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“Happy Campers”
Categories: NEW TESTAMENT, OLD TESTAMENTIn what ways does Jesus fulfill the symbolism underlying the Feast of Tabernacles?
Sincerely, Sign Of The Times
Dear Sign Of The Times,
There is no direct allusion to Jesus in the Feast of Tabernacles, only distant connections. The Feast of Tabernacles (also known as the Feast of Booths) was one of three Jewish festivals that all the men of Israel were required to attend in Jerusalem (Deu 16:16-17). The Feast was eight days long, seven days plus a Sabbath day, and required all Israelites to leave their homes and live in tents/booths (Lev. 23:39-40). The purpose of this was to commemorate how their ancestors had lived forty years in the wilderness and to acknowledge how God provided for them in that desolate region of the world (Lev 23:42-43).
The Jews used the feast to remember how God provided manna in the wilderness. In the New Testament, we are told that Jesus is the true manna for the soul (Jhn 6:49-51). The Jews dwelled in temporary shelters while in the wilderness until God took them to the Promised Land. Christians dwell in temporary tents, our physical bodies, until we are given heavenly bodies (2 Cor 5:1-4). These connections are not necessarily direct symbolism found in the Feast of Tabernacles, but they are parallels between the New Testament church and Old Testament Israel.
