The Sukkot to Come

It is unfortunate that I've yet to write an actual post on here. Life does not seem allow the opportunity as of late. So many things to share and never enough time! For now, another post from the R.C. Sproul Fellowship will have to suffice since tonight is Sukkot! Praise Yeshua!
Oh, in addition, I've included a post by Jon Bloom (Desiring God) on Yom Kippur at the bottom of this post. Good, good stuff.
The photo to the left is a Sukkah, the traditional booth used to celebrate the Jewish feast, Sukkot. Sukkot is the Hebrew word for Tabernacle or Booths. It symbolized a dwelling with the Lord and pointed to the coming Messiah who would come to dwell within His people by the Holy Spirit as well as to His second, final coming.

The Sukkot to Come

“Then everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Booths” (v. 16).
- Zechariah 14:16–19
Following the restoration of the Israelites to their homeland after the exile, Ezra and Nehemiah led the people in renewing their covenant with God, and part of this covenant renewal included celebrating the Feast of Booths, or Sukkot (Neh. 8:13– 18). Since the feast celebrated the Lord’s guidance during the wilderness wanderings after Israel’s redemption from Egypt, it was appropriate to commemorate this deliverance once again after the nation was rescued from exile in Babylon.
On account of the people’s impenitence, the glorious restoration promised to Israel did not materialize after their return to their land (Mal. 1–4), so God sent the prophets Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi to urge the people to repent and purify their worship so that the restoration could come. Speaking to His people through Zechariah, the Lord promised that restoration was, from a human perspective, delayed but not cancelled. Instead, the Creator would establish His people in glory once more after that day when He destroyed His enemies. This is the point of Zechariah 14.
Israel’s final restoration includes the celebration of Sukkot, as seen in today’s passage. All the survivors of the nations will go up to Jerusalem to keep the Feast of Booths, and any who refuse will not receive the blessing of rain (vv. 16–19). Many believers expect this to be fulfilled explicitly as written — one day people from all over the world will make pilgrimages to a newly built temple in Jerusalem each fall to celebrate Sukkot. Yet this interpretation misses the point, for God is only describing the salvation the earth will enjoy in a manner understandable to old covenant Israelites.
Sukkot was a celebration of God’s salvation, so to promise that non-Israelites would join in this feast is to say that non-Israelites will be incorporated into Israel, the people the Lord has saved. This makes sense only if God saves Gentiles as well. In other words, the covenant Lord of Israel will redeem a large number of people who are not ethnic Israelites. Sukkot was also the time when Israel looked to the Almighty to bless them with winter and spring rains that would meet their needs for irrigation and thus provide them with the food they needed to survive. To say that the nations who do not celebrate Sukkot will not receive rain is simply another way of saying that those who will not follow Israel’s Lord will not receive His blessing.
Coram Deo
John Calvin comments on Zechariah 14: God subdues “all the enemies of his Church, and in two ways, for some he would destroy, and he would humble others, so as to make them willing servants and ready of themselves to obey his authority.” We should be grateful to God for every material blessing we have, but we should especially express gratitude and humility for His work of salvation in joining us to His covenant people (see Rom. 11:11–24).
Passages for Further Study
2 Chronicles 7:11–14
Job 5:10
Zechariah 10:1
James 5:7–8

Yom Kippur: It is Finished ~ Jon Bloom

The Day of Atonement

The Day of Atonement ~ R.C. Sproul
“This shall be a statute forever for you, that atonement may be made for the people of Israel once a year because of all their sins” (v. 34a).
- Leviticus 16
Continuing our focus on worship as we look at how the old covenant is fulfilled in the new, we will now spend a few weeks looking at the feasts and festivals that were integral to ancient Israel’s liturgy. We begin today with the Day of Atonement, that one day of the year when the high priest could enter the Most Holy Place.
Even though God ordained regular burnt offerings and sin offerings to atone for the sins of Israel, propitiate His wrath, and cleanse the people of their wickedness (Lev. 1; 4:1–5:13), it is clear from the book of Leviticus that even all these rituals were not enough. Sins could be forgotten and not confessed when laying hands on the offerings. The ultimate inability of the blood of bulls and goats to deal with sin (Heb. 10:4) meant that animal sacrifices did not go far enough but were only a temporary measure to cover transgression. Finally, the repeated sins of priests and people alike could build up to the point where not only the tabernacle but even the throne room of the Lord — the Most Holy Place or Holy of Holies — would also be contaminated. The Day of Atonement was designed to deal with all these realities.
Most of the procedures followed on the Day of Atonement were similar to those followed for the other offerings except that the blood of the sacrifices was sprinkled on the mercy seat in the Most Holy Place as well (Lev. 16:14). This was done lest the accumulated sin cause God to immediately punish the high priest and the people. Aaron and the later high priests also had to throw incense in the air (vv. 12–13) in front of them as they approached the ark of the covenant so as to keep them from being able to see the Lord; otherwise, they would have died (Ex. 33:12–23).
Besides the sacrifice of a bull on behalf of the priesthood, two goats were brought to the tabernacle/temple to deal with the sin of the entire nation (Lev. 16:6–10). One goat was killed and its blood was sprinkled on the mercy seat (vv. 15–19). This sacrifice on the Day of Atonement resulted in propitiation — the satisfaction of God’s wrath on a substitute in place of the people. The other goat, after hands were laid on it, was sent to Azazel in the wilderness and freed, probably meaning it was taken to a desolate mountain and killed (vv. 20–22). Here it is clear that expiation was accomplished. The sins of the people were taken away from Israel and away from the holy camp.
Coram Deo
The requirement for the people to afflict themselves on the Day of Atonement (Lev. 16:29–34), a shorthand reference to self-examination and repentance, was a clear sign that the sacrifices on that day would be effectual only when the people were contrite. Similarly, our sin has not been dealt with if we do not live a life of repentance and faith. Let us be ever repenting of sin as we trust in Christ, whose sacrifice on the final Day of Atonement has saved us.
Passages for Further Study
Leviticus 23:26–32
Isaiah 1:18–20
Daniel 9:24–27
John 19:16b–30

*The eve of Yom Kippur is known as Kol Nidrei, which is taken from the famous Jewish prayer.
* The Book of Jonah is typically read on Yom Kippur in keeping with themes of repentance, atonement, mercy, and forgiveness.

Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

~ Hebrews 4:14-16

For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself.

~ Hebrews 7:26-27

Rosh Hashanah

The Feast of Trumpets ~ R.C. Sproul

“In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall observe a day of solemn rest, a memorial proclaimed with blast of trumpets, a holy convocation” (v. 24).
- Leviticus 23:23–25

Kosher laws (Lev. 11), rules for intermarriage (Neh. 13:23–27), weekly Sabbath observance (Ex. 20:8–11), and more were all rituals that were part of the warp and woof of old covenant life, serving to remind Israel of the nation’s special status as the people of God. The Lord, however, knowing that His people were weak, added several feasts to the regular rituals prescribed in the Mosaic law so that the Israelites would have extra occasions on which to recall their salvation and thank God for His goodness. The call to remember and praise the Lord for His beneficence was one of the reasons for the Feast of Trumpets outlined in Leviticus 23:23–25 and Numbers 29:1–6.

Since the Feast of Trumpets marked the beginning of the civil calendar in ancient Israel, the Jews eventually came to refer to the holiday as Rosh Hashanah, which in the Hebrew literally means “head of the year” or New Year’s Day. This day began the seventh month of the religious calendar (Tishri), a month in which the solemn Day of Atonement and the festive Feast of Booths were also celebrated (Lev. 23:23–44). In addition to a day of rest and special food offerings (Num. 29:1–6), all that Scripture prescribes for the Feast of Trumpets is a “blast of trumpets” (Lev. 23:23–25). While trumpets were blown on other occasions, it seems that at the Feast of Trumpets the instruments were sounded continuously from morning until evening.

What was the purpose of the trumpet soundings? One answer is that the trumpet blast was a call for the people to assemble to hear the voice of God just as it was at the foot of Mt. Sinai. (Ex. 19:13). Given that the feast was celebrated even during the times God was not actively providing new revelation, it would seem that at every Feast of Trumpets there was an anticipation that the Lord might reveal Himself in power once more, especially to consummate the salvation of His people (Isa. 27). Seven is the number of completeness in Scripture, and the fact that the Feast of Trumpets was held in the seventh month of the year confirms this idea.

Silver trumpets and the shofar (ram’s horn) were blown at the Feast of Trumpets, and ancient Jews also read Genesis 22 on this day. Each of these acts helped the Israelites to see God’s mercy in substituting a ram for Isaac and to anticipate the end of days when a greater lamb would be slain on their behalf.
Coram Deo
As we will see, Christians are waiting for the Feast of Trumpets to be fulfilled in its entirety. But Christ the Lamb of God has come and by His death has inaugurated the last days, which comprise the entire period between His first and second coming. Since we are now in the last days, the call to spread the good news of salvation is more urgent than ever, so let us preach the gospel to friends and family before the final trumpet blows.
Passages for Further Study
2 Chronicles 15:1–15
Ezekiel 33:1–9
Matthew 24:29–31
Revelation 8:6–9:21