Leviticus 23:33-34; John 1:14; John 7:37-38; Zechariah 14:16; Revelation 21:3
"The Lord said to Moses: Say to the Israelites: On the fifteenth day of the seventh month the Lord's Festival of Tabernacles begins, and it lasts for seven days. All native-born Israelites are to live in temporary shelters so your descendants will know that I had the Israelites live in temporary shelters when I brought them out of Egypt."
"The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."
"On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, 'Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.'"
"And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Look! God's dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.'"
Sukkot. The Feast of Tabernacles. Also called the Feast of Booths. It is the last and greatest of the seven feasts in Leviticus 23. For seven days, the people of Israel were commanded to leave their comfortable homes and live in temporary shelters. Booths made of branches. Fragile. Impermanent. A reminder that during the forty years in the wilderness, God Himself was their shelter. They had no permanent home. They had no permanent security. They had God. And that was enough.
Sukkot was also the most joyous feast in the Jewish calendar. It was called "the season of our joy." There were processions. Music. Dancing. The temple was lit up with enormous menorahs that illuminated the entire city. Water was drawn from the Pool of Siloam and poured out at the temple altar in a ceremony that remembered God providing water from the rock in the wilderness. It was a party. A seven-day, all-night, city-wide celebration of God's faithfulness.
Now read John 1:14 in Greek. "The Word became flesh and eskenosen among us." Eskenosen. It means "He tabernacled." John did not choose the word for "lived" or "resided." He chose the word for the Feast of Tabernacles. The Word became flesh and pitched His tent among us. God moved into the neighbourhood. He did not send a letter. He did not send a representative. He came Himself. He tabernacled. He Sukkoted.
And then in John 7, Jesus is at the Feast of Tabernacles. The water ceremony is happening. The priests are pouring water from Siloam onto the altar. The crowd is singing. The temple is blazing with light. And Jesus stands up in the middle of it all and shouts: "Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink." He was standing at the feast that celebrated God providing water in the wilderness, and He was saying "I am the water." He was standing at the feast that celebrated God's presence among His people, and He was saying "I am the presence."
But Tabernacles is not just about Jesus' first coming. It is the feast that points most directly to His return. Zechariah 14 prophesies that in the last days, all nations will go up to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. And Revelation 21 gives us the final picture: "God's dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them." The word for dwelling there is the same root. Tabernacle. Booth. Tent. At the end of history, God will tabernacle with His people permanently. No more temporary shelters. No more wilderness. No more wandering. Just God. With us. Forever.
The first Tabernacles was God with us in a tent. The final Tabernacles will be God with us in a new creation. And between them is the entire story of redemption. The Word became flesh. He tabernacled. He suffered. He died. He rose. He sent His Spirit. And He is coming back.
"The Word became flesh and tabernacled among us."
Here is what I carry from this feast. God does not want to be distant from you. He does not want to be a concept. He does not want to be a philosophy. He wants to be with you. He tabernacled in a human body so He could be close enough to touch. And one day, He will tabernacle with His people in a renewed creation, and the distance will be gone forever. The feast is coming. The booths will be permanent. The joy will be complete. And the One who tabernacled among us will never leave.
With the water still flowing and the light still blazing in my heart, Claire