SUKKOT
By Dr. Elias E. Hidalgo

WE FIND ITS ROOTS

SUKKOT IS A HEBREW LANGUAGE TERM FOUND IN THE OLD TESTAMENT TORAH (LAW), MEANING 'BOOTHS', AND, WE FIND ITS ROOTS IN LEVITICUS 23: 33 - 44, WHERE THE ALMIGHTY GOD COMMANDS
HIS PEOPLE ISRAEL TO KEEP AND OBSERVE THIS FEAST OF THE LORD FOR SEVEN DAYS.

LEVITICUS 23: 33 - 44

33: And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
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.
35: On the first day shall be an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.
36: Seven days ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: on the eighth day shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: it is a solemn assembly; and ye shall do no servile work therein.
37: These are the feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD, a burnt offering, and a meat offering, a sacrifice, and drink offerings, every thing upon his day:
38: Beside the sabbaths of the LORD, and beside your gifts, and beside all your vows, and beside all your freewill offerings, which ye give 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: on the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a sabbath.
40: And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before the LORD your God seven days.
41: And ye shall keep it a feast unto the LORD seven days in the year. It shall be a statute for ever in your generations: ye shall celebrate it in the seventh month.
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.
44: And Moses declared unto the children of Israel the feasts of the LORD.

THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL

THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL, IN OBEDIENCE TO THE COMMAND OF GOD HAVE BEEN OBSERVING THIS GLORIOUS WEEK OF HARVEST EVERY YEAR, FOR OVER THIRTY-FIVE HUNDRED YEARS, THAT'S QUITE IMPRESSIVE.

WE WOULD LIKE TO POINT OUT THREE HIGHLIGHTS
TO THIS WONDERFUL FEAST OF THE LORD CALLED SUKKOT, ALSO KNOWN AS, THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES.

IT'S BEGINNING, IT'S BLESSING, AND, IT'S BOUNTY

IT'S BEGINNING

DURING THE TIME OF ISRAEL'S EXODUS FROM THE LAND OF EGYPT, AS THEY TRAVELED IN THE SINAI DESERT, THE LORD SPOKE OFTENTIMES TO HIS SERVANT MOSES TO INSTRUCT THE JEWISH PEOPLE AS TO THEIR RELATIONSHIP AND RESPONSIBILITY TO JEHOVAH, THEIR REDEEMER.

THE LORD BROUGHT THEM

THE LORD BROUGHT THEM THROUGH MANIFOLD TESTS AND TRIUMPHS DURING A PERIOD OF RENEWAL AND REBUILDING FROM A MERE SEVENTY SOULS THAT ENTERED EGYPT UNTIL THEIR DEPARTURE WITH OVER TWO MILLION (PLUS), FOUR HUNDRED AND THIRTY YEARS LATER.

THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES WAS A REMINDER TO ISRAEL DURING THEIR JOURNEY, '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:', AS THEY DECLARED THE FOLLOWING CRY IN REFERENCE TO THE LORD, 'I AM THE LORD YOUR GOD'.

IT WAS TO BE A FEAST OF BRINGING GIFTS UNTO THE LORD GOD IN THE FORM OF 'BURNT OFFERING, AND A MEAT OFFERING, A SACRIFICE, AND DRINK OFFERINGS'. ALONG WITH 'BOUGHS OF GOODLY TREES, BRANCHES OF PALM TREES, AND THE BOUGHS OF THICK TREES, AND WILLOWS OF THE BROOK;'

REJOICE BEFORE THE LORD

THEY ALSO WERE COMMANDED TO REJOICE BEFORE THE LORD, THUS TODAY JEWISH INDIVIDUALS REJOICE, REMEMBER AND REVERENCE THE LORD THROUGH THEIR OBSERVANCE OF THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES

IT'S BLESSING

FIFTEEN HUNDRED YEARS LATER

APPROXIMATELY 1,500 YEARS AFTER THE INCEPTION OF SUKKOT, WE FIND OURSELVES IN THE DAYS OF Y'SHUA (JESUS), AS WE READ IN THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO JOHN, CHAPTER SEVEN;

'AFTER THESE THINGS JESUS WALKED IN GALILEE: ... 'NOW THE JEW'S FEAST OF TABERNACLES WAS AT HAND.'

WE READ IN OUR TEXT, THAT JESUS, 'WENT ... UP UNTO THE FEAST' (VERSE 10), AND, 'ABOUT THE MIDST OF THE FEAST' (VERSE 14), THAT IS, AROUND THE THIRD OR FOURTH DAY, HE 'WENT UP INTO THE TEMPLE, AND TAUGHT'.

THEN, 'IN THE LAST DAY, THAT GREAT DAY OF THE FEAST,', WE READ IN JOHN 7:37-38, THAT,

Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.
He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

THESE WONDERFUL WORDS, 'COME UNTO ME' ARE DEVELOPED FURTHER IN MATTHEW 11:28-30,

28: Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29: Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
30: For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

AS MANY AS RECEIVED

JOHN 1:12: But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
13: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

WE HAVE SEEN, BRIEFLY, SUKKOT, THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES, IT'S BEGINNING AND IT'S BLESSING, NOW WE WILL LOOK INTO IT'S BOUNTY.

IT'S BOUNTY

IN CONCLUDING OUR THREEFOLD HIGHLIGHTS OF THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES, WE ARE BROUGHT TO THE LAST BOOK OF THE HOLY BIBLE, THE BOOK OF REVELATION CHAPTER 21: 1 - 5,

1: And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
2: And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
3: And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, 'the tabernacle' of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
4: And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
5: And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new.

DO YOU REMEMBER

WHAT WAS THE BIBLICAL HEBREW WORD FOR TABERNACLE USED IN LEVITICUS 23? IF YOU SAID, 'SUKKOT', YOU ARE CORRECT, NOW, THE GREEK WORD USED FOR TABERNACLE IN JOHN CHAPTER 7 IS, 'SKENOP', AND, IN OUR LATEST TEXT, REVELATION 21: 3, IT IS, 'SKENE'. THIS GIVES US A COMPLETE UNDERSTANDING THAT WE ARE SPEAKING OF THE SAME ISSUE, AND THAT IS, 'A TABERNACLE' OR 'BOOTH', WITH ONE EXCEPTION, IN THE BOOK OF REVELATION THE TERM TABERNACLE ALLUDES TO A PERSON, AND THAT BEING THE PERSON OF, 'THE ALPHA AND OMEGA, THE BEGINNING AND THE END', WHOM WE KNOW TO BE, Y'SHUA HA-MASSHIACH ADONAI, THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, AS WE READ IN REVELATION 1: 5 - 8,

'Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,
6: And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
7: Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.
8: I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.

AFTER THESE EVENTS

AFTER THESE EVENTS, THE GATHERING (RAPTURE), THE TRIBULATION PERIOD, THE RETURN OF MESSIAH TO THIS EARTH, THE REDEMPTION OF ALL ISRAEL, THE MILLENNIAL KINGDOM, THE FINAL DESTRUCTION OF SATAN, THEN, ... WILL ETERNITY BE USHERED IN, AND OUR BLESSED MESSIAH WILL RULE AND REIGN FOREVER MORE AND WE WILL BE WITH OUR 'TABERNACLE', AS HE WILL,

'wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new.'

THANK YOU LORD FOR ALL THINGS

PSALM 103: 1 - 5

1: Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. 2: Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:
3: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;
4: Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;
5: Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.