The Festival of Booths Part 4

The Feast of Booths was the most festive and joyous of occasions. History records that four huge candelabra were constructed, lighted, and maintained by men climbing ladders to pour fresh oil to keep the flames burning. The holiday was celebrated according to the outline in Leviticus:
1. They lived in booths made of tree branches for the seven days of the feast;
2. They rested from all regular work on the first and eight days of the festival;
3. The Priest offered sacrifices for seven days;
4. On the eighth day, there was a solemn assembly when one bullock, one ram, and seven lambs were offered. During the week, a total of 189 animals were sacrificed; and
5. Men carried the cluster of branches to the synagogue to wave as they rejoiced before ADONAI. Lev. 23:40

Water was very important part of the festival. Before it began, the Rabbis taught on every passage of Scripture dealing with water. Gold pitchers of water were brought from the Pool of Siloam to the Temple. The Priest would pour out the water over the altar to signify Israel's gratitude for the rain that had helped produce the harvest and they would pray for rain for the next year. The last day of the festival was called Hosha'na Rabba, meaning the Day of the Great Hosanna. Now look at John 7:37-39: On the last day of the feast, the great day, Yeshua stood up and proclaimed, "If any one thirst, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as the scripture has said, 'Out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water.'" Now this he said about the Spirit, which those who believed in him were to receive; for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. Yeshua spoke this words on the last day of the Feast of Booths. Notice first, that He celebrated the holiday. He did not abandon it, nor did He ever teach His disciples to disregard keeping the holiday. Second, notice that He uses an element of the feast, i.e. water, to explain its deeper meaning.

Once again, we are confronted with the truth that Yeshua participated in the Festival of Booths. Listen this week for any Bible teacher to explain this fact to their listeners. The tension between "Christianity" and following Yeshua grows. Who or what will you follow?