God’s desire to ‘tabernacle’ with man
At the heart of this feast is the desire of God to tabernacle with mankind. A quick survey of the Bible shows this truth from the first book to the last. Early in Genesis we read of how God dwelt among His creation as He walked in the garden in the cool of the day (Gen 3:8). After the fall we still see this same desire with the construction of the Tabernacle during the Exodus of Israel from Egypt. This later evolved into the first and second temples where the presence of God was manifest. The first coming of Jesus was described in this same exact language for we read:
John 1:14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling (ie tent, tabernacle) among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
The great promise by Jesus for this age involves both the Father and the Son dwelling with the one who loves and follows the Son.
John 14:23 Jesus replied, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.
The Messianic Kingdom age still to come is again characterised with this thought… The King will be with His people!
Zechariah 2:10-11 Shout and be glad, O Daughter of Zion. For I am coming, and I will live among you, declares the LORD. (11) Many nations will be joined with the LORD in that day and will become my people. I will live among you and you will know that the LORD Almighty has sent me to you.
And let us not forget the wonderful promise of the eternal age, for it again focuses on this very thought (and gives a wonderful fulfillment in Revelation, the last book of the Bible, to the great desire seen and expressed in the very first book, Genesis.
Revelation 21:3-4 And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, (4) and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”
The names of the Feast…
The feast of Tabernacles is known by a few different names which each add to the understanding of this feast.
The feast of booths:
This emphasises the command to Israel to live in booths (Sukkah in Hebrew) during this festival to remember where they came from and to remember their exodus from Egypt. Symbolically, this speaks to Christians of their current journey through this world where we live in a temporary ‘tabernacle’ – this body. But just as Israel came into the Promised Land, we too will one day find ourselves clothed in a new body in the eternal New Jerusalem. Both the Paul and Peter spoke of our current ‘tabernacle’, our body, in these terms:
2 Corinthians 5:1-4 Now we know that if the earthly tent (‘tabernacle’ in KJV) we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. (2) Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, (3) because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. (4) For while we are in this tent (tabernacle), we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.
2 Peter 1:13-15 I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, (14) because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. (15) And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things.
So as Christians we should always be mindful that our current body is only a temporary dwelling place, this life is not permanent and this world is not our home. Spiritually speaking, we are leaving Egypt and on a journey to the Promised Land.
The feast of Ingathering:
As mentioned above, Tabernacles celebrates the gathering of the fall harvest (Exod 23:16). Hence its name, the feast of Ingathering. Prophetically this points to the time when the final harvest of souls has been made (which according to Jesus occurres ‘at the end of the age’ Matt 13:39) and the celebration can now begin in the Messianic Kingdom.
The feast of Nations:
Because of the reference to all nations coming up to Jerusalem to observe the feast of Tabernacles in Zech 14:16-18, this feast is also called the feast of nations. This is said to occur when the LORD Almighty is ruling on Earth following the great end-times battle over Jerusalem: Zechariah 14:16 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 Feast of Tabernacles. With this in mind it is also interesting that 70 bulls were to be sacrificed during the week long festival according to Numbers 29:12-34.1 According to Jewish thought, this stands for the 70 Gentile nations that are mentioned in Genesis 10. So there has always been a connection between this feast and the Gentiles in Jewish thought and this will be fulfilled when the King reigns and all the nations go up to worship Him in Jerusalem.
The feast of Dedication:
Because Solomon dedicated the first temple during the feast of Tabernacles (1 Kings 8), this feast also became known as the feast of Dedication. This is a type of the Messianic Temple that the Lord will build (Zech 6:12-13, Ezek 40-48) and will be present during the fulfillment of Tabernacles – the Messianic Kingdom.
The 8th day of a 7 day feast???
It is interesting that this feast also makes mention of an ‘8th’ day. This is slightly odd for a 7 day feast wouldn’t you say? Here is the passage:
So why an 8th day in a 7 day feast? For the Jews this 8th day is celebrated as a separate festival called ‘Shemini Atzeret’ (the eighth day of assembly). Prophetically speaking we need to quickly look at the numbers used. 7 is God’s perfect number. It is His seal. The 7 day feast of Tabernacles, as discussed, will be fulfilled in the 1000 year reign of Jesus Christ which will fulfill the 7000 year plan of God. But there is an 8th day! 8 in the Bible speaks of resurrection or new life. So even in this feast there is a clue that there is something AFTER the Messianic Kingdom. Even after this wonderful time there is still a new start… a new beginning. We don’t have to speculate what this is for scripture clearly tells us. It begins with a declaration of God:
Leviticus 23:39 ‘So beginning with the fifteenth day of the seventh month, after you have gathered the crops of the land, celebrate the festival to the LORD for seven days; the first day is a day of rest, and the eighth day also is a day of rest.
Revelation 21:5-6 And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” And He *said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.” (6) Then He said to me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost.
So even after the Messianic Kingdom there is a new beginning… There is a new heaven and a new earth created by our God:
Revelation 21:1-3 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. (2) And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. (3) And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them.
May you remain blessed by the Father throughout the ages. Paying close attention to His appointed times, His moedim.
With much Love
Shalom
