This is the first entry in my new blog. On it, I will be posting various insights about all sorts of things, but since last night was the conclusion of Sukkot -- the Feast of Tabernacles -- I thought I'd post about what it means to end such a joyous time. This was a sermon I taught some years ago.
Well, here we are. The Feast of Tabernacles has just ended. The end of the Time of Our Rejoicing. It seems kind of sad, doesn’t it? This wondrous festival has come to a close. We’ve left the Sukkah behind. But are we leaving rejoicing behind? Is this the end of our rejoicing for this year? This is the question I will be answering in this teaching, “Go Out With Joy.”
Let’s examine this day, what it meant to our forefathers, to see if we can answer these questions. First, let’s examine, again, the commandments for this festival from:
Leviticus 23:33-36
Again the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, "Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, 'On the fifteenth of this seventh month is the Feast of Booths for seven days to the LORD. On the first day is a holy convocation; you shall do no laborious work of any kind. For seven days you shall present an offering by fire to the LORD. On the eighth day you shall have a holy convocation and present an offering by fire to the LORD; it is an assembly. You shall do no laborious work.'"
During His Earthly ministry, Yeshua kept the Feast of Sukkot… but in one significant instance, He didn’t come to Jerusalem until the last day, as we read in:
John 7:1-8, 37-38
After these things Yeshua was walking in Galilee, for He was unwilling to walk in Judea because the Judeans were seeking to kill Him. Now the Feast of Booths in Judah, was near. Therefore His brothers said to Him, "Leave here and go into Judea, so that Your disciples also may see Your works which You are doing. For no one does anything in secret when he himself seeks to be known publicly. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world." For not even His brothers were believing in Him. So Yeshua said to them, "My time is not yet here , but your time is always opportune. The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it, that its deeds are evil. Go up to the feast yourselves; I do not go up to this feast because My time has not yet fully come." ... Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Yeshua stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.'"
Let’s put this speech of Yeshua’s in context. First, with the day He’s making it. On the last great day of Sukkot in ancient times, there would be a special ceremony, the water ceremony. Sometime prior to the first century this special ceremony, the water libation offering, was added to the festival offerings in order to give thanks for the previous year's rain, to petition God for more rain, and to picture the great outpouring of God’s Spirit that was to come during the 1000 year reign of The Messiah.
This ceremony was connected to a very joyous evening celebration, the "Festival of Lights". This evening festival was so joyful that it was said that "He who has not witnessed the rejoicing at the water-drawing has, throughout the whole of his life, witnessed no real rejoicing.” (Sukkah 53b).
Each day (except for the first day) of the festival, a group of priests would set out to gather large willows that they would wave back and forth as they proceeded toward the temple, thus making a "swooshing" sound, the sound of the wind or the 'ruach', Holy Spirit. While this was going on, another group of priests would proceed to the Pool of Siloam from which the High Priest would gather a flask full of "living water". Both groups would then return to Temple and while the group with the willows would circle the altar waving their willows, the High Priest with his flask of water and his assistant with a flask of wine would both empty their pitchers on the southwest corner of the altar, thus picturing the coming of the Holy Spirit as 'living water'.
Yeshua’s statements, on this final day of the ceremony, connected this pouring out of the water with this prophecy found in:
Isaiah 55:1-5
Every one who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money come, buy and eat. Come, buy wine and milk Without money and without cost. Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and delight yourself in abundance. Incline your ear and come to Me. Listen, that you may live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, according to the faithful mercies shown to David. Behold, I have made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander for the peoples. Behold, you will call a nation you do not know, and a nation which knows you not will run to you, because of the LORD your God, even the Holy One of Israel; for He has glorified you.
We’ll come back to this Isaiah prophecy in a bit.
On Sukkot, it is customary to read from Ecclesiastes, which contains this statement about joy:
Ecclesiastes 3:16-22
Another thing I observed under the sun: There, in the same place as justice, was wickedness; there, in the same place as righteousness, was wickedness. I said to myself, "The righteous and the wicked God will judge, because there is a right time for every intention and for every action." Concerning people, I said to myself, "God is testing them, so that they will see that by themselves they are just animals. After all, the same things that happen to people happen to animals, the very same thing - just as the one dies, so does the other. Yes, their breath is the same; so that humans are no better than animals; since nothing matters, anyway. They all go to the same place; they all come from dust, and they all return to dust. Who knows if the spirit of a human being goes upward and the spirit of an animal goes downward into the earth?" So I concluded that there is nothing better for a person to do than take joy in his activities, that that is his allotted portion; for who can enable him to see what will happen after him?
When it talks about “taking joy in his activities,” it means God’s activities, not our choices. We are rejoicing in His provision for us, both in providing food, shelter, clothing… the basic necessities of life… but also in providing us with work to do, until Yeshua returns, as we read in:
John 16:16-33
"A little while, and you will no longer see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me." Some of His disciples then said to one another, "What is this thing He is telling us, 'A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me'; and, 'because I go to the Father'?" So they were saying, "What is this that He says, 'A little while '? We do not know what He is talking about."
Yeshua knew that they wished to question Him, and He said to them, "Are you deliberating together about this, that I said, 'A little while, and you will not see Me, and again a little while, and you will see Me'? Truly, truly, I say to you, that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; you will grieve, but your grief will be turned into joy. Whenever a woman is in labor she has pain, because her hour has come; but when she gives birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy that a child has been born into the world. Therefore you too have grief now; but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you. In that day you will not question Me about anything. Truly, truly, I say to you, if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you. Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full. These things I have spoken to you in figurative language; an hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figurative language, but will tell you plainly of the Father.
In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I will request of the Father on your behalf; for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came forth from the Father. I came forth from the Father and have come into the world; I am leaving the world again and going to the Father."
His disciples said, "Lo, now You are speaking plainly and are not using a figure of speech. Now we know that You know all things, and have no need for anyone to question You; by this we believe that You came from God."
Yeshua answered them, "Do you now believe? Behold, an hour is coming, and has already come, for you to be scattered, each to his own home, and to leave Me alone; and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me. These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world."
We are to call on God to provide, so that we can rely in God’s provision, so that our joy may be complete, from now until Yeshua returns to conquer the world. Yeshua can speak of this victory in the past tense, because the result has been pre-ordained, and we may rejoice in that victory now, as if it has already taken place!
In the Isaiah passage from earlier, we read about receiving from God water, food, and joy, for free, and we read that this will culminate in the eternal covenant period we know as the Millennial and Messianic Kingdoms. But this passage – which as we say from Yeshua’s referencing of it on the last day of the Feast of Sukkot is connected with the last day of the Feast of Sukkot – the passage doesn’t end there. It continues in:
Isaiah 55:6-13
Seek the LORD while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return to the LORD, and He will have compassion on him, And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon.
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways," declares the LORD. "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there without watering the earth and making it bear and sprout, And furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater; so will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.
"For you will go out with joy And be led forth with peace; The mountains and the hills will break forth into shouts of joy before you, And all the trees of the field will clap their hands.
"Instead of the thorn bush the cypress will come up, And instead of the nettle the myrtle will come up, And it will be a memorial to the LORD, For an everlasting sign which will not be cut off."
Yeshua is telling us that we may go out from this Sukkah with joy, being led forth with peace, because He is leading us! He is providing for us! Therefore, we can take this joy with us out from this festival into the rest of our lives! We have more than Divine Permission to do so – we have Divine Assurance that IT WILL OCCUR, if we seek ADONAI while He is available, if we abandon the wicked ways of the world and dwell – at least, in spirit – under His Sukkah as we go out from this festival into the world. Only then will we truly merit that Shabbat rest – both weekly and eternal – that remains for us as promised in Hebrews 4.
That is why we may – we must – go out with joy from this Sukkah
Well, here we are. The Feast of Tabernacles has just ended. The end of the Time of Our Rejoicing. It seems kind of sad, doesn’t it? This wondrous festival has come to a close. We’ve left the Sukkah behind. But are we leaving rejoicing behind? Is this the end of our rejoicing for this year? This is the question I will be answering in this teaching, “Go Out With Joy.”
Let’s examine this day, what it meant to our forefathers, to see if we can answer these questions. First, let’s examine, again, the commandments for this festival from:
Leviticus 23:33-36
Again the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, "Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, 'On the fifteenth of this seventh month is the Feast of Booths for seven days to the LORD. On the first day is a holy convocation; you shall do no laborious work of any kind. For seven days you shall present an offering by fire to the LORD. On the eighth day you shall have a holy convocation and present an offering by fire to the LORD; it is an assembly. You shall do no laborious work.'"
During His Earthly ministry, Yeshua kept the Feast of Sukkot… but in one significant instance, He didn’t come to Jerusalem until the last day, as we read in:
John 7:1-8, 37-38
After these things Yeshua was walking in Galilee, for He was unwilling to walk in Judea because the Judeans were seeking to kill Him. Now the Feast of Booths in Judah, was near. Therefore His brothers said to Him, "Leave here and go into Judea, so that Your disciples also may see Your works which You are doing. For no one does anything in secret when he himself seeks to be known publicly. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world." For not even His brothers were believing in Him. So Yeshua said to them, "My time is not yet here , but your time is always opportune. The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it, that its deeds are evil. Go up to the feast yourselves; I do not go up to this feast because My time has not yet fully come." ... Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Yeshua stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.'"
Let’s put this speech of Yeshua’s in context. First, with the day He’s making it. On the last great day of Sukkot in ancient times, there would be a special ceremony, the water ceremony. Sometime prior to the first century this special ceremony, the water libation offering, was added to the festival offerings in order to give thanks for the previous year's rain, to petition God for more rain, and to picture the great outpouring of God’s Spirit that was to come during the 1000 year reign of The Messiah.
This ceremony was connected to a very joyous evening celebration, the "Festival of Lights". This evening festival was so joyful that it was said that "He who has not witnessed the rejoicing at the water-drawing has, throughout the whole of his life, witnessed no real rejoicing.” (Sukkah 53b).
Each day (except for the first day) of the festival, a group of priests would set out to gather large willows that they would wave back and forth as they proceeded toward the temple, thus making a "swooshing" sound, the sound of the wind or the 'ruach', Holy Spirit. While this was going on, another group of priests would proceed to the Pool of Siloam from which the High Priest would gather a flask full of "living water". Both groups would then return to Temple and while the group with the willows would circle the altar waving their willows, the High Priest with his flask of water and his assistant with a flask of wine would both empty their pitchers on the southwest corner of the altar, thus picturing the coming of the Holy Spirit as 'living water'.
Yeshua’s statements, on this final day of the ceremony, connected this pouring out of the water with this prophecy found in:
Isaiah 55:1-5
Every one who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money come, buy and eat. Come, buy wine and milk Without money and without cost. Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and delight yourself in abundance. Incline your ear and come to Me. Listen, that you may live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, according to the faithful mercies shown to David. Behold, I have made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander for the peoples. Behold, you will call a nation you do not know, and a nation which knows you not will run to you, because of the LORD your God, even the Holy One of Israel; for He has glorified you.
We’ll come back to this Isaiah prophecy in a bit.
On Sukkot, it is customary to read from Ecclesiastes, which contains this statement about joy:
Ecclesiastes 3:16-22
Another thing I observed under the sun: There, in the same place as justice, was wickedness; there, in the same place as righteousness, was wickedness. I said to myself, "The righteous and the wicked God will judge, because there is a right time for every intention and for every action." Concerning people, I said to myself, "God is testing them, so that they will see that by themselves they are just animals. After all, the same things that happen to people happen to animals, the very same thing - just as the one dies, so does the other. Yes, their breath is the same; so that humans are no better than animals; since nothing matters, anyway. They all go to the same place; they all come from dust, and they all return to dust. Who knows if the spirit of a human being goes upward and the spirit of an animal goes downward into the earth?" So I concluded that there is nothing better for a person to do than take joy in his activities, that that is his allotted portion; for who can enable him to see what will happen after him?
When it talks about “taking joy in his activities,” it means God’s activities, not our choices. We are rejoicing in His provision for us, both in providing food, shelter, clothing… the basic necessities of life… but also in providing us with work to do, until Yeshua returns, as we read in:
John 16:16-33
"A little while, and you will no longer see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me." Some of His disciples then said to one another, "What is this thing He is telling us, 'A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me'; and, 'because I go to the Father'?" So they were saying, "What is this that He says, 'A little while '? We do not know what He is talking about."
Yeshua knew that they wished to question Him, and He said to them, "Are you deliberating together about this, that I said, 'A little while, and you will not see Me, and again a little while, and you will see Me'? Truly, truly, I say to you, that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; you will grieve, but your grief will be turned into joy. Whenever a woman is in labor she has pain, because her hour has come; but when she gives birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy that a child has been born into the world. Therefore you too have grief now; but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you. In that day you will not question Me about anything. Truly, truly, I say to you, if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you. Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full. These things I have spoken to you in figurative language; an hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figurative language, but will tell you plainly of the Father.
In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I will request of the Father on your behalf; for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came forth from the Father. I came forth from the Father and have come into the world; I am leaving the world again and going to the Father."
His disciples said, "Lo, now You are speaking plainly and are not using a figure of speech. Now we know that You know all things, and have no need for anyone to question You; by this we believe that You came from God."
Yeshua answered them, "Do you now believe? Behold, an hour is coming, and has already come, for you to be scattered, each to his own home, and to leave Me alone; and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me. These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world."
We are to call on God to provide, so that we can rely in God’s provision, so that our joy may be complete, from now until Yeshua returns to conquer the world. Yeshua can speak of this victory in the past tense, because the result has been pre-ordained, and we may rejoice in that victory now, as if it has already taken place!
In the Isaiah passage from earlier, we read about receiving from God water, food, and joy, for free, and we read that this will culminate in the eternal covenant period we know as the Millennial and Messianic Kingdoms. But this passage – which as we say from Yeshua’s referencing of it on the last day of the Feast of Sukkot is connected with the last day of the Feast of Sukkot – the passage doesn’t end there. It continues in:
Isaiah 55:6-13
Seek the LORD while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return to the LORD, and He will have compassion on him, And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon.
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways," declares the LORD. "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there without watering the earth and making it bear and sprout, And furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater; so will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.
"For you will go out with joy And be led forth with peace; The mountains and the hills will break forth into shouts of joy before you, And all the trees of the field will clap their hands.
"Instead of the thorn bush the cypress will come up, And instead of the nettle the myrtle will come up, And it will be a memorial to the LORD, For an everlasting sign which will not be cut off."
Yeshua is telling us that we may go out from this Sukkah with joy, being led forth with peace, because He is leading us! He is providing for us! Therefore, we can take this joy with us out from this festival into the rest of our lives! We have more than Divine Permission to do so – we have Divine Assurance that IT WILL OCCUR, if we seek ADONAI while He is available, if we abandon the wicked ways of the world and dwell – at least, in spirit – under His Sukkah as we go out from this festival into the world. Only then will we truly merit that Shabbat rest – both weekly and eternal – that remains for us as promised in Hebrews 4.
That is why we may – we must – go out with joy from this Sukkah
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