|“Keep your face to the sunshine
and you cannot see the shadow.
It’s what sunflowers do.”
by Helen Keller
Feast of Tabernacles
This week our family prepared for and celebrated a special time called the Feast of Tabernacles or Sukkot. It’s a joyful feast that begins four days after Yom Kippur and that lasts eight days. God told the Jewish people to live in booths for seven days each year, starting on 15 Tishri (September-October) to remember that the Lord brought us out of Egypt. This holiday is like our harvest festival and we also thank God for the good harvest and all the good things he has provided. God takes care of His people. We should thank Him for what He gives us. Psalm 118:29 says, “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good”.
The booth we build is called a sukkah. It is a temporary structure built of wood and canvas to represent the booths the Israelites lived in during the forty years of wilderness wanderings on their journey from Egypt to the promised land of Israel. This year, we used our patio and decorated it with autumn leaves, apples, and grapes that hung from the ceiling. Princess colored and made her own decorations and we hung them on some lace across the patio. We invited our family over and ate dinner outside in our sukkah while looking up at the stars. We taught our family about the holiday and how important it is for Believers in Jesus to understand what Sukkot means for us too.
Sukkot also teaches a lot about the Messiah Jesus. The prophet Zechariah pointed to the day when the Messiah will dwell (same root word as tabernacle or sukkah) on the earth and all the people of the earth and all the people will know Him. In the Messianic kingdom, the feast of Sukkot will be an important holiday on which to worship God (Zechariah 14:16-19).
How exciting! I can’t wait! Come Lord Jesus come!
Even on the last day of Sukkot which is called Hoshannah Rabbah, Jesus said of himself, “I am the light of the world” and “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him” (John 8:12; 7:37-38). Taken from the Complete Jewish Bible by David H. Stern. Copyright © 1998. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Messianic Jewish Publishers, 6120 Day Long Lane, Clarksville, MD 21029. www.messianicjewish.net.
Celebrations of the Bible
A Messianic Children`s Curriculum
I’d like to share with you where we got our lessons. We use a great curriculum that teaches all of the feasts of the Lord. It is so easy to follow, simple and gives everything you need for each lesson-primary, junior and for a chidren’s worship of mixed ages. Plus it’s affordable.
Click here to find out more!
I challenge you if you have never studied the Jewish roots of the Christian faith in your homeschool, to do it! There is so much more for us to learn!
How are you celebrating the beginning of Autumn with your family?
Do you also celebrate Sukkot? I’d love to hear from you!
Blessings and Shalom,