(Written by Sheila Gail Landgraf)
This article is only a draft and composite of many of my thoughts about Sukkot and the significance of the Sukkah all jumbled up together. I leave them here for whatever anyone can glean from their confusing and unorganized order. I hope to split all the pieces out to create smaller articles over the time leading up to Sukkot. If you can digest it this way - please feel free! Just don't judge my writing ability by this composite of notes not yet organized.
If you’ve ever built a sukkah for Sukkot you have probably
realized there is a lot of hidden meaning to be found in the building process.
Jesus taught us all of these things in the
Gospel, but all gospel lessons can easily be applied to the simple things that make
up our normal lives, or even our special occasions in life, such as the time we
experience during Sukkot when we decide to follow God’s instructions and
complete the act of building a sukkah and spending our time inside the
structure.
It is called the Feast of
Tabernacles because we dwell in booths or temporary shelters called
sukkahs.
The word sukkah in Hebrew
actually translates to mean a temporary booth. For some people this is as deep
as building a sukkah will go, for others though – there is so much more to the whole wonderful experience.
You really won’t get this unless
you actually DO this.
Obedience is the
first step to growth in The Kingdom of God.
It is also a straight path to joy.
So most of us who observe Sukkot joyfully build our sukkahs and enjoy them
throughout the season of The Feast of Tabernacles.
God often lets us find
out a few things for ourselves as we go along instead of just spelling out
lesson after lesson, making them boring and hard to retain. This is yet another reason for observing The Fall Holy Days. God knows the process of doing things is the
way we are more likely to retain good lasting knowledge and remember
significant matters. It seems this "going-through" process is just as important as the results of the process.
Before we reach this date for The Feast of Tabernacles, if we are observing all The Fall Holy Days, we have judged ourselves and found ourselves lacking during Rosh
Hashanah, confessed our sins and begged for God’s mercy and
forgiveness.
We have found that
beautiful place in time right after Yom Kippur, where we have confessed all we know,
fasted, and even asked forgiveness for what we don’t understand.
It is a season when we are beginning a new
year of our lives standing clean before God, with atonement provided by the
blood of Jesus that cleanses us white as snow.
By the time we arrive at Sukkot we find ourselves raising holy, clean,
pure hands before our God in worship, because we have laid our sins and burdens at the
feet of Jesus and have been washed in the blood and atoned for by a merciful God. There is no better feeling!
We turn our
attention to starting a fresh new year in a much better state of mind and
heart. It is a feeling of great celebration! Once again we have the hope of trying
to walk holy before the God we love. We
know we are only human, and we are going to make mistakes; but we know He will
guide us and pick us back up when we fall. It is usually only a matter of time, but in
the meantime, we have fresh new lives to build on for the coming year.
We will look up through the sukkah roof of earthen branches and see that there are many, many stars in the sky. We would realize that there is more sand on the
sea shore than any man can count. These things stand for the great number of Abraham’s children and the sign of the promise God made to Abraham even before he
had become an Israelite!
We always take the time to remember the promise and to pass the promise on to others who need hope.
The sukkah is a place where people come looking for something. Just like the story of the woman who lost a coin and cleaned and moved everything until she found it. What we find in the fellowship of the sukkah is the very thing the coin represented to the woman in the
story. It is a precious treasure. People come seeking the
substance of life here.
Each year that passes finds my heart growing more tender toward the usefulness of the sukkah. God’s mind is so
unbelievably rich, and all it takes for Him to share it is obedience. At first I came to building the sukkah blindly, just being obedient to the commandment to build the sukkah; then I began discovering one fact after another that related to joy.
The woman in the story swept her house and
searched it carefully. I cleaned the
floor of my sukkah too, looking around to be sure that it was full of the
things that sustained life. I had found
them here, in this little temporary dwelling and like the woman in the story I
wanted to call all of my friends and neighbors and invite them to come over and
rejoice with me. I wanted them to know
what I had found in this season. 
I put
several chairs inside my sukkah and sat in prayer for awhile. I thanked God for the opportunities He has
granted to me simply by his instructions of how to build a sukkah. I placed a bible on the table. I opened it up. Reading the bible inside the Sukkah is special!
As older folks, living in the Sukkah, having lost our earthly fathers, we often to remember the once clear but
now vague comforts and perfect order and dignity of living in our Father’s
house under his rules. Often the story of the prodigal son comes to mind. We do not want to live like either son inside our Sukkah, but only a son who loves The Father. Like the younger son, we, over time
have gained some knowledge and understanding about these things we once took
for granted, and now we hate ourselves for taking them for granted for so
long. We know we dare not ask for things
to be as they were, but in the deepest part of our hearts we want to go back,
simply to beg forgiveness and mercy of our Father who had been so good to us
for so many years. We Gentile Christians
fit the picture of the younger rebellious son so well. Especially during the time leading up to Tabernacles, during Elul and Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
We can see the significance of this and so many other bible stories right away when we are living in the sukkah. It symbolizes the tents that the Israelites
dwelled in during their time of wandering through the wilderness. They camped surrounding the glory of God that
led them through a pillar of fire by night and a cloud during the day. They all kept the front of their tents open
facing this glory. Three sides were
closed, but they could look out the open side at any time and see where God
dwelt. Ah, so much can be said for living in a temporary shelter of three sides with the front open and welcoming God, family, friends and neighbors to come inside and enjoy community. Blessings of community always come from living in a sukkah!
It takes DOING to see. Sometimes God just loves for us to read between the lines as
we are “doing” the things He has instructed us to do. God doesn't always EXPLAIN His answers, He let's us discover them on our own. This seems to be a family trait. Jesus never gave straight answers
either. He always answered questions with questions. It seems very possible that communications technique was intended
to make us think. Thinking, after all, can be a very spiritual trait. If you
start to build a sukkah you will find yourself thinking about a lot of things as you build.
Like any good Father, God waits patiently with all of us as
we go through different processes in the different seasons of life. Every year He waits to see it we are going to
build our sukkah. Every year He teaches us a different way to dwell in the sukkah.
So, I discover it over and over each year, as I think of building
this simple little temporary dwelling. Every year as I go through the motions of The Feast of Tabernacles I learn
something new and it all adds together each time, layer upon layer. It is never
the same, always different each time.
One year the learning experience started as I
listened to my pastor’s sermon right before Sukkot. The sermon came from the passage
found in Luke 15: Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear
Jesus. 2 But
the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners
and eats with them.”
Where am I in that passage?
I’m the one they called a “sinner.”
I’m not a tax collector, but it is funny that this passage of scripture
came up just about the time we received our property taxes for the year. How odd that taxes and feast days seem to coincide! I do vividly
remember being angry at the tax collectors of our county who decided all of a
sudden this year that my detached garage could be taxed as a separate building
from this point forward, doubling the extra fire and emergency dues that are to
be paid for living where I live.
Not many people like
their tax collectors, or want to hear from them or deal with them on a daily
basis. Have you ever heard anyone say
“Oh yea! I’ve been audited by the IRS
and get to meet with them in person this week, can’t wait to see them!” No, neither have I. Those tax collectors have their own special
brand of “sin.” The thing we don’t
usually see is the fact that all of us “sinners” have some brand of sin that we
enjoy more than other sins. That their
sin is different from ours doesn’t change the fact that when you lump us all
together – we are all just “sinners.” This lesson plays out in the ritual of shaking the Lulav and knowing there are many kinds of people. When you bundle them together, they are all sinners in need of God's grace and mercy. We become like the Citron fruit when we receive God's love into our hearts, both sweet to the taste and fragrant with His Holy Spirit.
None of us will ever reach sainthood on this earth, but now we’ve come to the season of joy for all “sinners.” Some have trod further into the valley toward sainthood than others, but each person must and should have given that to God by the time of the feast. It is The Feast of Tabernacles. It is a time period that comes after a time when
we have considered our sins and examined our lives during the previous month of
Elul.
So how do we go about this?
We begin to build our sukkahs for the festival of Sukkot.
It is the very next thing we do after Yom
Kippur and Atonement. We have a festival
that is to be celebrated in temporary booths called Tabernacles. Is this silly? Perhaps; but, perhaps not.
Has your earthly father ever given you a chore that you
didn’t appreciate or understand until it was complete? Do you find yourself having fond memories of
that special time now that it is years behind you? Do you sometimes wish you could go back to
those days, just for a little while, simply because they are so dear to
you? Years and years later the lessons you learned
while carrying out your father’s instructions may still be important to
you. Looking back, you understand and
appreciate the lessons learned while completing the project you once did not
understand. You are thankful and amazed
at your father’s wisdom and so glad you participated. God has a way of doing this for us when He
is instructing us to build our sukkahs.
You start out with
the knowledge of the fact that the sukkah is only temporary. You will dwell there for awhile, but only for
awhile. The time you set aside to dwell
there should be a time of joy and celebration.
When the temporary time is over you will go to live in a more permanent
structure. So, build now – while the
time is here. Do not wait until it is
time to go to a more permanent place.
This is a time you can never re-gain.
Live it out NOW. One day you will
look back and remember.
To build something like a sukkah, you first need to learn to
follow instructions from someone who knows how to build properly. God is the master builder. He gives the instructions for the sukkahs in the
scriptures that follow:
"Set up the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, on the
first day of the first month. (Exodus
40:2)
As I pondered building a sukkah and all the process you usually
go through in building one, our pastor’s sermon and the words of the scriptures
spoken kept coming back to me. I kept
remembering that if not for the grace of God I would always be “just a sinner”
and I kept thinking about how all the people I considered to be pagan and
ungodly were probably just like those tax collectors, just a different flavor
of sinners who were in the same boat as me – in need of restoration and resurrection.
As those walls went up on the sukkah, a few walls between me
and my neighbors began to fall down.
Then I read the second part of the scripture passage that my pastor had
preached about again:
Luke 15:2 But
the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners
and eats with them.”
Ah, those very religious ones; those old Pharisees! Perhaps I could fall into that definition –
was I too being very religious in keeping the commandment to build this Sukkah?
These guys were in the same boat in
that we all were sinners, be our sin self righteousness or murder; but they
missed the point. They were living in
their own self righteousness and counting on the fact that if they simply did
everything right they would not be condemned.
They couldn’t see that we were ALL sinners. They were telling God how perfect they were
and not humbling themselves in their obedience.
There was no worship involved here, only duty. All of their laws had to make sense to them. They knew no simple, humble obedience.
I, on the other hand was just taking God at His word, looking at my
little pile of boards and branches and saying “Okay Lord, I don’t get it
completely, but I’m willing to do as you have instructed just because I love
you and want to be with you in the things that you enjoy.” My sukkah was about worship, not
legalities. I wasn’t constructing it out of
duty or fear, but out of love. So, on
this realization, I continued building.
The Sukkah was to be shared with God and
family and anyone who wanted to join in on the celebration. Hmmmmm, I hoped once I got done that I would
not turn into a Pharisee in my Sukkah.
Sometimes we can start off right but lose our way and go wrong. I had to be careful of this. I thought about how I needed to open up the
front wall so that anyone who wanted to draw close and come inside could
experience the same joy that I would find here. A sukkah is for sharing. I left
the front open. I welcomed other sinners
to join me. This is what Jesus did, yet
even He was often condemned by judgmental people. There would probably be a few who would judge
me even for building this Sukkah in my yard.
They simply would not understand.
People are often afraid of things they do
not understand. They might even say I had misinterpreted the law and forgotten
all about how The Messiah’s coming had completely changed things. I wouldn’t listen to their judgments though, because I knew that everything happening about my sukkah WAS about how The
Messiah had changed things. I would
simply invite them inside to experience the joy with me. No one would be turned away. Everyone would be welcomed in this
Sukkah. They would be welcomed into the
shade, there would be food to share with them if they were hungry, a chair if they needed to
rest, and lots of good companionship. I
was liking this “sukkah” experience more and more.
I pondered the next part of my pastor’s sermon
scripture reading:
(Luke 15: 3-7:) 3 Then Jesus told them this
parable: “Suppose
one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the
ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?
5 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on
his shoulders 6 and goes home. Then he
calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have
found my lost sheep.’ 7 I tell you that
in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who
repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.
Hmmm……I was okay with inviting the
judgmental casual acquaintances inside the Sukkah, but what about those who had
truly offended me? What about those who
had once worshiped with me but had taken offense at some human part of the
whole experience and walked away? What
about those that I knew had made a real profession of faith but had not even
begun to live it out yet? Was there hope
for them too? I knew The Good Shepherd
would be looking for them, even during the feast days, hoping, watching, searching
the horizon, looking to see if they would be coming back. Who did I know like this? I needed to make it
easy for them to be found. I needed to
make it comfortable for them to come back into the fold. I would open my sukkah to them. I would call them and invite them over for
some cool refreshments during the time of the feast.
I was seeing more and more why God had asked
us to keep this ritual every year. It
was more than a harvest festival for the land, it was a harvest festival for the
soul.
The Good Shepherd wanted all His
sheep in the fold. It was time to look
around and noticing who had not been among us lately and inviting them to come back
inside. What better way than a party in
a festive sukkah?
Then I read the next part of the scripture reading
my pastor has just quoted from a few days ago:
(Luke 15:8-10:) 8 “Or suppose a woman has
ten silver coins[a]
and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully
until she finds it? 9 And when
she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice
with me; I have found my lost coin.’ 10 In
the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of
God over one sinner who repents.”
This parable gave me some good instructions as to how to furnish
my sukkah. The woman had lost something,
a coin that would sustain her with the food that gave her life. I was interested in lost people and helping
them to find the value in life, and the tools the woman used in the story were
the same tools I would need in my sukkah.
She needed a light. She lite a
lamp to make it easier to find her valuable coin. I went to get some candles to put on the
table in my Sukkah. I was reminded of how many festivals God gave
us that portray Jesus as the light of the world. I would light the candle in the Sukkah,and we
would thank God for bringing us Messiah.
He would furnish the light in the Sukkah, as well as the stars in the
sky.
The pages flipped to the rest of the passage from my
pastor’s sermon:
Luke 15: 11-31: 11 Jesus
continued: “There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give
me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.
13 “Not long after that, the younger son got together
all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in
wild living. 14 After he
had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he
began to be in need. 15 So he went and
hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to
feed pigs. 16 He longed to fill his
stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. 17 “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of
my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to
him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make
me like one of your hired servants.’ 20 So
he got up and went to his father. “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was
filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him
and kissed him. 21 “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against
heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring
the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his
feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill
it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. 24 For
this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So
they began to celebrate. 25 “Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he
came near the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 So he called one of the servants and asked him
what was going on. 27 ‘Your brother has
come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has
him back safe and sound.’
28 “The older brother became angry and refused to go
in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. 29 But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years
I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave
me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours who has squandered your
property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’ 31 “‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me,
and everything I have is yours. 32 But
we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is
alive again; he was lost and is found.’”
It was the age old story of the prodigal son. It starts out mentioning that there were two
sons. I thought of the two sons in this
story as I had come to see them; so often I had thought of those two; I could see that the older son symbolized Israel and the
younger son symbolized the Gentiles. The
two sons were very different, but they had the same Father.
We Gentiles have been a lot like the younger son in the
story. We have wanted everything we have
coming to us NOW, and we have asked God to give it to us NOW. And God, just like the Father in the story
divided His possessions out and gave us a our portion NOW. He sent His only Son to save us with his
life. He sent His Holy Spirit to sustain
us. We took it all for granted and went
out and lived like kings, feeling rich and important from all our blessings. We thought we had it all, but we were actually
very poor because we had not yet learned the true values in life at all. We have squandered our wealth in wild sinful
living. Sin has run rampant among us,
even to the top level of the leaders of our churches and denominations. Our sins have brought the land that God gave
us into captivity. We find ourselves in financial
bondage to strange people in strange lands.
We have to work hard for anything to put on our tables now, and we often stop
to remember how blessed we were before we threw God’s laws out the window and
tried to live however we wanted to at the moment.
So we turn and go home to a loving and
merciful Father who meets us with a cloak that covers us and a ring that says
who we really are. It is amazing and
crazy to us that He loves us so much to totally forgive how selfish and
rebellious we have been. He still loves
us! Our times of sorrow and repentance
turn to joy and celebration! We have
found out who we truly are and we only want to be the restored child of the
father forever. We celebrate our restoration in The Feast of Tabernacles inside our temporary dwellings called sukkahs.
We return to a land and a way that our brother has never
left. The older brother is Israel. Israel and the people of Judah who have
always done everything right. They have
stayed with the Father all along. They
have carried out His instructions to the letter. They resent the fact that the younger brother
has come home from all the waste and repented to the Father and found
favor. They resent that the father did
not met them at the door with a cloak and a ring and present it to them for all
their righteousness all these years.
They resent that the Father has not seen their total loyalty and
devotion and recognized them for it in the land.
So, here they are, the two brothers. They are both back together in The Father’s
House, and it is the time of joy and celebration. It has been the Father’s custom to celebrate
this season of harvest. When the sons
reach the Father’s House the temporary dwellings become permanent. They are both home forever. The Father never stops teaching. He will keep showing them lessons in life and
letting them walk through the process until they learn to love each other again
and live in harmony in His House. The Father understands the needs of each son. He knows the lessons they both need to learn.
So, with all of this
in my mind and heart, I open up my little temporary sukkah.
I open it up to all who will come inside and
find the joy and love that dwells in this place because One Father loved so
very much that He was willing to sacrifice His only son.
I know one day that Father will take these
fragile temporary things and make them real and permanent structures forever.
