Feast of Tabernacles

This evening at sundown starts, what is known in the Jewish world as the Feast of Tabernacles otherwise known as Sukkot.This is the time of year when all of G-D's children are to remember the 40 years of G-D's care in the wilderness by building booths or Sukkot to "dwell in" for 7 days.It is a time of many services but it also a time of great rejoicing. This time not only reminds us of G-D's deliverance but it also marks the end of the time of Judgment which began with the feast of trumpets. When I say it is a celebration, I mean it is a celebration! I can't help but wonder what the world would be like if we all celebrated the blessings that G-D has given us. I think we'd be so busy praising Him that we wouldn't have time to fight with each other.

Last year was our first time of doing this and we were able to do it with a group and in so doing we learned a lot from them. Unlike most Christian Holy days, this was a time of music and dance and lots of food and drink. We had a huge bonfire going most of the time we were there and we praised G-D constantly and slept out in the cold and loved every minute of it! On the last Sabbath we also had a wedding and the way it was done was to symbolize how G-D will someday come to receive His bride, His Holy people, it was wonderful.

This year we are on our own but we are going to do it anyways. I have been told that you can use what ever material is at hand as long as you use branches for the roof, so we are using a canopy frame and some rope ( to hold up the branches)and will be using tarps as walls. Ill be using a camp chair and bed along with a card table for furnishing and will spend as much time in it as possible during the next week.
No it won't be comfortable and yes I might get wet, but the whole point of it is to remember G-D's deliverance and His blessings we should all do this.
Here are a few passages for you to consider: Lev. 23:33-44

33 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 34 “Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days to the LORD. 35 On the first day there shall be a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work on it. 36 For seven days you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD. On the eighth day you shall have a holy convocation, and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD. It is a sacred assembly, and you shall do no customary work on it.
37 ‘These are the feasts of the LORD which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire to the LORD, a burnt offering and a grain offering, a sacrifice and drink offerings, everything on its day— 38 besides the Sabbaths of the LORD, besides your gifts, besides all your vows, and besides all your freewill offerings which you give to the LORD.
39 ‘Also on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the fruit of the land, you shall keep the feast of the LORD for seven days; on the first day there shall be a sabbath-rest, and on the eighth day a sabbath-rest. 40 And you shall take for yourselves on the first day the fruit of beautiful trees, branches of palm trees, the boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook; and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God for seven days. 41 You shall keep it as a feast to the LORD for seven days in the year. It shall be a statute forever in your generations. You shall celebrate it in the seventh month. 42 You shall dwell in booths for seven days. All who are native Israelites shall dwell in booths, 43 that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.’”
44 So Moses declared to the children of Israel the feasts of the LORD.

Duet.16:14-16
3 “You shall observe the Feast of Tabernacles seven days, when you have gathered from your threshing floor and from your winepress. 14 And you shall rejoice in your feast, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant and the Levite, the stranger and the fatherless and the widow, who are within your gates. 15 Seven days you shall keep a sacred feast to the LORD your God in the place which the LORD chooses, because the LORD your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that you surely rejoice.
16 “Three times a year all your males shall appear before the LORD your God in the place which He chooses: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Tabernacles; and they shall not appear before the LORD empty-handed. 17 Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD your God which He has given you.

And lastly Zech.14:16-19. This one is really interesting because it speaks of the time after G-D has set up His Kingdom here on the earth and it is speaking of all the nations that are left of those who came up against Israel as well. This , along with the New Moon celebration and the Sabbath, will be celebrated in the Kingdom to come.
Kind of strange that most of the world ignores these Holy days when G-d makes it clear that they will be for all eternity.

Zech.14:16-19 16 And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. 17 And it shall be that whichever of the families of the earth do not come up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, on them there will be no rain. 18 If the family of Egypt will not come up and enter in, they shall have no rain; they shall receive the plague with which the LORD strikes the nations who do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. 19 This shall be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.

So there it is, nothing fancy, just the straight word from G-D. I would suggest we get in the habit of doing it now, because in the time to come we will be doing so why wait? The blessings are already in place.
Just a quick note, on sunset of our last day ,last year, it rained!
Shalom,
Ignacio