As we go through the calendar months
of October and November in America, I find myself in a continuous pattern of
thankfulness.
The joyous season starts with the
Hebrew Festival called The Feast of Tabernacles or Sukkot, which has already
come and gone for this year.
America’s
Thanksgiving Holiday follows this bringing more reminders of thankfulness.
I’ve often
considered that Sukkot was probably the first original form of
Thanksgiving. During this whole season
my eyes are constantly being opened to the fact that the Christians of America have
been so blessed to have a God that perfectly orchestrated both the history of
His people Israel and the history of His church in America. One could never replace the other, but both complement
each other as a living testimony to God at work in the history of all nations.
The Hebrew Feast of Tabernacles (or
Booths) begins on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, after the crops are
all gathered in for the winter. So we see a similar pattern between
the two celebrations in that both occasions are a part of the fall harvest
activity. The harvest celebration called Sukkot is very much of the same nature as The American Thanksgiving
holiday.
God instructed the Israelites to observe the Feast of Tabernacles by building and living in temporary booths for seven days so that they would always remember the exodus from Egypt when they lived in tents, or booths, in the wilderness and realize how God brought them to a promised land. It was to help them to remember how God dwelt among them and tabernacled with them as they sojourned to a new land. In other words; it was a time to remember all the good and great things that God had done for them in bringing them out to a better place; just as we Americans remember God leading the pilgrims to a new land at Thanksgiving.
Exodus 25:8 speaks of the
commandment to the Israelites: “Then
have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them. Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings
exactly like the pattern I will show you.” (NIV)
The booths were temporary
tabernacles until this real and permanent tabernacle was built. This foreshadowed
the building of the permanent Temple. Now, so many years later, even with
the Temple destroyed; we once again find ourselves dwelling in the temporary
tabernacles of our bodies and building our sukkas to celebrate the
feasts. We so often take comfort in
knowing that God still dwells with us - everywhere we go. The pilgrims
had a great grasp of this truth and they lived it out. They spoke of these things in their
Thanksgiving celebrations.
Back in the pre-tabernacle days of
Israel, and pre-temple days, there were also other reasons for dwelling in
booths near the threshing floors. Threshing
floors were the place of the harvest. The
harvest was a chief source of income for the people. The threshing floors were always in
danger of being robbed. This
was less likely to happen if someone was sleeping in a temporary booth in the
fields until all the grain was removed. It was customary for the family to
move out to the vicinity of the threshing floor in order to work together as
well as to protect the harvest.
The mother would prepare meals there in the shade of any nearby trees and she would take her turn with the father and the children to ride on the sledge.
This was what was going on when Ruth approached Boaz. He was sleeping in a Sukkah near the threshing floor guarding the grain of the harvest.
In the days beyond Ruth and Boaz, the ancient people gladly added God’s commanded instructions for the Holy Days to this tradition, and they turned this time into a joyous celebration full of Thanksgiving. Isn’t that just like our Great God to turn a time of dread and fear into a time of celebration and joy? He is a God of great reversals. Instead of fearing that their hard worked harvest would be robbed and taken away from them, they stayed in the fields and lived there temporarily, guarding their bounty and celebrating their blessings until it was all gathered safely home. They lived in temporary dwellings.
We look at the Hebrew people dwelling in booths during The Feast of Tabernacles/Sukkot and welcoming strangers into their sukkahs and we can't help but think of the lean-tos on the sides of the first log cabins that the settlers built. They were temporary dwellings with three sides and a door, much like a sukkah. They were often the shelter offered with genuine hospitality to strangers passing through. The stranger would spend the night in the lean-to much like a sukkah was used for sleep-over guests in The Feast of Tabernacles. The lean-to was an extended temporary room. They were a form of extended hospitality, just like a sukkah in today's festival of The Feast of Tabernacles.
Historians now note that the first
Jews arrived in America with Christopher Columbus in 1492. Jews, newly converted to Christianity,
were also among the first Spaniards to live in Mexico with Conquistador
Hernando Cortez in 1519. In
North America in 1654 Jews arrived in New Amsterdam which later came to be
known as New York. There
were 23 Jewish refugees from Recif, Brazil.
Hebraic thought and customs were well known to the settlers and pilgrims
in America.
It is extremely clear that the laws of the first colonies were based on biblical principals from the scriptures. The New Haven legislators adopted a legal code called the Code of 1655 that contained 79 statutes. Half of these 79 statutes included biblical references, and it is very clear that they came from the Hebrew bible. The Plymouth Colony had a similar law code, and so did the Massachusetts Colony. In 1641 the Massachusetts Colony adopted The Capital Laws of New England. These laws were based almost entirely on the Mosaic law.
It is highly possible that some of
our American heroes might have been from people of Jewish roots who had come to
the shores of America long before the Mayflower ever sailed. Already
living in the land at the time, they may have been among those who came to the
aid of the pilgrims that first year. Many
wanted to turn these Jewish brothers away and chase them out of the area, but
The Dutch West Indies Company depended heavily on their investments and helped
them to stay.
By the time of The War of
Independence, there was an estimated 2,000, mostly Sephardic Jews living in
America. Their
contributions to the causes of the country were very significant. Not only did they fight alongside of
the Patriots, but these Jews provided great financial contributions in the
years after the first colonies arrived. One
of the greatest among them was Haym Salomon, who lent a great deal of money to
The Continental Congress in the last days of the war. He was never paid back a dime and died
bankrupt.
There was also a well known
metallurgist named Gaunse who had come to America with a Spanish expedition
from the Queen of England. Jews
were not allowed to go to the colonies at that time, but this man was so
knowledgeable about copper that an exception was allowed in his case.
So it is highly possible that some
Jewish thoughts were floating around among the colonies. This coupled with the strict interpretations
and emphasis on the scriptures might have contributed to the first
American Thanksgiving celebration.
American Thanksgiving celebration.
Their feast was held after their
fall harvest, just as the Hebrew’s feasts were held.
The chain of events leading up to
the first Thanksgiving in America is amazing when you think about it. The Pilgrims too had made a great
exodus to come to a new place where they would be allowed to worship God as
they chose to do, in the way that they thought God intended.
The Israelites crossed the Red Sea;
the Pilgrims crossed the Atlantic Ocean.
Both journeys were filled with
dangers and perils. Upon
arriving at their destination both groups experienced apprehension and
adjustments. They had to
gather their courage to be brave in an unfamiliar land, and they had to learn
to get along with strange people who had totally different cultures.
Both brave groups of people had to
learn how to live in peace and harmony with those around them even if they had
great differences in lifestyles.
For these Pilgrims America had
become The Promised Land.
So it was that they recognized and
followed the customs of the Israelites who had for many years given thanks for
abundant harvests in the eight day celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles.
The land of England from which the colonist
hailed also had a traditional custom of observing a Harvest Festival, but
the Pilgrims chose not to associate themselves with their homeland’s festivals
because of the many pagan customs their homeland had incorporated into this day. No mention was made of God in the traditional
festival of old England. So the brave pilgrims chose to follow a
nation to whom God had dictated customs and traditions. Once they arrived in America, they
made every effort to observe things in their days that were accurately
associated with God. They
were much more concerned with religious matters than politics or social
issues.
It is also thought that the early
settlers adopted a Sabbatarian view of observing the Sabbath from sunset on
Friday till sunset on Saturday, similar to the custom of Israel. They were heavily influenced by
preaching and teachings on millennialism. They believed there would be a “Golden
Age” or “Paradise on Earth” in which Christ will reign for 1000 years prior to
the final judgment of mankind. This
reign and rule of Christ is recognized today by Christians who keep The Feast
of Tabernacles.
All of these historical celebrations
play into the theology and the Christian symbolism in the celebration of
Sukkot, which many Christians today live out once a year in sort of a “dress
rehearsal” of The Millennial Kingdom of Christ. These fundamentals of Hebraic/Christian
doctrine are now more and more being commonly taught practices and observances
in most evangelical based modern day churches.
The Puritans chose to separate
themselves from The Church of England based on the following scripture
passage: “And you will be hated by all for My
name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved. When they persecute you in this city, flee to another.
For assuredly, I say to you, you will not have gone through the cities of
Israel before the Son of Man comes.” (Matthew 10:22-23).
These Puritans/Pilgrims
did everything according to the truth they found in the scriptures. They followed The Word of God in a
strict and detailed manner. In
other words they believed in living out the scriptures in their daily
lives.
The passage
of God’s Holy Word they read said to “flee” when you are persecuted for
worshiping God; and so they did, in
a ship called The Mayflower. 102
passengers began the long voyage. Though
the mast of their ship broke in a severe storm, they were able to repair it and
eventually found themselves on the shores of Provincetown Harbor,
Massachusetts.
When the
mast was broken there was discussion of turning back. Everyone decided to take the risk and
keep going forward.
The first
use of the word “Pilgrims” appeared in William Bradford’s writings ‘Of Plymouth Plantation.’ In his writings he used the imagery of
Hebrews 11:13-16 for those who had an opportunity to return to their homelands
but instead longed for a better, heavenly country. “These all died in faith, not having received
the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them
and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.” (Hebrews 11:13.
These pilgrims were highly
educated. There was nothing in this new
land that required the education of the founder’s children. Yet, these brave people felt education
was very important and established their own unique system of studies. John Winthrop declared that their
schools should be the beginning of “A City Upon A Hill” that all the people
turned to for education and learning. The
founders were not amateurs; most of them had attended either Oxford or
Cambridge and before coming to the new land they had communicated with
intellectuals throughout Europe. Eventually
the school they established became known as Harvard University.
My point in explaining this is to
express that these were well educated men, highly capable of discerning mistakes
and blunders of bad choices and totally capable of interpreting the scriptures
with great intellect. They
had something special that many others did not, however; they had heart and
passion for the fruit of their intellectual endeavors. Their studies confirmed the
truth of God. Oh that Harvard would
return to its original roots.
So we see that even in the field of
education, these very educated and knowledgeable men –patterned their lives
after the culture of The Hebrew people and their stories that are played out in
our Bibles.
Just think of all
the similarities we have discussed so far. Both the Israelites and The Pilgrims were people who set themselves apart in order
to worship God in the way they thought He desired to be worshipped. The Pilgrims considered the scriptures
found in Deuteronomy 14:2:
"For thou art a holy people
unto the LORD thy God, and the
LORD hath chosen thee to be a
peculiar people unto Himself, above
all the nations that are upon the earth." (Deuteronomy 14:2)
The Pilgrims chose to pattern
themselves after the nation that God chose and put His name upon; The Nation of
Israel. This being true, it
is highly possible that these well learned men studied and followed the feast
and festivals of God found in our Old Testament scriptures. Perhaps they had read and understood
the significance of Deuteronomy 6:3:
"Therefore hear, O Israel,
and be careful to observe it, that it may be well with you, and that
you may multiply greatly as the LORD God of your fathers has promised you - ‘a land flowing with milk and honey.’"
That first winter proved harsh and
forbidding. There were many
illnesses and they were to the point of starvation in the first
settlement. They found the
Hand of God was with them as they learned to get along with an unusual culture
of people who were already living on the continent. They cooperated with these Indians and
combined their resources. This
is how they were able to rise above their problems. This is how they were so different from other
settlers in the land. They were
humble before God and were willing to learn new things, and most of all they
were willing to reach out and receive and return love from those that were not
familiar to them.
As we keep looking at the patterns
of that first Feast of Tabernacles of the Hebrews and also observing our
national ancestors, we see so many parallels. It has been discovered that some of
the Jewish New “Englanders kept track of these historical parallels too; that
both people groups were persecuted for their beliefs, left their homes and came
to a new land, survived the first year and celebrated a time of Thanksgiving
before God after their Fall Harvest. It seems that William Bradford, who was
the first governor of the Pilgrims proclaimed the first Thanksgiving by using
the Scriptures – both from the Old and New Testaments for guidance in governing
the colony.
So we conclude that the hard and
dangerous journey that led to Plymouth Rock, in a very real sense began with
that earlier migration from Egyptian slavery toward Mount Sinai and led onward
toward Ellis Island, and every other landing place where the later generations
of pilgrims arrived at on these shores.
Today, as we approach Thanksgiving
2016, the journey continues for America, for each of us, in our own lives and
for all the people of our country as a whole. The Pilgrims were the first to
sense that America had a unique destiny in human history. Governor Bradford wrote, ‘just as one
small candle may light a thousand others, and lose none of it’s own light, so
too will we — but few in number — become a beacon for all people!”
May Governor Bradford’s words once
again be so. We Americans
stand at a critical crossroad in our nation’s life. The challenge of keeping
our freedom and liberty, of being able to work to provide for our families and
the fight for living and raising our children in a godly manner and worshiping
in a land that provides freedom and justice for all people to pursue and
fulfill their dreams is still unrealized, even after 397 years since the
Mayflower found its way to a safe harbor.
We too, may well have some dangerous
seas and painful trials ahead of us, before we can gather with all our
neighbors in a pure celebration of Thanksgiving once more. But the example of our Pilgrim
ancestors can continue to inspire and guide us as we reaffirm the freedom of
conscience and independent spirit they stood for. Let us all strive to again be “one
nation under God” and continue
our quest for peace on earth, good will to man.