Good morning,

This week we will study the life of Josiah, the last Godly king of Judah. Our text will be 2 Chronicles 34:1-28, 35:1-27, and 2 Kings 23:25-27.

Josiah was the son of King Amon, whom the people made king of Judah after Amon’s assassination (639 B.C.). Josiah’s reign began when he was only eight years old and lasted 31 years, three decades of peace, prosperity, and reform. King Josiah devoted himself to pleasing God and reinstituting Israel’s observance of the Mosaic Law. The Bible focuses almost exclusively on Josiah’s spiritual reforms, which climaxes in the eighteenth year of his reign with the discovery of the Book of the Law (621 B.C.)

2 Chronicles 34

The Book of the Law discovered (14-21)

“And when they brought out the money that was brought into the house of the Lord, Hilkiah the priest found a book of the law of the Lord given by Moses.¹⁵ And Hilkiah answered and said to Shaphan the scribe, I have found the book of the law in the house of the Lord. And Hilkiah delivered the book to Shaphan.¹⁶ And Shaphan carried the book to the king, and brought the king word back again, saying, All that was committed to thy servants, they do it.¹⁷ And they have gathered together the money that was found in the house of the Lord, and have delivered it into the hand of the overseers, and to the hand of the workmen.¹⁸ Then Shaphan the scribe told the king, saying, Hilkiah the priest hath given me a book. And Shaphan read it before the king.¹⁹ And it came to pass, when the king had heard the words of the law, that he rent his clothes.²⁰ And the king commanded Hilkiah, and Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Abdon the son of Micah, and Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah a servant of the king’s, saying,²¹ Go, enquire of the Lord for me, and for them that are left in Israel and in Judah, concerning the words of the book that is found: for great is the wrath of the Lord that is poured out upon us, because our fathers have not kept the word of the Lord, to do after all that is written in this book.”

Huldah’s prophecy (22-28)

“And Hilkiah, and they that the king had appointed, went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvath, the son of Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe; (now she dwelt in Jerusalem in the college:) and they spake to her to that effect.²³ And she answered them, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Tell ye the man that sent you to me,²⁴ Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, and upon the inhabitants thereof, even all the curses that are written in the book which they have read before the king of Judah:²⁵ Because they have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the works of their hands; therefore my wrath shall be poured out upon this place, and shall not be quenched.²⁶ And as for the king of Judah, who sent you to enquire of the Lord, so shall ye say unto him, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel concerning the words which thou hast heard;²⁷ Because thine heart was tender, and thou didst humble thyself before God, when thou heardest his words against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, and humbledst thyself before me, and didst rend thy clothes, and weep before me; I have even heard thee also, saith the Lord.²⁸ Behold, I will gather thee to thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered to thy grave in peace, neither shall thine eyes see all the evil that I will bring upon this place, and upon the inhabitants of the same. So they brought the king word again.”

Josiah’s covenant (29-33)

“Then the king sent and gathered together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem.³⁰ And the king went up into the house of the Lord, and all the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the priests, and the Levites, and all the people, great and small: and he read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant that was found in the house of the Lord.³¹ And the king stood in his place, and made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord, and to keep his commandments, and his testimonies, and his statutes, with all his heart, and with all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant which are written in this book.³² And he caused all that were present in Jerusalem and Benjamin to stand to it. And the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers.³³ And Josiah took away all the abominations out of all the countries that pertained to the children of Israel, and made all that were present in Israel to serve, even to serve the Lord their God. And all his days they departed not from following the Lord, the God of their fathers.”

When Josiah heard what the Book of the Law said, he sought the Lord. Once he understood, he took action.

He read the Book of the Law to everyone present. Then he covenanted with the Lord to keep his commandments and testimonies with all his heart and soul.

We have our own personal copies of God’s word, the Bible. Do we read it? From cover to cover?

For true revival to happen, we must keep (obey) and perform what the Bible tells us to do. Failure to do so demonstrates our desire to follow the world and not God.

When Josiah read God’s word, he acted upon it. Do we?

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001

Good morning,

This week we will study the life of Josiah, the last Godly king of Judah. Our text will be 2 Chronicles 34:1-28, 35:1-27, and 2 Kings 23:25-27.

Josiah was the son of King Amon, whom the people made king of Judah after Amon’s assassination (639 B.C.). Josiah’s reign began when he was only eight years old and lasted 31 years, three decades of peace, prosperity, and reform. King Josiah devoted himself to pleasing God and reinstituting Israel’s observance of the Mosaic Law. The Bible focuses almost exclusively on Josiah’s spiritual reforms, which climaxes in the eighteenth year of his reign with the discovery of the Book of the Law (621 B.C.)

2 Chronicles 34

Josiah reigns over Judah (1-2)

“Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem one and thirty years.² And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the ways of David his father, and declined neither to the right hand, nor to the left.”

Josiah’s reforms (3-7)

“For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet young, he began to seek after the God of David his father: and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, and the groves, and the carved images, and the molten images.⁴ And they brake down the altars of Baalim in his presence; and the images, that were on high above them, he cut down; and the groves, and the carved images, and the molten images, he brake in pieces, and made dust of them, and strewed it upon the graves of them that had sacrificed unto them.⁵ And he burnt the bones of the priests upon their altars, and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem.⁶ And so did he in the cities of Manasseh, and Ephraim, and Simeon, even unto Naphtali, with their mattocks round about.⁷ And when he had broken down the altars and the groves, and had beaten the graven images into powder, and cut down all the idols throughout all the land of Israel, he returned to Jerusalem.”

Josiah repairs the temple (8-13)

“Now in the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had purged the land, and the house, he sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, and Maaseiah the governor of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz the recorder, to repair the house of the Lord his God.⁹ And when they came to Hilkiah the high priest, they delivered the money that was brought into the house of God, which the Levites that kept the doors had gathered of the hand of Manasseh and Ephraim, and of all the remnant of Israel, and of all Judah and Benjamin; and they returned to Jerusalem.¹⁰ And they put it in the hand of the workmen that had the oversight of the house of the Lord, and they gave it to the workmen that wrought in the house of the Lord, to repair and amend the house:¹¹ Even to the artificers and builders gave they it, to buy hewn stone, and timber for couplings, and to floor the houses which the kings of Judah had destroyed.¹² And the men did the work faithfully: and the overseers of them were Jahath and Obadiah, the Levites, of the sons of Merari; and Zechariah and Meshullam, of the sons of the Kohathites, to set it forward; and other of the Levites, all that could skill of instruments of music.¹³ Also they were over the bearers of burdens, and were overseers of all that wrought the work in any manner of service: and of the Levites there were scribes, and officers, and porters.”

Josiah sought God at the age of 16. Then he destroyed everything that caused Israel NOT to follow God. Then he repaired the temple, so that proper worship could be conducted.

Josiah’s actions are needed in the United States. It began with one man who God used to change Israel. Revival comes first in the heart of each believer. Repentance, humbleness, renouncing the things of this world, and seeking God. Then when believers of like mind get together and pray, God begins to work. This is how the great revivals began.

The question becomes, “Does the church (body of believers) have the desire and will for this kind of revival?”

When we look at what Josiah did, would we be willing to support a leader like that or would we say they were too extreme?

Points to ponder.

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001

Good morning,

This week’s devotions will challenge us to walk closer to the Lord Jesus.

They come from the Grace Gems website, pilgrim@gracegems.org.

You are either in the Word–or in the world!

(Howard Hendricks)

“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15)

You are either in the Word,and the Word is conforming you to the image of Jesus Christ–or you are in the world,and the world is squeezing you into its mold!

The first reason for studying Scripture is that it is a means of spiritual growth. There is no growth apart from the Word. It is God’s primary tool to develop Christian character.

The Word of God is able to transform your life, but you must probe for its wisdom. You have to penetrate the surface with more than just a cursory glance.

The Bible was written not to satisfy your curiosity, but to conform you to Christ’s image. Not to make you a smarter sinner, but to make you like the Savior. Not to fill your head with a collection of biblical facts, but to transform your life.

The will of God is found in the Word of God. The more a person grows, the more he begins to think instinctively and habitually from a divine perspective.
   ~  ~  ~  ~

Tom Stearns. WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001

Good morning,

This week’s devotions will challenge us to walk closer to the Lord Jesus.

They come from the Grace Gems website, pilgrim@gracegems.org.

Comfort, safety, strength, holiness!

(George Everard, “Talks about Home Life” 1878)

“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathizewith our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are.” Hebrews 4:15

There is no comfort, but in Christ’s bosom.

There is no safety, but by Christ’s side.

There is no strength, but in Christ’s arm.

There is no holiness, but in Christ’s footsteps.

Look up and see Christ, the merciful and gracious Savior, bending over you in most tender compassion.
He is very near to you. He marks . . .
  each sigh,
  each desire,
  each tear,
  each prayer.
He thinks upon and sympathizes with you.

“Let us then approach the throne of grace with  confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Hebrews 4:16
   ~  ~  ~  ~

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001

Good morning,

This week’s devotions will challenge us to walk closer to the Lord Jesus.

They come from the Grace Gems website, pilgrim@gracegems.org.

Heed the rod, and the One who appointed it!

(Charles Spurgeon)

“Heed the rod, and the One who appointed it!” Micah 6:9

God’s most useful instrument is His rod of correction!

If we had no idols in children, friends, wealth or ourselves–we would not need half the trials we have! Foolish idols, make rods for foolish backs!

I bear a willing witness that I owe more to God’s fire, and hammer, and file than to anything else. I sometimes question whether I have ever learned anything profitable, except through God’s rod.

There are blessed and favored exceptions, but most of us need the rod, for we do not seem to learn obedience except through the chastening of the Lord!

Whatever God keeps away from His servants–He never keeps away the chastening rod from them! He had one Son without sin–but He never had one son without chastisement.

God’s rod flogs His child not from Him, but to Him!

Christian, God’s love to you is always the same. He cannot love you more, and He will not love you less!Never, when afflictions multiply, when terrors frighten, or when distresses abound–does God’s love to you falter or flag. Let the rod fall ever so heavily upon you–the hand that moves, like the heart that prompts the stroke, is full of love! Whether He brings you down into the depths of misery, or lifts you up into the seventh Heaven of delight–His faithful love towards you never varies or fluctuates!

“Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
 But trust Him for His grace;
 Behind a frowning providence
 He hides a smiling face!”William Cowper
   ~  ~  ~  ~

 Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001

Good morning,

This week’s devotions will challenge us to walk closer to the Lord Jesus.

They come from the Grace Gems website, pilgrim@gracegems.org.

The Complaint!

(James Smith, 1864)

“O my God, my soul is cast down within me!” Psalm 42:6

And why are you cast down?

“My heart is burdened with a sense of my short-comings.
 Every holy duty I perform is so imperfect.
 Every good purpose I form is so soon frustrated.
 Every hope of seeing better days is so soon beclouded.
 My heart is so fearfully depraved.
 My life is so unlike the life of Jesus.
 My affections are so unholy.
 My prayers are so brief and heartless.
 My praises are so feeble and fitful.
 I do so little good.
 I live to so little purpose.
 My evidences are so dim.
 My prospects are so overcast.
 I am harassed sometimes with the fear of death.
 I cannot grasp the glories of Heaven.
 I am dissatisfied with the world–and yet glued to it!
 I hate sin–and yet fall into it!
 I am a riddle, a mystery, a mass of inconsistency!
 Is it, then, any wonder that I am cast down?”

No, if you look at yourself, and pore over the things you have named–then it is no wonder that you are cast down! They are enough to cast anyone down! But if you carry them to the throne of grace, if you there confess them before God, if you look to the mercy of Jesus–then, in spite of them, you will not long be cast down.

I know it is difficult to do this. There is a natural proneness to pore over such things. One feels at times a secret liking to indulge in self-pity.

But we must look away from self–for if we do not, we shall become anxious, doubting and downcast! We must run the race–not looking at our imperfections, short-comings, and failures–but looking unto Jesus. He knows what we are. He knew what we would be–before He called us by His grace; yes, before He shed His sin-atoning blood for us!
He loved us, as sinners.
He died for us, as sinners.
He called us, as sinners.
He saves us, as sinners.
He will have great glory by saving such great sinners. We cannot do anything to repay Him for His wondrous love. Salvation is by free grace–from first to last! Believe this, and it will raise up your drooping mind!

The life-boat of free grace has put you on board the vessel of salvation, and that will convey you safely to the port of glory! Do not look at your spiritual destitution, or feebleness, or incapacity, or imperfections–but trust in your Pilot, rely on your Captain, and expect His mercy and merit to land you safely in Heaven at last!

Regardless of any amount of spiritual progress, your dying prayer will still be, “God be merciful unto me–a sinner!”

Hope in God!
His mercy is great unto the Heavens,
His grace is as free as the air,
His love is as changeless as His nature,
His promise is as immutable as His love.

He will save you for His own sake, and present you before assembled worlds as a monument of His mercy, and a trophy of His grace!

“Why are you cast down, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God!” Psalm 42:5
   ~  ~  ~  ~

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001

Good morning,

This week’s devotions will challenge us to walk closer to the Lord Jesus.

They come from the Grace Gems website, pilgrim@gracegems.org.

You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain!

(William S. Plumer, “The Ten Commandments”)

A great design of true religion is to bring men to habitual reverence for God’s divine majesty. The very moment men cease to treat God as holy–that moment their hearts and lives become polluted.

“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless, who takes His name in vain.” Exodus 20:7

Anything relating to the true God–His being, His nature, His will, His works, His worship, His service, or His doctrine–pertains to God’s name. This commandment extends to the state of men’s thoughts and hearts–as well as to their speech.

To take God’s name in vain, is to use it in any frivolous, false, inconsiderate, irreverent, or otherwise wicked manner. The scope of this commandment is to secure the holy and reverent use of all that by which God makes Himself known to His people; and so to guard His sacred name against all that is calculated to make it contemptible.

The manner of taking His name is to be grave, solemn, intelligent, thoughtful, sincere, and with godly fear.

“Our Father in Heaven, may Your name be honored as holy.” Matthew 6:9
   ~  ~  ~  ~

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001

Good morning,

The Feast of Tabernacles/Sukkot/Feast of Booths/Feast of Ingathering begins on the evening of 13 October and runs through the evening of 20 October. This is one holiday with four different names and meanings. This week we will explore these events.

The Feast of Tabernacles/Sukkot/Feast of Booths/Feast of Ingathering

Spiritual/Prophetic Significance:

The Feast of Ingathering-
Another name given in scripture for the feast of Sukkot is the feast of Ingathering and also the feast of harvest. This is the end of the year in the fall when the fruit harvest was being collected. Three times a year males are to go up and pilgrimage to Jerusalem to keep the three “harvest feasts.” They are not to be empty handed because they are to produce the firstfruits of their harvest as tithes to the LORD. The first harvest feast is Passover which is the barley harvest. The second harvest feast is Shavuot (Pentecost) which is the wheat harvest and the third harvest feast is Sukkot for the fruit harvest. Notice that there are three harvest feasts to report to Jerusalem and there are three resurrections recorded in scripture.

1. When Yeshua raised from the dead and those that raised with him called the firstfruits of the resurrection (Matt. 27:53, 1 Cor. 15:20,23).
2. The “first resurrection” or the resurrection of the just (Luke 14:14) before the millennial reign of the Messiah (Rev. 20:4-6).
3. The “second resurrection” after the millennial reign of the Messiah (Rev. 20:12) which has been titled the Great White Throne Judgment by many teachers.

It is interesting to note that these were pilgrimage feasts symbolizing the resurrections into the Kingdom of Heaven or the New Jerusalem. It is also symbolized in scripture in various places as being the reaping of the harvest.

Exodus 23:16 “And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labors, which thou hast sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labors out of the field.”

Mark 4:29 “But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.”

Revelation 14:15 “And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.”

Remember that the “first resurrection” is called up at the feast of Trumpets (Yom Teruah) and those that are Atoned for under the blood of Yeshua (Yom Kippur) will be gathered together and made priests and judges in the Millennial kingdom, while tabernacling with the Messiah for 1,000 years.

Isaiah 27:12-13 “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall beat off from the channel of the river unto the stream of Egypt, and ye shall be gathered one by one, O ye children of Israel. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the great trumpet shall be blown, and they shall come which were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the LORD in the holy mount at Jerusalem.”

Zechariah 14:9 “And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day (the millennium of the Lord) shall there be one LORD, and his name one.”

What will the Messiah Yeshua be doing during the Millennial reign over the Earth?

Micah 4:2 “And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and HE (the Mashiach) will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law (Torah) shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.”

Isaiah 2:3 says the exact same thing. HE, the Messiah, will teach us His ways. I doubt Yeshua will be teaching replacement theology or modern church doctrine that speaks against the Torah and the feasts of the LORD. There will still be Gentiles or nations outside of the New Jerusalem that will be required to go up and keep the feast of Tabernacles or Sukkot or they will face famines and plagues as punishment. Does this sound like modern Christian doctrine? This is not a matter of liberty or grace but a righteous requirement. This isn’t the “well I don’t fully understand this feast stuff so God understands my heart and will be ok with it.” Read for yourself! The scriptures speak it clearly and overwhelmingly, leaving no shadow of doubt or question.

Zechariah 14:11,16-18 “And men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited… And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles… And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain… the LORD will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles… and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.”

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001

Good morning,

The Feast of Tabernacles/Sukkot/Feast of Booths/Feast of Ingathering begins on the evening of 13 October and runs through the evening of 20 October. This is one holiday with four different names and meanings. This week we will explore these events.

The Feast of Tabernacles/Sukkot/Feast of Booths/Feast of Ingathering

Spiritual/Prophetic Significance:

Sukkot is significant of many things:
1. The Israelites were led through the wilderness, being delivered from the bondage of Egypt and dwelt in booths and tents. YHVH provided everything they needed and protected them throughout their wanderings.
2. Yeshua is believed to have been born on the first day of Sukkot (not on December 25th) and was the Word made flesh and dwelt (tabernacle/sukkoted) among us and was circumcised according to the covenant of Abraham on the eighth day (Hoshana Rabbah).
3. Sukkot could also speak of a future exodus out of Babylon as scattered Israel and those nations that are grafted in journey through the Great Wilderness of the Tribulation and ultimately tabernacle with the Messiah in the New Jerusalem for 1,000 years.
The Messiah in Sukkot-
Bible scholars believe that it was during the feast of Sukkot that Yeshua the Messiah was born upon this earth. Specifically, the first day of Sukkot the Son of God put on temporary flesh and dwelt among men. John the disciple alluded to this fact when he wrote where the Messiah came from. Matthew starts out showing the lineage of Joseph, while Luke eludes to the lineage of Miriam (Mary) through the family connection of Zechariah and Elizabeth but John spoke of the Heavenly DNA, linking Yeshua of Nazareth with the Word of God.
John 1:1-2,14 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God…And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us…” The word used for dwelt in this passage literally means “tabernacled.” The feast of Sukkot is a 7 day feast with a special 8th day observance called Hoshana Rabba (the last great day or the last great praise) and Yeshua was circumcised on this 8th day (of the feast) and it is recorded in Luke 2:21.
Later on in the life of Yeshua we see another mention of Sukkot and it is a powerful demonstrative teaching that causes much stir in the temple ceremonies. It is during the Feast of Sukkot that a temple ritual would take place called the water libation ceremony. A priest was dispatched from the temple mount out through the southern steps down to the pool of shiloach (which means sent) and the priest fills a vessel with water and returns up the steps into the temple. This is the only time that water (mixed with a little wine) is placed upon the altar. As water is poured out down one side of a trough that led down to the altar, wine was poured down another trough leading to the altar and together they would meet together on the altar that was red hot at this point. As the mixture of wine and water splashed upon the altar it hissed and steamed as everyone huddled around praying for rain in the coming season, praying for the Messiah to come and the indwelling of the Ruach Hakodesh (Holy Spirit). It is at this moment that Yeshua stood up and proclaimed, “If anyone is thirsty, let him keep coming to me and drinking! Whoever puts his trust in me, as the Scripture says, rivers of living water will flow from his inmost being!’” (John 7:37-38). It is at this moment that everyone started putting together the pieces of the puzzle. The waters carried up from the pool of Shiloach were called the “waters of salvation” or quite literally the waters of Yeshua. Here they have the Messiah who was named Yeshua which meant salvation and he stands at this moment and makes this claim as the mixture of wine and water, which symbolized the blood and water that flowed from his side was spilled upon the altar. Some argued with him and some believed while others pondered these things further. On Hoshana Rabbah, the last day of the feast four 75 foot tall Menorahs were lit in the temple courts and Yeshua continued his teaching by using the symbolism of the bright lights around him:
John 8:12 “I am the light of the world: whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light which gives life.”

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001

Good morning,

The Feast of Tabernacles/Sukkot/Feast of Booths/Feast of Ingathering begins on the evening of 13 October and runs through the evening of 20 October. This is one holiday with four different names and meanings. This week we will explore these events.

The Feast of Tabernacles/Sukkot/Feast of Booths/Feast of Ingathering

The Facts:

What do the Scriptures say about it?
Lev 23:34 “Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the Lord.”
Lev 23:35 “On the first day shall be an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.”
Lev 23:36 “Seven days ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto YHVH: on the eighth day shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto YHVH: it is a solemn assembly; and ye shall do no servile work therein.”
Lev 23:39 “Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the LORD seven days: on the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a sabbath.”
Lev 23:40 “And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before the LORD your God seven days.”
Lev 23:42 “ Ye shall dwell in booths seven days…”
Deut 16:13 “Thou shalt observe the feast of tabernacles seven days, after that thou hast gathered in thy corn and thy wine:”
Deut 16:14 “And thou shalt rejoice in thy feast, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite, the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are within thy gates.”

When is it?

Lev 23:34 “Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, the fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto YHVH.”

What are we commanded to do?

1. Keep it Holy as a regular Sabbath, doing no servile work or the things associated with the seventh day Sabbath on the first day and the eighth day of the feast.
2. Keep it at its time and season on the fifteenth day of the seventh month.
3. Have a holy convocation on the first day of the feast and on the eighth day of the feast. This is a calling of the assembly or community of like-minded believers to assemble together and celebrate Tabernacles. If no one is able to convocate then call together your own family or travel to where another group of believers are assembling and keeping this day Holy or set apart.
4. We are to build “booths or sukkahs” out of various branches mentioned in Lev. 23:40. We are to dwell in booths or tents for seven days and rejoice before YHVH. This is one of the pilgrimage feasts where all of the males have to appear in Jerusalem before the Lord.

Spiritual/Prophetic Significance:

Sukkot is significant of many things:

1. The Israelites were led through the wilderness, being delivered from the bondage of Egypt and dwelt in booths and tents. YHVH provided everything they needed and protected them throughout their wanderings.
2. Yeshua is believed to have been born on the first day of Sukkot (not on December 25th) and was the Word made flesh and dwelt (tabernacle/sukkoted) among us and was circumcised according to the covenant of Abraham on the eighth day (Hoshana Rabbah).
3. Sukkot could also speak of a future exodus out of Babylon as scattered Israel and those nations that are grafted in journey through the Great Wilderness of the Tribulation and ultimately tabernacle with the Messiah in the New Jerusalem for 1,000 years.

The Messiah in Sukkot-

Bible scholars believe that it was during the feast of Sukkot that Yeshua the Messiah was born upon this earth. Specifically, the first day of Sukkot the Son of God put on temporary flesh and dwelt among men. John the disciple alluded to this fact when he wrote where the Messiah came from. Matthew starts out showing the lineage of Joseph, while Luke eludes to the lineage of Miriam (Mary) through the family connection of Zechariah and Elizabeth but John spoke of the Heavenly DNA, linking Yeshua of Nazareth with the Word of God.

John 1:1-2,14 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God…And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us…” The word used for dwelt in this passage literally means “tabernacled.” The feast of Sukkot is a 7 day feast with a special 8th day observance called Hoshana Rabba (the last great day or the last great praise) and Yeshua was circumcised on this 8th day (of the feast) and it is recorded in Luke 2:21.

Later on in the life of Yeshua we see another mention of Sukkot and it is a powerful demonstrative teaching that causes much stir in the temple ceremonies. It is during the Feast of Sukkot that a temple ritual would take place called the water libation ceremony. A priest was dispatched from the temple mount out through the southern steps down to the pool of shiloach (which means sent) and the priest fills a vessel with water and returns up the steps into the temple. This is the only time that water (mixed with a little wine) is placed upon the altar. As water is poured out down one side of a trough that led down to the altar, wine was poured down another trough leading to the altar and together they would meet together on the altar that was red hot at this point. As the mixture of wine and water splashed upon the altar it hissed and steamed as everyone huddled around praying for rain in the coming season, praying for the Messiah to come and the indwelling of the Ruach Hakodesh (Holy Spirit). It is at this moment that Yeshua stood up and proclaimed, “If anyone is thirsty, let him keep coming to me and drinking! Whoever puts his trust in me, as the Scripture says, rivers of living water will flow from his inmost being!’” (John 7:37-38). It is at this moment that everyone started putting together the pieces of the puzzle. The waters carried up from the pool of Shiloach were called the “waters of salvation” or quite literally the waters of Yeshua. Here they have the Messiah who was named Yeshua which meant salvation and he stands at this moment and makes this claim as the mixture of wine and water, which symbolized the blood and water that flowed from his side was spilled upon the altar. Some argued with him and some believed while others pondered these things further. On Hoshana Rabbah, the last day of the feast four 75 foot tall Menorahs were lit in the temple courts and Yeshua continued his teaching by using the symbolism of the bright lights around him:

John 8:12 “I am the light of the world: whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light which gives life.”

The Feast of Ingathering-

Another name given in scripture for the feast of Sukkot is the feast of Ingathering and also the feast of harvest. This is the end of the year in the fall when the fruit harvest was being collected. Three times a year males are to go up and pilgrimage to Jerusalem to keep the three “harvest feasts.” They are not to be empty handed because they are to produce the firstfruits of their harvest as tithes to the LORD. The first harvest feast is Passover which is the barley harvest. The second harvest feast is Shavuot (Pentecost) which is the wheat harvest and the third harvest feast is Sukkot for the fruit harvest. Notice that there are three harvest feasts to report to Jerusalem and there are three resurrections recorded in scripture.

1. When Yeshua raised from the dead and those that raised with him called the firstfruits of the resurrection (Matt. 27:53, 1 Cor. 15:20,23).
2. The “first resurrection” or the resurrection of the just (Luke 14:14) before the millennial reign of the Messiah (Rev. 20:4-6).
3. The “second resurrection” after the millennial reign of the Messiah (Rev. 20:12) which has been titled the Great White Throne Judgment by many teachers.

It is interesting to note that these were pilgrimage feasts symbolizing the resurrections into the Kingdom of Heaven or the New Jerusalem. It is also symbolized in scripture in various places as being the reaping of the harvest.

Exodus 23:16 “And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labors, which thou hast sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labors out of the field.”

Mark 4:29 “But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.”

Revelation 14:15 “And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.”
Remember that the “first resurrection” is called up at the feast of Trumpets (Yom Teruah) and those that are Atoned for under the blood of Yeshua (Yom Kippur) will be gathered together and made priests and judges in the Millennial kingdom, while tabernacling with the Messiah for 1,000 years.

Isaiah 27:12-13 “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall beat off from the channel of the river unto the stream of Egypt, and ye shall be gathered one by one, O ye children of Israel. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the great trumpet shall be blown, and they shall come which were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the LORD in the holy mount at Jerusalem.”

Zechariah 14:9 “And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day (the millennium of the Lord) shall there be one LORD, and his name one.”

What will the Messiah Yeshua be doing during the Millennial reign over the Earth?

Micah 4:2 “And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and HE (the Mashiach) will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law (Torah) shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.”

Isaiah 2:3 says the exact same thing. HE, the Messiah, will teach us His ways. I doubt Yeshua will be teaching replacement theology or modern church doctrine that speaks against the Torah and the feasts of the LORD. There will still be Gentiles or nations outside of the New Jerusalem that will be required to go up and keep the feast of Tabernacles or Sukkot or they will face famines and plagues as punishment. Does this sound like modern Christian doctrine? This is not a matter of liberty or grace but a righteous requirement. This isn’t the “well I don’t fully understand this feast stuff so God understands my heart and will be ok with it.” Read for yourself! The scriptures speak it clearly and overwhelmingly, leaving no shadow of doubt or question.

Zechariah 14:11,16-18 “And men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited… And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles… And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain… the LORD will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles… and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.”

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001