Leviticus 23:23-25—23 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “24 Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a sabbath-rest, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. 25 You shall do no customary work on it; and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD.’” The Feast of Trumpets, or ֹ רַאשׁ הַשַׁנַה(Rosh Hashanah), the Jewish New Year. This appointed time fell on the first day of the month ofתִּשְׁרֵי (Tishri). Now you may be asking, “But isn'tתִּשְׁרֵי (Tishri) the seventh month? Why does the Jewish New Year fall on the first day of their seventh month?” Good question. And the answer is simple. תִּשְׁרֵי (Tishri) was the seventh month of the religious year for the Israelites—but it was the first month of the calendar year. That is, although their secular (for lack of a better word) calendar ran fromתִּשְׁרֵי (Tishri) toאֲדָר (Adar), the festival season (the religious season) started on Passover (פֶּסַח (Pesach)) on 14 נִיסָן (Nisan) and ran through the Feats of Tabernacles (סֻכּוֹת (Sukkoth)) on 15תִּשְׁרֵי (Tishri). But since God sees things the way they are supposed to be seen—with all things beginning from Him and being done for His glory—God counts His festal months from נִיסָן (Nisan).
Besides, what better month to command three festal Sabbaths than during the seventh month of the religious season? After all, God rested on the seventh day of creation. He gave the Israelites the sign of the seventh-day Sabbath. And during the seventh month, He commands three festal Sabbaths. Keil and Delitzsch—
“The seventh month of the year, like the seventh day of the week, was consecrated as a Sabbath or sabbatical month, by a holy convocation and the suspension of labour, which were to distinguish the first day of the seventh month from the beginning of the other months or the other new moon days throughout the year. For the whole month was sanctified in the first day, as the beginning or head of the month; and by the sabbatical observance of the commencement, the whole course of the month was raised to a Sabbath…This significant character of the seventh month was indicated by the trumpet-blast, by which the congregation presented the memorial of itself loudly and strongly before Jehovah on the first day of the month, that He might bestow upon them the promised blessings of His grace, for the realization of His covenant.”
Now, since we know that each of the sacrifices and each of the appointed times were a picture of Christ, then one of two things must be true of each—either they were fulfilled by Christ during His first coming, or they will be fulfilled in His second. And as the resurrection of Christ fulfilled the Day of Firstfruits (יֹמ הַבִּכּוּרִים (yom habikkurim)) and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit fulfilled the picture of Pentecost (שָׁבֻעֹות (Shavuot)), The Day of Trumpets (רַאשׁ הַשַׁנַה (Rosh Hashanah)) will see its fulfillment when the trumpet sounds, and we are changed in the twinkling of an eye, and the dead in Christ rise with those who remain and we all meet Christ in the air. 1st Thessalonians 4:16-17—16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Just as the trumpets sounded to usher in the month of rest and sabbath, so to the trumpet will sound ushering us into the rest of the Lord Christ—not as though we do not rest in Him now, knowing that we cast all our cares upon Him, but when we are taken up out of this world of sin and rest from our labors. 1ststorinthians 15:50-53—50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. 51 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. Mister Exell comments on the nature of that trumpet—
“Sudden. Our Lord intimates this (Matthew 24:38, etc.). The destruction of Jerusalem was a fit representation of this, it was awfully sudden. When the trumpet sounds to judgment there shall be the giddy and profane pursuing their unhallowed pleasures. In a moment! in the twinkling of an eye, the trumpet shall sound! Oh! to be found watching, waiting, praying, ready…Universal. It shall re-echo in heaven, reach every corner of earth, and penetrate the dark abyss of hell. Every soul shall hear it that ever lived in the world from the days of Adam to the period when the last infant shall be born, the king and the peasant, the righteous and wicked, etc…Final. It is the close of all things the termination of our probation. There is a period when you shall hear of salvation, when you shall attend the sanctuary, when you shall read the Bible and surround the sacramental table for the last time.”
Leviticus 23:26-32—26 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 27 "Also the tenth day of this seventh month shall be the Day of Atonement. It shall be a holy convocation for you; you shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire to the LORD. 28 And you shall do no work on that same day, for it is the Day of Atonement, to make atonement for you before the LORD your God. 29 For any person who is not afflicted in soul on that same day shall be cut off from his people. 30 And any person who does any work on that same day, that person I will destroy from among his people. 31 You shall do no manner of work; it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. 32 It shall be to you a sabbath of solemn rest, and you shall afflict your souls; on the ninth day of the month at evening, from evening to evening, you shall celebrate your sabbath." This is, of course, the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), which we studied during our look at Leviticus 16 (here and here). So we shall move on from here.
Leviticus 23:33-44—33 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 34 "Speak to the children of Israel, saying: 'The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days to the LORD. 35 On the first day there shall be a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work on it. 36 For seven days you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD. On the eighth day you shall have a holy convocation, and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD. It is a sacred assembly, and you shall do no customary work on it. 37 These are the feasts of the LORD which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire to the LORD, a burnt offering and a grain offering, a sacrifice and drink offerings, everything on its day—38 besides the Sabbaths of the LORD, besides your gifts, besides all your vows, and besides all your freewill offerings which you give to the LORD. 39 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 the LORD for seven days; on the first day there shall be a sabbath-rest, and on the eighth day a sabbath-rest. 40 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 the LORD your God for seven days. 41 You shall keep it as a feast to the LORD for seven days in the year. It shall be a statute forever in your generations. You shall celebrate it in the seventh month. 42 You shall dwell in booths for seven days. All who are native Israelites shall dwell in booths, 43 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 the LORD your God.'" 44 So Moses declared to the children of Israel the feasts of the LORD.
The last of the feasts. And how fitting that this is listed last, since this will be the last one fulfilled by Christ. Any person who holds to an amillenial doctrine will not agree with my assessment, but I do believe I have Scripture on my side. We will see that Scripture shortly. For now, let’s talk about סֻכּוֹת (Sukkoth), otherwise known as the “Feast of Tabernacles” or the “Feast of Booths” or “Feast of Ingathering”. Either of those titles is sufficient, since the people were to (a) dwell in tents for seven days, and (b) gather in the last of their crops. Let’s look at each of these separately.
First, very quickly, the people were to gather up what was remaining in their fields and celebrate the goodness of YHVH. They did this by feasting for seven days. WOW! You think Thanksgiving in this country is cause for gluttony—Thanksgiving lasts one day. ONE DAY! This was SEVEN DAYS of feasting on what God had blessed the people with! And on two of those days—you didn’t work! The first and last day were a sabbath in addition to any seventh-day sabbath that might fall within that frame of time. So, in reality, you had THREE DAYS off from work, and even on the days you did work, you were expected to eat heartily, always giving thanks to God for providing such an increase. This concept is not exclusive to סֻכּוֹת (Sukkoth). Paul tells those of us in the church under the new covenant to do that very thing—not just one day out of the year; not just one specific seven-day period out of the year; but every time we eat we are to eat, giving thanks to God. 1st Corinthians 10:31—Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Colossians 3:17—And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. Romans 14:6-8—6 He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks. 7 For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. 8 For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord's.
Second, they were to dwell in tents, or ‘tabernacles’. If you have studied the Bible for any length of time, and you do not see the significance of this, then keep reading. For this is, along with Passover, one of the clearest pictures of the Christ to come. For John, in the outset of his account of the gospel, tells us, John 1:14—And the Word became flesh and dwelt [literally, tabernacled] among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. The Word, of course, Christ, who was very God of very God; there was never a time when He was not God; He is one with the Father (to rebuke the Arians and Jehovah's Witnesses), yet separate from the Father (to rebuke the Modalists and Sabellians). And when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law (Galatians 4:4). And in being sent forth, he took on a body of flesh, prepared for Him by the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:20). Thus, He dwelt among us sinful, wretched, despicable, vile, filthy humans. More specifically speaking, he ‘tabernacled’ among us, for that is the true meaning of the Greek word σκηνόω (skenoō), seeing as how the Greek σκηνόω (skenoō) is the equivalent of סֻכּוֹת (sukkoth), and means “to fix one’s tabernacle, have one’s tabernacle, abide (or live) in a tabernacle (or tent), tabernacle.” In fact, the LXX uses the Greek σκηνή (skēnē) in verse 42—
ἐν σκηναῖς κατοικήσετε ἑπτὰ ἡμέρας
In tents you shall dwell seven days
The significance is clear. Christ came to us, dwelling in a body of flesh—but He was only here for a short time. But oh how the apostles missed this! Especially good ol’ Simon Peter, thinking He had come to establish a kingdom here on earth. That was not His aim, however, as is evidenced by His answer to Pilate in John 18:36—"My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here." When Mary His mother saw Him on the morning He rose from the tomb, she, wanting to keep her Son with her, was rebuked—gently—by that Son she loved so dearly. John 20:17—"Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father." She, like so many others, did not realize that “it is to your advantage that I go away” (John 16:7). And even to the end of His days on earth, even until the moments before He was taken back up in the clouds, His disciples were still clamoring for Him to stay. Acts 1:6—When they had come together, they asked Him, saying, "Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" And the Lord had to teach them one last thing—that his mission was done; He had finished the work the Father gave Him to do, that the days of Him living on this planet in a tabernacle of flesh were over, and that He must return to His throne to await the day he would return. In the meantime, however, he would give them power to act in His name, His power, His authority, Acts 1:7-8—7 And He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. 8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
And even as Christ’s time upon the earth, so our time here is fleeting also. What is your life? Is it not a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away? (James 4:14). That was the other object lesson God was teaching the Israelites—that this world is not the end. We are only here temporarily, in a ‘tabernacle’ that God clothes us with. One day, even when this tabernacle is worn out, we will not cease to exist. But, as Paul said in the aforementioned passage from his first letter to the Corinthians (1st Corinthians 15:50-53), we will put off this body, and put on a new and glorious body. He wrote a similar sentiment to the church at Philippi. Philippians 3:20-21—20 Our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body. And in the epistle which would serve as possibly his dying words, Paul told his young protégé that he was prepared to put off his coat of flesh and go to meet his Lord. 2nd Timothy 4:6—I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. John gave us a glimpse of our future apart from this filthy, fleshly tabernacle in 1st John 3:2—Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And Peter echoed the language of סֻכּוֹת (sukkoth) when he wrote to the Circumcision, 13 Yes, I think it is right, as long as I am in this tent, to stir you up by reminding you, 14 knowing that shortly I must put off my tent, just as our Lord Jesus Christ showed me (2nd Peter 1:13-14). A more recent writer penned the words to a song that stirs many congregations to remember that this world is not the be-all/end-all of everything:
This world is not my home I’m just a passing through
My treasures are laid upon somewhere beyond the blue
The angels beckon me to Heaven’s open door
And I can’t feel at home in this world anymore
Oh lord you know I have no friend like you
If heaven’s not my home oh lord what would I do
Angel’s beckon me to heaven’s open door
And I can’t feel at home in this world anymore
Father, help us to always see Christ when You show us glimpses of Him in the Old Testament. And please allow us to see Him when He works salvation in our lives. May we always and ever seek that salvation, and broadcast it forth to others, that Your glory may shine in this ever-darkening world, and that we may be ready to go to You when the final trumpet is blown.
