The annual Jewish holiday of the Feast of Tabernacles (sukkot) is coming quickly! (Sept 23–30). This is one of the annual festivals that makes me wish I was Jewish. It’s a time filled with activities, parties, and lots of delicious meals. It is considered by many Jews to be the most wonderful time of year as it’s filled with joyous celebrations.
Celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles for many Jews includes constructing a “sukkah”, which is a small, crudely built hut in which meals are eaten throughout the week of festivities (some even sleep in their huts!). This small “hut”, or “tent”, commemorates the time that the Israelites spent living in tents during the wilderness wanderings that we read about in Exodus–Deuteronomy of the Old Testament.
This begs the question, why is it so important for the people of God to remember the time of wilderness wanderings? Furthermore, what relevance does it have for God’s people today?
The wilderness wanderings were not the best times in the history of Israel. There’s a bit of irony behind the idea of, “Hey! Let’s celebrate that time when our ancestors barely had any food, water, and lived in tents in the middle of nowhere for forty years because they couldn’t stop complaining and were entirely ungrateful for what God was doing for them!”
Things were so bad in the wilderness that on more than one occasion the people wanted to go back to being slaves in Egypt! So, once again, why would this be a time of celebration?
I think there’s a number of reasons. I think one of the main reasons that God wanted them to remember this time is driven by the fact that we have to keep the suffering in perspective. They were headed to the Promised Land. The land flowing with milk and honey was the goal, not the wilderness. They had to remember that this time of difficulty was temporary, even though it may not have felt that way. God had a bigger plan for them.
This is helpful for me today. As Christians, we have to remember that we’re living in a time in which the Kingdom of God is both now, but also not yet. Yes, Christ has risen and the Holy Spirit is with us to help us be victorious over sin in our lives, however, there is still great injustice and suffering in the world and even in our own lives. Things aren’t entirely fixed. And, until Jesus comes back, things will continue to be bad, I’m afraid.
The Feast of Tabernacles reminds us that we have to keep an eternal perspective of current suffering. This is a temporary time. God has a plan that he’s working out through history. In light of eternity, this is merely a blink. While the strife of today may feel unending and make us want to lose hope and give up, we have to remember that we’re headed to something better. This is merely temporary.
In addition to this, living in tents reminds us that even though suffering is temporary, God is with us and providing for us all the same. God doesn’t say, “Get over it, it won’t last.” He says, “This will not last, and I’m here with you to help you along the way.”
These tents that we live in today are merely a shadowy type of the palace that awaits us upon Christ’s return. When Christ comes back, he will come in fullness and redeem it all. In the meantime, God provides for his people.
