The year is 5774 according
to the Jewish calendar, and the month is Tishri. From the 15th to the 21st
of this month, Israel celebrates the Feast of Tabernacles, coinciding with our
calendar for sundown September 18th through sundown September 25,
2013. The Feast of Tabernacles, also known as the Feast of Booths (Sukkot)
and
the Feast of Ingathering is the seventh and final feast God gave to Israel in
Leviticus 23. It is also the third and final feast to span a seven-day period.
After the ingathering of their crops, this
seven-day feast begins with a holy convocation or sacred assembly much like a
Sabbath for they were to do no “customary” work. As commanded, on the first day
of the feast, Israel would take the harvested items and rejoice before the
Lord. What a merry time for the Children of Israel. In fact, they refer to this
feast as the “season of our joy”. Together they praise God for His bountiful creation
and supply. Matthew Henry quotes Psalm 24:1 and comments, “The earth is the
Lord's, and the fullness thereof; therefore whatever we have the comfort of, he
must have the glory of…”