The Beauty of Jesus Revealed in the Feasts

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Chapter 7 – The Feast of Tabernacles

What are we celebrating during the Feast of Tabernacles?

This is a time to celebrate the “New Beginning” that comes through living for Christ. For as Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:17;
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here.”
It’s also a time to repent of our sins and prepare our hearts for the return of our Lord.

Why is the order of these Fall Feasts so important?

You can’t enter the presence of God in the Holy of Holies on The Day of Atonement, without repentance, which we discover in the Feast of Trumpets. And you can’t celebrate until you’ve received the atonement through Christ. And so the order of the feasts are specific:
Repentance
Atonement
Celebration

Do we still need a high priest? Why or why not?

We don’t need an earthly high priest because we have a High Priest who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.

Such a high priest truly meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself. (Hebrews 7:26-27)

What do we learn from Zachariah about the future fulfillment of this feast?

That we will celebrate the feast of tabernacles during the thousand-year Millenial Reign when Christ returns to the earth with the saints.

Then the survivors from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord Almighty, and to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles. If any of the peoples of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord Almighty, they will have no rain. If the Egyptian people do not go up and take part, they will have no rain.

The Lord will bring on them the plague he inflicts on the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles. This will be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles.” (Zachariah 14:16-19)

What else do we learn about the millennial reign in this chapter?

When Christ returns to this earth, He’s taking the believers with Him, and we will reign with Him on this earth.

During this thousand-year reign, Satan will be bound, and Jesus will sit on His throne in Jerusalem ruling the nations.

We also have this description of the Millenial Reign from the book of Isaiah,

The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The infant will play near the cobra’s den, and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. (Isaiah 11:6-9)

What does the name “Immanuel” mean? And what significance does it have?

The name means, “God with us.” The Bible tells us that “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.”
The Greek word for “made his dwelling” found in the original text is “skenoo,” which when translated means, “to fix one’s tabernacle, have one’s tabernacle, abide (or live) in a tabernacle (or tent), tabernacle.” (Strongs #G4637)

What is a Sukkah?

The dwellings that God commanded Israel to live in for seven days are known today as “Sukkot,” or the singular noun, “Sukkah.”

Each family was to prepare a simple shelter with sticks and bits of wood, or anything else that they could find. These temporary dwellings would be a physical reminder of what their ancestors had to live in for over 40 years as they wandered through the desert on their way to the promised land.

Why is it lined with fruit and vegetables?

Because the feast takes place during the Fall harvest season, it became a tradition to place portions of their crops all over the walls of this Sukkah in order to remind them of the bountiful harvest that the Lord provides.

What are some of the reasons for building a Sukkah?

To remind them of the important things in life.
To remind them to be grateful for their blessings.
To be a physical reminder of what their ancestors had to live in for over 40 years as they wandered through the desert on their way to the promised land.

Why was there a hole in the roof?

The reason observant Jews do this is so that they are able to look up and see the same sky that Abraham saw when God promised him that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars. An incomplete roof is also an anticipated reminder that the Temple will be restored when their Messiah finally comes.

To those of us who believe, however, we know that the Messiah has already come to this earth and that He will surely come again! When we gaze at the sky, we anticipate the Second Coming of our Lord, when He restores this earth to Himself, and dwells physically with His beloved children.