(Written by Sheila
Gail Landgraf)
Long ago, even long
before your great-great-great-great-great-great grandparents were born, Abraham built a sukkah.
It was near a
tamarisk tree and a well of fresh spring water. It was positioned in an
area of Canaan near the road where the caravans of merchants and traders
traveled back and forth to the large cities to sell their goods at the
markets.
Abraham would sit
in the shade of his sukkah and welcome these guests to the land as they went
by. He would invite them to come inside his sukkah and have a meal with
him. He would tell them the stories of God.
Abraham believed
there was only One God; the God of Heaven and Earth, Our Creator. Abraham
worshipped no other gods such as the pagans around him did. He wanted
them to know about The One True God, so he would welcome them and tell them
God’s stories at his table in his sukkah.
Sometimes, in the
days of Awe before he sat in his sukkah, Abraham would go down by the
sea. He would sit on the shore and look at the sand and the waves rushing
in. Abraham would find he was in complete
awe of the things God had created. They
were indeed wonderful! Abraham would give thanks to God as he sat by the
sea shore.
One day while
Abraham was sitting near the ocean in awe, God make him a promise. God
told Abraham that his descendants would be as many as the sands of the
sea. Abraham knew that the sands of the sea were so many that it would be
impossible to count them! Abraham thanked God for this promise, even
though as of yet, he did not even have one son with his wife Sarah.
Abraham still believed the things that God promised and he looked forward to
the blessings that would come.
Back at home near
the road that the merchants traveled, Abraham sat in his sukkah again. On many cool clear nights Abraham looked up
through the covering of his sukkah’s roof to see the stars in the sky twinkling
back at him. They were so bright and so beautiful that Abraham just had
to praise God for creating them!
When Abraham worshiped God and praised Him as he sat in his sukkah, God made Abraham
another wonderful promise. God told Abraham that his descendants would be
as many as the stars in the sky. Abraham knew he could never count the
number of stars in the sky, and that would be a great miracle! As of yet,
Abraham and Sarah had no children. They were old! Still; Abraham
had faith in God and he believed God’s promises and he looked forward to the
blessings of the future.
As the people
traveled to and fro on the main trade route of the country, Abraham would
invite these strangers into his sukkah. Abraham would prepare feasts for
his guests. A feast is not just an ordinary meal, but a feast is a very
festive meal with a purpose behind it. Abraham’s purpose was to tell the
stories of God to the people in the land. Abraham and his wife Sarah were
known for their gifts of welcome and hospitality to all the people of all the
lands.
You would be amazed
at the guests that Abraham entertained under the roof of his sukkah!
Red, yellow, black
or white. Skin color did not matter to Father Abraham. If you were
rich or poor or in-between; you were invited to Abraham’s sukkah for a festive
meal. The only requirement was that you had ears. Ears are for
listening and Abraham liked to tell the stories of God to each of his guests.
One day The Angel
of The Lord (who was really Jesus in another form long before He came to earth
as a man) and two other angels came to visit in the sukkah of Abraham. They were passing through the
land when Abraham spotted them in the distance, ran to them
and invited them into his sukkah for a festive meal.
The three were on a
mission from God. Part of their mission
was to deliver a message to Abraham, but Abraham did not know this. Abraham was so honored to have someone from
The One True God that he worshiped sitting in his sukkah and gathering around his
very table! Abraham had Sarah to cook an elaborate and very special feast
for them. Abraham brought his very best offerings. They shared a
festive meal full of some serious talk but also some laughter.
After the meal they
shared a glass of wine together. Sarah was waiting inside the tent where
she and Abraham lived, tending to some of the things she would bring out for
dessert and she could hear their voices carrying on the wind as they spoke
inside the sukkah. Sarah heard The Angel of The Lord tell Abraham that a
son would be born to them. Sarah could not help but laugh out loud
because she was very old and past the age of having children.
So when Isaac, the son of Sarah and Abraham
was born in their old age; it was a great miracle and Abraham and Sarah
remembered the words that were told to Abraham as their special guests dined
with them under the roof of their sukkah. Sarah remembered her laughing
and so they named him Isaac, which means “laughter.”
Abraham had faith
to believe the things that God promised and he looked forward to the blessings
to come.
