Sukkot: Festival of Booths
When
Sukkot is a week-long festival, typically in late September or early/mid October.
(October 16-23, 2024)
Scriptural References
“Now on the first day you shall take for yourselves the foliage of beautiful trees, palm branches and boughs of leafy trees and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days.” Leviticus 23:40
“You shall live in booths for seven days; all the native-born in Israel shall live in booths, so that your generations may know that I had the sons of Israel live in booths when I brought them out from the land of Egypt. I am the LORD your God." Leviticus 23:42-43
“You shall keep the Feast of Booths seven days, when you have gathered in the produce from your threshing floor and your winepress. You shall rejoice in your feast, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow who are within your towns. For seven days you shall keep the feast to the LORD your God at the place that the LORD will choose, because the LORD your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that you will be altogether joyful. Three times a year all your males shall appear before the LORD your God at the place that he will choose: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Booths. They shall not appear before the LORD empty-handed. Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD your God that he has given you.” Deuteronomy 16:13-17
“They celebrated the Feast of Booths, as it is written, and offered the fixed number of burnt offerings daily, according to the ordinance, as each day required.” Ezra 3:4
“The entire assembly of those who had returned from the captivity made booths and lived in them. The sons of Israel had indeed not done so from the days of Joshua the son of Nun to that day. And there was great rejoicing. He read from the book of the law of God daily, from the first day to the last day. And they celebrated the feast seven days, and on the eighth day there was a solemn assembly according to the ordinance.” Nehemiah 8:17-18
“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. And if any of the families of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, there will be no rain on them.” Zechariah 14:16-17
“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.’” 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.” John 7:37-39
History
The Festival of Booths - “Sukkot” in Hebrew - first appears in the Scriptures as God is teaching his priests how to lead the Israelites in worship through the detailed writings of Leviticus. For context, the Israelites had just suffered for years under the oppressive system of slavery imposed upon them by Egyptian rule, and - through an unprecedented turn of events filled with signs and wonders from God - the Israelites found themselves liberated from captivity and on their way towards a flourishing and promised land.
However, it is on this journey that we witness Israel repetitiously fall into a mode of self-sabotaging unfaithfulness, mistrust, and fear of betrayal. Although the Israelites had seen the miraculous done by the hand of a faithful God, they succumbed to old ways of thinking - fearing man and doubting Adonai - bringing upon themselves a 40 year delay in their progression towards this new, divinely-prepared kingdom.
It was in these 40 years that God began to purge his people of the Egypt that had taken root in their hearts. Adonai displayed how He is the God who always provides enough - that He satisfies our hunger and thirst, shelters us in our vulnerability, meets us in our physical, spiritual, and emotional wanderings, and walks with us as a good Shepherd.
In Hebrew, many words will share a common root etymology, oftentimes deepening each words’ individual meaning. For instance, the word for “wilderness” or “desert” here is midbar, which shares the same root as debar which means “truth” or “word”, along with the words for “shepherd” and “voice” as well.
When we bring these particular words together in the context of Israel’s wanderings, they evoke the message that times of Wilderness bring moments of nearness to the Shepherd where God’s Voice is heard by his people and they are brought into deeper revelations of Truth.
It’s not God’s heart for his people to merely “get through” the wilderness - be it literal wandering or times of loss, disorientation, homelessness, and suffering - but instead to teach us his ways and guide us towards finding greater connection. These lessons and experiences of lack would be essential in informing how Israel would one day live at their arrival in the Land of Milk and Honey; it would be vital for God’s children to remember all that was taught during years of displacement, that they might carry such wisdom into this new and abundant kingdom.
This is where we find the origins of Sukkot, an annual festival recollecting the days of wandering and God’s provision.
Purpose
Sukkot has a dynamic function as a festival of celebration that' shines in light of - rather than despite - the experience of suffering. It’s a holiday that calls us to remember our past - how we were once wanderers and sojourners, a displaced people and a group of men and women that dissociated from God and submitted to the fear and entitlement of the flesh.
Yet it also is a week commemorating our dependency on God - how he has provided for us, meeting us in the margins just as we are now commanded to meet others in the margins.
Our remembrance holds both the praise of how the Lord has displayed his goodness and faithfulness across all generations towards his children, while also the grief of our impulsivity, ignorance, lack of self-control, and our turning away from God to perpetuate injustice and disconnection.
Because of this, Sukkot acts as the great equalizer, reminding the rich and the poor that neither one is greater or lesser than the other as all live “without a home” for an entire week.
Simultaneously, Sukkot is a festival of Hope and Joy! Alongside our remembrance, Sukkot calls our minds out of chaos, scarcity, and wilderness into an imagination for what order, abundance, and renewal look like in God’s Kingdom. It’s a time of longing for the Land that flows with Milk and Honey, knowing that Adonai’s provision of manna and water will only overflow all the more under his dominion and rule. It’s trusting in the divine promise that our King is and will set all things right.
Fulfillment
Yeshua truly is the complete embodiment and satisfaction of this Festival of Sukkot.
Just as the sukkah (or booth, tabernacle) was a place in which God’s glory and presence dwelled, it is in Christ that the fullness of God chose to dwell.
Just as we suffer in this world and face our own versions of wilderness and aggression (some more literally than others), so too did Yeshua encounter every form of pain, yet enduring - even through death - to rise and inaugurate his Kingdom on Earth.
Just as the Son of Man had no home or place to lay his head, he has invited all of us to hold loosely to materials made by man that we might find ourselves as a part of his eternal household.
And just as Adonai provided the rain for each harvest and brought forth water from the rock, so too are we filled with Holy Spirit, the wellspring of living water that never runs dry. (It’s no surprise that, during Sukkot, Yeshua chose to preach these words!)
We are invited into this celebration of Sukkot as believers to liturgically practice remembrance and anticipation, faith and hope. As participants (and co-laborers) in this great story that God is writing here on Earth, we recall the work of the Lord in our own lives and stories as a source of empowerment guiding us to redemptively engage with our neighbor and the world around us.
Needs for Sukkot
Tent, or materials to form a makeshift covering (sukkah)
Candles and/or Lanterns
Wine, Challah, Honey, Apples, and/or other Desserts
The 4 Kinds: Etrog, Lulav, Hadas, Aravah
Water supplies (swim suit, bowl, hose, bubbles, balloons, etc.)
Other items may be necessary depending on selected activities
Modern Liturgical Adaptation
(Because Sukkot is a 7-day holiday, we are providing an opening liturgy for the first day of this holiday, but encourage all to engage different holiday-specific practices throughout this weeklong period, along with an intentional closing liturgy)
Opening Liturgy (Evening, Beginning of Day #1)
Prepare and decorate your “Sukkah”
Invite friends/ family to gather inside the Sukkah to start your celebration
Matriarch, or Household Leader (lights the candle(s) at sundown in the Sukkah):
Blessed are you Adonai, our God, King of the Universe, who is ever providing for our needs and guiding us from wilderness into flourishing. You are the King of kings, above all kingdoms. You are the presence of God housed within us, and the wellspring of living water that renews our spirits. We bless you as we enter into this Sukkot celebration.
Leader (Kiddush: Prayer for the Wine)
(Have everyone raise their glass)
Prayer: Blessed are You, Adonai our God, King of the universe, Who creates the fruit of the vine. We celebrate you in this lavish provision.
Note: Wine is drank to sanctify the time and remind us of our covering from the Exodus
(Cheers clinks all around!)
Leader (Kiddush: Prayer for the Challah)
Prayer: Blessed are You, Adonai our God, King of the Universe, Who brings forth bread from the earth. We honor you in the way you preserve our bodies.
Note: Bread reminds us of the manna God provided in the desert and the double portion that was given for Shabbat
(For Sukkot, you are encouraged to eat the Challah with honey!)
Leader (Liturgical Reading)
Adonai, you led us out of Egypt with the hope of joining you in a Kingdom of Promise.
But, in your great wisdom and our great unfaithfulness, you saw that we were not yet ready.
In the wilderness, you guided us for 40 years, providing manna for our bodies and Torah for our spirits. You taught us your ways and began the process of purging us of the corruption of Empire.
You are the sustainer of our souls, with steadfast love that never ceases.
As we wandered from place to place, you led us to bind ourselves to your hope, not to land. You showed us that no edifice or mighty structure can replace the foundation of our life together in you.
Along this journey, you have quenched our thirst and renewed our spirits like water bursting from the rock. Yet, even more so, you have poured out a river of life and a wellspring of water inside us.
Your Spirit is near, ever-present and guiding us to release this world and walk in the way of your Kingdom.
We rejoice in our deliverance, how you have taken us out of the wilderness and into a Kingdom overflowing with milk and honey, fruits and vegetation, open tables and inclusion of the poor.
Your household is unlike any other household. Your government is unlike anything that could be made by man.
Adonai, may our hearts ever overflow with gladness that you rule your Kingdom with never-ending justice and mercy.
May we never incline our hearts to the path of Empire, overlooking or exploiting our neighbor for money, convenience, or power, but in all things trust your leadership and seek out shalom.
Whether in tabernacles or established homes, may your living water ever wash over us - filling us with the fruits of your Spirit - that we may also pour ourselves out in the wilderness places around us.
(Ritual symbol: Pour out the bowl of water into a basin or houseplant, or over a makeshift alter)
[Time of Singing or Playing a Song of Joy]
Song ideas…
River of Life
Desert Song by Hillsong
Promises by Maverick City
Joy of the Lord by Maverick City
Joy by Housefires
So Good to Me by Cory Asbury
[Dinner]
(Communal, potluck-style dinner with friends and family, and inclusive of those marginalized or without homes)
Possible Discussion Questions During Dinner
(Remembrance of Wandering and Oppression)
Picture yourself, newly freed from Egypt yet bound to the desert for 40 years. What images come to mind? What do you feel emotionally and in your body as you consider the journey ahead? What beliefs and desires surface?
What is a time you felt lost, abandoned, or without hope? How did God meet you in that time?
What are ways that we have forgotten our own people’s wanderings, and how has this harmed our relationship with the poor, marginalized, and oppressed, individually and as the broader church? How does this change your view of self to know you came from a people that were at one point without a home?
What are injustices that you feel compelled to challenge? How has God cultivated your heart to bring justice in this particular place where harm has been done?
(Remembrance of Hope and a new Kingdom)
What excites you when you picture entry into the Land of Milk & Honey? What excites you at the picture of God’s kingdom coming fully on Earth?
What does the most joyful form of celebration look like for you?
What stories come to mind of God lavishing his goodness on you? What’s one of your most joyful moments that you can’t help but smile when talking about it?
What moments can you think of where you felt overwhelmingly anchored in hope?
What stories of past ancestors come to mind that make you smile?
Prayer after Meal
Praise to You, Adonai our God, for you have brought us out of the desert and placed us in a land of abundance. May our remembrance of your faithfulness and our celebration with one another be a picture of your kingdom here on earth. Amen.
[Group Party - Outside or in Sukkah - Use Following Activity List for Ideas]
Pick one to three activities from the following list to enter into the spirit of Sukkot:
Setting up a tent or building a “fort” (inside or outside) to spend time in (and even sleep in), representing the sukkah
Decorating your sukkah with pillows, lamps, lanterns, “treasures”, family heirlooms, and pictures of ancestors
Playing water games (swimming, spraying with hoses, balloon fights, blowing bubbles, etc.)
Gathering fruits to hang in the sukkah, or place them around the house to enjoy
Creating crafts, such as a paper lantern, fairy lights, paper chains, or stars to decorate the sukkah
Dessert activities, such as roasting marshmallows over a fire (image of outdoor wandering) or homemade ice cream (remembering the promise of Milk & Honey)
Challah bread and apples dipped in honey while reading passages in Deuteronomy or Proverbs 31
Dancing and singing together
Telling stories (around a fire pit) of ancestors who have passed, remembering the lineage from which we each have come
Spending time with those who have recently immigrated or are without homes in your community (particularly inviting them into Sukkot meals)
Discussing ways to advocate for the oppressed and suffering
Celebrating in whatever way feels most filled with joy!
Tearing down the sukkah and celebrating our arrival into a new home (end of Sukkot)