Feast of Tabernacles - Day 8

On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'" – John 7:37-38

Today is the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles, which is celebrated by Jewish people by dwelling in tents for seven days to remember God’s faithfulness to them during their forty years in the wilderness. The Feast also points forward to the time when the redeemed will celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles for eternity by remembering this world like a wilderness, a dry and thirsty land without water, where God was faithful to sustain us and bring us into the eternal promised land of the world to come.

When the Temple still stood, part of the festivities of the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles included a priest pouring a great jug of water on the bronze altar of sacrifice, symbolizing the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and cleansing from sin when Messiah comes. This water was always drawn from the Pool of Siloam which collects the flow from the Gihon Spring, a river named in the Garden of Eden. Another part of the Tabernacles’ festivities included erecting four gigantic, 75-foot menorahs in the Temple area which illuminated the city and symbolized God’s presence with His people, like the pillar of fire over the Tabernacle in the wilderness.

When Jesus walked on earth, He celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles. One account of this takes place in the autumn before His crucifixion. He was eager to make plain to the crowds who He was and what He was offering, while also stirring antagonism from the religious leaders who were already seeking to kill Him. The people were divided and could not agree about whether Jesus was the promised Messiah of Israel, a criminal imposter, or a lunatic.

On the last day of the Feast, Jesus began to teach in the Temple and loudly proclaimed that coming to Him is the source of eternal life.

John 7:37-43 - 37 On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'" 39 Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. 40 When they heard these words, some of the people said, "This really is the Prophet." 41 Others said, "This is the Christ." But some said, "Is the Christ to come from Galilee? 42 Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the offspring of David, and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David was?" 43 So there was a division among the people over him.

By saying, “Come to Me and drink”, Jesus claimed to be the well of salvation, the ever-flowing fountain of life, and the One who cleanses from sin. He alluded to a mix of scriptures from the prophets about the Messiah pouring out the Holy Spirit on God’s people and about God’s river of life flowing from the Temple to renew and restore everything it touches and bring healing to the nations (see Isaiah 12:3, 44:3, 55:1; Jeremiah 2:13; Ezekiel 47:1; Zechariah 14:8).

Isaiah 12:1-3 - 1 You will say in that day: "I will give thanks to you, O LORD, for though you were angry with me, your anger turned away, that you might comfort me. 2 "Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation." 3 With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.

Isaiah 55:1 - 1 "Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.

Jeremiah 2:13 - 13 for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.

The religious leaders rebuked the Temple officers for not arresting Jesus, but they feared Him because they understood who He was claiming to be. Then, Jesus spoke again, doubling down on His assertions by claiming to be the light of the world.

John 8:12 ESV - 12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

By saying, “I AM the light of the world”, Jesus claimed to be the presence of God, the One who illuminates the world and brings life to everything in it. So, the religious leaders accused Him of testifying about Himself, but Jesus rebuked their error for judging by the flesh. Jesus did not come to judge this world but if He did, His judgment would be equal to God’s. Jesus is the I AM and unless they believed this and came to Him for cleansing, they would die in their sins. His crucifixion would be the proof that He was speaking for God’s glory, not His own.

To the crowds who believed Him, Jesus turned to tell them that they were truly His disciples only if they remained in His teachings, and only then would the truth will make them free. Everyone is enslaved to sin as sons of the devil and only the Son of God can make us free. The religious leaders continued to defy Jesus by accusing Him of having a demon, but He pressed on to state that anyone who keeps His teaching will never see death. When the religious leaders invoked the name of Abraham, Jesus responded that Abraham rejoiced to see a vision of the day of redemption with Jesus as the eternal one, redeemer, and giver of eternal life. So, they picked up stones to stone Jesus to death, but He left unscathed because it was not yet His time.

Jesus made it so simple. He said, “Come to Me.” Anyone who wants to drink from the fountain of life simply needs to come to Jesus and keep His teachings to have eternal life and rivers of living water flowing in their own lives.

Religious people often hold to many rituals which are supposed to symbolize the glory of the Lord but are completely blind to God’s glory when it shows up in an unexpected form. It has been said, “God offends the mind to reveal the heart.”

Celebrating the Feasts of the Lord points us back to various historical events when God moved on behalf of His people and calls us to remember and celebrate God’s faithfulness. The Biblical Feasts also point forward to the promise of eternal redemption and the world to come, which will be like Eden restored and where God will reign forever over a holy remnant of people who endlessly rejoice in His salvation.

At that time, the righteous will drink from eternal springs of salvation in the world to come, but the wicked will be excluded forever, burning in the lake of fire.

Revelation 21:6-8 ESV - 6 And he said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. 7 The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. 8 But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death."

For now, while we remain in the thirsty wilderness of this world, let us continually come to Jesus and apply His teaching in every aspect of our lives. Let us forsake the past and religious traditionalism to press on to know Jesus, obey Him, and boldly proclaim His goodness and salvation. He is the fountain of living water, He is the light of the world, He is the Messiah who cleanses from sin. This world is not our home. He has prepared a place for us and He will be faithful to fulfill His promise.

Scriptures for Tabernacles Reflection

 Traditional Reading: The Book of Ecclesiastes & Ezekiel 38-39 (Gog & Magog)