Ahhh…pomegranates!
Haven’t I already started a recent blog post with that same statement?
Well, it’s still the same season, and still the same month, and still the same series of moedim, and I still get just as excited about pomegranates now as I did at the beginning of the month!
I just finished cutting open a pomegranate and removing the juicy rubies inside, and now I am sitting in my sukkah enjoying handfuls of this wonderful fruit.
Did I say sukkah? YES! Today begins the week of Sukkot!
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| This is the sukkah I built for this year's Sukkot. |
I built the frame in pieces and stages over the last month.
I glued and pinned and sewed several sheets together to make the ‘wrap-around’ walls.
I gathered all the decorative items I could find in the last few weeks to fit the Sukkot theme , and I found some places that had ‘extra’ branches of fruit trees, myrtle trees, willow trees, and other leafy trees that I could use for the roof.
I glued and pinned and sewed several sheets together to make the ‘wrap-around’ walls.
I gathered all the decorative items I could find in the last few weeks to fit the Sukkot theme , and I found some places that had ‘extra’ branches of fruit trees, myrtle trees, willow trees, and other leafy trees that I could use for the roof.
I gathered everything (and asked my landlords for permission to take up some extra yard space for a week and a bit), and after the much-needed rain stopped any plans of building my sukkah on Sunday, I rushed on Monday to put everything together during the first part of the day. With a little extra time on Tuesday, and the finishing touches on Wednesday, I was ready to eat my first meal in the sukkah Wednesday evening after work.
After a hectic week of work, work, work, and after preparing during the early hours and late hours for weeks, the sigh of relief and rest when I finally sat in my sukkah and looked at the stars through the branches on the rooftop last night was one that went through every part of my being. I cannot describe what it is like to STOP everything and obey God’s command to be in a sukkah. It is the most satisfying and refreshing thing I have experienced in a long time. (I almost had the same experience 2 years ago when I used my camping tent as a sukkah…but it’s different when you put so much time and effort into building one.)
After a hectic week of work, work, work, and after preparing during the early hours and late hours for weeks, the sigh of relief and rest when I finally sat in my sukkah and looked at the stars through the branches on the rooftop last night was one that went through every part of my being. I cannot describe what it is like to STOP everything and obey God’s command to be in a sukkah. It is the most satisfying and refreshing thing I have experienced in a long time. (I almost had the same experience 2 years ago when I used my camping tent as a sukkah…but it’s different when you put so much time and effort into building one.)
And then today….ahhhh…pomegranates in my sukkah!
(And coffee, and bread, and strawberries with yogurt, and cheese, and mango, and tangerines, and soon a dinner of lamb and potatoes with carrots and leeks and a sprinkling of pomegranate, and home-made ice cream for dessert…ummmm!)
I have been looking forward to this week for SO long!
And it’s not just because of the food.
And it’s not just because I have 2 extra days off work (the first day and the 8th day of Sukkot are ‘no work’ days).
And not just because I have my very own sukkah to sit in this year.
And not just because it is such a feast of celebration and joy, this Feast of Booths/Tabernacles.
All of these are very real reasons that I have been looking forward to this week, but even more so because this is the final moedim (appointed time) of the year.
Yes, there is still Hanukkah to come, but that is not one of the appointed times that was commanded by YHVH for His people to keep (though I think it is still important and enlightening to celebrate it).
Sukkot is final of the 3 'Fall Moedim' - Yom Teruah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot all happen in the 7th month of the biblical calendar. And Sukkot is the Grand Finale! (more about that in another post)
I wrote a blog post for Yom Teruah (both this year and last year).
You may have noticed that I did not write one for Yom Kippur. It is such a time of awe and repentance and focusing on God’s holiness and righteousness, and there is SO MUCH meaning and deeper layers involved in this most important day…I decided that I would spend it in prayer and fasting rather than trying to write what little I know about it. Besides, so many other bloggers and other sources of information have much to say about Yom Kippur. So I decided not to write about it this year.
And now Sukkot!
I will definitely be writing about Sukkot!
In fact, I plan to write blog posts several times throughout this next week - hopefully some shorter posts than my normal post length – sharing some of what YHVH’s Word says about this final moedim, and also sharing some of my own observations and experiences.
What is the purpose of Sukkot?
We had Yom Teruah (the sounding of the shofar) which had no purpose given to this ‘hearing of the teruah.’
Then 10 days later, we had Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement/Judgment.
And now, 5 days later, we have a week of Sukkot!
Let’s take a look at what YHVH says about Sukkot in His Word.
Deuteronomy 16:13-15
Perform the Festival of Sukkot for seven days after the ingathering from your threshing-floor and from your winepress, and you shall rejoice in your festival, you and your son and your daughter, and your male servant and your female servant, and the Levite, and the stranger and the fatherless and the widow who are within your gates. For seven days you shall observe a festival to יהוה your Elohim in the place which יהוה chooses, because יהוה your Elohim does bless you in all your increase and in all the work of your hands, and you shall be only rejoicing!
- Okay, so we know that this is a harvest celebration and that we should be rejoicing over the blessings from our Elohim.
- We also know that everyone should rejoice and celebrate (even the foreigner who is with us).
- We also know that it should be celebrated in Jerusalem (the place which YHVH chooses and has chosen). (I really hoped to be able to celebrate this Sukkot in Jerusalem, but this year was not possible.)
What else can we learn about it from YHVH’s Word?
Levitcus 23:33-43
And יהוה spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the children of Israel, saying, ‘On the fifteenth day of this seventh new moon is the Festival of Sukkot for seven days to יהוה. On the first day is a set-apart gathering, you do no servile work. For seven days you bring an offering made by fire to יהוה. On the eighth day there shall be a set-apart gathering for you, and you shall bring an offering made by fire to יהוה. It is a closing festival, you do no servile work. These are the appointed times of יהוה which you proclaim as set-apart gatherings, to bring an offering made by fire to יהוה, a burnt offering and a grain offering, a slaughtering and drink offerings, as commanded for every day –besides the Sabbaths of יהוה, and besides your gifts, and besides all your vows, and besides all your voluntary offerings which you give to יהוה.
On the fifteenth day of the seventh new moon, when you gather in the fruit of the land, observe the festival of יהוה for seven days. On the first day is a rest, and on the eighth day a rest. And you shall take for yourselves on the first day the fruit of good trees, branches of palm trees, twigs of leafy trees, and willows of the stream, and shall rejoice before יהוה your Elohim for seven days. And you shall observe it as a festival to יהוה for seven days in the year – a law forever in your generations. Observe it in the seventh month. Dwell in booths for seven days; all who are native Israelites dwell in booths, so that your generations know that I made the children of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt. I am יהוה your Elohim.’ ”
On the fifteenth day of the seventh new moon, when you gather in the fruit of the land, observe the festival of יהוה for seven days. On the first day is a rest, and on the eighth day a rest. And you shall take for yourselves on the first day the fruit of good trees, branches of palm trees, twigs of leafy trees, and willows of the stream, and shall rejoice before יהוה your Elohim for seven days. And you shall observe it as a festival to יהוה for seven days in the year – a law forever in your generations. Observe it in the seventh month. Dwell in booths for seven days; all who are native Israelites dwell in booths, so that your generations know that I made the children of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt. I am יהוה your Elohim.’ ”
- Now we know when to celebrate: the 15th day of the 7th new moon (that’s today!).
- We also know that we are to celebrate for one week, and the 1st and 8th days are to be days of no work.
- It is repeated here that this is a harvest celebration.
- We also know now that all who are part of the Israelites should celebrate Sukkot to remember the booths God made the children of Israel live in after bringing them out of Egypt. (Remember, those who call themselves believers in the Messiah Yahshua are grafted into the olive tree of Israel, God’s chosen people.)
- It is a law forever.
- And we know that during Sukkot, we are to dwell in booths (sukkot) of fruit trees, palm trees, leafy trees and willow trees.
- And we are to REJOICE!
Okay, so this is a harvest celebration and a celebration of remembrance of the time God led Israel away from Egypt and through the desert to His chosen land for them.
Is there any other purpose?
Oh yes!
Yahshua!
You know, Yahshua (Jesus) kept the Torah. He kept every part of YHVH’s instructions and commands perfectly. He kept the Sabbath. He kept the biblical eating regulations. And He kept the commanded appointed times, the moedim.
So…it’s no surprise to find Yahshua observing and attending Sukkot!
Take a look at chapter 7 in the book of John to see how involved Yahshua was with Sukkot.
But that will have to wait for another day and another blog post, at which time we will look more at what YHVH's Word says about Sukkot.
Now it's time for me to put dinner on the stove and relax in my sukkah!
Chag Sameach! (Joyous Festival!)
Remembering YHVH’s faithfulness in times past, and rehearsing for His eternity,
Gina
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