In lesson one we learned about how Jesus fulfilled Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, as a sacrifice for our sin so that our sins could be removed from us. We all have turned away from God to go our own way, so God sent his Son, born of a virgin, to redeem us and give us a new beginning with him. Because God’s only Son voluntarily paid the penalty for our sin on the cross, our sin is nailed to the cross and our old self dies as we repent of sin and receive God’s forgiveness through the shed blood of Jesus. We are then reborn by the Holy Spirit, as symbolized in baptism. Like a good Teacher and Father, God uses festivals and sacraments to teach us hands-on lessons about himself.
Five days after the Day of Atonement is the Festival of Shelters (called Sukkot), the most joyous festival in Israel which points to the purpose of the atonement: God dwelling with us. We are made new through relationship with God by the presence of the Holy Spirit in us. Everything God does in scripture is moving us closer to his original plan of dwelling with us in a perfect garden. In Leviticus 23, God commanded the Israelites to commemorate their time in the wilderness, where they lived in temporary shelters after being delivered from slavery in Egypt, by living in 3-sided shelters for seven days each fall. (The picture above is a shelter, called a Sukkah, that was being constructed while I was in Jerusalem.)
The Festival of Shelters (or Tabernacles or Booths, depending on the translation) celebrates how God protected and guided the Israelites in the wilderness with the cloud of his presence during the day and a pillar of fire by night. He fed them with manna – bread that fell from heaven – and water that flowed from a rock. God is our protector and provider. He wants us to be completely dependent upon him, which is why we must be reborn and learn to think about life differently. Instead of trying to be good or do good on our own, making a name for ourselves, we enter God’s kingdom as dependent children, just like the Israelites had to learn dependency upon God.
Just as Jesus fulfilled Yom Kippur, the symbols connected to God’s care for Israel in the wilderness all point to Jesus, the Bread of life who came down to us from heaven. He will come again at the end of the age, emerging from the clouds as Immanuel, God with us forever. Like the pillar of fire, Jesus is the Light of the world. He is the Rock of our salvation from whom flow the rivers of living water, God’s Spirit. While they were in the wilderness, Moses built a Tabernacle (temporary dwelling) for God’s presence to dwell with the people. We are now God’s tabernacle where God’s Spirit dwells, but our time on earth is temporary. Like the Israelites in the time of Moses, we are just passing through this world in temporary bodies on our way to our eternal home. The temporary nature of life is celebrated during the final fall feast as Jews spend a week in temporary shelters, remembering their dependence upon God.
Why Should a Jewish Festival Matter to Christians?
Jesus celebrated the Festival of Shelters. John 7:2 sets up a well-known story about Jesus by saying, “But soon it was time for the Jewish Festival of Shelters.” The last day of the festival is the water ceremony, when water is poured out on the altar and Isaiah 12:3 is recited: “With joy you will drink deeply from the fountain of salvation!” The Hebrew word for salvation is Yeshua, the Hebrew name for Jesus. Jesus/Yeshua means salvation, so wherever you see the word salvation in the Old Testament, insert the name Jesus. It is likely during this recitation that the following took place:
On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! 38 Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’” 39 (When he said “living water,” he was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him. But the Spirit had not yet been given because Jesus had not yet entered into his glory.)
– John 7:37
Jesus is the fountain of salvation. At his crucifixion, soldiers pierced his side and water literally flowed out in fulfillment of this passage. Just as water flowed from the rock in the wilderness when Moses struck it, water flowed from Jesus, the Rock of our salvation. He is the source of living water, the Spirit of God who is poured out on those who seek a relationship with God. Just as water is poured out on the altar during the festival, when Jesus presented himself to God as the sacrificial Lamb of God at his baptism, the Holy Spirit was poured out from heaven, descending on him like a dove. The Holy Spirit refreshes us like water, cleanses us with his Word by continually guiding us in truth, and waters us to make us fruitful as we grow in likeness to Christ.
Another reason to pay attention to this festival is because in Zechariah 14:16 we learn that at the return of the Jewish messiah (a word that means “Anointed One,” called Christ in Greek), all nations will go to Jerusalem to celebrate the Festival of Shelters. We will be celebrating God’s presence and provision annually during Jesus’ millennial reign. The Bible also tells us the nations that don’t go will not receive any rain. Prayers for rain are an integral part of the Festival of Shelters because it not only celebrates the final harvest in the land, it acknowledges that without the fall rains there will be no harvest to come. The Israelites came out of Egypt, which was watered by the Nile, but in Israel they are dependent upon rain. God designed it that way so they would depend on him and see the rains as his provision for them (see Deuteronomy 11:10-17).
Why We Need to Pray for Rain
God sent rain to water the land and cause it to produce fruit. Rain, in scripture, is also a symbol of the Holy Spirit. Just as the land of Israel cannot bear fruit unless God sends the rain, we cannot live fruitful lives apart from connection to Jesus through the presence of the Holy Spirit in us. Jesus said, “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). When Israel followed after other gods, such as in the time of Elijah, God would withhold rain so they would return to him and depend on him. We tend to get frustrated at God for not telling us his whole plan for our lives, but if we had the whole picture, we’d be tempted for forge ahead without him. Because we were made for daily relationship with God – not to successfully carry out a plan for our life on our own – God gives us just what we need for today so we will come back tomorrow for more. We need the Holy Spirit like a farmer in Israel needs rain.
There are two rainy seasons in Israel, the early and latter rains. The spiritual fulfillment of the early rains is the Festival of Weeks or Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was first poured out. We are now the tabernacle in which the Holy Spirit dwells. We carry his presence and enjoy a daily relationship with God by his Spirit in us who speaks to us from our innermost being, our spirit, which is united with God’s Spirit. Just as a man and woman become one flesh in the covenant of marriage, “the person who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him” (1 Corinthians 6:17). The latter rains are yet to come in the last days when God pours out his Spirit on all flesh (Joel 2:28-29). After that, Jesus will return in the flesh to rule from Jerusalem in a physical kingdom as King of the whole earth.
This final festival celebrates the final harvest of crops in Israel, the grape harvest, and points to the coming fulfillment of the festival when Jesus returns. At that time, Revelation 14 tells us that those who refuse to be ruled by Jesus will be crushed in the winepress of God’s wrath. God doesn’t want anyone to be destroyed, which is why Jesus came 2000 years ago to take God’s wrath upon himself and provide a peaceful way for all to willingly receive him as King. When Jesus returns as a Bridegroom to be united with his bride, the faithful church that has kept herself pure for him will drink the new wine of his kingdom at the marriage supper of the Lamb (which we will discuss further in upcoming lessons).
Back to the Beginning
The final act of this festival is the rolling of the Torah scroll (or Book of Instruction) from the end of Deuteronomy, the last book of the Torah, back to the beginning. Isaiah 34:4 describes the fulfillment of this prophetic act that points to the end of the age: “All the stars in the sky will be dissolved and the heavens rolled up like a scroll.” When the Torah scroll is rolled back to the beginning, Genesis 1 is then read. “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). Everything in the festival is pointing to the end of the age when God will roll everything back to the beginning as he creates a new heaven and earth where the devil and sin are finally removed so God can dwell with us forever. As it was in the beginning, when everything God created was good, so will it be again.
“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. 2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, ‘Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them’” (Revelation 21:1-3).
The last book of the Bible, Revelation, tells us how the story of the earth we live in ends and a new one begins. In order for the new to begin, the old has to end, which is why Jesus tells us to let go of our lives on this earth so we can receive eternal life from him. This is how God has planned for our story to end with a new beginning. And our new beginning is always about his presence with us. What he wants most is for you to give him unhindered access to your heart so he can fill you with his presence, guide you through the wilderness, and shelter you with his love. He is your light. He is your Rock. He is the source of living water who will satisfy you all the days of your life. All he wants is for you to return to dependency upon him and rejoice in his provision for you.
The Fulfillment of All Scripture Brings Joy
The final component of the Festival of Shelters is on the eighth day, an extra day to linger in God’s presence and enjoy a sabbath rest. Since God set up time in weeks of seven days, the addition of an eighth day to the festival points to eternity, when the earth has passed away and we get to enjoy God’s presence forever. Jews today celebrate this day as Simchat Torah, which means joy or rejoicing in the Torah, God’s instructions. They sing and dance with the Torah scrolls, demonstrating their love for his laws. Every believer who has built their life on the solid rock of Jesus’ teachings will celebrate the goodness of God’s commands. We don’t grudgingly obey the Holy Spirit who is given to us to write God’s laws on our hearts and minds, we rejoice!
When I obey Jesus’ command to forgive, I am released from bitterness and resentment, which is good! When I obey Jesus’ command to give generously, I find that my Father in heaven blesses me beyond what I have given, just as he promised. When I do what Jesus instructed in the sermon on the mount, I see the fruit of intimacy with Jesus grow in me. Before I learned how to be led by the Spirit, my life was a mess, so I rejoice in God’s leadership because Jesus is a Good Shepherd. God wants to abide in us by his Spirit, and when we obey his Spirit, we experience joy because God is good. That doesn’t mean his commands are easy, but they are always loving. Rejoice, today, in the goodness of God who wants to personally guide you through every wilderness season, making all things new, sheltering you in his love.
Questions for Reflection:
1. Is it hard for you to believe that God can roll back your story to the beginning and make you a new creation by his Spirit in you? If so, why is that? If someone made you feel unlovable, forgive them for not representing God’s heart toward you, and ask God to heal your mental image of him.
2. Have you viewed the Holy Spirit as God’s gift of his abiding presence with you to guide you? If you have not listened to him before, ask him to speak directly to your heart and fill you with his presence. (His voice may sound like your own thoughts, but there will be revelation of his love that didn’t come from your mind.)
