Sukkot: You Shall Rejoice - 119 Ministries

[Music] [Music] hello and welcome to another teaching from 119 ministries our ministry believes that the whole Bible is true and directly applicable to our lives today if you would like to know more about what we believe in teach please visit us at test everything dotnet we hope that you enjoy studying and testing the following teaching during the feast of Sukkot or more commonly known as the Feast of Tabernacles God gives us a strange commandment he says that we are to dwell in a Sukkah which is a hebrew word that means temporary shelter the plural of suka is Sukkot hence the name hug huh Sukkot that is the feast of Sukkot it's the feast of temporary shelters the Torah says that we are to dwell in Sukkot for seven days leviticus 23 42 you shall dwell in booths Sukkot for seven days all native Israelites shall dwell in booths in addition we are specifically commanded to rejoice before Yahweh in connection to this festival we are to be joyful while we dwell in these temporary shelters so what are these Sukkot or temporary shelters like well this word is used in a couple of other passages in Scripture consider this passage in Genesis Genesis 33 17 but Jacob journeyed to seek out and built himself a house and made booths for his livestock therefore the name of the place is called Sukkot so during his journey Jacob makes shelters for his animals to live in all of us are familiar with the types of shelters that animals live in and they certainly aren't the types of shelters that we would want to live in nobody wants to live in the doghouse in their backyard furthermore Jacob is on a journey here so these shelters clearly aren't intended to be permanent they serve a temporary purpose another place this word is found is in the Book of Jonah Jonah chapter 4 verses 5 through 8 Jonah went out of the city and sat to the east of the city and made a booth asuka for himself there he sat under it in the shade till he should see what would become of the city now Yahweh God appointed a plant and made it come up over Jonah then it might be a shade over his head to save him from his discomfort so Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the plant but when Dawn came up the next day God appointed a worm that attacked the plant so that it withered when the Sun rose God appointed a scorching east wind and the Sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint and he asked that he might die and said it is better for me to die than to live reading this one might think that Jonah wasn't a huge fan of camping he says he'd rather die than live in this discomfort perhaps a lot of us can relate to Jonah here nobody likes being uncomfortable even those of us who absolutely love the outdoors don't want to live in a tent forever at the end of the camping trip most of us are looking forward to coming back to our permanent homes in either case this passage gives us another picture of the kind of shelter that asuka provides while it does provide some shelter it's not really the best kind of shelter it's nothing like a permanent house those who stay in a Sukkah such as a tent are still subject to the elements the heat the wind and the rain again the sukkah is designed to be temporary not permanent many of us who celebrate Sukkot will actually go camping and stay in tents for seven days for those of us who do that we're very familiar with those times when it rains and the bottom of our tint floods with water we've woken up in the morning and it felt almost unbearably hot because of the sun shining down on our tent and those of us who have kids know how unpleasant it is to be crammed into a tiny space with a bunch of people it's uncomfortable sticky and wet again nobody wants to live in a tent for longer than seven days and for many of us if we're honest seven days is even way too long but even if we don't literally go camping for so code on some level we still experience this discomfort related to the sukkah if we opt for a more traditional observance of building our own suka on the side of the house and we simply spend time in it during the day we're still subject to the elements it still gets too hot or too cold if there are a lot of people over it still gets crammed and uncomfortable bugs can still get in and so forth so this raises a question why do we do this to ourselves well we do it because we love God and we want to honor his word and this is something he tells us to do so we do it but why does God command us to dwell in Sukkot during Sukkot what's the point of having us dwell in temporary flimsy uncomfortable shelters for seven days is God just making us jump through religious hoops for his amusement or is there something we're actually supposed to learn from this strange ritual well the feast of Sukkot isn't the only feast where we're commanded to do uncomfortable things for instance during hog hamat suit or the feast of unleavened bread we fast for seven days from foods that contain leavening no other time do we crave a big burger or thick crust pizza more than during the feast of unleavened bread but we give up a basic pleasure for a week in order to connect deeper with God through our observance of his word we know these types of asses aren't arbitrary but meant to teach us something deeper the rituals are related to the festival and what the festival is intended to memorialize so maybe if we look at what these festivals memorialize we can better understand why it is that God tells us to dwell in Sukkot during Sukkot first Sukkot is one of three major harvest festivals mentioned in the Torah the other two are unleavened bread and Shavuot all three of these harvest festivals are mentioned in the book of Exodus Exodus 23 verses 14 through 17 three times in the year you shall keep a feast to me you shall keep the feast of unleavened bread as I commanded you you shall eat unleavened bread for seven days at the appointed time in the month of Aviv for in it you came out of Egypt none shall appear before me empty-handed you shall keep the feast of harvest shall go out of the first fruits of your labor of what you sow in the field you shall keep the feast of ingathering Sukkot at the end of the year when you gather in from the field the fruit of your labor three times in the year shall all your males appear before Yahweh God so the very basic purpose of these festivals is to celebrate the various harvests throughout the year unleavened bread is the beginning of the barley harvest in the spring Shavuot is the beginning of the wheat harvest and Sukkot celebrates the harvests of fruit like grapes figs along with olives and everything else that comes in around that time however we know that these festivals have a symbolism beyond merely celebrating the harvest they memorialize past events specifically the events relevant to Israel's journey from Egypt to the promised land Passover and unleavened bread for example are all about remembering that God delivered Israel from slavery in Egypt Exodus chapter 13 verses 7 through 8 unleavened bread shall be eaten for seven days no leavened bread shall be seen with you and no shall be seen with you in all your territory you shall tell your son on that day it is because of what Yahweh did for me when I came out of Egypt now Israel's deliverance from Egypt is a pretty significant event right this was a defining moment in their history and ours the scriptures say that Israel left Egypt in a hurry and therefore didn't have time for their bread to rise so that's one of the reasons we eat unleavened bread to connect us back to this monumental event when God delivered his people so what about Shavuot Leviticus 23 verses 16 through 17 you shall count 50 days to the day after the seventh Sabbath then you shall present a grain offering of new grain to Yahweh you shall bring from your dwelling places two loaves of bread to be waved made of two-tenths of an ephah they shall be a fine flour and they shall be baked with leaven as firstfruits to Yahweh while scripture doesn't explicitly say tradition has long held that cheveux was when God gave the Torah to Israel it was around the time of Shavuot when Israel had reached Mount Sinai it has also been said that the two loaves of bread that are waved are symbolic of the ten commandments which were originally given on two tablets of stone in either case shavon won't memorializes this event which again is another monumental and defining moment in Israel's history okay so then what does Sukkot memorialize Leviticus 23 verses 42 through 43 you shall dwell in booths for seven days all native Israelites shall dwell in booths that your generations may know that I made the people of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt I am Yahweh your God Sosa coat memorializes living in the wilderness literally that's what the Torah says isn't that a little anticlimactic especially considering what the first two harvest festivals memorialize for example you have Passover which memorializes a national deliverance from slavery in Egypt you have Shavuot witch memorializes the giving of the Torah the marriage contract between God and His people which set them apart as a special people with the monumental calling of a representing God to the nation's these are both miraculous and powerful events worth celebrating so why does Secotan memorialize something so mundane and even kind of depressing when compared to the other feast days moreover why are we specifically commanded to rejoice as part of this festival think about it what is there to rejoice about Israel's horrible time journeying through the wilderness a story just filled with death suffering failure and difficult trials it seems like more of an event to mourn than rejoice aside from the fact that Israel dwelled in temporary shelters during their wilderness journey the Torah doesn't really give us any more insight into why we are told to dwell in temporary shelters during the festival but maybe there's something in the New Testament that will give us a clue we do see that to be the case with the other two harvest festivals in light of Yeshua the Messiah work of redemption these festivals have taken on an additional layer of depth and meaning consider unleavened bread 1st Corinthians chapter 5 verses 7 to 8 cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump as you really are unleavened for Christ our Passover lamb has been sacrificed let us therefore celebrate the festival not with the old leaven the leaven of malice and evil but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth here we see Paul drawing a spiritual lesson from unleavened bread the festival is not just about removing physical leaven from our homes but also about removing malice and evil from our lives and eating unleavened bread symbolizes pursuing a life of sincerity and truth so what about shadow oat Acts chapter 2 verses one through four when the day of Pentecost arrived they were all together in one place and suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind and it filled the entire house where they were sitting and divided tongues as a fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance so here we see that Shavuot not only memorializes the giving of the Torah but also the giving of the Holy Spirit just as God gave us his Torah to show us how to live he gave us his spirit to empower us to live according to his Torah and we who have his spirit and his Torah are called once again to be his witnesses to the nation's well is there anything in the New Testament that might shed some light on the spiritual significance of the sukkah consider what the Apostle Peter says in his second epistle 2nd Peter chapter 1 verses 12 through 15 for this reason I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things that you know and are established in the present truth yes I think it is right as long as I am in this tent to stir you up by reminding you knowing that shortly I must put off my tent just as our Lord Jesus Christ Messiah Yeshua showed me moreover I will be careful to ensure that you always have a reminder of these things after my decease so Peter is talking about being in a tent and then putting it off equating that to his decease that is his death obviously he's not talking about staying in a literal tent hear the word tent is a metaphor we get an even clearer picture when we turn to the Apostle Paul's second letter to the Corinthians 2nd Corinthians chapter 5 verses 1 through 10 for we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed we have a building from God a house not made hands eternal in the heavens for in this tent we groan longing to put on our heavenly dwelling if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked for while we are still in this tent we groan being burdened not that we would be unclothed but that we would be further clothed so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life he who has prepared us for this very thing is God who has given us the spirit as a guarantee so we are always of good courage we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord for we walk by faith not by sight yes we're of good courage and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord so whether we are at home or away we make it our aim to please him for we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body whether good or evil so both Peter and Paul compare our present bodies to attempt a temporary shelter perhaps we could say that a Sukkah represents one's physical body just as asuka is a temporary dwelling our physical bodies are likewise temporary dwellings just as the Israelites journeyed in the wilderness and temporary shelters awaiting their permanent home in the Promised Land we journey through this life in mortal bodies our Sukkot if you will awaiting our permanent home in the promised kingdom to come when messiahs Kingdom comes to earth and fullness we will trade our temporary home for a permanent home that is to say we'll trade our temporary mortal bodies for eternal immortal bodies that is what Scripture teaches us about the future resurrection 1st Corinthians 15 verses 50 through 53 I tell you this brother's flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable behold I tell you a mystery we shall not all sleep but we shall all be changed in a moment in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet for the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised imperishable and we shall be changed for this perishable body must put on the imperishable and this mortal body must put on immortality so we've established that the sukkah represents our bodies specifically our mortality that is the fact that we're dying if you ever build a traditional suka as part of your Sukkot celebration with actual branches and leaves on top you'll notice that at the beginning of the festival it's fresh and green and full of life but at the end of the week it's withered and gray it decays and dies just like we do reminding us that this life is temporary and passing away it's become a tradition and Judaism to read through the book of Ecclesiastes during Sukkot which again upholds the same theme it's all about how this life is temporary it's passing away you are going to die so now that we understand the symbolism of the suka another question is raised why why is the symbolism so dreary so depressing especially in light of God's very clear commandment to rejoice during this festival why is the fact that we're going to die something to celebrate well there are two answers first we do have a permanent home an immortal body to look forward to after this temporary one passes away so we rejoice in that hope we have in fact that is what the eighth day symbolizes according to the commandment we dwell in temporary shelters for seven days but then there is a mysterious eighth day that is part of the festival of Sukkot and yet distinct from it on this eighth day we do not dwell in a temporary shelter this last day represents the future resurrection as well as the new heavens and new earth when death is abolished and all is made right the second answer to why we rejoice during Sukkot is that our rejoice scene is to be in spite of the symbolism what does that mean well James talks about counting it all joy when we face trials of many kinds this is not a natural joy in response to a happy situation it's a joy that we choose in spite of our circumstances the feast of Sukkot therefore trains us to rejoice even when we are in unhappy circumstances and one of the ways this is accomplished is through the command to dwell in uncomfortable flimsy hot temporary shelters and yet be rejoicing the whole time we are to rejoice even while we're in these dying bodies we rejoice even though life is difficult and confusing and it seems like all is vanity as Ecclesiastes says we choose to rejoice in spite of our present circumstances looking forward to our future permanent home first thessalonians chapter 5 verses 16 through 18 rejoice always pray without ceasing give thanks in all circumstances for this is the will of God in Messiah Yeshua for you we pray that you've been blessed by this teaching remember continue to test everything Shalom [Music] it is because of you our generous supporters who make it possible to offer these high-quality teachings completely free of charge if you feel led to support 119 ministries so that we can continue this effort please visit the test everything dotnet and click on the support 119 tab learn how you can partner with us to take the whole Word of God to the nation's [Music] you [Music]

Channel: 119Ministries

Views: 34,464

Rating: 4.8747993 out of 5

Keywords: 119Ministries, torah, bible, hebrew roots, You Shall Rejoice, Sukkot, Tabernacles, Booths, Feast of Ingathering, dwell in tents, sukkah, sukkahs, temporary dwellings, Feast of Sukkot, Leviticus 23:40, Leviticus 23:42

Id: 4Fvsd0gRc78

Length: 22min 31sec (1351 seconds)

Published: Fri Oct 11 2019