Feast of Tabernacles

The celebration of Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles or ‘Booths’) on 6th October was a ‘fruitful’ one – literally. Leviticus 23:39-43 tells us that this is Israel’s Thanksgiving celebration in which they acknowledge God’s provision for them through the Fall Harvest. In this joyous occasion, God commanded the Israelites to remember their humble beginning – ‘I had the sons of Israel live in booths when I brought them out from the land of Egypt, I am the LORD your God’ (Lev 23:43).

And so, in attempting to follow the footsteps of our Hebrew forefathers, ETW Ekklesia set up this visual reminder in the congregation by assembling a temporary tent (not made from something that grew from the ground like tree branches but enough as a visual simulation). On the poles of the tent, each member of the congregation took turns to hang his or her fruit from the ‘harvest’ as a symbol of the God’s abundant and faithful provision. It was a time filled with liveliness and laughter and admiration of the pretty picture of the tent (see photo below). Interestingly, that symbolic act of participating in ‘building the booth’ created a livelier atmosphere from that moment on.

The celebration continued with teaching about the feast, interspersed with praises to God, songs, and even a quiz time (prizes included!). We also believe that the Feast of Tabernacles was the time of the Messiah’s birth, if one counts from the announcement of the conception of John the Baptist to Zacharias (Luke 1). Prophetically, the Feast of Tabernacles causes us to look forward to the Second Coming of Christ where the fullness of our joy will be manifested – in the appearance of Christ in His glory and us becoming like Him (1 Cor 15:50-52). Spiritually, it reminds us that our flesh (our current ‘dwelling place’ or ‘tent’) is temporal and we are not to put hope in it but rather we are to put on Christ, who is our hope of glory (Col 1:27; Gal 3:27; Rom 13:14).

One reason why ETW celebrates this feast is because our knowledge and understanding of God, Christ and His plan for mankind is enriched with the many spiritual lessons and prophetic significance of Sukkot. Children are a welcome addition to this feast for it is to be celebrated in the context of the family, especially THE Family of God. They learn from a young age that the kingdom of God is associated with JOY and this is why we endeavor to inject some fun into the feast through songs, games, quizzes, etc. It is also a reminder that we, as children of the living God, are fully provided for by our heavenly Father – spiritually, eternally and materially. God is truly good!