And as the Sukkah points to the future – it also points to the past, to a past deliverance of Israel – in Lev.23:42-43 God told the Israel: You shall dwell in booths for seven days. All who are native Israelites shall dwell in booths, ’that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.’” в кущах живите семь дней; всякий туземец Израильтянин должен жить в кущах, чтобы знали роды ваши, что в кущах поселил Я сынов Израилевых, когда вывел их из земли Египетской. Я Господь, Бог ваш.

And the reason given, for dwelling in booth, is that God wanted the nation of Israel to remember the time they were delivered from bondage in Egypt – one thing that speaks to all believers of all ages, because this deliverance became symbolic of the salvation of all believers from all nations – As one looks forward, he is reminded from where he was saved.

For 40 years in the wilderness, the Israelites lived in Sukkahs – in temporary dwelling – as they were on their way to the Promised Land – a land of rest – the land flowing with milk and honey – In the same way we are all living in temporary dwellings, until we reach our final abode.

And in reality, this 40 year journey to a better land, is still going on – Israel never reached this rest –

This is the argument we read in Hebrew 4:8-9 where the Spirit of God inspired the writer to say that…if Joshua had given them rest, then He would not afterward have spoken of another day. Ибо если бы Иисус [Навин] доставил им покой, то не было бы сказано после того о другом дне.

It was then temporary – and there He adds – There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. Посему для народа Божия еще остается субботство.

This is what Sukkot is pointing to – For when the Israelites did reach the land of Israel, they did not – up to this day – reach the rest that was supposed to come with the land – they did not experience the blessings promised to them yet –

Why did they not and are not yet experimenting this rest, even after 3500 years? What was missing in their lives? As it is for all other feasts – as it is for all other parts of the Bible – what is missing is God and the Messiah in their lives –

He is our rest, He is the source of our hope – as we are about to see in the description of this feast.

The Feast of Tabernacles is here to remind us of this other side of heaven – of this place that is not so far away –

I once read that one of the famous Rothschilds owned a great mansion in Piccadilly in London. Numerous people observed that one of the cornices карнизов remained unfinished. They wondered whether it was due to carelessness or inability to pay.

But neither explanation was true. Rothschild was an orthodox Jew, and in line with Jewish tradition, he deliberately allowed one part of his home to remain unfinished so as to remind himself and all others that the occupant was, like Abraham, a stranger and a pilgrim upon this earth.

And to all passersby, the mansion stands as a pointer to this truth: “This is not Lord Rothschild’s home, he is traveling to eternity.”

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Let’s now turn our Bibles to Leviticus 23 where God gave the commandment to the Israelites, to celebrate this feast. Let’s read only three verses – Lev.23:34-36: “Speak to the children of Israel, saying: `The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days to the LORD. `On the first day there shall be a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work on it. `For seven days you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD. On the eighth day you shall have a holy convocation, and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD. It is a sacred assembly, and you shall do no customary work on it. скажи сынам Израилевым: с пятнадцатого дня того же седьмого месяца праздник кущей, семь дней Господу; в первый день священное собрание, никакой работы не работайте; в [течение] семи дней приносите жертву Господу; в восьмой день священное собрание да будет у вас, и приносите жертву Господу: это отдание праздника, никакой работы не работайте.

This feast, the Israelites were to celebrate it for a duration of seven days – from the 15th through the 21st of the seventh month – This month has a name, in the Bible, usually months are numbered – but this one has a name – in 1Kings 8, it is called the month of Ethanim, in relation to this feast – the plural of Ethan which means perpetual, secure, forever – and many times over, since it is plural –

This name was given to it perhaps because it carries the last three feasts of Israel and the last message of hope of the nation and for the world.

The name Tishrei, as this month is called today, is one name that does not appear in the Bible. It was a Babylonian appellation meaning “beginning” because they thought it to be the first month of the year –

– And we read in Vs.36 of Lev.23 that an additional eighth day is added to this feast – which makes it an eight day festival.

And this additional day gave rise to a beautiful tradition in Judaism called Simhat Torah, literally, “joy of the Torah.”

In the synagogue, every Shabbath, they read a portion of the Torah or the five books written by Moses – they read it through the year, – and the cycle ends on Simchat Torah, where the final verses of Deuteronomy are read, followed by the first verses of Genesis. And Simchat Torah has been interpreted as an allegory symbolizing the marriage of God and the Jewish people. Jewish tradition Yom Terouah, the betrothal; Yom Kippur, the fast before the wedding; the seven days of Sukkot, the seven blessings of the marriage ceremony; and Simchat Torah, the consummation завершение of the marriage (in screen *)

In this day, the Torah scrolls are again taken out and people dance around the synagogue with them. Sometimes the processions spill выплёскиваются into the streets.

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And at the time of Temple, there was such joy and elaborate ceremonies – One of them was called the Ceremony of the Water Drawing – Known as Simchat Beit ha-Sho’evah (Rejoicing of the house of water drawing – The Talmud explains: in the Temple, the priest will go down to the Pool of Siloam – The custom was to draw the water in golden flasks флягах, and bring it up to the Temple – This ceremony was conducted on all seven days.

As the procession came to the Watergate, trumpet blasts were made to mark the joy of the occasion and the people were dancing and singing the Psalms of ascents – Psm.120-134 – Once in the Temple, the water was poured out on the southwest corner of the Altar of Sacrifice because the grooves желоба which drew the blood away were located there – as if the sacrifices ceased for a time.

And at this time, there were a very large number of people in Jerusalem because Sukkot is one of the three feasts all Jews were summoned созывались in this city – in normal times the population was about 200,000 people, at this time, it could be, according to Josephus, over 1 Million people – they were coming from everywhere –

And one day of Sukkoth, Jesus was there present and witnessing these great things and… it is there where, in the Gospel of John, He spoke some of great Words to the people of Israel and to us all.

A whole section of the Gospel of John, Chapter 7 to 10 took place during this feast of Sukkoth –

Right at the start of this section – we read in – John 7:2: Now the Jews’ Feast of Tabernacles was at hand. Приближался праздник Иудейский — поставление кущей.

Later in this chapter, in Vs.14, we are told: Now about the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and taught. Но в половине уже праздника вошёл Иисус в храм и учил.

What did Jesus teach at the time of Sukkoth? Yeshua did take advantage this ceremony of Water Drawing to perform a unique miracle and pronounce some very important Words which meaning is highly enhanced усиливается when we put it in the perspective of this event.

–  As the ceremony was going on, the Messiah made a Messianic miracle, one never seen in Israel before – He healed a man born blind – and He did it in a wonderful way – we read in John 9:6-7 as He approached this man: He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva; and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay.  And He said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which is translated, Sent). So he went and washed, and came back seeing. Сказав это, Он плюнул на землю, сделал брение (глину) из плюновения и помазал брением глаза слепому, и сказал ему: пойди, умойся в купальне Силоам, что значит: посланный. Он пошёл и умылся, и пришёл зрячим.

Why Did the Lord heal this man in this manner? Why spit on the ground, made clay, and apply it on the man’s eyes?

He could have done it without any of this – But I believe that here He did this way to show that the Messiah, the Creator of the World was present in Israel –

Remember how He created man originally – in Genesis 2:7, the same verse as before, it is there written: LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground… И создал Господь Бог человека из праха земного…

In the same way he put clay on his eyes – showing His deity.

And see what He then tells the man to do – With clay in his eyes, the man was asked to go to the pool of Siloam, where so many people were gathered to see the priests fill their golden flasks with water – and to wash his eyes with the water from this pool.

And so, this man had to walk all the way down to the pool with clay on his eyes – surely he attracted the attention of the people and the priests – while they were singing and rejoicing, there was a blind man, walking the opposite direction, with clay on his eyes.

And once at the pool – this man washed the clay from his eyes – and for the first time, he saw – Imagine the joy – and imagine the surprise of those around who knew him to be a man born blind – because it was the first time in Israel that a man born blind was healed – because the Messiah has landed in Israel.

This caused a great turmoil суматоха in Jerusalem – as we can see it in Vs.8-9: Therefore the neighbors and those who previously had seen that he was blind said, “Is not this he who sat and begged?” Some said, “This is he.” Others said, “He is like him.” He said, “I am he.” Тут соседи и видевшие прежде, что он был слеп, говорили: не тот ли это, который сидел и просил милостыни? Иные говорили: это он, а иные: похож на него. Он же говорил: это я.

But the people recognized that something exceptional happened then – for in Vs.32 they confessed in saying: Since the world began it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind. От века не слыхано, чтобы кто отверз очи слепорожденному.

Here was, present in Israel, the One who could bring this feast to fulfillment – He performed a miracle they never saw performed – Unfortunately, it was not the people who were to decide the fate of the Israel, but it was the religious leaders – who denied even this great miracle.

Look at their conclusion after that Jesus performed that miracle – that no one has ever witnessed before –  Vs.16 says: Therefore some of the Pharisees said, “This Man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath.” Тогда некоторые из фарисеев говорили: не от Бога Этот Человек, потому что не хранит субботы.

Do you see how illogic they became – They came to the point of judging God through their belief system – that is terrible – they believed so much in the Sabbath that God became subject of the Sabbath.

But the blind man was saved – physically and spiritually – see Vs. 35: Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had found him, He said to him, “Do you believe in the Son of God?” Иисус, услышав, что выгнали его вон, и найдя его, сказал ему: ты веруешь ли в Сына Божия?

The word cast him out – means excommunicated отлучили – Because of his association with the Messiah they excommunicated this man from the community – this happened this early on – but Yeshua here saves Him, one more time, but this time, spiritually – see how this happened: “Do you believe in the Son of God?” He asks this man – and this man answered in VS.38: “Lord, I believe!” And he worshiped Him. верую, Господи! И поклонился Ему.

He worshiped Him – understanding that He was the Word incarnate – through whom all things where done –

All this was done during Sukkoth – and there was one more ceremony during this feast where Yeshua pronounced some very important words concerning His Person –

It is during the time of the Water Drawing Ceremony that Yeshua spoke to the disciples and said in John 7-37-39: On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink. He that believeth in Me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” В последний же великий день праздника стоял Иисус и возгласил, говоря: кто жаждет, иди ко Мне и пей. Кто верует в Меня, у того, как сказано в Писании, из чрева потекут реки воды живой. Сие сказал Он о Духе, Которого имели принять верующие в Него: ибо еще не было на них Духа Святаго, потому что Иисус еще не был прославлен.

In these words is found the true meaning of Sukkoth – Are we not all seeking a better life that Sukkoth speaks of – Do we not all have this nostalgia of paradise – of a better place promised by the Feast of Tabernacles? Yeshua can fulfil this promise even now – He that believes in Me Кто верует в Меня He says – out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water у того из чрева потекут реки воды живой – this same water that cleans the altar of sacrifice because Yeshua is the final sacrifice – this water that brings blessings when we make Him Lord of our lives.

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And there is yet another ceremony we find in the Sukkoth, where Yeshua spoke some great words in this Gospel of John – the Ceremony of Lights –

The Talmud says that during the night, four very large lamps in the temple’s court of women were lit and a great nightly celebration took place under their light with people dancing through the night and holding burning torches in their hands while singing songs and praises.

These lights were so bright that they could be seen all around Jerusalem – even kilometres from outside Jerusalem – see what is written in the Mishnah – Sukkah 51a as both these feasts are mentioned –

…THEY MADE WICKS AND WITH THEM THEY KINDLED THE LAMPS; AND THERE WAS NOT A COURTYARD IN JERUSALEM THAT WAS NOT ILLUMINED BY THE LIGHT OF THE PLACE OF THE WATER?DRAWING. MEN OF PIETY AND GOOD DEEDS USED TO DANCE BEFORE THEM WITH LIGHTED TORCHES IN THEIR HANDS, AND SING SONGS AND PRAISES.

ОНИ ДЕЛАЛИ ФИТИЛИ И ИМИ ЗАЖИГАЛИ СВЕТИЛЬНИКИ; И НЕ БЫЛО ДВОРА В ИЕРУСАЛИМЕ, НЕ ОСВЕЩЁННОГО СВЕТОМ С МЕСТА ИЗЛИВАНИЯ ВОДЫ. БЛАГОЧЕСТИВЫЕ И БЛАГОТВОРИТЕЛЬНЫЕ ЛЮДИ ТАНЦЕВАЛИ ПЕРЕД НИМИ С ГОРЯЩИМИ ФАКЕЛАМИ В РУКАХ И ПЕЛИ ПЕСНИ И ХВАЛУ.

One writer in the Talmud overwhelmed by this beauty of Jerusalem and the festivities at the time said: “Whoever had not seen this, had never witnessed real joy in his life (Suk. 5:1).”

And it was then that He said in John 8:12 – as the lights were burning and illuminating all Jerusalem: “I am the Light of the world. He that follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” Я свет миру; кто последует за Мною, тот не будет ходить во тьме, но будет иметь свет жизни.

It was in the context of Sukkoth that He pronounced these great Words – and notice that He says the light not a light – While Sukkoth speaks of a time of Sabbath – this rest could be attained by following our Messiah, now –

We often are like this captain of a ship who looked into the dark night and saw faint слабые lights in the distance. Immediately he told his signalman to send a message: “Alter your course 10 degrees south.”

Promptly a return message was received: it says “Alter your course 10 degrees north.”

The captain was angered; his command had been ignored.

So he sent a second message: “Alter your course 10 degrees south — I am the captain!” Soon another message was received: “Alter your course 10 degrees north — I am a seaman third class Jones.”

Immediately the captain sent a third message, knowing the fear it would evoke: “Alter your course 10 degrees south — I am a battleship.”

Then the reply came: “Alter your course 10 degrees north — I am a lighthouse маяк.”

In the midst of our dark and foggy times, all sorts of voices are shouting orders into the night, telling us what to do, how to adjust our lives. Out of the darkness, one voice signals something quite opposite to the rest — something almost absurd. But the voice happens to be the Light of the World, and we ignore it at our peril риск.

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And there is another tradition that even Jesus must have followed – it is the tradition of the Lulav meaning Palm – as Palm branches –

Traditions are a beautiful expression of a people – they say that traditions is the soul of the nation and Judaism contains a great array of them – and many of these traditions enhance the teaching of the Scriptures – and as in the case of the Lulav.

What is this tradition and where does it come from – In the same chapter of Leviticus 23:40 there is a command from the Lord – one that gave birth to another beautiful tradition in Judaism – See what Vs.40 says: ‘And you shall take for yourselves on the first day the fruit of beautiful trees, branches of palm trees, the boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook; and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God for seven days. в первый день возьмите себе ветви красивых дерев, ветви пальмовые и ветви дерев широколиственных и верб речных, и веселитесь пред Господом Богом вашим семь дней;

Here we have four species of plant and fruit mentioned ––– the ethrog, which is the citron, a citrus-type of fruit; the lulav, which is a branch of the palm tree; the hadas, which is a branch of the myrtle tree; and the aravah, which is a branch of the willow.

On Sukkot, both in synagogue and in the Sukkah, the lulav is waved several times during the service as a gesture of triumph – it is traditional to hold the lulav in the right hand and the etrog in the left, and then shake the lulav while reciting a blessing. Jews wave the lulav in all directions—up, down, east, west, north, and south — to symbolize that God is all around.

And the real reason for the choice of these things is that at the time they were concerned with the rain season that followed – These ceremonies were an attempt to guarantee the rainfall – the willow for instance is a symbol of water and of hope for timely rain. During this holiday, people would circle the altar while carrying willow twigs ветки in their hands and reciting: “Please, Lord, redeem us, please, Lord, cause us to prosper.”

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And we see this symbolism of the Lulav, or Palm branch in the Scriptures – a symbolism that points to the fulfillment of Sukkot which is the Messianic Times, or the Millennium.

Remember the Triumphal Entry in John 12 – While this happened during the feast of Passover, four days before the crucifixion, there is something in there about the Feast of Tabernacles – there we read 12-13: The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out: “Hosanna! `Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’ The King of Israel!” На другой день множество народа, пришедшего на праздник, услышав, что Иисус идёт в Иерусалим, взяли пальмовые ветви, вышли навстречу Ему и восклицали: осанна! благословен грядущий во имя Господне, Царь Израилев!

The question is, why did the people use branches of palm trees and went out to meet Yeshua? Branches of palm trees were things seen during the Feast of Tabernacles, not the Feast of Passover –

The extraordinary thing here is that the people understood that Jesus was the Messiah and by bringing palm branches, they expected Him to establish the Messianic Kingdom right there and then – they believed, but the timing was wrong –

The people of Israel were ready to accept Him as the Messiah – but it was in the hands of the religious leaders to judge – and they misjudged.

While the people understood the motif of the palm branches and thought that Jesus was going to establish His Kingdom right there and then – They did not realize that the Messiah was coming to die first. – The Messiah had to die and be rejected, but he did not need to be rejected by the religious leaders – They had and still have everything in the Scriptures to lead them to Him –

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And the Feast of Succoth could also be seen in another very important passage in the Gospels –

It is in Matthew 17:4 at the Mount of Transfiguration – What does Sukkot have to do with the Transfiguration? As Yeshua appeared with Moses and Elijah – thought that it was it –– do you remember what Peter, John and James wanted to do: Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” При сём Петр сказал Иисусу: Господи! хорошо нам здесь быть; если хочешь, сделаем здесь три кущи: Тебе одну, и Моисею одну, и одну Илии.

What was this idea of building tabernacles at this time?  The Greek word is skinee used for Succas as seen in the Septuagint.

What he was saying is “let us make three Succas, one for You, one for Moses and one for Elijah.”

Why did he want to build Succas at this time?

They thought – this is it! – Jesus is transfigured – they thought the feast of Tabernacles was being fulfilled.

However, they also did not yet realize that the Feast of Passover must be fulfilled before the Feast of Tabernacles. While the Feast of Tabernacles will indeed be fulfilled by the Kingdom, the Feast of Passover was to be fulfilled by the death of the Messiah. Peter, at this point in his life, did not understand this.

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And there is another part of the Scriptures where the redeemed believers are seen with Lulav or Palm Branches in their hands – These Lulav are what the redeemed from the time of the Tribulation were holding in their hands – as we see it in Rev.7:9: After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands… После сего взглянул я, и вот, великое множество людей, которого никто не мог перечесть, из всех племён и колен, и народов и языков, стояло пред престолом и пред Агнцем в белых одеждах и с пальмовыми ветвями в руках своих.

Who are these people? – these are the ones who are from all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues that came to believe through the Tribulation times – these are the fruits of the 144 thousands and they are holding Palm Branches because these are the ones who will enter the Millennium and reign with the Messiah –

The Palm branches are a symbol of the world to come – of the time we are all waiting for –

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And during these days, at the time of the Temple, they had to performe many, many sacrifices – it is in Numbers 29 that the things are prescribed for this particular feast.

There were a total of 200 animals offered for a period of 8 days – which is a great amount of animals to sacrifice for this short period of time. Why so many – we understand that all the sacrifices pointed to Yeshua – to His finished work of redemption – and this is the time when all ends – this is the last feast – before the Messianic times – It is as if the message of the sacrifices seen throughout the Scriptures, are here so emphasized – as a last appeal to call the one who has not made his decision yet concerning his eternal future.

And the rabbis noticed something interesting about these sacrifices – we see in Number 29 that the most predominant animal sacrificed is the bull and 70 of them were to be sacrificed then –

Starting at 13 bulls on the first day, the number decreased by one on each of the succeeding six days for a total of 70 – why 70 of them? (13+12+…+7=70)

Some rabbis in the Talmud have connected the number 70 with the 70 nations in Gen.10 – where we see the table of the nations – if you count all the nations mentioned, you will find 70 of them – What is significant about this is that Judaism has connected this feast with the Gentiles, something that is not true with the other festivals and something that the prophets have done.

And so, they see it as one sacrifice for each nation performed by Israel. And in this may be prophecy, a type of Israel and the nations at the time of the Millennium where Israel will actually be performing her priestly function for the nations of the world – This is very symbolic –

And it is in the Millennium that Israel will be the priestly nation for the nations of the world – then she will be fulfilling her call – as we read in Micah 4:2 – at this time: Many nations shall come and say, “Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, To the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, And we shall walk in His paths.” For out of Zion the law shall go forth, And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. И пойдут многие народы и скажут: придите, и взойдём на гору Господню и в дом Бога Иаковлева, и Он научит нас путям Своим, и будем ходить по стезям Его, ибо от Сиона выйдет закон и слово Господне — из Иерусалима.

And there is a wonderful prophecy in the book of Zechariah that speaks of this time when this work that will be done during the Millennium – This we see it in Zechariah 14:16 – this verse is among the last of Zachariah: And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. Затем все остальные из всех народов, приходивших против Иерусалима, будут приходить из года в год для поклонения Царю, Господу Саваофу, и для празднования праздника кущей.

I find it extraordinary that all the nations will be obligated to keep that feast during the Messianic Times – There is much more to this feast than just a memorial of the departure of Israel from Egypt – Sukkoth speaks of peace and harmony between man and God – of many promises that are not yet fulfilled.

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And there is another beautiful way to see the Messiah in the Feast of Sukkot – this feast being the last of the feasts, it also portrays the Messiah as King – as He will be in the Millennium –

We have seen that the Feast of Tabernacles is one of those three feasts, where every Jew was required to appear before the Lord at the Temple – This is significant and will help us to better understand Sukkot and the other feasts – let’s look this, we see it in Deut.16:16: Three times a year all your males shall appear before the LORD your God in the place which He chooses: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Tabernacles; and they shall not appear before the LORD empty-handed. Три раза в году весь мужеский пол должен являться пред лице Господа, Бога твоего, на место, которое изберёт Он: в праздник опресноков, в праздник седмиц и в праздник кущей; и [никто] не должен являться пред лице Господа с пустыми [руками],

Have you ever wondered why these three feasts are chosen? This answer, is directly linked with the Messiah – as the whole Mosaic Law points to Him and is fulfilled in Him – (show map of feasts of Israel *)

First each of these feasts shows one of the Messiah’s offices:

Passover speaks of the First Coming and the Messiah present as a Prophet as we see it in Deut.18:15: The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear, Пророка из среды тебя, из братьев твоих, как меня, воздвигнет тебе Господь Бог твой, — Его слушайте, —

Jesus came to offer the Kingdom – He first came as a prophet.

The second feast, Pentecost presents Him in His Priestly function – which is his actual one.

Priest – Heb. 4:14: Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. Итак, имея Первосвященника великого, прошедшего небеса, Иисуса Сына Божия, будем твердо держаться исповедания [нашего].

The next feast – Sukkot, the one we are celebrating today, presents the Messiah as King, since He will reign during the Millennium or the Messianic Times, the time this feast prophecies – and this is what Rev.19:16 presents Him at His Second Coming: And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS! На одежде и на бедре Его написано имя: `Царь царей и Господь господствующих’.

Besides showing the three offices of the Messiah – Each of these feasts further symbolizes the work of one member or all the members of the Trinity within a particular dispensation –

In the dispensation of the Law we can see the Father, who in his Holiness cannot tolerate sin and institutes the Law so that the people may see their own sins and their inability to bring a solution – It is then that the Son comes and dies for all.

Father & the Son in His humiliation – Law – Passover, Gal.4:4: But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law…но когда пришла полнота времени, Бог послал Сына Своего (Единородного), Который родился от жены, подчинился закону…

Next and after that the Son gave His life so that our relationship be restored with the Father, the Spirit of God comes to fulfill His ministry in the Body of the Messiah within the dispensation of Grace as we read in Acts 2:4,

Spirit – Grace – Pentecost: And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. И исполнились все Духа Святого, и начали говорить на иных языках, как Дух давал им провещевать.

Son in His exalted state – New Covenant – Dispensation of the Millennium – Rev.21:3: And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. И услышал я громкий голос с неба, говорящий: се, скиния Бога с человеками, и Он будет обитать с ними; они будут Его народом, и Сам Бог с ними будет Богом их.

And so, at Sukkot, the Messiah will reign as a King – it will be a time, as Isaiah 11:9: For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD As the waters cover the sea. ибо земля будет наполнена ведением Господа, как воды наполняют море.

At this time, He is fulfilling His office of Priest – He is our advocate –

And his function of Prophet, He did it while on earth –

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For us what does the Sukkah mean? It means that there is another world coming –

It reminds us, year after year of the great promises that God gave us of a coming peaceful world – whether we think of heaven or the Messianic Kingdom here on earth – this hope always represented a stronghold – a strong foundation of the people of faith –

And, in many ways, we do not need to wait until we depart this earth to enjoy the benefit of the Sukkah of God – it is in Psalm 31 the believers today could always find a Sukkah in the Lord – notice in Vs.20 the word place is Sukkah see V.19 & 20 of Psalm 31: Oh, how great is Your goodness, Which You have laid up for those who fear You, Which You have prepared for those who trust in You In the presence of the sons of men! You shall hide them in the secret place (sukkah) of Your presence From the plots of man; You shall keep them secretly in a pavilion From the strife of tongues. Как много у Тебя благ, которые Ты хранишь для боящихся Тебя и которые приготовил уповающим на Тебя пред сынами человеческими! Ты укрываешь их под покровом лица Твоего от мятежей людских, скрываешь их под сенью от пререкания языков.

For us Yeshua is our Sukkah – Our Sukkah is the place where we sit down and pray – it is the place where we read our Scriptures and get closer to God – Our Sukkah is Beth Ariel where we can get together and worship our God.

We cannot overstress the importance of this feast as it points to the Messianic times – We have seen that in the Scriptures it is even called “the feast of the Lord” – as if God also has this great longing of this time where we will be together with Him forever.

And what this feast is also telling us and encourages us to do, is to prepare ourselves for this coming world – We have been told it is coming, we are also being told to prepare our lives here on earth for this life to come –

Many of you may remember the story of the fox and the vineyard – One day there was a starving fox who sees a vineyard with beautiful grapes – however there was a fence around the vineyard – but persistent as the fox is, he inspected every corner of this fence and he found a small opening, so small, he could barely go through it – but he did. Once in the vineyard, he ate and ate – he ate so much that he thought he had enough, so he decided to leave – he also knew that the owner would eventually come and inspect his property. However, he ate so much that he could not fit through the small opening anymore. What he had to do? So, he fasted, he fasted for a 3 days, and at the end, he went through the small opening.

What is the moral of the story? The fox would have been smart, if on the first day in the vineyard, he would have taken grapes and throw them over the fence, he could have thrown as many as he wanted and then he would have eaten well, in freedom.

To us, Yeshua says in Matt. 6:19-20: “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal”. Не собирайте себе сокровищ на земле, где моль и ржа истребляют и где воры подкапывают и крадут, но собирайте себе сокровища на небе, где ни моль, ни ржа не истребляют и где воры не подкапывают и не крадут

There is another world out there – Sukkot is here to remind us of it – And if we want to be smarter than the fox, we need to begin to prepare out eternal future now – it is here and now that we determine our place in this world – as believers, if we leave according to the Law of the Messiah – according to His precepts, it is like sending goods to heaven, goods that will last for eternity.

To conclude, we have seen that there is one particular command on this feast – and the command is to rejoice – there is another part of the Bible where the people are commanded to rejoice – this is found in Zech.9:9: Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you. Ликуй от радости, дщерь Сиона, торжествуй, дщерь Иерусалима: се Царь твой грядёт к тебе… Rejoice, because the Messiah is coming soon, He is coming very, very soon.