Sukkot is the longest and happiest holiday season of the Jewish year. The eight-day harvest festival is celebrated in a “Sukkah,” a richly decorated hut or portable dwelling built just for Sukkot. It is topped with branches and often well decorated with a special autumn harvest in a Judaic theme. Sukkot is a yearly opportunity to gather in the synagogue or participate in a family holiday project together, building the Sukkah!
Over three thousand years ago the Israelites were slaves in Egypt. After four hundred years of slavery, God instructed Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt to a land they had only heard about. Many were afraid to leave because even though their lives were harsh and bitter, at least they knew what to expect. On their journey with Moses they had concerns as to whether they had made a mistake in leaving. They didn’t go from slavery to a life of ease right away. They wandered for some time in the wilderness without trees to protect them from the desert sun. Many feared their survival, but God sheltered and guided them with a cloud by day and fire by night. The cloud is a symbol of the SUKKOT.
The exodus and journey into the wilderness is a unique illustration of the journey most believers experience in their exodus out of a life of sin. The transition from sin into salvation flexes the emotions and faith of the new believer much like it did the Israelites over three thousand years ago. Throughout their journey, God never wanted them to forget their miraculous deliverance and his provision for them in the wilderness. Sukkot is also called the “Feast of Tabernacles” (Lev. 23:33-43). Sukkot is a time when God’s people reflect on the God of the universe coming down to “tabernacle” with his people, and believers then, and today know him as Jesus Christ. Sukkot reminds the believer that because God is with his people all of our needs are provided for whether the need is basic, in or in the wilderness journeys of life. Sukkot teaches the believer that because God now dwells among mankind, he is our salvation, shelter and guide by day and night as we strive to “Walk by Faith and not by Sight.”
Karen Gaithers-Life Discipleship 