Jewish feasts are filled with interesting traditions and meaningful symbolism. When God provided specific instruction for the feasts in Leviticus 23, He was not short on imagination and ordinances that point toward Jesus!

As noted yesterday, the Feast of Tabernacles (aka Sukkot) is one of the most joyous 8-day seasons on the Hebrew calendar. Today, Jews around the world put up temporary shelters in which they spend time eating, sleeping and entertaining guests for those 8 glorious days.

When it comes to this feast, God said:

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.’ ”
~Leviticus 23: 39-43

Lots of detail lives in those verses, but focus on verse 40. What’s with the fruit of beautiful trees, branches of palm trees, and boughs of leafy trees used in rejoicing before the Lord? Well, the fruit of beautiful trees is known as citron, palm branches are self-explanatory, and boughs of leafy trees are myrtle and willow. When the three branches are woven together, you get the lulav, and the fruit is known as etrog. Waving the lulav and etrog is a form of worship.

The etrog is a citron fruit, much like a lemon, and finding the most beautiful one is often sport in Jewish culture! Everyone seeks to find the perfect etrog!

While holding the collection of branches and the etrog, a joyous blessing is pronounced. Afterall the Jews escape from Egyptian captivity was worth celebrating! Then, the lulav and etrog are waved in six directions: forward, backward, left, right, up and down. That symbolizes God’s sovereignty and dominion over all creation.

The Bible doesn’t speak about other particulars in worship and rejoicing before the Lord, but the Jewish people, through centuries of celebration, have implanted traditions in the hearts and minds of their young to rejoice and worship the God of Israel.

Similarly, in the Millennial Kingdom, we will be bound together (as the lulav is), waving in worship, with sweet-smelling aroma (which is symbolized by the citron fruit) to the King of Kings. Jews and Gentiles will be inseparable as there will be no distinction. For the Jewish people, the Feast of Tabernacles represents freedom which results in rejoicing. As believers, we look forward to the day when Jesus will fulfill this beautiful feast by setting us all (Jews and Gentiles) free from the captivity of sin. After the rapture and tribulation, Jesus Himself will come to earth to “tabernacle among us” for 1,000 years, and what a glorious time of rejoicing it will be!

Remember this when you think of the lulav and etrog! Those things point us to Jesus.

We will use a few of the 8 days of Feast of Tabernacles to share more about the meaning of this wonderful celebration…and there will be fun things along the way. Stick with us right here!