One in Messiah Congregation

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Feast of Tabernacles / Ingathering Succoth (Feast of Tabernacles/Ingathering) Tabernacling with Messiah forever, celebrating the harvest of the righteousness.Sukkot is a picture of the Kingdom of Heaven.

the SEVENTH MONTH - Ethanim

1Kgs.8 [2] And all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto king Solomon at the feast in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month.

Lev. 23:[33] And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,[34] Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the LORD.
[35] On the first day shall be an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.
[36] Seven days ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: on the eighth day shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: it is a solemn assembly; and ye shall do no servile work therein.

[37] These are the feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD, a burnt offering, and a meat offering, a sacrifice, and drink offerings, every thing upon his day:
[38] Beside the sabbaths of the LORD, and beside your gifts, and beside all your vows, and beside all your freewill offerings, which ye give unto the LORD.

[39] Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the LORD seven days: on the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a sabbath.

[40] And ye shall take you 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 ye shall rejoice before the LORD your God seven days.
[41] And ye shall keep it a feast unto the LORD seven days in the year. It shall be a statute for ever in your generations: ye shall celebrate it in the seventh month.

[42] Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths:
[43] That your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.[44] And Moses declared unto the children of Israel the feasts of the LORD.

Num. 29:[12] And on the fifteenth day of the seventh month ye shall have an holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work, and ye shall keep a feast unto the LORD seven days:[13] And ye shall offer a burnt offering, a sacrifice made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD; thirteen young bullocks, two rams, and fourteen lambs of the first year; they shall be without blemish:[14] And their meat offering shall be of flour mingled with oil, three tenth deals unto every bullock of the thirteen bullocks, two tenth deals to each ram of the two rams,[15] And a several tenth deal to each lamb of the fourteen lambs:[16] And one kid of the goats for a sin offering; beside the continual burnt offering, his meat offering, and his drink offering.

[17] And on the second day ye shall offer twelve young bullocks, two rams, fourteen lambs of the first year without spot:
[18] And their meat offering and their drink offerings for the bullocks, for the rams, and for the lambs, shall be according to their number, after the manner:
[19] And one kid of the goats for a sin offering; beside the continual burnt offering, and the meat offering thereof, and their drink offerings.
[20] And on the third day eleven bullocks, two rams, fourteen lambs of the first year without blemish;
[21] And their meat offering and their drink offerings for the bullocks, for the rams, and for the lambs, shall be according to their number, after the manner:
[22] And one goat for a sin offering; beside the continual burnt offering, and his meat offering, and his drink offering.
[23] And on the fourth day ten bullocks, two rams, and fourteen lambs of the first year without blemish:
[24] Their meat offering and their drink offerings for the bullocks, for the rams, and for the lambs, shall be according to their number, after the manner:
[25] And one kid of the goats for a sin offering; beside the continual burnt offering, his meat offering, and his drink offering.
[26] And on the fifth day nine bullocks, two rams, and fourteen lambs of the first year without spot:
[27] And their meat offering and their drink offerings for the bullocks, for the rams, and for the lambs, shall be according to their number, after the manner:
[28] And one goat for a sin offering; beside the continual burnt offering, and his meat offering, and his drink offering.
[29] And on the sixth day eight bullocks, two rams, and fourteen lambs of the first year without blemish:
[30] And their meat offering and their drink offerings for the bullocks, for the rams, and for the lambs, shall be according to their number, after the manner:
[31] And one goat for a sin offering; beside the continual burnt offering, his meat offering, and his drink offering.
[32] And on the seventh day seven bullocks, two rams, and fourteen lambs of the first year without blemish:
[33] And their meat offering and their drink offerings for the bullocks, for the rams, and for the lambs, shall be according to their number, after the manner:
[34] And one goat for a sin offering; beside the continual burnt offering, his meat offering, and his drink offering.

[35] On the eighth day ye shall have a solemn assembly: ye shall do no servile work therein:[36] But ye shall offer a burnt offering, a sacrifice made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD: one bullock, one ram, seven lambs of the first year without blemish:[37] Their meat offering and their drink offerings for the bullock, for the ram, and for the lambs, shall be according to their number, after the manner:[38] And one goat for a sin offering; beside the continual burnt offering, and his meat offering, and his drink offering.[39] These things ye shall do unto the LORD in your set feasts, beside your vows, and your freewill offerings, for your burnt offerings, and for your meat offerings, and for your drink offerings, and for your peace offerings.[40] And Moses told the children of Israel according to all that the LORD commanded Moses.

The Torah identifies the sukkah (booth) with the temporary dwellings in which the Israelites lived in the wilderness after they left Egypt on their way to the Promised Land (Leviticus [Vayikra] 23:42).

The Sukkah reminds us of Israel's wanderings through the desert on their way to the Promised Land. Everyone then saw the special Divine protection that God bestowed upon Israel during those difficult years. As it is written in Exodus (Shemot)

Exod.13[21] And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night:

God wants to dwell with His people (Exodus 29:44-45). This physical tabernacle was given by God to teach and instruct us that He desires to live and dwell with His people by means of the Holy Spirit today (1 Corinthians 6:19; 2 Corinthians 6:1).

Sukkot is called the "Season of Our Joy." One reason Sukkot was a time of joy was that after the season of repentance (Teshuvah) and the redemption of Yom Kippur came the joy of knowing your sins are forgiven by the Blood Of Messiah and the joy of walking with God, knowing God, and being obedient to God.

Sukkot commemorates the days in the wilderness of Sinai after coming out of Egypt (Mitzayim). According to all natural laws, the Israelites should have perished, but were instead divinely protected by God.

The Hebrew word chag comes from the Hebrew root word chagag, which means "to move in a circle, to march in a sacred procession, to celebrate or dance." The joy of Sukkot was so great that it became known as "The Feast." The word tabernacle refers to a temporary dwelling place, which is the purpose of the sukkah.

The sukkah or booth, symbolizes man's need to depend upon God for His provision of food, water, and shelter. This is true in the spiritual realm as well. The booth is the physical body, which is a temporary dwelling place for our souls and spirits (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). We need the food that the Word of God provides (Matthew 6:11; 4:4; John 6:33-35); the cleansing, rinsing, and washing that the Word of God brings to our lives (Ephesians 5:26); and the shelter of God's protection over our lives from the evil one (Matthew 6:13; Psalm 91). Our physical needs will be provided for by God if we seek Him spiritually (Matthew 6:31-33).

Feast of tabernacles is also seen in: Neh. 8, 1st. Kings 8, 1st. Chron. 6

Rev.21 [3] And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.

G4633 skay-nay' Apparently akin to G4632 and G4639; a tent or cloth hut (literally or figuratively): - habitation, tabernacle.

H168 o'-hel From H166; a tent (as clearly conspicuous from a distance): - covering, (dwelling) (place), home, tabernacle, tent.

H5521 sook-kaw' Feminine of H5520; a hut or lair: - booth, cottage, covert, pavilion, tabernacle, tent.

Gen 33:17 And Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and built him a house, and made "booths" for his cattle: therefore the name of the place is called "Succoth".

H5523 sook-kohth', sook-kohth'

Plural of H5521; booths; Succoth, the name of a place in Egypt and of three in Palestine: - Succoth.

BDB Definition: Succoth = “booths”

1) the site where Jacob put up booths for his cattle and built a house for himself; apparently east of the Jordan near the ford of the torrent Jabbok and later allotted to the tribe of Gad

2) the 1st stopping place of the Israelites when they left Egypt

Part of Speech: noun plural proper locative

Now lets look at this:

1.Yeshua tabernacled (sukkot) among us (John 1:14).

2.Peter spoke about his body being a tabernacle (2 Peter 1:13-14).

3.The apostle Paul told us that our earthly bodies were earthly houses or tabernacles (2 Corinthians 5:1-5).

4.The tabernacle of Moses (Acts 7:44; Hebrews 9:2-8).

5.Abraham , Isaac, and Jacob lived in tabernacles (tents) (Hebrews 11:8-9).

6.The tabernacle of David was a tent or dwelling place (Acts 15:16; Amos 9:11). This tabernacle was the temple of Solomon (1 Kings 5:2-5; 8:1-21).

7.Yeshua entered the temple on the Feast of Sukkot (Tabernacles) (John 7:2,27-29).

8.The Bible speaks of a heavenly tabernacle (Hebrews 8:1-2; Revelation 13:6; 15:5). This heavenly tabernacle will come to earth (Revelation 21:1-3).

9.Yeshua was the true tabernacle of God (Hebrews 9:11).

The booth or sukkah was a temporary dwelling place. It was to remind the people of their exodus from Egypt (Mitzrayim) as described in Leviticus (Vayikra) 23:42-43. A sukkah is supposed to remind us that we are but strangers and pilgrims on the earth, this being a temporary dwelling place. So the believer in Messiah is but a stranger and pilgrim on this earth (Hebrews 11:8-10,13-16; Genesis 23:3-4; 47:9; 1 Chronicles 29:10,15; Psalm 39:12; 119:19; 1 Peter 1:17; 2:11).

To the believer in Yeshua, our earthly physical body is only a temporary tabernacle. At the coming of Messiah, we will receive a new and heavenly house, a glorified body (1 Corinthians 15:39-44,51-57; 2 Corinthians 5:6; 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18).

Some scriptures to look at:

Lev.23 :34] Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the LORD.

Deut.16[13] Thou shalt observe the feast of tabernacles seven days, after that thou hast gathered in thy corn and thy wine:

[16] Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the LORD empty:

Deut.31[10] And Moses commanded them, saying, At the end of every seven years, in the solemnity of the year of release, in the feast of tabernacles,

2Chr.8[13] Even after a certain rate every day, offering according to the commandment of Moses, on the sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the solemn feasts, three times in the year, even in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles.

Ezra.3 [4] They kept also the feast of tabernacles, as it is written, and offered the daily burnt offerings by number, according to the custom, as the duty of every day required;

Zech.14 [16] And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.

[18] And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there shall be the plague, wherewith the LORD will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles. [19] This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.

Read John.7 Yeshua went to the feast [2] Now the Jews' feast of tabernacles was at hand.

The Feast of Ingathering

Exod.23[16] And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field.

Exod.34[22] And thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the year's end.

Sukkot (Tabernacles) is the fall harvest feast. It begins on the fifteenth of the Hebrew month of Ethanim and concludes on the twenty-second, Shemini Atzeret, also called the eighth day. So we rejoice in the Torah /Simchat Torah.

Shemini Atzeret functions as the conclusion of Sukkot.

Like the other pilgrimage festivals, Sukkot [tabernacles] has an agricultural element. It marks the time of the harvest, the final ingathering of produce before the oncoming winter. Hence, it is also called Hag HaAsif, the festival of Ingathering. As it is written in Ex. 34:22

Sukkot is the time when the produce of the field, orchard, and vineyard is gathered in. The granaries, threshing floors, and wine and olive presses are full to capacity. Weeks and months of toil and sweat put into the soil have finally been amply rewarded. The farmer feels happy and elated. No wonder Sukkot is "The Season of Rejoicing." While all of the three pilgrimages are times of rejoicing, Sukkot (Tabernacles) is specifically designated as Zeman simchatenu, the season of our rejoicing.

Yeshua told us that the harvest represents the end of the world. This is found in (Matthew 13:39; Revelation 14:15; Joel 3:13).

Some N.T. scriptures on harvest:

Matt.9 [37] Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; [38] Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.

Matt.13[30] Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.

[39] The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.

Mark.4 [29] But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.

Luke.10[2] Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.

John.4[35] Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.

Rev.14[15] And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.

The harvest refers to people who choose to accept the Messiah Yeshua into their hearts and lives (Matthew 9:35-38; Luke 10:1-2; John: 35-38; Revelation 14:14-18). God is gathering both Jews and gentiles together to accept the Messiah Yeshua into their lives. Most of the people on earth have not accepted Yeshua into their lives and are in the valley of decision (Joel [Yoel] 3:13-14). Verry sad, we should pray for souls.

Jeremiah sorrowed for a people who were not a part of the harvest in Jeremiah 8:18-22. In Jeremiah 8:20 it is written, "The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved."

Those who accept the Messiah will experience the real Sukkot (Tabernacles) with God forever in heaven.

During the Feast of Tabernacles was the Dedication of the House of God and the rebuilding of it again.

King Solomon dedicted the temple (Beit HaMikdash) during Sukkot (Tabernacles) (1 Kings 8:63). Alos after the Babylonian captivity (Ezra 3).

All nations will celebrate this feast one day - read Zechariah 14

An interesting verse in Neh. is:

Neh.8 [17] And all the congregation of them that were come again out of the captivity made booths, and sat under the booths: for since the days of Jeshua the son of Nun unto that day had not the children of Israel done so. And there was very great gladness.

Whether or not Sukkot (Tabernacles) was regularly celebrated during the period of the first temple is not clear. After the return from Babylon, Nehemiah wrote the above scripture. However, from Nehemiah's day forward, the feast was celebrated during the time of the second temple.

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The Birth of Yeshua During Sukkot?

The Scriptures seem to indicate to us that Yeshua was born during the feast Tabernacles. (September/October). With this in mind, let's look for some evidence of this in the Bible.

In Luke 1:5, Zachariah is a priest (Cohen) of the division of Abijah (Avijah). What does this mean? Israel was divided into 24 districts at the time of Yeshua. Each of these districts sent two representatives to officiate at the temple during the weeks of the year.

In First Chronicles 24, the first division of the priests would serve in the first week of the year. As we saw earlier in this book, Nisan is the first month in the religious calendar set up by God in Exodus 12:2.

During the third week in the month of Nisan, the priests from all 24 districts would come to the temple to help during the week of Passover (Pesach). This would also be the case for the festival of Pentecost (Shavuot) and for the festival of Sukkot (Tabernacles) when all males were required to go to Jerusalem (Yerushalayim) as specified by God in Deuteronomy 16:16. In First Chronicles 24:10, we see that abijah was the eighth division or course of priests. The course of abijah would minister during the tenth week of the year. Remember, the weeks of Passover and Shavuot would not be counted because all the priests were required to go to Jerusalem then.

In Luke 1:9-10, we see that Zacharias is burning incense. This is done in the room of the temple known as the Holy Place. The incense represents the prayers of God's people [Psalm 141:2; Revelation 8:3-4]) is being burned by the priests in the temple.

In Luke 1:11-13, the angel appeared on the right side of the altar and told Zacharias that his prayer was heard and John the Immerser (Baptist) would be born. John the Immerser (Baptist) was literally Elijah (Eliyahu), and was of the spirit and power of Elijah (Luke 1:17).

Allowing two weeks for the laws of separation that God commanded in Leviticus 12:5; 15:19,24-25 after going back to the house (Luke 1:23) and then going forward nine months (Sivan [tenth week] + 2 weeks + 9 months) puts the birth of John during the festival of Passover (Pesach). This is an extremely important point because during the Passover.

In Luke 1:26 during the sixth month of Elisabeth's (Elisheva) pregnancy, the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary (Miryam). This should have been around the twenty-fifth of Kislev. If you calculate from the twenty-fifth of Kislev and add eight days for the feast of the dedication, Chanukah plus nine months for Mary's (Miryam) pregnancy, this will bring you around the time of the festival of Sukkot, or in the 7th month Ethanim. On Ethanim 22, known as Shemini Atzeret or the eighth day, Yeshua was circumcised (Luke 2:22-23; Leviticus 12:1-3).

As I have stated earlier, the Feast of Sukkot (Tabernacles) is called "the season of our joy" and "the feast of the nations." With this in mind, in Luke 2:10 it is written, "And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings [basar in Hebrew; otherwise known as the gospel] of great joy [Sukkot is called the 'season of our joy'], which shall be to all people [Sukkot in Zech. 14 to all nations']." It could seem that the terminology the angel used to announce the birth of Yeshua were themes and messages associated with the Feast of Sukkot (Tabernacles).

An interesting word in Luke 2:12 that the baby Yeshua was laid in a "manger". The word manger is the Greek word phatn'e.

G5336 phatne fat'-nay From pateomai (to eat); a crib (for fodder): - manger, stall.

It is the same word translated as "stall" in Luke 13:15. By seeing how the word is used in Luke 13:15, we can see that the Greek word phatn'e means a place for hitching cattle. The Hebrew word for stall is marbek, which can be found in Amos 6:4 and Malachi 4:2. In Genesis (Bereishit) 33:17 it is written that Jacob journeyed to Sukkoth and made booths (the word booth in this passage is the Hebrew word sukkah; the plural is sukkot) for his cattle. So we can see from these passages how the word booth (sukkah or sukkot) was used by Jacob (Ya'akov) for his cattle in Genesis 33:17, and how the Greek word for manger or "stall," phatn'e, was also used to refer to hitching cattle in Luke 13:15. Phatn'e is the same word translated as "manger" in Luke 2:12, where Yeshua was laid at the time of His birth.

During the Feast of Sukkot (Tabernacles), God required that all male Jews come to Jerusalem (Deuteronomy 16:16).

All the people went to be taxed in the city, this would be make it overcrowded with people and would explain why Mary and Joseph could not find lodging in and around Jerusalem (Luke 2:7). Bethlehem, the place where Yeshua was born, is only about four miles from Jerusalem.

By studying and understanding the feast of Tabernacles and the themes and messages that God desired to be conveyed during this feast, enables us to read the Bible in a new light; it enables us to understand that Yeshua was possibly born during the season of Sukkot.

Shalom All!