A Passover that defeats plagues and pestilences

Do the biblical accounts of the Passion and the Resurrection agree?

Simon Pease reviews ‘Three Days and Three Nights that Changed the World’ by David Serle and Peter Sammons (2018, Christian Publications International).

Three Days and Three Nights that Changed the World (abbreviated here to ‘Three Days and Three Nights’) is a robust defence of the reliability of the Gospel accounts and their agreement concerning the timing of Jesus’ crucifixion, contrasted with Christianity’s traditional ‘Good Friday’ narrative. Jesus stated that he would be buried for “three days and three nights” which, counting back from his resurrection appearance early Sunday morning, either places his crucifixion on Thursday or possibly Wednesday.

The authors are convinced of the case for Thursday and make a strong argument, presenting compelling evidence against Wednesday on various grounds. For example, if Wednesday was the day, Jesus’ six-mile journey from Jericho to Bethany would have taken place on the Sabbath, violating its regulations. Whilst a Thursday crucifixion does not produce a literal 72-hour period, biblical examples are provided to show how a partial day counted as a day in Jewish thought.

Contradictory Accounts?

John’s Gospel appears to contradict the synoptic accounts; he presents Jesus’ crucifixion as taking place before the Jewish religious establishment celebrated Passover, whilst Jesus and his disciples ate the Passover meal the previous day. However, extensive research uncovers a fascinating reason for this.

The Judean religious leaders adjusted their calendar following the Babylonian exile, whilst other groups such as the Galileans, Zealots, Essenes and Samaritans retained the one established by Moses. This cultural insight highlights some of the rivalries and tensions described in the New Testament.

Here is a robust defence of the reliability of the Gospel accounts and their agreement concerning the timing of Jesus’ crucifixion.

Perhaps most importantly regarding the Thursday crucifixion is how it fits symbolically with the historical calendar of Jewish worship according to the prescribed format of Leviticus 23. Passover was followed immediately by the Festival of Unleavened Bread, of which the first day was a day of rest, or ‘High Sabbath’. Therefore, immediately after Jesus’ crucifixion on the Thursday (Passover), there would have been a special Sabbath on the Friday (Festival of Unleavened Bread), followed by a normal Sabbath on Saturday, with Jesus’ resurrection on the Sunday (the celebration of First Fruits, Lev 23:9-14).

More than a Detective Story

However, the book is much more than just a detective story. It celebrates the wonderful truth of the resurrection and includes a fascinating chapter on Jonah - the one miraculous sign Jesus offered the Pharisees. Several Bible quotations are used to demonstrate that Jonah actually died and was resurrected.

The New Testament writers emphasised strongly not just the importance of Messiah’s death (literally on the day of Passover), but also the symbolic significance of First Fruits - as the very first harvesting of the religious year – as resurrection day. Jesus is the ‘first fruits’ of those raised from the dead: the promise of the resurrection to come.

First Fruits vs. Easter

Three Days and Three Nights usefully includes a summary of Peter Sammons’ ‘The Jesus Pattern’ (which is effectively a prequel), which explores all seven ‘moedim’ (Levitical festivals) as they relate to Jesus and their spiritual significance for believers.

Born-again believers are ‘First Fruits people’ rather than ‘Easter people’. The authors attack institutional Christianity’s choice of a feast day based on pagan fertility rites, especially since the decisions for dating Easter and ‘Good Friday’ were motivated by a profound hatred of the Jews. The historical evidence for this is clearly presented.

By contrast, Scripture indicates that the New Testament Church at the very least kept the Jewish Passover and used all the Levitical festivals as an important part of their teaching about Jesus – a model Christians could learn from.

Born-again believers are ‘First Fruits people’ rather than ‘Easter people’.

Removing the Veils

Three Days and Three Nights is crafted carefully to help readers make sense of a technical subject by providing several diagrams, the most of impressive of which is a fold-out chart tracking all the events of the ‘Passion week’. As well as providing a handy reference point throughout, this shows how the events of the religious calendar relate specifically to Jesus. For example, the Passover lamb was carefully examined for blemish at exactly the same time as Jesus underwent extensive cross-examination regarding his Messianic credentials and sinlessness.

The appendices include Scripture references and a suggested timeline of the events between Jesus’ arrest and crucifixion, specifically to repudiate attacks on the authenticity of the biblical narrative.

Ultimately, Three Days and Three Nights provides an important testimony concerning the reliability of the biblical account, at a time when many believers are rediscovering the Jewish context of Scripture. The book makes an important prophetic point: just as the scriptures affirm that Jewish recognition of Messiah has been veiled until his imminent return, so too did Christianity once lose sight of Messiah’s Jewishness and God’s faithfulness towards the Jews. However, the Lord will finally remove both these veils and accomplish his purpose of ‘one new man’ in Christ. Three Days and Three Nights makes a contribution to the unfolding of this plan.

‘Three Days and Three Nights that Changed the World’ (202pp, paperback) is available on Amazon for £16. Find out more about the book and accompanying resources on the Christian Publications International website.

Amidst all the hatred, God has not forgotten his people.

Against the shameful background of blatant anti-Semitism at Britain’s annual Labour Party Conference, Jews everywhere are being reminded of where their help comes from.

As tens of thousands descend on Jerusalem’s Western Wall complex to receive the priestly Aaronic blessing during the Feast of Tabernacles, they hear afresh those solemn, soothing words of comfort: “The Lord bless you and keep you…” (Num 6:24).

Nazi Threat

But at Liverpool, home of The Beatles, some Labour delegates were not singing All you need is love, but joining in a chorus of hate-filled messages directed at the state of Israel, calling for an arms embargo and provocatively waving Palestinian flags.

One prominent Member of Parliament stayed away altogether, and said she was glad she had done so when it emerged that Jewish MP Luciana Berger had to be accompanied to a conference rally by two police officers. And a colleague even warned that the anti-Semitism crisis could fuel the rise of Nazism in Britain.

Walthamstow MP Stella Creasy told the rally: “Nazism doesn’t turn up fully formed, wearing shiny black boots and black shirts and goose-stepping. It builds bit by bit, it gains little by little, it paints itself as the victim – it paints its victims as the enemies, as traitors, the ‘other’, with dual loyalty.”¹

God with us

But the seven-day Jewish Feast of Tabernacles (also known as Sukkot) reminds us that God, not politicians, will have the final say on Israel’s future. It recalls how he miraculously provided for them and protected them in the desert over 40 years when they lived in temporary shelters, ate manna from heaven and water from the rock.

He still promises to provide all their needs, especially in the face of fiery opposition. Psalm 27, traditionally recited during the feast and written by King David, notes:

When the wicked advance against me to devour [or slander] me, it is my enemies and my foes who will stumble and fall…for in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock…Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me, spouting malicious accusations. (Ps 27:2, 5, 12)

The feast celebrates the time God came down to ‘tabernacle’, or live, amongst his people. And this is also what Jesus did some 1,500 years later when, as the Apostle John put it, “the word became flesh and dwelt [literally, tabernacled] with us” (John 1:14). Jesus was also described as ‘Emmanuel’, meaning ‘God with us’ (Isa 7:14; Matt 1:23).

The seven-day Jewish Feast of Tabernacles reminds us that God, not politicians, will have the final say on Israel’s future.

Jewish people believe that when Messiah comes, it will be during this feast. And there is good reason to believe that Jesus was actually born at this time of year, not at Christmas as is generally supposed. For one thing, the shepherds were in the fields watching their flocks by night – the lambs were still kept outdoors during the feast, but would have been kept indoors in winter.

For another, Sukkot is a festival of joy – rabbis apparently teach that it is a sin to be miserable this week – and the angel announcing Messiah’s birth said: “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy…” (Luke 2:10).

Streams of Living Water

The site of the Pool of Siloam in Jerusalem’s Old City, where water was drawn for the Feast of Tabernacles. Photo: Charles Gardner

The feast also played a crucial role in Jesus’ ministry, for it was on the last day of Tabernacles that he stood up to declare: “If any man is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, out of his inmost being shall flow rivers of living water” (John 7:37f).

The background to this is that, traditionally, on each day of the feast, the High Priest took a golden pitcher and filled it with water drawn from the Pool of Siloam, and it was poured out on the altar as a thank-offering for rain.

Jesus now promised a spiritual ‘rain’ that would never stop flowing for those who trusted him. And in the light of dark threats here in Britain, and elsewhere, consolation can surely be taken from the feast’s association with the “last days” when Jesus returns, once again to tabernacle with his people, after which all nations will be required to make an annual pilgrimage to Jerusalem in order to celebrate Tabernacles – and those who refuse to do so will be denied rain (Zech 14:16-19)!

The Blast of the Shofar

One school of thought teaches that when Jesus returns as King of Kings, he will be hailed by the blast of the shofar (ram’s horn) on the Feast of Trumpets (marked earlier this month at the start of the autumn feasts). Then, all Israel would recognise him as Messiah and enter into national mourning over the One they have pierced (Zech 12:10; see also 1 Cor 15:52; 1 Thess 4:16).

What a glorious prospect!

References

1 Daily Mail, 24 September 2018.

I am also indebted for some insights to author and Hebraic teacher Fred Wright and to David Soakell of Christian Friends of Israel.

Paul Luckraft reviews two books by the pastor of Father’s House Sabbath Congregation, North Wales.

A personal testimony. Chris Foster shares about how she met with God while celebrating Passover for the first time.

I had an amazing encounter with God recently, which I wanted to share!

I was in church one Sunday, listening to the sermon. The preacher said that in the Book of Leviticus there are a number of feasts listed, which Jesus celebrated, and that significant things about His life, death and resurrection occurred at those times (Lev 23).

She said, although those times are translated ‘Feasts’ or ‘Festivals’ in our Bibles, the Hebrew actually means ‘God’s appointed times’, and that God has ordained ‘appointed times’ throughout the year when he ESPECIALLY wants to meet with his people!

As the preacher was saying that, something stirred in my spirit - I wanted to explore this some more.

God’s Appointed Times

A few days later, I had a book put into my hand, The Messianic Church Arising: Restoring the Church to Our Covenant Roots! by Robert D Heidler.¹ It’s a book about the biblical Feasts, written for modern-day charismatic Christians.

The book says this:

From my studies in seminary, I knew the Bible devoted a lot of space to a series of feasts, but I had never taken the time to study them. I had always assumed these feasts were just for the Old Testament era, and had no relevance for Christians today. For the first time in my life, I began to seriously study the feasts. I WAS AMAZED at what I found! As I began to study the feasts, I discovered that…they were not just holidays or Jewish rituals. God called them His “appointed times”. In a very real sense, these feasts are “appointments” with God: times set by God to meet with His people…

As I studied the feasts, I was surprised to find that these appointed times were not just for the Old Testament era! God’s Word repeatedly tells us that these appointed times are eternal, “for all generations”, and cannot be changed. (p100)

The Hebrew Feasts actually translate ‘God’s appointed times’ – times throughout the year when he ESPECIALLY wants to meet with his people!

Now some might say, ‘We have the Holy Spirit inside us, to be with us ALWAYS, so why would we need Appointed Times now?’ And I would say: yes, He is ALWAYS with us, whatever we’re going through. Psalm 23 tells us that even when we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, HE IS WITH US!

But I would put it like this – I have been married for almost 43 years, and my husband is around a lot of the time. But we also enjoy special times, when we escape the demands of life, dress up a bit and go out for a meal or something, and we sit and talk and talk – and that’s special! I thought, maybe these ‘appointed times’ are like that!

Getting Rid of Hidden Leaven

While musing over this, I suddenly realised that one of the appointed times, Passover, was just a couple of weeks away. I thought: I’m going to be aware of this date.

In Heidler’s book, it says that one can make preparations for Passover by cleaning your house and getting rid of any ‘leaven’ (symbolic of sin), showing that you want to get rid of sin in your life. Leaven is yeast, used in bread-making, but as I don’t make bread, I didn’t think there was any yeast in the house, except in the bread we were eating at that time!

However, I realised that yeast is a type of mould and, as I stood in our bathroom, I spotted some mould getting into corners of the room where there had been condensation, so I cleaned that out. Then it seemed right to start a thoroughly good spring-clean. As I was vacuuming under the bed, I realised that I was cleaning places that are hidden from view to most people, and that this was about saying to God “I want to get rid of any hidden sin in my life”.

Passover involves getting rid of all leaven (sin) – even that which is hidden.

Being Met by God

The book says that before Passover it’s also good to go round your house, asking the Holy Spirit to reveal anything ungodly and anything else which, though not overtly ungodly, may be a distraction to you in your worship of God. So I went round my house praying and asking Him to show me those things. There were a couple of things He pointed out to me, so I got rid of them. Finally, it was suggested that you go round each room in the house, and pray a blessing on each room, and on the things that happen there.

So as Passover approached, I started praying round the house, to pray a blessing on each room. As I did so, within a minute or two of starting praying, suddenly there was a sort of WHOOSH, and an overwhelming sense of the presence of God THERE and WITHIN ME, showing me what to pray, and getting me to pray about things in my life that I had NEVER thought to pray about before!

For the rest of that day and in the ensuing days, throughout the time of Passover, I felt an almost unprecedented sense of God’s presence and blessing upon my life! I had several big answers to prayer, and I felt God’s Strong Presence and anointing on me as I was able to minister to people I encountered. The things that I had never thought to pray about before – yes, they were answered in miraculous ways too!

Throughout the time of Passover, I felt an unprecedented sense of God’s presence and blessing upon my life.

Wow! It was special! And the good news is, these ‘appointed times’ occur at other times of the year too! I’m looking forward to remembering these times more regularly, waiting on God and letting my life be more enriched as I celebrate those times in the future with Him!

References

1 Click here to read our review.

Paul Luckraft reviews ‘Celebrating Jesus in the Biblical Feasts’ by Richard Booker (Destiny Image, 2009).

This is another excellent book on Jesus and the Jewish Feasts. Clearly written and well set out, the aim is to enable Christians to discover the significance of these Feasts within their own individual walk with God. As such it is conceived as a personal study resource with practical guidelines at each stage.

The author recognises that in recent times God has been doing a new thing, “breaking down the walls of hatred and misunderstanding that have divided the Jews and Christians” (p8). He believes that celebrating Jesus in the Feasts has many benefits which include a fuller comprehension of God’s plan of redemption and a renewed passion for Jesus. He explains that when Christians celebrate Jesus in the Feasts they are not putting themselves under the Law or trying to be Jews, they are “simply expressing their desire to return to the biblical roots of the faith” (p10).

Personal Challenges

The Feasts are designed to be visual aids, pictures of deeper spiritual truths, and once we see them as God’s special Feasts (appointed times), rather than merely ‘Jewish’ Feasts, then those deeper truths start to emerge.

Chapter One outlines the biblical Jewish calendar which is the correct setting for the seven Feasts in their seasons. Chapters Two to Eight then take each Feast in turn, from Passover (the longest chapter) to Tabernacles. The structure of each chapter is the same: Historical Background, How Jesus Fulfilled the Feast, and Personal Application.

The Feasts are visual aids – pictures of deeper spiritual truths.

The intention of the book becomes clear at the end of each chapter where there is a Personal Study Review which checks your understanding of each Feast and also issues a specific challenge. The reader is asked to describe the seasonal aspect of the Feast in question and to say how Jesus fulfilled this Feast. The review also asks how the Feast as revealed in Jesus applies to our lives today, and concludes with the exhortation to ask God to give you a personal encounter with Jesus as the spiritual reality of this Feast.

Highly Recommended

The next two chapters cover Purim and Hanukkah, which although not part of the mo’edim or appointed Feasts, are significant national holidays and are well worth including in a book of this kind. The structure of these chapters has to change slightly as Jesus did not fulfil these, so as well as the Historical Background and Personal Application as before, there is a section on Purim (or Hanukkah) in the New Testament.

The final chapter acts as a summary of the main purpose of the book by stressing again how Christians can celebrate Jesus in the Feasts. The author realises that people need guidelines and ideas to get them started and so offers many useful suggestions. Within this chapter there is also a section on ‘counting the Omer’, with a Scripture reading plan to cover these 50 days between Pesach (Passover) and Shavuot (Pentecost).

The author offers people useful suggestions and ideas to get started celebrating Jesus in the Feasts.

The author has clearly gone on his own personal journey through the Feasts and is excited about sharing it with others. His book is highly recommended and well worth putting alongside others on this topic.

Celebrating Jesus in the Biblical Feasts: Discovering their Significance to You as a Christian (224 pp) is available in a newer expanded edition (2016) from Amazon for £12.99 (£7.12 on Kindle). Older versions also available.

Clifford Denton discusses the probable date of Jesus' birth, how we got to 25 December and what that means for us today.

There is no known record from early Christian writers concerning the celebration of Christmas. For example, neither of the prominent writers Tertullian (c. AD 155-220) or Irenaeus (late 3^rd Century AD) included Christmas in their lists of Christian feasts. It is therefore generally considered that the Christian festival of Christmas began being celebrated officially sometime after AD 300. In terms of the date we use now, 25 December, the first recorded celebration was in Rome in AD 336.¹

The Pagan Roots of Christmas

Many Christians are now re-thinking the practices of the faith, being concerned to return faithfully to its Hebraic roots. They are concerned that what may have begun as a genuine remembrance of the birth of Jesus (possibly in the 1^st Century AD, incorporated into the biblical Feasts of the Lord) was moved to 25 December in an attempt to Christianise the pagan Roman festival of the sun god Sol Invictus, celebrating the 'birthday of the sun'. In the English language this allows an interesting play on words, but other than that it is not difficult to see that the marrying of the two celebrations is rather fragile.

However, there can be no doubt that God has brought much blessing to families and communities, and immense opportunities to proclaim the Gospel, during the Christmas season. The birth of Jesus is recorded in Scripture and it is something to celebrate every day. Indeed, if we were able to establish the correct date for his birth then Christian ethics of love and sharing and many of the wonderful carols we sing at Christmas could transfer seamlessly to that date or season.

So let us not be too harsh in our judgment as we celebrate this Advent season once more - but let us get our focus clear. Once more we will surely know the blessing of God; yet we might also consider whether he is gradually seeking to re-focus us - and why.

Christians desiring to recover the Hebraic roots of the faith often become concerned that the remembrance of the birth of Jesus was moved to 25 December.

When Was Jesus Really Born?

When, then, was Jesus actually born? We have no clear conclusion from Scripture, but it does give us clues to develop a compelling argument that it was during the Feast of Tabernacles.

Let us begin in Luke 1:5, where we discover that Zacharias was a priest from the division of Abijah. The divisions of the priests were established by King David (1 Chron 24) who appointed 24 Levitical families in a certain order for ministering in the Temple. We discover (verse 10) that Abijah was the seventh division, which would place his priestly responsibility in the first half of the fourth month. If the counting of the Jewish year began at Passover (the beginning of the biblical year – Exodus 12:2), the fourth month after Passover would be Tammuz (around June/July).² We can then estimate when John the Baptist was conceived, i.e. after Zacharias returned home in the middle of the fourth month (Luke 1:23-24).

We know, by reading on in Luke 1, that it was after six more months that Jesus was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit. All this has some approximation, but in putting the clues together there is a strong suggestion that John the Baptist would be born nine months on from the second half of Tammuz: in the middle of the first month (Nissan) of the following year. Jesus would be born six months later, in the middle of the seventh month (Tishrei, around September/October).

Bearing in mind that the Feast of Tabernacles begins on the 14^th day of the seventh month (Lev 23:34), the calculation may be exact to that date. If not exact, the strong implication is that Jesus was born (i.e. came to earth to dwell/tabernacle amongst us) during the season of the latter feasts, which includes both the Day of Atonement and the Feast of Tabernacles, a feast announced with the blowing of Trumpets.

All this makes much more sense than 25 December, especially when it also brings to mind his Second Coming, which will also be announced by the blowing of a trumpet (1 Thess 4:16)!

So What?

So, what does this mean for us who are already well into another traditional Advent season? I have, for many years, been among those who have desired and encouraged a return to the biblical roots of our faith. Yet, I have also known the blessings of a traditional Western Christian Christmas, especially as a child in the 1940s and 1950s in post-World War II Britain, when family bonds were strong and when community Christmases centred on remembering the birth of Jesus.

I know that some of those who strongly promote the Jewish roots of Christianity would be quick to argue against any Christmas emphasis, but personally I am uneasy about over-reacting in this. Is our Father in Heaven, whilst increasingly warning us of the pagan roots of the celebrations around 25 December, nevertheless encouraging us to get our priorities straight rather than acting in haste? The Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath!

The implication of Scripture is that Jesus was born on the Feast of Tabernacles - or at least during the season of the latter feasts.

Priorities in Our Remembering

Jesus told us to remember his death until he comes (cf. his birth), through the sharing of the bread and wine of Passover. Yet, in balance, we must also remember his birth as the Son of Man.

It could well be that he was born on the Feast of Tabernacles. Those shepherds in the fields near Bethlehem were most likely those who cared for the flocks of lambs prepared for slaughter at the Feasts. How appropriate that they were among the first to see the Lamb of God, who had come to take away the sins of the world. And if it was the time of this Feast, then it is little wonder that the inn in Bethlehem was so full of pilgrims. How differently we understand the Christmas story when taken in context.

As to the exact date, even though it is not known for sure, we are surely to understand that the Feast of Tabernacles will be fulfilled through the Second Coming of Jesus. If we divert our attentions away from this truth, we will end up unprepared for his arrival. Conversely, recalling his First Coming at the Feast of Tabernacles will help us to prepare for his Second Coming, through concentrating on the priorities of that Feast. If Passover helps us look back and remember his death, then Tabernacles helps us recall his birth and, more importantly in the context of our age, look forward to his return.

Look Up!

As we celebrate this year, let us do so whole-heartedly, as our Thought for the Week this week encourages us to do. Surely, God will still bless us as we sing carols, witness in the world and share love together in community and family. But let us not be foolish with the worldly trappings that divert us from the prime focus of the season. And let us not look down overmuch at the troubles of this world, nor concentrate our attention too exclusively on a now-empty manger.

In the coming days it is my hope that we will gradually adjust our perspective on what we call Christmas, to re-home it among the biblical Feasts of the Lord (especially in relation to Tabernacles). Perhaps our attraction to the tinsel of Christmas will fade away! But whatever happens, let us look up, for he will come back when the world least expects him. Indeed, is it now time to concentrate more on his Second Coming than on his First? Are you ready for Christmas?

Is it time to focus more on Jesus's Second Coming than on his First?

Notes

1 See Wikipedia's page on the origins of Christmas.

2 Ezra, after the Babylonian captivity, led Judah back to the biblical pattern of worship. It is a reasonable assumption that the order of the priesthood would be according to the pre-captivity order, but it is an assumption.

This coming Wednesday marks the start of Purim - the festival that celebrates the story of Esther and God's deliverance of Israel from destruction.

Purim is a minor biblical and Jewish festival which takes place in February/March in the Western calendar and begins on the 14^th of the month of Adar in the Hebrew calendar. Its theme is the deliverance from destruction of the Jewish people. This year the festival begins at sundown on Wednesday 23 March.

Purim: Instituted by Mordecai

Purim, meaning 'lots', was instituted during the Jewish exile in Persia in the 4^th century BC. Esther 9 explains its origins, from verse 20:

Mordecai recorded these events [i.e. the story about the attempted destruction of the Jews by Haman], and he sent letters to all the Jews throughout the provinces of King Xerxes, near and far, that they should celebrate annually the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month of Adar as the time when the Jews got relief from their enemies, and as the month when their sorrow was turned into joy and their mourning into a day of celebration. He wrote to them to observe the days as days of feasting and joy and giving presents of food to one another and gifts to the poor.

So the Jews agreed to continue the celebration they had begun, doing what Mordecai had written to them. For Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them and had cast the pur (that is, the lot) for their ruin and destruction. But when the plot came to the king's attention, he issued written orders that the evil scheme Haman had devised against the Jews should come back on to his own head, and that he and his sons should be impaled on poles. (Therefore these days were called Purim, from the word pur.)

Because of everything written in this letter and because of what they had seen and what had happened to them, the Jews took it on themselves to establish the custom that they and their descendants and all who join them should without fail observe these two days every year, in the way prescribed and at the time appointed. These days should be remembered and observed in every generation by every family, and in every province and in every city. And these days of Purim should never fail to be celebrated by the Jews – nor should the memory of these days die out among their descendants. (Est 9:20-28)

The Story of Esther

A young Jewish woman called Esther was chosen above all the other young women of the Persian kingdom to replace Queen Vashti, who had displeased King Ahasuerus (or Xerxes) by refusing to obey one of his commands. Under the guidance of her cousin Mordecai, who brought her up, Esther concealed her Jewish identity and became Queen.

Purim, meaning 'lots', was instituted during the Jewish exile in Persia in the 4^th Century BC.

In a separate instance of heroism, Mordecai found out about a plot against the king and this was recorded in the royal chronicles. However, Mordecai also made an enemy of Haman, the king's vizier, by refusing to bow down to him:

...having learned who Mordecai's people were, he scorned the idea of killing only Mordecai. Instead Haman looked for a way to destroy all Mordecai's people, the Jews, throughout the whole kingdom of Xerxes. (Est 3:6)

Haman cast the pur or lot (Est 7:3) to decide the day of annihilation of the Jews. Then he went to King Ahasuerus (or Xerxes) and asked for permission to issue an edict saying that on the day chosen by the lot, the Jews in all the provinces of the King's empire should be killed - young and old alike - and their goods should be plundered.

Mordecai asked Esther to approach the king to get him to withdraw the edict, even though she risked her life by doing so. To approach the king without being summoned meant certain death - unless the king extended his sceptre towards the person. Esther fasted three days and nights and then approached the king. He extended his sceptre and she asked permission to invite the king and Haman to a banquet.

At the banquet she invited them to another banquet on the following day. Haman went home in high spirits at the King's and Queen's favour to him, but was angered to see Mordecai still not bowing down to him. So, on the advice of his wife and friends, he built a gallows ready to ask the king's permission to hang Mordecai the following morning. That night, however, the king could not sleep and so he ordered the book of the chronicles of his reign to be read to him. The passage about Mordecai uncovering the plot against the King's life was read to him.

He then found out that Mordecai was not rewarded for this and the next day when Haman came before the king, the king asked him "What should be done for the man the king delights to honour?" (Est 6:9). Haman assumed the king was referring to him and suggested that the king should put a royal robe on this man and have him led through the streets on the king's horse with the proclamation that "this is what is done for the man the king delights to honour".

In the story of Esther, Queen Esther and her cousin Mordecai save the Jewish people from the retribution of powerful vizier Haman, by pleading their case before the king, Xerxes.

Then the king ordered Haman to do honour to Mordecai. Haman was commanded to lead the horse and make the proclamation. Mortified, he then attended the second banquet with the King and Queen. At the banquet, Esther asked the king to spare her life and the lives of her people and told the king that Haman was responsible for the decree for their annihilation.

The king flew into a rage and left the room. On his return, he found Haman appearing to molest Queen Esther as he fell towards her begging for his life. The king ordered that Haman be hanged on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai. Haman's estate was given to Esther and the king issued another edict allowing the Jews to defend themselves against the attack of their enemies, which was still due to take place on the day arranged by Haman (this was because the king's edicts could not be repealed, so an opposing edict had to be issued instead, allowing the Jews to destroy their enemies).

In this way, all the enemies of the Jews were destroyed, including Haman's sons. In Esther 9:20, we read that Esther and Mordecai, who had assumed the position of influence that Haman had held, ordered that the Jews everywhere should celebrate annually for ever more with feasting and great joy the festival of lots, or Purim, and that they should give one another presents of food and give gifts to the poor.

Purim Today

Hamentashen, traditional biscuits eaten on Purim. See Photo Credits.

Today, Purim is celebrated by the Jewish people with a fast on the day before the festival, mirroring Esther's fast, and then a feast. There are five good deeds (or mitzvot) associated with the festival: first, reading the scroll of Esther, then reading a portion of the Torah (the first five books of the Bible), third, sending gifts to friends and relatives, fourth, distribution of charity to the poor and finally, participation in a festive meal.

Purim plays are often put on and children (and sometimes adults!) dress up in fancy dress. People eat biscuits known as Hamantaschen (iHamantaschenn Yiddish) meaning Haman's ears (in Hebrew oznei Haman). This may refer to the practice of cutting off criminals' ears before they were hanged.

Purim is thought of as a minor feast, but it occupies a major place in the hearts of the Jewish people because its theme of deliverance from annihilation has had relevance throughout history. It is also popular because it is light-hearted and fun, a time of celebration rather than serious reflection.

Purim is a minor feast, but it occupies a major place in the hearts of the Jewish people because of its theme of deliverance from annihilation.

Blotting out the Amalekites

During the reading of the story of Esther, every time Haman's name is mentioned, everyone will make as much noise as possible. There is a special Purim noisemaker usually known by its Yiddish name, grogger, which makes a loud rattling sound. The idea is to blot out Haman's name.

A Purim 'grogger', for blotting out Haman's name. See Photo Credits.

Why? Well, Haman is referred to as 'the Agagite' in the book of Esther. Agag is from a Hebrew root from which come words to do with fire, flames, fury and anger (appropriate for one who seeks to destroy). Haman is therefore thought to have been a descendant of Agag, King of the Amalekites, who were the arch enemy of the Israelites. Haman the Agagite is said to be the 17^th generation descended from Amalek, son of Elifaz, who was the firstborn son of Esau.

In Deuteronomy 25:19, it is commanded to "blot out the memory of the Amalekites from under heaven", and in Exodus 17:16, "The Lord's war with the Amalekites will continue generation after generation". This is echoed in the book of Esther with its command that the days of Purim should be remembered and kept generation after generation (9:28).

In 1 Samuel 15, we read that Saul disobeyed the Lord's instructions not to take plunder from the Amalekites. They were to be utterly destroyed including all their property. Saul disobeyed and took the plunder and because of this the Lord rejected him as king over Israel. So, in Esther, we read that the Jews are very careful not to lay their hands on the plunder of Haman and his sons (Est 9:10).

There is a further connection with the story of Saul here. Mordecai's grandfather was called Kish, as was Saul's father, so it seems that the author of the book of Esther had in mind the story of Saul and the Amalekites by hinting at it in mentioning Mordecai's descent (Est 2:5-6).

Why did Mordecai choose not to bow before Haman? One may infer that Mordecai knew Haman's origins, that he was descended from the Amalekites. Bowing indicates honour towards someone, or even worship - and Mordecai refused to do that to the son of the sworn enemy of the Jewish people. It also explains why Haman wished to destroy all Mordecai's people once he found out he was a Jew and therefore the sworn enemy of the Amalekites. Haman's ancestral line presumably explains his irrational hatred of Mordecai and the Jews. That same irrational and implacable hatred continued to feed anti-Semitism throughout history and continues today, making the story of Esther continually relevant.

The same irrational and implacable hatred of Jews expressed by Haman has continued throughout history and continues today – making the story of Esther ever-relevant.

God Implicitly Present

Purim, like Passover, is a celebration of deliverance from evil, of the redemption of God for his people. Interestingly, however, the book of Esther is unique among the books of the Bible in that nowhere is the name of God mentioned. Similarly, it can sometimes appear to us as though our enemy is all too real and present in our lives and the lives of those around us and that God is nowhere to be found - but God always has his plan of deliverance ready.

There is also no mention of the Jews' religion or religious practices at all in Esther. Yet the presence of God is implied throughout the story by the way co-incidences (or God-incidences) happen to favour Mordecai and Esther. Esther happened to be beautiful and so rise to a position of power. Mordecai happened to hear of the plot against the king and the king happened to awaken one night and be read the exact section from the chronicles which told of this.

Divine destiny surfaces nowhere more clearly than in Mordecai's charged statement to Esther that if she does not help the Jewish people in their hour of need, deliverance will arise from another place. She can use her position to help save her people or she can draw back, but she and her father's family would perish.

Thus the importance of human obedience within the context of divine sovereignty becomes clear. God prepares us, he places us in certain positions, in his perfect timing, then he gives us the opportunity to serve him to accomplish his purposes. This is always the choice: to serve the Lord and prosper, or to disobey him, ignore his call and perish. His will always be done, with or without us. Esther heeds Mordecai's words that she has been placed in her royal position "for such as time as this" (Est 4:14), risking her life to do it but saving the lives of many.

The book of Esther is unique in that it does not mention the name of God – and yet God's presence is implied throughout the story.

Esther and Joseph

The story of Esther is often compared to the story of Joseph. Both rise to positions of influence within the court of a foreign power which holds sway over the Jewish people. Both save their people from death - in Joseph's case from famine - and in doing so risk their own lives. Similar to the story of Esther, the disruption of the king's sleep leads to the release of Joseph from prison (Pharaoh's dream), just as the king's wakefulness in the book of Esther causes Mordecai to be rewarded.

Both conceal their Jewish identity to accomplish the redemption of the Jewish people. Joseph, in particular, is often referred to as a type of the Messiah. Like Joseph, Jesus appears before his Jewish brethren today with Gentile appearance. He has been adopted by the Gentiles and presented in Gentile garb. We look forward to the day when Jesus will thoroughly reveal his Jewish identity and Messiahship to the Jewish people and there will be great weeping and mourning, as the prophet Zechariah indicates, "They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son" (Zech 12:10), just as Joseph and his brothers wept together as they met for the first time in years.

Purim and the Church

Throughout history, God has brought deliverance to the Jewish people from the plans of the enemy. Haman in the story of Esther can be seen as representing the enemy of God's people, the Adversary satan.

The Jewish people have designated many days as Purims, occasions on which the Jewish people were delivered from annihilation in their history. Many such Purims are associated sadly with the Church, particularly with the Christian blood-libel accusation (the totally unfounded accusation that the Jews need the blood of a Christian child for their Passover rites, an abominable and tragic lie which has caused persecution and suffering to Jews over centuries).

The Jewish people have designated many days as Purims over the years, because of repeated attempts through history to annihilate them – many, sadly, associated with the Church.

Purim also caused anti-Semitic feeling historically. A custom in a number of Jewish communities was to burn an effigy of Haman. Christians said that the Jews used this to represent the death of Jesus and that they were killing him all over again. The Christian reformer Martin Luther wrote about Esther that she was a typical despicable Jew, eager to shed Gentile blood. He also wrote:

Do you know, Jew, that Jerusalem and your kingdom, together with the Temple and the priesthood, were destroyed over a thousand years ago?...The exile shows that God is not their God and they are not his people.¹

Luther's anti-Semitism was seized on by Hitler who used Luther's writings (such as his notorious work On the Jews and their Lies) as support for his own programme of destruction. The celebration of Purim today always carries the shadow of the Holocaust, the 20^th Century Haman being Hitler. Sadly, the long shadow of Christian anti-Judaism and anti-Semitism remains.

Today, the celebration of Purim carries the shadow of the Holocaust, the 20^th Century Haman being Hitler.

Most Christians are aware that we are called to watch the signs of the times and to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Let us also remember God's sovereign and unchangeable choice of a people and a land for his possession: Israel. It is "for such a time as this" that we must be ready to stand up with the Jewish people against today's Hamans.

References

1 Kaufmann, Y, 1929-30. Exile and the Alien Land, Vol 1, p299.

Persecution for faith is nothing new. Here is a reminder of a festival birthed from persecution of God's people that Jesus himself celebrated in winter time - Hanukkah: festival of lights.

Origins of Hanukkah

Like Christmas, Hanukkah is not a biblical festival. Its roots lie in the period between the writing of the Old and New Testaments. The only reference to it in the Bible is in John 10, where we read that Jesus celebrated the Feast of Dedication (Hanukkah in Hebrew) referring to the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem after its desecration.

About 200 BC, a Syrian king, Antiochus Epiphanes, ruled part of Alexander the Great's former empire, including Judea (modern day Israel). He outlawed Jewish practice and massacred Jews who refused to obey. He looted the Temple in Jerusalem and sacrificed pigs on the altar, an outrage to God's people since pigs are seen as unclean in the Law of Moses. In 167 BC, he ordered an altar to Zeus to be erected in the Temple, which Daniel the prophet described as the "abomination that causes desolation" (Dan 9:27).

Jesus also used this term (Matt 24:15; Mark 13:14), while predicting the later Roman destruction of the Temple in 70 AD (as biblical prophecy can have more than one fulfilment, this term may also apply to a future time).

Resistance to Persecution

One priestly family resisted this persecution, its most famous son being Judah Maccabee (a name derived from the Hebrew word for hammer). In 164 BC, the Maccabees reclaimed the desecrated Temple. However, priestly service could not resume until the Temple was cleansed and rededicated to God. One small jar of uncontaminated oil remained, but it was only enough to last for one day. They lit the menorah, the huge seven-branched golden Temple candelabra, and by a miracle it stayed alight for eight days, by which time a new supply of purified oil was ready.

To commemorate this miracle, Jewish people celebrate the Festival of Hanukkah for eight days. Each day, using a special candelabra called a Hanukiah with nine stems, they light the prominent shamash or servant candle and this is used to light the others in turn (going from right to left like Hebrew text), one candle on the first day, two on the second, and so on.

Light of the World

At Christmas we often read John 1, verse 9 of which says, "the true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world". Jesus is that light, the shamash or servant flame, laying down his life and lighting the lives of those who approach him humbly in repentance and faith. In Acts 2:47, we read of the young church that "the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved."

Each day, new souls all over the world are lit up by the transforming light of Jesus the Messiah, just as each night of Hanukkah one more candle is set aflame on the Hanukiah. Once we have been set alight, we must guard that flame and turn to Jesus daily so that our lives are sustained by the blaze of his Spirit.

In the final article of our series on the Jewish High Holy Days, Helen Belton looks at the meaning and significance of the Feast of Tabernacles.

Feast of 'Booths'

On Sunday 27 September, 2015 (Tishri 15 in the Jewish calendar), the Feast of Tabernacles begins. In Hebrew, it is Sukkot, which means 'booths'. We use the English word 'tabernacle' from the Latin word for tent (taberna declining as tabernaculum).

The biblical instructions are as follows:

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. The first day is a sacred assembly; do no regular work. For seven days present food offerings to the Lord, and on the eighth day hold a sacred assembly and present a food offering to the Lord. It is the closing special assembly; do no regular work...

A booth prepared for Sukkot (see Photo Credits)....So beginning with the fifteenth day of the seventh month, after you have gathered the crops of the land, celebrate the festival to the Lord for seven days; the first day is a day of sabbath rest, and the eighth day also is a day of sabbath rest. On the first day you are to take branches from luxuriant trees—from palms, willows and other leafy trees—and rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days. Celebrate this as a festival to the Lord for seven days each year. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come; celebrate it in the seventh month. Live in temporary shelters for seven days: All native-born Israelites are to live in such shelters so your descendants will know that I had the Israelites live in temporary shelters when I brought them out of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.'" (Lev 23:33-43)

The instruction to live in temporary shelters for seven days is a reminder: firstly, of the Israelites' sojourn in the desert for 40 years after the exodus from Egypt and, secondly, that they are totally dependent on him for everything and that since they left their comfortable homes in Egypt to follow him they have never been abandoned or forsaken. The true home of God's people is God himself.

Abraham was "a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God" (Heb 11:9-10). In the same way, the believers who left everything to follow Jesus were sent out without money or provisions and were described as "foreigners and exiles" in this world (1 Pet 2:11).

At Sukkot the Israelites were instructed to live in temporary shelters for a week, as a reminder of their 40 years in the desert, and of their total dependence on God, who is faithful.

Journeying with God

Sukkot also teaches us that salvation is a journey with God: we are led out by God towards the Promised Land and he travels with us. After the Exodus, God himself 'tabernacled' or camped with his people in the desert and provided for their needs with manna. So, this festival reminds us of God's provision and his presence. He was a pillar of cloud by day and of fire by night, and he was worshipped in the Tent of Meeting, itself a temporary structure. He dwelled with his people.

Centuries later, God dwelled among us uniquely by tabernacling in another temporary structure, a human body: "...the Word became flesh and dwelt [or tabernacled] among us" (John 1:1). This echoes Genesis 1:1 ("In the beginning") to indicate a new beginning in God's relationship with his creation when he would once more dwell among his people, sharing our nature and bearing our sin.

Rejoicing in Harvest

After the awe and solemnity of Yom Kippur, Sukkot is a joyful celebration - a traditional name for it is Zeman Simchatenu, "Season of our Rejoicing". It is the final harvest festival of the year and so it is also known as the 'Feast of Ingathering' (in Hebrew, Hag ha Asif. Hag means feast and ha is the definite article).

Lulav and etrog (see Photo Credits).The Feast of Tabernacles is the final pilgrim feast of the year (Passover and Pentecost being the first and second), when the men of Israel were commanded to go up to Jerusalem to celebrate (Ex 24:33). All are harvest festivals: Passover celebrates the ingathering of the barley harvest, Pentecost (Feast of Weeks) the wheat harvest and Tabernacles the final ingathering of wheat. The land of Israel would yield a variety of fruits at this time, including figs, pomegranates and dates. It is a thanksgiving celebration (it is thought that the American feast of Thanksgiving took its inspiration from this biblical harvest feast¹).

Biblical Observance of Sukkot

The biblical observance of Sukkot consisted of three main aspects; firstly, the building of booths, secondly, the gathering of four species of plant, and thirdly to rejoice. The four species are date palm, myrtle and willow branches, and the etrog or 'citron' in English (not the same as a lemon), interpreted from Leviticus 23:40.

The palm, myrtle and willow branches are bound together and are collectively known as the lulav. They are held upright with the etrog and waved before the Lord, a custom which has arisen through tradition.

There are various interpretations of the meaning of the four species. One of the best known is that they represent four types of Jews: the etrog, which has both flavour and fragrance, represents those who study and do good deeds. The palm branch has flavour but no fragrance, symbolising those who study but do not perform good deeds. The myrtle has no flavour but has fragrance, representing those who do not study Torah but do good deeds. Finally, the willow has neither flavour nor fragrance, representing those who neither study nor do good deeds.

At Sukkot, the final pilgrim festival of the year, men would go up to Jerusalem to give thanks for the ingathering of the wheat harvest. Four types of branch would traditionally be gathered and waved before the Lord.

Another interpretation is that each species relates to a particular aspect of man's service to God:

Etrog refers to the heart, the place of understanding and wisdom. Lulav refers to the backbone, uprightness. Myrtle corresponds to the eyes, enlightenment. Willow represents the lips, the service of the lips (prayer).²

The people were to rejoice for seven days. Seven is the number of perfection in the Bible. Passover is seven days, Pentecost is seven weeks after Passover and Tabernacles lasts seven days during the seventh month. The number of offerings during the feast are divisible by seven³ and according to rabbinic tradition the 70 bull offerings were symbolic of the 70 nations of the world (70 nations being deduced from scripture).⁴

The Hallel (messianic Psalms 113-118), which was sung during the Temple service, includes the words "The LORD is exalted over all the nations" (Ps 113:4) and, "Praise the Lord, all you nations; extol him, all you peoples" (Ps 117:1).

According to the Talmud⁵, Israel was sacrificing for the nations of the world, even though the nations mock Israel (again in the Hallel) saying, "Where is their God?" (Ps 115:2) and part of the Hallel speaks of Gentiles (or nations) rising against Israel: "All the nations surrounded me, but in the name of the Lord I cut them down" (Ps 118:10). The Talmudic commentary lamenting the loss of the Temple in 70 AD says: "Woe to the idolaters, for they had a loss and do not know what they have lost. When the Temple was in existence the altar atoned for them, but now who shall atone for them?"⁶ The apostle Paul gives the answer:

But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith (Rom 3:21-25).

Israel was blessing the Gentiles through sacrifice at the Feast of Tabernacles, but Israel's sages did not see that the Gentiles do not need to enter via Moses but by the same route as Abraham, who did not have the Law of Moses, but was justified by faith: "Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: "All nations will be blessed through you." So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the "man of faith" (Gal 3:8).

Torah scholars today expect that the Gentiles will become obedient to the Torah. According to the International Embassy in Jerusalem who host a multi-nation Feast of Tabernacles event in Jerusalem each year, "many are intrigued by the increasing number of Gentile Christians showing up in Jerusalem each year for Sukkot."⁷

They are fascinated beacuse Zechariah 14 prophesies that all nations will one day celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. Zechariah 14 is one of the Haftarah texts (readings from the Prophets) traditionally read in synagogues at Sukkot, along with 1 Kings 8⁸. The Torah readings are the sections Leviticus 23, 24 and Numbers 29 which instruct about Sukkot.

Gathering the Nations

In fact, another interpretation of the lulav is that the branches represented different types of Jewish people and the etrog represents the Gentiles, or non-Jews. At the start of the waving ceremony, the etrog is upside-down. The spiritual meaning is that before we came to God, we were in a state of being upside-down. During the ceremony, the etrog is turned right side up and joined to the other three species, depicting Jews and Gentiles joining together at the Feast.

The lulav and etrog are waved together to north, south, east and west, to welcome the Lord and symbolise his presence in the four corners of the earth, but perhaps also the gathering of the harvest of souls to come from the four corners of the globe.

The lulav and etrog may also represent Jew and Gentile, being gathered together before the Lord from all four corners of the globe.

In the Temple at Jerusalem tens of thousands of worshippers would gather and shake their branches and fruit before the Lord, creating a tremendous rustling and whooshing sound with the fragrance of thousands of citrons rising in the warm sunshine. It would have been an experience of sensory worship unlike any other, involving sight, sound, smell and touch, with overwhelming fragrance and bright colour.

Times of Revival: Solomon and Ezra

The Feast of Tabernacles was a time of spiritual revival for the people of Israel, taking place at key moments in their history. Solomon dedicated the first Temple and brought in the ark during the seventh month, the time of the Feast of Tabernacles (1 Kings 8:2) - referred to then as "the Feast". Tabernacles was known as the Feast (ha-Hag) because it was seen as the greatest of the year. In John 7 it is also simply described as "the Feast".

The high point at Solomon's dedication was the glory of the Lord descending on the sanctuary:

When the priests withdrew from the Holy Place, the cloud filled the temple of the LORD. And the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled his temple (1 Kings 8:10-11)

Fire came down and consumed the offerings Solomon made at the Feast (2 Chron 7:1). Both the cloud of the Lord's glory in the Temple and the fire consuming the offerings were a reminder of God's original tabernacling with his people in the desert, when his presence was a pillar of cloud to guide them by day and a pillar of fire by night in the desert. The LORD was indicating that he would tabernacle with his people in the Temple.

Solomon also prayed prophetically (1 Kings 8) about future exile and re-gathering for Israel, but also envisaging that foreigners (Gentiles) would come to God's Temple.

After the return from exile the first thing the people did, even before re-building the Temple, was to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles (Ezra 3:4). At Rosh HaShanah, the New Year (Feast of Trumpets or 'first day of the seventh month'), the people gathered in Jerusalem for a reading of the Law. Interestingly, this was not instigated by their leader, as had been the case with Moses, rather the people asked Ezra to read the Law to them. They stood for five or six hours listening to God's word and weeping.

When Ezra praised the Lord they raised their hands and called out "Amen, Amen!" and prostrated themselves. Then the priests gave the meaning of the Law for them so that everyone could understand (Neh 8). The next day the leaders gathered around Ezra again and found the instructions about the Feast of Tabernacles. They instructed the people, who celebrated it with a joy not seen since the days of Joshua. On each day of the Feast, Ezra read the Law to them.

It was at Sukkot that Solomon dedicated the first Temple; fire came down and consumed his offering and cloud filled the Temple, symbolising God's presence with his people in the desert as pillars of cloud and fire.

Living Water

Jesus used the Feast of Tabernacles to announce his messiahship (John 7). One tradition of the Feast of Tabernacles was a water-drawing ceremony (described in the Mishnah). Each morning at dawn during the Feast a procession of priests, musicians and other worshippers would leave the Temple and process about half a mile to the Pool of Siloam (created by King Hezekiah, which can be seen today).

Part of the Pool of Siloam (see Photo Credits).The High Priest, dressed in full robes and carrying a golden pitcher, led the throng. At the pool, he would fill the pitcher and then process back to the Temple through the Water Gate of the City. The Water Gate was identified by some rabbis as the south gate of Ezekiel's Temple through which the water of life would flow to all the land (Eze 47:1-5). At the Water Gate, they paused while trumpeters blew three blasts on silver trumpets and the priests would sing or shout, "With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation" (Isa 12:3).

Then the High Priest ascended to the altar, which was elevated, and upon which stood two silver basins. He poured water into one and wine was poured at the same time into the other as the trumpet players blew three more blasts. Then the whole congregation and choir of Levites sang from Psalm 118:25: "Save now we beseech thee, O LORD, O LORD, we beseech thee, send now prosperity."

There they would pour both the water and wine into special funnels, which created droplets which would come out at the bottom of the altar. It was a sign of the outpouring of God's Spirit and, as it would turn out, of his own lifeblood. John's gospel tells us that water and blood came from Jesus' side as his life was poured out on the altar that was the Cross.

After the outpouring on the altar, the Hallel (Praise, Psalms 113-118) was sung, which consists of Psalms 113-118. This was sung as the priests circled around the altar. The same psalms are sung at Passover. Jesus and his disciples sang them at the last supper. Significantly, they are messianic psalms. The worshippers would be waving their lulavim and singing psalms beseeching God for salvation. This joyful cacophony would fill the air, culminating in a fever pitch on the seventh day of the feast. This last day was known as Hoshanah Rabbah meaning 'Great Salvation' and it was the most intense day of all, with seven circuits of the altar by the priests and seven trumpet blasts and the people crying, "God save us now".⁹

The messianic fervour of the nation was at its peak at this point of the Feast - and in the time of Jesus, messianic hope was at fever pitch. It is thought likely that it was on this seventh day (some say it was on the Eighth Day of the Feast¹⁰) that Jesus stood up and cried out, as water flowed from the altar:

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."¹¹ By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive.

On hearing his words, some of the people said, "Surely this man is the Prophet." Others said, "He is the Christ." (John 7:37-41)

It was at Sukkot, in fulfilment of its daily water-drawing ceremony and its Messianic expectation, that Jesus stood and declared himself the source of Living Water.

This water ceremony was a reminder of Moses and the miracle of the water from the rock in the desert (Ex 17). It pointed to the coming of the promised prophet like Moses (Deut 18:15) who would bring forth new water from the well of salvation. Paul reminds us that Messiah is that rock: "For they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them and that rock was Christ" (1 Cor 10:4). Ezekiel foresaw the coming of a Messianic 'Prince' who would celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles (Eze 45:25) and then water would flow from the threshold of the Temple to all the land (Eze 47:1-11).

Light of the World

Another feature of Sukkot was the illumination ceremony, which took place at the time of Jesus from the second night of the feast at the Temple. The Levites and priests would process from the Court of the Men with their instruments down the 15 steps to the Court of the Women, singing the Psalms of Ascent which are Psalms 120-134.

The Court of the Women was a wide, open space and in the centre stood four giant lamps, each consisting of four containers mounted on a pole over 70 feet high. Young priests would climb ladders to light them. Each container held about 15 litres of oil with wicks made of priests' old garments. The Mishnah¹² tells us that once these were lit, "There was no courtyard in Jerusalem that was not illuminated from the light of these." The priests, sages, elders and (in Jesus' day) Pharisees would then pick up torches and dance with abandon.

There is a story about one rabbi (Simeon Ben Gamaliel) who rejoiced by juggling with eight lighted torches. There are stories of others juggling with knives, glasses of wine and eggs.¹³ Singing and celebration would go on all night. The Talmud says, "He who has not beheld this celebration has never seen joy in his life."¹⁴ It was in this context of night turned to day by the giant candelabra that Jesus stood up and cried out, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life" (John 8:12). He was declaring that he is the Shekhinah or glorious light of God, the pillar of fire that was with Israel in the desert.

It was also at Sukkot that Jesus declared himself Light of the World, during the illumination ceremony when giant candelabra lit up Jerusalem.

The miracle Jesus used to confirm his messianic claim was the healing of the blind man who was told to wash in the pool of Siloam, the very place from which the water for the pouring ceremony had come (John 9). Using the imagery of the festival, water and light, Jesus showed that he was the provision and presence of God, the Hoshanah Rabbah or 'Great Salvation' of the seventh day.

Other references to the Feast of Tabernacles in the New Testament are at the transfiguration, where Jesus is seen speaking with Moses and Elijah (Luke 9:27-36). Peter's thought is to make booths or tabernacles, suggesting he sees the fulfilment of the Feast in Jesus, whose messiahship is corroborated by Moses and Elijah (representing the Law and the Prophets respectively). In Revelation, we are told that God "will shelter them [the redeemed] with his presence" (Rev 7:15), literally he will tabernacle over them (in Greek, skenosei).

Observance today

Booths (sukkot) constructed on balconies (see Photo Credits).Religious Jews begin making their sukkah at the end of Yom Kippur five days before Sukkot, as it is seen as a blessing to go from one mitzvah (commandment or good deed) to another. A sukkah is a temporary shelter built to provide shade and so it must be under the open sky. You should be able to see the stars through the roof.

The walls can be of any reasonably secure material, but the roof must be of natural materials that have grown from the ground, such as evergreen branches.¹⁵ There is a height limit but it can be as wide as you like, to accommodate guests. It is like the temporary huts that shepherds would use as they travelled with their flocks, a structure that could be erected and disassembled easily.¹⁶

It is not obligatory to sleep in the sukkah but meals are taken there and there is a tradition called Ushpizin ('guests' in Aramaic) where symbolically honoured guests are invited each day to join the family in the Sukkah. These imaginary guests are Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron, and David. One is invited for each day of the Feast. Another custom is that it is a blessing to invite the poor and needy to celebrate with you. Often yeshiva (Orthodox Jewish seminary) students would be invited by families to share their meals at this time, just as the Levites, along with foreigners and widows, would have been invited in biblical times.¹⁷

Redemption for Jew and Gentile

The harvest theme of the Feast of Tabernacles, which is also known as the Feast of Ingathering, finds its prophetic fulfilment in the final end time harvest of souls from among Jews and Gentiles.

God promised to tabernacle with his people once more in Ezekiel 37. After the dry bones have come to life, he says:

My dwelling place [or tabernacle, Heb. mishkan] will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people. Then the nations will know that I the Lord make Israel holy, when my sanctuary is among them forever. (Eze 37:27)

In our day we are seeing the dry bones come to life and put on flesh, as Jews have returned to the land of Israel and many hearts of stone have been turned to hearts of flesh by the Holy Spirit, who is the stream of Living Water promised by Yeshua the Messiah.

Tabernacles prophetically heralds the final ingathering of Jew and Gentile souls, when the Lord will tabernacle with his people forever and be their source of light and life.

On the Sabbath falling during Tabernacles, Ezekiel 38:18-39:16 (about the destruction of Gog) is read. It depicts other nations coming against Israel and receiving God's punishment. Zechariah 14 is also read during Tabernacles and foresees the Gentile survivors of the final conflict against Israel coming up to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles in the end times:

Then the survivors from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord Almighty, and to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles. If any of the peoples of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord Almighty, they will have no rain. (Zech 14:16-17)

Ezekiel 38 predicts rebellion against the Lord and the epitome of anti-Semitism: a war against Israel. Zechariah prophesies that survivors, a remnant of God-fearing Gentiles who are philosemites (those who love the Jewish people) will worship the Lord with the Jewish people in Jerusalem. They will truly be "one new humanity" (Eph 2:15).

This Tabernacles theme of redemption for Gentiles is echoed in Revelation 7, where people from every tribe and nation (i.e. Gentiles) stand before the Lamb dressed in white with palm branches in their hands and Jesus' promise from John 7 about streams of living water is echoed, "For the Lamb at the centre of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water."

Tabernacles Fulfilled

At the Feast of Tabernacles the whole of Jerusalem was illuminated at night and in Zechariah 14 this finds fulfilment in the new earth where "there shall be continuous day...for at evening then there shall be light" (Zech 14:7) and again in Revelation 21:23, "the Lamb will be its [Jerusalem's] lamp".

The Lord himself is the illumination of the city and the river of the water of life flows freely:

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling [or tabernacle] of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."

Then verse 6: "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life (Rev 21:3-6).

The new earth will be God's sukkah or tabernacle where he will dwell once more face-to-face with his people, in paradise restored.

References

1 DID YOU KNOW: The Jewish Feast of Tabernacles Inspired America's Celebration of Thanksgiving? Messianic Jewish Alliance of America, 1 October 2012.

2 Sefer HaChinuch (Book of Education), #285.

3 A total of 182 sacrifices. 182 divided by 7 = 26. Chumney, E, 1994. The Seven Festivals of the Messiah. Destiny Image Publishers Inc, Shippensburg, PA, p166.

4 Deuteronomy 32:8 and Genesis 46:27 – God divided the nations according to the number of the children of Israel, which are 70.

5 Talmud, Sukkah 55b.

6 Ibid.

7 Black, JM. Sukkot and the Gentiles, ICEJ, 25 October 2012.

8 Kings is included with the prophetic books in the Jewish canon of scripture.

9 At Jesus triumphal entry (Matt 21:1-11), the people laid palm branches at his feet because they see Zechariah 9:9 being fulfilled, "See your king comes riding on a donkey" so they shouted "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" There was a tradition of shaking palm branches at Passover, but it is possible that as they recognised Messiah they echoed Tabernacles in their greeting because that was seen as the key messianic feast.

10 Glaser, M & Glaser, Z, 1987. The Fall Feasts of Israel, Moody, Chicago, p177. The last day of the Feast is called Shemini Atzeret (Eighth Day), a day of solemn assembly, in the Bible and in the Talmud. The book of Ecclesiastes is read on this day. In rabbinic tradition, Israel has acted in intercession for the world before the Lord on the first seven days of Sukkot and takes the eighth day as an opportunity to be alone with God (p199). This day is also known as Simchat Torah, 'rejoicing in the Law', which celebrates the conclusion of the annual cycle of Torah readings and the beginning of the new cycle. This is not found in the Bible or the Talmud but has arisen probably later (p200). Outside Israel, Simchat Torah is a separate ninth day of the holiday.

11 There is no exact Old Testament quotation that is the equivalent to the phrase "streams of living water will flow from within him", but it echoes many scriptures promising the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, such as the verse mentioned earlier - Isaiah 12:3 (also Ex 17:6; Num 20:11; Ps 114:8; Isa 44:3; Isa 55:1; Isa 58:11; Joel 2:23; Joel 3:18; Eze 47:1; Eze 47:12; Zech 13:1; Zech 14:8).

12 The Mishnah is oral law written down by around 200 AD. Combined with the commentary on it known as the Gemarah, the two together became known as the Talmud.

13 Brickner, D, 2006. Christ in the Feast of Tabernacles. Chicago, Moody, p83.

14 Mishnah, Sukkot 5:1.

15 The Sukkah: The Holiday Hut, Chabad.org.

16 Brickner (see note 10) p34.

17 The inspiration for Ushpizin goes back to Abraham, who invited travellers in (Gen 18) - See also Ushpizin: Welcoming Guests, Ross, LK, and Brickner (note 10), p35.