Why do Israelis construct little temporary booths to sleep in for seven days? In Israel they actually do this. It is the seventh and last feast of Leviticus 23, the Feast of Tabernacles. The Hebrew word feast is “moed” which literally means “appointment.”
This last of the seven feasts was to celebrate God’s faithful provision for His beloved people even in the hardest of times. “Sukkah” is the Hebrew word for tabernacle or booth. Tabernacles reminds us of His wilderness provision after Egypt and the celebration of the harvest in the Promised Land.
God commanded that His people gather to Jerusalem three times a year. The first was Passover in the Spring. Then Shavuot or Pentecost in Summer, followed by Tabernacles in the Fall. Each was an appointment with God. This last one was to be a reminder of their travails in the Exodus from Egypt and God’s provision in the wilderness. He provided the cloud by day protecting from the desert sun, and the fire by night from the desert cold.
“You shall keep it as a feast to Yehovah for seven days in the year. It shall be a statute forever in your generations. You shall celebrate it in the seventh month. You shall dwell in booths for seven days. All who are native Israelites shall dwell in booths, that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am Yehovah your God.”Leviticus 23:41-43
There are three key words in this text. Moed means appointment. Another word for feast is “hag” which means festival or celebration. A third word is “miqra” which means convocation, or gathering. When the harvest has been gathered in, God desires to “gather in” His people. He wants to celebrate with us!
“Also on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the fruit of the land, you shall keep the feast of Yehovah for seven days; on the first day there shall be a sabbath-rest, and on the eighth day a sabbath-rest. And you shall take for yourselves on the first day the fruit of beautiful trees, branches of palm trees, the boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook; and you shall rejoice before Yehovah your God for seven days.”Leviticus 23:39-40
God fearing Jews take rejoicing seven days very seriously. The Creator God invites them to sit with Him in thankful celebration. This intimacy is proof that His desire is to have a relationship with us, not just rule over us. What an honor and privilege for us! The Kingdom of God is relational! As Christian Zionists, we rejoice that we, too, have been invited to the feast. We see it as a sort of dress rehearsal for the future marriage supper of the Lamb where we will all sit down together with our Messiah to celebrate the eternal victory over Satan and death itself!
A final thought from an old Jewish Adage: “You don’t stop laughing because you grow old; you grow old because you stop laughing.”
A merry heart does good, like medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones.Proverbs 17:22
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem! “Hag sameach!” Have a joyful holiday appointment with God!
Feast of Tabernacles: An Appointment With God
24 09 2026Why do Israelis construct little temporary booths to sleep in for seven days? In Israel they actually do this. It is the seventh and last feast of Leviticus 23, the Feast of Tabernacles. The Hebrew word feast is “moed” which literally means “appointment.”
This last of the seven feasts was to celebrate God’s faithful provision for His beloved people even in the hardest of times. “Sukkah” is the Hebrew word for tabernacle or booth. Tabernacles reminds us of His wilderness provision after Egypt and the celebration of the harvest in the Promised Land.
God commanded that His people gather to Jerusalem three times a year. The first was Passover in the Spring. Then Shavuot or Pentecost in Summer, followed by Tabernacles in the Fall. Each was an appointment with God. This last one was to be a reminder of their travails in the Exodus from Egypt and God’s provision in the wilderness. He provided the cloud by day protecting from the desert sun, and the fire by night from the desert cold.
“You shall keep it as a feast to Yehovah for seven days in the year. It shall be a statute forever in your generations. You shall celebrate it in the seventh month. You shall dwell in booths for seven days. All who are native Israelites shall dwell in booths, that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am Yehovah your God.” Leviticus 23:41-43
There are three key words in this text. Moed means appointment. Another word for feast is “hag” which means festival or celebration. A third word is “miqra” which means convocation, or gathering. When the harvest has been gathered in, God desires to “gather in” His people. He wants to celebrate with us!
“Also on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the fruit of the land, you shall keep the feast of Yehovah for seven days; on the first day there shall be a sabbath-rest, and on the eighth day a sabbath-rest. And you shall take for yourselves on the first day the fruit of beautiful trees, branches of palm trees, the boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook; and you shall rejoice before Yehovah your God for seven days.” Leviticus 23:39-40
God fearing Jews take rejoicing seven days very seriously. The Creator God invites them to sit with Him in thankful celebration. This intimacy is proof that His desire is to have a relationship with us, not just rule over us. What an honor and privilege for us! The Kingdom of God is relational! As Christian Zionists, we rejoice that we, too, have been invited to the feast. We see it as a sort of dress rehearsal for the future marriage supper of the Lamb where we will all sit down together with our Messiah to celebrate the eternal victory over Satan and death itself!
A final thought from an old Jewish Adage: “You don’t stop laughing because you grow old; you grow old because you stop laughing.”
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Tags: appointment with God, Bible, faith, Feast of Tabernacles, god, Israel, Jerusalem, Prophecy, sukkah, Yehovah
Categories : Israel Commentary