Sukkot | Transition with Joy
Would you like to discover how Sukkot has a place in the lives of Believers? Do you desire to better understand not only Sukkot, but how it acts as a time of transition? Then join us below as we explore not only what Sukkot is, but why Believers can benefit from this time?
What is Sukkot?
Before we can understand the importance of Sukkot for Believers, we first need to look at what Sukkot is…
Sukkot is a week-long festival occurring between late September and mid-October on the Gregorian calendar, or in the month of Tishrei on the biblical calendar. It celebrates the ingathering of that season’s harvest and serves as a time for remembering God’s miraculous presence with the Israelites after they left Egypt and entered the desert. Yet, that is only a small piece of Sukkot…
Sukkot is also a time where we dwell, or tabernacle, with the Lord in a sukkah—a temporary dwelling covered with branches or other available plant life. Just as the children of Israel wandered the desert 40 years dwelling in temporary dwellings, so did God’s Presence and Glory dwell in the temporary Tabernacle… and still, God met them there. He guided them with a cloud, and His presence rested over the Tabernacle with a cloud by day and fire by night.
The Lord wanted to be with His people. He wanted them to dwell with Him and follow Him, so that they might be molded into who they were created to be. The entire journey through the desert and within the Promised Land held opportunities for God’s people to be near His Presence, and yet, God still ordained His people to celebrate Sukkot. To tabernacle with Him.
Today we still have access to God’s Presence thanks to the precious gift of Jesus Christ—Yeshua our Messiah—and yet, just as it was in the days of old, God still wants us to tabernacle with Him at Sukkot. It is a moed. An appointed time. One which God never said to stop.
Why Should Believers Observe Sukkot?
That God not only created Sukkot, but gave it as an everlasting ordinance should tell us that God thinks it is important. It should set something in our hearts ablaze and cause us to jump at the chance to observe it. Yet, not many Believers do…
Today, those observances God told us to engage in, such as Sukkot, are almost exclusive to Jews around the world because of councils that happened over a thousand years ago. Before them, not only did Jesus Himself observe these God-given moeds, but Jewish AND Gentile Believers did!
The importance of Sukkot, Passover, and all of God’s Feast times did not suddenly lose value upon the death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus into Heaven. They certainly met with changes—such as the Passover lamb becoming Jesus—but the heart, purpose, and command surrounding them remained.
Still, while we may understand that there is value in these observances, summarizing that value is not easy, because God is infinite and all that He does interlocks like the threads of a tapestry. This, however, is to our advantage. Because it is further proof of the importance and benefits of appointed times, such as Sukkot, to Believers.
One benefit of Sukkot is obedience…
Obedience can sound unappealing no matter our age, because to be obedient, sometimes we have to lay down things we do not want to. However, obedience to God comes with untold blessings. It builds our relationship with the Lord, puts us in alignment with His will, and can save us untold amounts of time as we are able to do something once and know it is right.
Another benefit of Sukkot is a moed with God’s presence…
As Believers we have special access to God’s Presence all the time because we are temples of the Lord (see 1 Corinthians 6:19-20). However, Sukkot is unique in that not only is God spending time with us, but He ASKED us to meet with Him at a specific time and place. He is giving us an opportunity to tabernacle with Him and put everything else away. He is causing us to rely on Him in ways that we normally do not need to.
God’s presence at Sukkot refreshes us, opens the door into our next season, and fills us with joy as we discover the love and care of our God!
Still another benefit of Sukkot is transition into new beginnings…
Before Sukkot there are two other Fall Feasts, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Rosh Hashanah serves as the biblical/Hebraic new year and acts as an awakening, letting us know that a new season is upon us. Yom Kippur then comes and causes us to repent to God, cleansing and aligning us with His will so that we are ready for the new things to come. Lastly, we arrive at Sukkot, where we tabernacle with God, being strengthened through His presence, glory, and joy. By observing each of these, at Sukkot, we are able to transition into all the new beginnings God has for us with joy!
Many other benefits and blessings become available when we tabernacle with our God at Sukkot…
Peace, rest, strength, focus, direction, and untold other things come with this obedience. It is one of the reasons why Believers are under attack to not tabernacle at Sukkot, because the enemy does not want us to be blessed, but most especially, he does not want us to be in sync with God at a time of transition.
The early councils of Elvira and Nicaea faced great attacks from the enemy and allowed confusion to enter in. They began to separate Jewish and Gentile Believers, to add mixture, disallow fellowship between different groups of Believers, and even remove those things deemed “too Jewish.” Passover, which Jesus Himself celebrated and which brings nine VITAL blessings, was one of the first to be tampered with… not only did they disallow the observance of Passover, but portions of it were merged with other beliefs to create a new holiday. And Sukkot, well, it was removed entirely…
Every blessing of Sukkot that belonged to all who believe in God became something which only Jews had access to. In fact, Gentile Believers began to look upon many such days as being strictly “Old Testament,” or worse yet, somehow against Jesus Himself. Yet, none of those beliefs are true. Jesus came to fulfill the law, not destroy it (see Matthew 5:17).
Today, you and I have the opportunity to rediscover the blessings and covenants stolen at the councils of Elvira and Nicaea. We can sync ourselves to God’s timing and ways, not becoming Jews, but Believers who are equipped for our purposes and calls! The spiritual army of the Lord needs to arise, but to truly shine we HAVE to have all the blessings and covenants God intended us to have! We have to tabernacle with our God and be ready to transition into our new season with joy!
“Then he said to them, ‘Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.’”
—Nehemiah 8:10
This Sukkot, let us tabernacle with our God. Let us follow His everlasting ordinances and discover all that He has planned for us! Let us come with rejoicing and thanksgiving to our encounter with God’s presence and glory!
If YOU would like to discover more about Sukkot, then click HERE!
If YOU would like to learn about the Fall Feasts and God’s biblical/Hebraic calendar, then click HERE!
If YOU would like to find out more about the importance of obedience, then click HERE!