Sukkot - Drawing Living Water ...

                       ... from the wells of y'shu'ah (salvation)!

And on the last day, the great day of the festival, Yahshua stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me, and let him who believes in Me drink.  As the Scripture said, out of His innermost shall flow rivers of living water."  John 7:37, 38

“See, El is my salvation, I trust and am not afraid. 

For Yah, יהוה, is my strength and my song; and He has become my salvation.”

And you shall draw water with joy from the fountains of [y’shu'ah] salvation.  
 Isaiah 12:2, 3

Chag Sukkot Sameach (joyful Sukkot celebration) and Shalom from within my sukkah!

Because this moed (appointed time/”festival”) of YHVH  is such a joyful time and is my very favorite time of year, I would like to share my joy and scripture reading contemplations with you.

It would be great if we could all be sitting in one big sukkah together in Jerusalem reflecting on the Word of Yah together.    
Perhaps not today….but God says that in the end all nations will come together in Jerusalem to celebrate Sukkot.  Under the Messiah’s reign, we will live together with Him in eternal Sukkot, and then even small things like the pots and the bells on the horses will be labeled as set-apart to YHVH.  (Read Zechariah 14)

For those of you who have never celebrated this appointed time of Sukkot, there is no way to describe the joy or the richness or the rest or the liberty and freedom that this week brings. 
You have to experience it for yourselves!
Really!
I know many don't believe that it could be so wonderful!
I have heard many comments from believers who do not observe YHVH's commands regarding His appointed times...comments such as doing so is just legalism and that as believers we have been set free from the law.

To that, I simply say "try it...you might like it!"

It is far from legalism.  It is out of love for my Elohim, my Redeemer, my Living Water, my Salvation (Yahshua, my y'shu'ah) that I obey YHVH's Word.
And the result is much joy, great richness, and tremendous freedom...especially during Sukkot!

How will you know unless you experience it?  :o)

(Sidenote:  When I "simply say try it..." I realize that in our western culture's time schedule, it is not so simple to stick to God's appointed time schedule of Shabbat and the "no work" days during His moedim.  Yes, that is very true.  It is difficult to adjust ourselves and those around us to a different schedule.  But as difficult as it may be, it IS possible...and so enriching and restful and satisfying, and worth whatever was given up to do so.)

For now, as I sit in my sukkah on this autumn day, enjoying resting and reading and snacking in my sukkah, I want to share with you some of the things I am reading.

Let's start with the scripture that opened this post - John 7:37-38.
In John 7, Yahshua traveled to Jerusalem during Sukkot (obeying the command of Yah His Father, by the way...see Deut. 16:16).  It is on the last day of Sukkot, the Hoshanah Rabah or Great Salvation, that this scripture takes place.
Hoshanah comes from two the words hoshi'ah na (save now) in Psalm118:25.  It is a plea to Yah for Him to save His people.
Save now, I beseech You YHVH...

The tradition on this day was for the priest to fetch water (Living Water, Mayim Chaim) from the Siloam Pool, bring it to the Temple, and pour it on the altar.  This would be accompanied by sounds of great jubilation and singing (Isaiah 12:2) from the assembled people. He would then pray for YHVH to send His Messiah to save them (Psalm 118:25, 26)

... Yah, יהוה, is my strength and my song; and He has become my salvation...
Save now, I beseech You YHVH... Blessed is He who is coming in the Name of יהוה!   We shall bless you from the House of יהוה. 

So here is Yahshua, having traveled to Jerusalem for the appointed time of Sukkot, now standing in the midst of the assembly on the last day of the week-long festival, and during the high point of the festival, the water ceremony and the cry for salvation, He proclaims: “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me, and let him who believes in Me drink.  As the Scripture said, out of His innermost shall flow rivers of living water."

Wow! Would that get my attention!  
Would it get yours too?  
It for sure got the attention of the scribes and Pharisees, and it divided the people who heard it (see the rest of the chapter).

What a claim!  Drinking from the wells of salvation, the Mayim Chaim (Living Water) through Yahshua!  
The next verse says that He was referring to the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) when He spoke these words.

Which exact Scripture was Yahshua quoting when He said "as the Scripture said, out of His innermost shall flow rivers of living water"?

Well, in that answer lies the rest of this blog post. 
Yahshua was not quoting one exact specific verse.  He was speaking generally of many places in the Scriptures that deal with this topic of the Spirit, salvation, and the flow of Living Water.

That topic - the Living Water and Salvation, and how they tie into Sukkot - is what I want to focus on in this particular blog post.

Can you think of scriptures that speak of life-giving waters flowing and of salvation?
(Of course, Yahshua would have been quoting from and pointing to the Tanakh, the Old Testament, since the New Testament had not yet been written or even lived yet for the most part.)

Let's start with another instance in the book of John - the Samaritan woman at the well.  Yahshua said almost the exact thing to her personally during their meeting at the well.

John 4:13, 14
Yahshua answered and said to her, “Everyone drinking of this water shall thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water I give him shall certainly never thirst. 
And the water that I give him shall become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”


Now let's turn to the Tanakh and read what YHVH had to say through the prophets about Living Water (Yahshua) and Salvation (Yahshua).

Isaiah 55:1 
Here YHVH is speaking directly to Israel in a continuation of Isaiah 54 where He had said to them "For your Maker is your husband, יהוה of hosts is His Name, and the Set-apart One of Israel is your Redeemer....  For a little while I have forsaken you, but with great compassion I shall gather you.... For though the mountains be removed and the hills be shaken, My kindness is not removed from you, nor is My covenant of peace shaken,” said יהוה, who has compassion on you.... No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall prove wrong. This is the inheritance of the servants of יהוה, and their righteousness from Me,” declares יהוה.

And immediately after that comes invitation in Isaiah 55:1...

“Oh everyone who thirsts, come to the waters. And you who have no silver, come, buy and eat. Come, buy wine and milk without silver and without price."  

Reading Jeremiah 2 gives us a better picture of how vital it is for Israel to choose to accept the invitation for YHVH's Living Waters instead of going after their own dried up and broken water sources.

Jeremiah 2:12-13 

Be amazed, O heavens, at this, and be frightened, be utterly dried up,” declares יהוה. "For My people have done two evils: they have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, to hew out for themselves cisterns, cracked cisterns, which do not hold water. 

2:17-19
 “Have you not done this to yourself, by forsaking יהוה your Elohim when He led you in the way?  And now why take the way to Egypt, to drink the waters of Shihor? Or why take the way to Ashshur, to drink the waters of the River?  Your own evil instructs you, and your back-slidings reprove you.


Now look at the situation in Jeremiah 17:12-14:

An esteemed throne, exalted from the beginning, is the place of our set-apart place.   O יהוה, the expectation of Israel, all who forsake You are put to shame. “Those who depart from Me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken יהוה, the fountain of living waters.” 
Heal me, O יהוה, so that I am healed. Save me, so that I am saved, for You are my praise.

This is why Israel cries out "Save now! Hoshiah na!"

 Look at another place in Isaiah where YHVH speaks directly to Israel...

Isaiah 44:2-6

Thus said יהוה who made you and formed you from the womb, who helps you, "Do not fear, O Jacob My servant, and Yeshurun, whom I have chosen.  For I pour water on the thirsty, and floods on the dry ground. I pour My Spirit on your seed, and My blessing on your offspring, and they shall spring up among the grass like willows by streams of water." 
One says, "I belong to יהוה"; another calls himself by the name of Jacob; another writes with his hand, "Unto יהוה," and names himself by the name of Israel.  
Thus said יהוה, Sovereign of Israel, and his Redeemer, יהוה of hosts, "I am the First and I am the Last, besides Me there is no Elohim."


And in Isaiah 58:11-14

“Then יהוה would guide you continually, and satisfy your being in drought, and strengthen your bones. And you shall be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.   
And those from among you shall build the old waste places. You shall raise up the foundations of many generations. And you would be called the Repairer of the Breach, the Restorer of Streets to Dwell In.  If you do turn back your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on My set-apart day, and shall call the Sabbath ‘a delight,’ the set-apart day of יהוה ‘esteemed,’ and shall esteem it, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words, then you shall delight yourself in יהוה. And I shall cause you to ride on the heights of the earth, and feed you with the inheritance of Jacob your father. For the mouth of יהוה has spoken!” 


And in Psalm 36:7-10

How precious is Your kindness, O Elohim! And the sons of men take refuge in the shadow of Your wings. 
They are filled from the fatness of Your house, And You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures. 
For with You is the fountain of life; In Your light we see light. 
Draw out Your kindness to those who know You, And Your righteousness to the upright in heart.
 


Do you see so far how much YHVH wants Israel to know of His refreshing, His provision, His redemption...His Living Waters? 
And do you also see how Israel will reap the benefits in very practical and tangible ways?
Isn't it exciting to read so much of Yah's guidance, through His Spirit, of His people!
And isn't it exciting to know that YHVH had planned all along to provide salvation for His people Himself with His own Strong Right Hand - Yahshua, the Living Water!


Now let's continue to look at what is still to unfold in the seemingly not-so-distant future.  Let's see how these waters, the physical ones and the spiritual ones, are tied together for eternal Salvation...eternal Sukkot with our Redeemer.
(Yes, I am reading YHVH's Word literally.)

Joel chapter 3 begins with "at that time when I turn back the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem"... and when YHVH will bring all the gentiles to the Valley of Jehoshaphat for judgement there for His people Israel and His land of inheritance Israel.

Look at Joel 3:17-21

"Then you shall know that I am יהוה your Elohim, dwelling in Zion, My set-apart mountain. And Jerusalem shall be set-apart, and foreigners shall not pass through her again.  
And it shall be in that day that the mountains drip with new wine, and the hills flow with milk. And all the streams of Judah shall be flooded with water, and a fountain flow from the House of יהוה and water the valley Shittim. 
Egypt shall become a ruin, and Edom a ruin, a wilderness, because of violence done to the people of Judah, whose innocent blood they shed in their land.  
But Judah shall dwell forever, and Jerusalem to all generations. 
And I shall avenge their blood, which I have not avenged. 
And יהוה shall be dwelling in Zion!”

Zechariah 14 speaks of these physical living waters flowing from Jerusalem, and it also speaks of eternal Sukkot.  (And it also speaks of the destruction of those who fought against Jerusalem.)

Zechariah 14:8, 9, 16

And in that day it shall be that living waters flow from Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and half of them toward the western sea, in summer as well as in winter.   And יהוה shall be Sovereign over all the earth. In that day there shall be one יהוה, and His Name one.

And it shall be that all who are left from all the gentiles which came up against Jerusalem, shall go up from year to year to bow themselves to the Sovereign, יהוה of hosts, and to observe Sukkot [Festival of Booths]. 


Again this picture of future living, healing water flowing from Jerusalem is found in Ezekiel 47...the whole chapter.  Let's look at several verses...

Ezekiel 47
[1] And he turned me back to the door of the House. And look, water was flowing from under the threshold of the House [Temple] toward the east, for the House faced east, and the water was flowing from under the right side of the House, from the south of the altar. 
[9] “And it shall be that every swarming creature, wherever the stream goes, shall live. And there shall be very many fish, for these waters shall go there, and they are healed. And wherever the stream flows all shall live.

[12] “And by the bank of the stream, on both sides, grow all kinds of trees used for food, whose leaves do not wither and fruit do not fail. They bear fruit every month, because their water flows from the set-apart place. And their fruit shall be for food, and their leaves for healing.”

(Interesting point - right after this YHVH declares on oath the borders of this land that He gave to Israel as an inheritance.)


After looking through so much Scripture filled with the theme of YHVH's Living Water of Salvation given to His people Israel (and remember, we believing gentiles are grafted into His people Israel), it is so much easier to see the importance of the words Yahshua cried out to the crowd on that final day of Sukkot.
 “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me, and let him who believes in Me drink.  As the Scripture said, out of His innermost shall flow rivers of living water."

The importance of His words, His claim, would not have been lost on the crowd and for sure was not lost on the religious leaders.

He was claiming to be the fulfillment of all the Scripture regarding YHVH's plan of Salvation, His plan to provide Living Water...to save His people.

That was a huge claim...and according to John 7 many of the people were ready to believe that Yahshua really is what He claims...the Living Water, the Salvation (y'shu'ah), the promised Messiah!

But again, many were not.  

Even with the picture laid out so perfectly and completely before them - all of this taking place during the ceremony of the living water, after having praised Yah for providing and being Salvation and after having cried out "Hoshiah na! Save us now!", the religious leaders refused to admit that Yah answered their cries with the Messiah right there in the midst of Sukkot!

We can look back at it and say, "why were they so blind?"

But we can also say the same thing about some believers today. 
Yes, they see the truth that Yahshua is YHVH's provision of Salvation, the Messiah, the Living Water.  But they cannot accept the truth of the Tanakh for His people today...the truth of Yah's Word - beginning to end - for everyday living.  Why live by the Word of Yah?  Out of love for Him!  Obedience - I obey because I love Him and trust His ways.

Well, I'm getting a little sidetracked now.

Let's go back to the Word...back to the very end.
We've been given a preview of what's to come, and you were probably reminded of it while reading some of the Scriptures from the prophets just now.

Let's look at the Final Eternal Sukkot with the Eternal Living Water!

Revelation 7:15-17
...they are before the throne of Elohim, and serve Him day and night in His Dwelling Place. And He who sits on the throne shall spread His Tent over them.  They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more, neither shall the sun strike them, nor any heat, because the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne shall shepherd them and lead them to fountains of waters of life. And Elohim shall wipe away every tear from their eyes.


Revelation 21:3-6

  And I heard a loud voice from the heaven saying, “See, the sukkah [booth] of Elohim is with men, and He shall dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and Elohim Himself shall be with them and be their Elohim.  
And Elohim shall wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, nor mourning, nor crying. And there shall be no more pain, for the former matters have passed away.” 
And He who was sitting on the throne said, “See, I make all matters new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and trustworthy.” 
And He said to me, “It is done! I am the ‘Aleph’ and the ‘Tav’, the Beginning and the End. To the one who thirsts I shall give of the fountain of the water of life without payment. 
 
Revelation 22:1, 2  

And he showed me a river of water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of Elohim and of the Lamb. In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
 

And Yahshua Himself says in Revelation 22:12-13

And see, I am coming speedily, and My reward is with Me, to give to each according to his work.  I am the ‘Aleph’ and the ‘Tav’, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.  Blessed are those doing His commands, so that the authority shall be theirs unto the tree of life, and to enter through the gates into the city.


Finally, in verse 17... 
And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And he who hears, let him say, “Come!” And he who thirsts, come! And he who desires it, take the water of life without paying!


May you draw water from the fountains of Yahshua our Salvation...with JOY and gratitude!

Gina

Reflections on Sukkot - The Time of Our Joy

Ahhhh....pomegranates!

(Didn't you know that I would begin this post with these words?!)

And I also say....AHHHHH, Sukkot!

Sitting in my sukkah on the
first day of Sukkot (before the winds).

Tonight (Thursday) as I begin to type this blog post, I am a little bit sad in the midst of my rejoicing.
Sukkot is now officially over for this year.
Tomorrow (Friday) I will take apart my sukkah.

Hmmm....
My sukkah!

My sukkah, pieced together from thrift store sheets, dime store curtains, old garden bamboo poles, and branches cut from overgrown road side trees (and new pine boards from the local lumber company)...

My sukkah, which survived one night of rain storms and 3 days of high Oklahoma winds with only a twisted front and some rearranged roof branches...

I became surprisingly attached to and fond of my sukkah during the week of Sukkot.  Even though the middle of my week of Sukkot was crazy-busy with a temporary job helping out at a large corporate event, and even though I was not home for most of the time during the middle of that week, the first day and the last day of the week of Sukkot, and the Shabbat day in between, were spent doing absolutely nothing but sitting in my sukkah and relaxing, dozing, reading, contemplating, praying, eating, dozing, napping (have I mentioned that yet?), etc.
(In hindsight, next year I will not take on such a time-consuming job right in the middle of Sukkot!)

I SO enjoyed the time in my sukkah!  And I enjoyed when my family came over on Shabbat to visit with me in my sukkah.

Since this is the first year that I have actively built my own sukkah (or helped build ANY sukkah), I had NO IDEA that it would be so satisfying to spend time in it, enjoying the sights, sounds, and smells of the rooftop branches rustling in the breeze (and the fabric walls "breathing" in and out in the breeze).  I had no idea how it would  feel to sit back and look at the star-lit night sky from within my sukkah.  I had no idea how much more meaningful it would be to read God's Word from within a sukkah!  I had no idea how comforting and restful it would be to enjoy my meals sitting in my sukkah.  (I think even pomegranates taste better eaten in a sukkah, if that's possible!)

I heard that at least one of the Jewish synagogues in my city had built a sukkah, and I would guess that some other sukkot appeared in yards and on driveways and patios around the city.  However, as I drove around town during the week, I never saw another sukkah.  (SO different from my experience in Jerusalem during Sukkot last year...sukkot appeared in every available extra inch of space!)

I wondered what the neighbors thought as they walked up and down my street.  My sukkah was quite visible from the street through the chain-link fence.  I could see people do double-takes sometimes as they passed by.  I heard a child or two say "What's that?" and I overheard one boy say to his mom, "Wow, cool!"  (But I never heard what the adults said.)

At the same time, during the week of Sukkot, people around the USA were "occupying" Wall Street, "occupying" Chicago, "occupying" Atlanta...there was even a small group "occupying" Oklahoma City in a downtown park only a couple of miles from where I live.

I don't understand all that is being represented and promoted by this movement of "Occupy Wall Street"...it all seems vague and undefined.  This blog post is not about what I think about all of that or whether I agree or disagree with any of it.  But I found it interesting that during the time so many people were living in tents or under blankets out in the open in parks around the country, protesting and trying to make some kind of point, I was occupying my sukkah!!
I was obeying a command given by my Elohim, my God, to build a booth and live in it for a week and to REJOICE in Him!!

At the same time that I was building my sukkah, I also noticed some other temporary items being erected and decorated in the neighborhoods around mine.  I might have been the only person building a sukkah (that I could see), but I was not the only person decorating for a "holiday".

Just a few houses down the street is a giant 6 foot tall inflatable skull with a huge spider on top.  And two streets down is a  house with a temporary cemetery in the front yard, complete with temporary black fencing, coffins sticking halfway out of the ground, and skeletons strewn about.  And then on another street is an inflatable witch riding on a broomstick.  Orange and black lights and goblins and ghosts seem to be floating around every corner of many houses in my neighborhood, and "Haunted House Tours" have sprung up overnight, one just a few blocks away.  (I can honestly say that during the time I lived outside of the USA, I was so glad to be away from this particular American "holiday.")

As I have driven past such stomach-turning, darkly evil, ghoulish sights and finally arrived at my home and settled into my sukkah with my Bible and a cup of coffee and some soup and bread and cheese (and pomegranates)...my sukkah with cheery decorations of flowers and fruit and candlelight dancing and the smell of willow and palm and myrtle...I have felt such a huge relief that I have chosen to obey God's command to celebrate HIS way and HIS appointed times instead of the way I used to celebrate (in keeping with the cultural traditions and holidays of the USA).  This past week, I have felt so safe and secure in my flimsy, wind-blown, cheery little sukkah....like I was wrapped in the comfort and safety of the embrace of my God!

I cannot begin to describe this new-found sense of security I have after this week of Sukkot.  I had heard that living in a flimsy sukkah for a week gives a person a new sense of God's faithfulness and His sovereignty, and our complete dependence on Him for everything, just as the Israelites in the desert after the exodus from Egypt were completely dependent on YHVH for everything.   Now I can say that I have experienced that deeper sense of realization that I can do nothing...He alone is in control of my life...He alone gives me what I need to live...He alone IS my life!

And in the midst of this sense of comfort and safety and dependence on God, I found that it is not difficult AT ALL to fulfill His command to REJOICE during Sukkot!!  What a wonderful week of rejoicing it was!

One of the reflections that I want to mention was a wistful and almost sad thought, or really more of a surprisingly strong feeling, that began to surface on the first day of Sukkot when I was finally just sitting and enjoying my sukkah after a month of preparation and building.

I was looking around at the cheery decorations, the bright yellow flowers adorning the entrance, the small and delicate dark green palm fronds draped over the sides of the roof, the blue fabric walls and decorations moving slightly in the breeze...

And suddenly I had the thought that I did not want the yellow flowers to wither and dry out.  I did not want the wind or rain to ruin any part of my "creation."  I did not want to have to take down my sukkah at the end of the week.  I was becoming rather attached to this flimsy temporary dwelling that I put so much effort and creativity into (I use the word "creativity" loosely).  I wanted to keep this experience and this sukkah for much longer than one week!  I felt like Peter who, at the transformation of Yahshua on the mountain when Moses and Elijah appeared, was so overcome with emotion that he offered to construct a sukkah for each of the three men so they could stay there and live the experience even longer! (Matthew 17, Mark 9, Luke 9)

At that moment, I realized how very similar a sukkah is to the earthly bodies we "occupy."
We can become so attached to our physical bodies, these temporary dwelling structures we inhabit for a short time.   We know they are temporary.  We know they will decay and wither away and become more and more tattered and useless as time goes by.  We know that we cannot live in these bodies forever.  Yet we become so attached to how they look and how they function.  We want to hold onto "youth" and "mobility" and "appearance" with a fondness that can be difficult to turn loose of.

And I was reminded of the scripture that talks about the temporal dwellings we live in and the eternal home we will have with our God in His forever Sukkah.  The temporary booth that YHVH commands us to build and live in for a week every year is NOT about the sukkah...it's about HIM!  We are not supposed to rejoice because of the sukkah...we are supposed to rejoice because of HIM!
YHVH is our ultimate Eternal Cover, Dwelling Place, Provision, Shelter, LIFE!



2 Corinthians 4:5-5:10  (in this version, The Scriptures, Yahshua's name is written in Hebrew)

For we do not proclaim ourselves, but Messiah יהושע (Yahshua) the Master, and ourselves your servants for the sake of יהושע.   For Elohim, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts for the enlightening of the knowledge of the esteem of Elohim in the face of יהושע Messiah.   And we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the excellence of the power might be of Elohim, and not of us –  being hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; being perplexed, but not in despair;  being persecuted, but not forsaken; being thrown down, but not destroyed; always bearing about in the body the dying of the Master יהושע, that the life of יהושע might also be manifested in our body.   
For we, the living, are always delivered to death for the sake of יהושע, that the life of יהושע might also be manifested in our mortal flesh, so that death indeed is working in us, but the life in you.   But having the same spirit of belief, according to what has been written, “I believed, therefore I spoke,” we also believe, therefore we also speak, knowing that He who raised up the Master יהושע shall also raise us up through יהושע, and shall present us with you.  For all this is for your sake, so that favour, having spread through the many, would cause thanksgiving to overflow, unto the esteem of Elohim. 


Therefore we do not lose heart, but even if our outward man is perishing, the inward man is being renewed day by day.  For this slight momentary pressure is working for us a far more exceeding and everlasting weight of esteem.  We are not looking on what is seen, but on what is not seen. For what is seen passes away, but what is not seen is everlasting.  For we know that if the tent of our earthly house, is destroyed, we have a building from Elohim, a house not made with hands, everlasting in the heavens.  For indeed in this we groan, longing to put on our dwelling which is from heaven, so that, having put it on, we shall not be found naked.  For indeed, we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we wish to put it off, but to put on the other, so that what is to die might be swallowed up by life.  
Now He who has prepared us for this same purpose is Elohim, who has given us the Spirit as a pledge of what is to come.  Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Master – for we walk by belief, not by sight -  we are of good courage, and are well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Master.  So we also make it our aim to be well-pleasing to Him, whether being at home, or being away from home.  For we all have to appear before the judgment seat of Messiah, in order for each one to receive according to what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.

As I was sitting in my sukkah dwelling on these verses and on my strong (and surprising) desire to "keep" my sukkah around much longer than one week, I made a conscious decision to stop focusing on my fondness for my sukkah and rather focus on my love for YHVH, my Eternal Sukkah.  Once this realization took hold, I began to understand the deeper meaning of these verses and what it means to "let go" of our temporary dwelling place, and the safety and security and even pride that is represented in it, and to instead look to Elohim and TRUST in His provision for eternal life rather than settling for temporal life.  Every time I looked at my sukkah, I was immediately reminded of YHVH's eternal faithfulness to His people - past, present, and future.  And then I couldn't help but REJOICE!

I also realized that if I had not taken the time to obey God and build a sukkah to live in for a week, I would not have come to the deeper understanding of what it means to LIVE His Word, including these verses from 2 Corinthians.  I am finding that to be true with all of His commanded appointed times....for me, obeying them always brings a deeper understanding of some part of YHVH or His Word or His Son, Yahshua the Messiah.

And now, the most important part of Sukkot:  Yahshua the Messiah!

In my last blog post (which was at the beginning of Sukkot), I mentioned John chapter 7.  Did you read it?  Did you see the backdrop for the whole chapter?  Did you notice that all of the events and interactions that happened in this chapter happened during Sukkot?  Not just during Sukkot, but in the very midst of the Sukkot celebration, as an integral part of Sukkot.

In the first part of the chapter, Yahshua is accosted by his unbelieving brothers and pressured to go to Jerusalem for the Sukkot festival (verses 1-5).  But Yahshua answered that his time had not yet come and that they should go on up to the festival for his time had not yet been fulfilled.  (verses 6-8)

After his brothers left him, Yahshua went secretly to the festival of Sukkot (verse 10).
In the middle of the festival, Yahshua went into the Temple and was teaching His FATHER's words, and people were amazed at it.  (verses 14-16)

I won't go into detail about all that Yahshua spoke here.  You can read it for yourself.
But it started the people debating among themselves whether or not he was the Messiah, and many believed that he was.

The part I want to look at comes after this.
Let's begin at verse 37, which opens at the end of Sukkot, on the 7th day of the festival, otherwise known as Hoshanah Rabbah, or The Great Supplication/Great Salvation.
This word "hoshanah" is related to the word "hoshianah" (the word we know as hosanna), and it is a cry for salvation.  It is a desperate plea: "please save us!"  


Now before we go further with what Yahshua says in this verse, let me tell you that one tradition of Sukkot that happened each of the seven days was the Water Libation.  Basically, the priest would go down to the spring of Shiloach and draw some of the "living" water from the spring.  He would take it back up to the Temple and pour it on the altar.  This was not a biblical command, but it was a tradition with the verse from Isaiah 12:3 as a reference:  "With joy you shall draw water out of the well of salvation."


So now we come to the 7th day of Sukkot, the Great Supplication, the cry of "YHVH, please save us!"
And we have the priest performing the Water Libation with the "living" water from the spring.

Now look at what Yahshua did and said during this 7th day of the festival of Sukkot:


John 7:37-39
  And on the last day, the great day of the festival, יהושע stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me, and let him who believes in Me drink.  As the Scripture said, out of His innermost shall flow rivers of living water.” 
And this He said concerning the Spirit, which those believing in Him were about to receive, for the Set-apart Spirit was not yet given, because יהושע was not yet esteemed. 


Can you imagine the reaction of the people?  (Look in chapter 7 to see what it was.)
They would immediately have made the connection between the water libation, the cry for salvation, the search for living water, and the claim that this man Yahshua was making and had been making during the years of His ministry...

Yahshua is the Living Water.  
Yahshua is Salvation (that is, after all, exactly what his name means), the promised Messiah.
Yahshua is the perfect and complete fulfillment of YHVH's commanded festival of Sukkot (and ALL other commanded appointed times).
Yahshua IS our Sukkah, in every possible way, in the completeness of every detail, for eternity!

To see more of how Yahshua fits into this perfect picture of the past, present and future coming together in the  fulfillment of all biblical prophecy regarding Him, regarding Jerusalem (the place where YHVH has chosen as the dwelling place for His Name), regarding His people Israel (including those who are grafted in through belief in YHVH's salvation - Yahshua), and how YHVH's appointed time of Sukkot dovetails perfectly into place, read Zechariah 14.  (Of course, this passage is supported by countless other places in YHVH's Word.)

The last part of the last book of YHVH's Word gives us the beautiful and joyful picture of our Eternal Sukkah  with YHVH through Yahshua the Messiah:

Revelation 21:1-4
And I saw a renewed heaven and a renewed earth, for the former heaven and the former earth had passed away, and the sea is no more.  And I, John, saw the set-apart city, renewed Jerusalem, coming down out of the heaven from Elohim, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.  And I heard a loud voice from the heaven saying, “See, the Sukkah of Elohim is with men, and He shall dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and Elohim Himself shall be with them and be their Elohim.   And Elohim shall wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, nor mourning, nor crying. And there shall be no more pain, for the former matters have passed away.” 

Then, we will no longer be crying "Hosanna, hosanna!"
 ("Save us, save us!")

Instead we will be shouting out with great joy, 
"HALLELUYAH!!"  (Praise YAH!)




There is so much more about this wonderful and joyful appointed time of YHVH called Sukkot that I could write about...so many more reflections that I have pondered during this wonderful week.
But perhaps they will have to wait for next year.

Let me just finish this particular blog post with Psalm 84, which also has a deeper meaning for me now after experiencing this week of Sukkot.

Until next time, rejoice in the shelter of the wings of our Messiah, the Living Water, the Living Sukkah!

Gina

Psalm 84
How lovely are Your dwelling places, O יהוה of hosts! 

My being has longed, and even fainted, for the courts of יהוה; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. 
Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she has put her young ones – your altars, O יהוה of hosts, my Sovereign and my Elohim. 
Blessed are those who dwell in Your house, they are ever praising You. Selah. 
Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, Your highways are in their heart. 
Passing through the valley of weeping, they make it a fountain; the Teacher also covers it with blessings. 
They go from strength to strength, appearing before Elohim in Zion. 
O יהוה Elohim of hosts, hear my prayer; give ear, O Elohim of Jacob! Selah. 
O Elohim, see our shield, and look upon the face of Your anointed. 
For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand days. I have chosen rather to be a doorkeeper in the House of my Elohim, than to dwell in the tents of the wrong. 
For יהוה Elohim is a sun and a shield; יהוה gives favour and esteem; He withholds no good matter from those who walk blamelessly. 
O יהוה of hosts, Blessed is the man who trusts in You!