Torah: Shemot (Exodus) 33:12 — 34:26 Haftarah: Ezekiel 38:18 — 39:16 "YESHUA IS OUR SUKKAH" The twenty third chapter in Vayikra, Leviticus, enumerates eight festivals, beginning with the weekly Shabbat, followed by the four spring festivals, and then by the three fall festivals. These are not man-made holidays, but God’s Holy Days, therefore, as believers in Him, we ought to observe all of them because these Holy Days, in their fulfilment, represent God’s plan of salvation for mankind. "Yehovah spoke to Moshe, saying, ‘Speak to the sons of Yisrael, and say to them, “The Appointed Festivals of Yehovah - moadei Yehovah - you shall proclaim to be holy gatherings; these are My Appointed Festivals.”‘" Vayikra (Leviticus) 23:1,2 The last Holy Day, symbolizing the fulfilled deliverance of God's people and the Kingdom of God, is Sukkot. "The fifteenth day of this seventh month [Eitanim/Tishrei] shall be the Feast of Booths - Sukkot - for seven days to Yehovah. On the first day shall be a holy gathering; you shall do no labor in it. On the eighth day shall be a holy gathering to you; it is a solemn assembly, and you shall do no labor in it. You shall take 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 you shall rejoice before Yehovah your God seven days. It shall be a statute forever in your generations; you shall celebrate it in the seventh month. You shall dwell in booths seven days; all who are Israelites born shall dwell in booths; that your generations may know that I made the people of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt; I am Yehovah your God." Vayikra (Leviticus) 23:39-44 But Sukkot has another fulfilment, it is the time of Yeshua’s birth. Yeshua came into this world meek and lowly as a sukkah and anyone entering in it finds His Shalom and protection from the worries of the world. In the Brit Chadashah, Luke, the physician, has given us a thorough birth account of Yeshua. Luke wrote the Gospel account and the book of Acts that we might know the exact truth about what happened. He starts the Gospel with the narration of the events of the birth of Yochanan the cousin of Yeshua. In Luke chapter 1 we read about Z'kharyah who was of a priestly order and who, in keeping with the timing of various priestly divisions, served in the Temple. His division was called 'Aviyah.' These divisions were established back in 1 Chronicles chapter 24, and the priests always served at their appointed time up until the destruction of the Temple in the 70CE. The time of Z'kharyah's service gives us the starting point of the events to follow. Z'kharyah and his wife Elisheva were advanced in years and Elisheva was barren. While serving in the Temple an angel appears and tells him about the son he would have through Elisheva and that this son, who would be called Yochanan, would be the forerunner of Messiah who will call Yisrael back to God. Now, the order of division which Z'kharyah was of and was performing the priestly service in the Temple was the eighth order out of twenty-four divisions. Each of the 24 kohanim divisions served one week twice a year and during the Moadim, the Festivals, beginning with the month of Aviv, therefore, first service of Aviyah division was during the third month, the month of Sivan, being pushed back by the Pesach and Shavuot festivals. Note that the first month of the Biblical year is not Tishrei. Tishrei, according to the Torah, is the seventh month. The first month of the Biblical year is called Aviv, or Nisan. Based on the language of the text and other indications from the narrative, most scholars agree that Z’khariah served in the first part of the year, in the spring. Z'kharyah and Elisheva returned home “after these days,” after his priestly service was completed, and Elisheva became pregnant. Elisheva conceived the child that the angel Gavriel had promised. We do not know how long it took them to travel back home but we can assume that was in the beginning of the fourth month which comes out in our present-day calendar in June/July timeframe. Nine months later, naturally, Yochanan was born, possibly during Pesach in the month of Aviv, when tradition says that Eliyahu haNavi, the prophet Elijah, will come and announce the coming of Moshiah. Brit Chadashah also makes this prophetic connection. "’Hineni, I send My messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me; and the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His Temple...’ says Yehovah Tzevaot, the LORD of hosts.” Micah 3:1 Continuing in the same chapter of Luke we read about the angel Gavriel speaking to Miryam and telling her that not only will she bear the Son of God but that her relative Elisheva had conceived in her old age and is now in her sixth month. So we can draw the conclusion that this was happening in the month of Tevet, Elisheva's sixth month of pregnancy, so Yochanan would be six months older than Yeshua. Therefore, Yeshua being conceived towards the end of the month of Tevet, was born nine months later, towards the second part of the month of Tishrei (September/October), the seventh month, the month in which we celebrate the High Holy Days, the Yomim Noraim, which now can take in a greater meaning when we understand its fulfillment in the very birth of the Messiah Himself. The second part of the month is when Sukkot, or the Feast of Booths, takes place. Chag haSukkot is celebrated from the fifteenth through the twenty-second of the month of Tishrei. We, in Messianic Judaism, believe that all Biblical Holy Days are about the Messiah, therefore, there is a good indication from the biblical texts that the first fulfillment of the Holy Day of Chag haSukkot, the Feast of Booths, is that Yeshua came humbly to His people, He became a very approachable King: “The Word became flesh and tabernacled among us.” John 1:14 The word “tabernacled” comes from the Greek root word “skenoo” which is only used by the apostle John here and in the book of Revelation: “Therefore, they are before the throne of God, they serve Him day and night in His Temple. He who sits on the throne will spread His tent [root “skenoo”] over them.” Revelation 7:15 When we can fully realize what it means, that the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us, we will understand that God became a man and humbled Himself so that any one of us could become His intimate companion, live in His humble but protective presence, and receive the salvation given by His atoning sacrifice on the Roman execution stake, the cross. The second fulfilment of the Holy Day of Sukkot will have to wait till the Kingdom of God is established after the two previous fall Holy Days of Zikaron Teruah and Yom Kippur are fulfilled. This is the Good News, and that should be indeed a reason to rejoice even as we conclude this High Holy Days season. Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sukkot Sameah! |
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