Each seven-day festival appears within a wilderness journey of six stops, six in Exodus and six in Numbers. And in each, Israel rebelled five times. YHWH led Israel by a pillar of fire at night and a pillar of cloud by day in Exodus, and in Numbers, YHWH led Israel by His tabernacle Presence. When the tabernacle’s cloud/fire pillar lifted, it indicated the movement of the camp. In both wilderness experiences, the people dwelt in tents. Tent dwelling has various names: Sukkot, Feast of Tabernacles, Feast of Booths, Feast of Ingathering, or the seventh month’s fifteenth-day festival.

While YHWH dwelt in a tabernacle (miskan) that became a meeting place with Israel (ohel, 36), Israel lived in booths (sukkot) or tents on the wilderness journey. The word for “booth” is sukkah, or suk, from the root word sakak. Sakak means “entwining something together to cover or protect, with the expressed purpose to cover, act as a defense, defend, hedge in, join together, set, or shut up” (Strong’s H5521, 5520, 5526). The reality of sakak is a “booth, den, pavilion, tent, tabernacle, covert, or cottage.” It conveys control or protective guidance in response to a need exhibited through a temporary condition or period to block out harm (like a womb). The sukkot, made with branches of fruitful trees, pictured the enclosed garden, lifting up life to fruitfulness.

Sukkot looks back at ancient Israel’s wilderness trek and looks forward to Israel’s establishment as a millennial nation. It commemorates Israel’s dwelling in booths, sakak, with YHWH. When YHWH exposed them to deprivation or danger to test them, He preserved them, surrounding them with providence. For those surrendered seeking refuge in Him during the temporary afflictions at the end of the age, during the intense transformation by His purifying fire, He shelters in His tent. Israel will again dwell in safety and sureness when YHWH gathers and settles them in their land. (Jer. 23:37, Eze. 36:11, 33, Hos. 11:11, Zec. 10:6, Psa. 7, 80, 83 upon Gittith relate to Sukkot.) Ultimately, walking with and dwelling in the secret place of His Presence yields the fruitfulness of righteousness, learning to live not by bread alone but by every Word of God.

In the yearly holyday cycle, the wilderness journey is depicted first by seven weeks of Sabbaths arising out of seven days of eating unleavened bread (eating of the Word of God) and secondly by the seven-day fall Festival of Tabernacles. Sevens or Sabbaths mark both events, the way of YHWH’s oath (shaba, H7651). The way of the Sabbaths first relates to the spring harvest and second to the fall harvest. God’s unleavened Word ingested causes us to “learn to fear YHWH our God” so that the Word might be in our mouths. Eating in His holy Presence creates a new righteous humanity, lacking nothing. In the periods of sevens relating to eating and dwelling with Him, that which is conceived in temporary flesh is changed into permanence through YHWH’s protected crucible of conversion. The lessons of dwelling in booths and walking with Yeshua stamp us with His signature, “Remember always how I perfectly created you,” for “I AM YHWH your GOD.”

In Blog 118, the last on Yom haKippurim, we saw that the Day of Atonements was crucial to establishing the House of David. Immanuel, “God with Us,” saved us from our sins so that He could plant us, rooted and bearing fruit in His garden mountain. Bearing the fruit of the Spirit, of living in the way of life, was the way of the Torah, being fruitful and multiplying in every good work. It is for this reason that we have been created. The key to establishing the House of David was “doing what is right in the eyes of YHWH,” the theme of the Book of Kings. YHWH is the King of Israel. Yeshua came, tabernacled with us in the flesh, living the full extent of the law of life, of holiness. He could have destroyed us for our sins according to the royal Law, but He showed us a greater righteousness through mercy. Because of His atoning sacrifice, we can walk with God, tabernacling with Him to His holy cosmic mountain, Eden’s new Jerusalem, never to be uprooted again.

In the day I come back, will I raise up the tabernacle of David, the fallen booth, and close up its breaches; and I will raise up its ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old, that the rest of humanity may seek YHWH, and all the nations that are called by My name, says YHWH who has been making these things known from the beginning of the world [Isa. 45:21; Jer. 12:15; Amo. 9:11-12 with Act. 15:15-17]

Takeaway:
Israel’s two journeys on either side of Mount Sinai were times of traveling with YHWH, preparing them to remain in His holy Presence in the Promised Land. Israel lived in sukkot during Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers, the core of the Pentateuch. Dwelling in a sukkah depicts a time of vulnerability and trust in the Creator’s work. Submission to His tests and purifying fire of the Spirit creates a new creation who walks in the ways of life, clothed in His greater righteousness. As a Son, He builds up and restores the fall House of David.

Fun Factors:
YHWH’s tabernacle, miskan, adds to 410, 10 (5² + 4²), saying total/full (10) holiness (25) of His house (16). It became a tent of meeting, ohel, sum 36, 6², 1³ + 2³ + 3³, the new creation (2³, 8) with YHWH (1³) in His Holy of Holies (3³, 27), after offering sacrifices and performing atonements. The Passover sacrifice made the spring wilderness journey possible. Atonements made the fall wilderness journey succeed. Both depictions of the same sacrifice allowed the Presence of the holy YHWH on the journey out of exile. Appearing 31 times in the Tanakh, sukkot has a numeric value of 486, 18 × 27, life (18) in the Holy of Holies (27), and Feast of Sukkot equals 502, the fullness of 52, 2 × 26 (YHWH), 2(5² + 1²), YHWH’s holiness (5²) in His temple with us.