Sukkot is the last of the Jewish pilgrim festivals that God had commanded that all were to come to Jerusalem to appear before Him. It is the celebration of all that the Lord has done for his people, and is the prophetic picture of the olam haba, the world to come, when the Messiah will reign for a thousand years on the earth. It was the most joyous time of the year, sukkahs were built, and the people dwelled in them for eight days. It is a beautiful picture of God’s provision and protection throughout the year, a reminder of the Tabernacle in the wilderness when the LORD dwelled amongst His people. So what does that have to do with believers in Christ? A lot more than you might think. Sukkot points to Christ.
Sukkot comes five days after Yom Kippur and celebrates the gathering of the harvest, as well as the miraculous protection God gave the Israelites when they left Egypt–God dwelling with his people. There is an even deeper prophetic meaning to Sukkot, one of promise for both Jews and Christians. The last of the fall festivals appointed by God, Sukkot is the celebration of God dwelling with His people. Jesus fulfilled this in part by coming to earth in human form, and he will completely fulfill this prophetic celebration when he returns, never to leave us, thus establishing the kingdom age here on earth. During the second Temple period on the last day of Sukkot, it was customary for a priest to take water from the pool of Siloam in a pitcher and carry it back to the Temple.
This is the water libation ceremony. A large procession of joyful people would accompany him, dancing and singing the Hallel Psalms (113-118), Psalm 114:8, in particular, saying “He turned the Rock into a pool of water, the flint into a fountain of waters.” As they entered the Temple Mount, the priest would then pour the water upon the Temple altar, called the “Rejoicing of the House of Drawing Water.” The Talmud states that the response of the multitudes was so great that whoever had not been in Jerusalem to experience this ceremony, had not experienced such joy. Jesus’ name in Hebrew is Yeshua and it means “salvation,” and the celebration of Sukkot prophetically points to the days of Messianic redemption when the waters of the Holy Spirit would be poured out on all of Israel.
On the last day of Sukkot, Hoshana Rabba, understood as the Great Salvation, Yeshua proclaimed (John 7:37-38), “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink! He that believes on me, as the scripture has said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” Yeshua, Jesus, was telling them that it was He that would pour out the Holy Spirit on all who believed! Scripture is full of references to Jesus and “living water”—the woman at the well (John 4:13-14), the Sermon on the Mount, (Matthew 5:6), and the prophets (Isaiah 55:1, Jeremiah 2:13; Zechariah 14:8, etc). Revelation 21:3 provides the completed Messianic picture of Sukkot: “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.” Thus, the prophetic significance of Sukkot.
