Guest Authors
Keep The Feast
Today I'm starting to put up the sukkah. I have a special affection for the Festival of Sukkot. Not only is it now fall, my favorite season, but it's a festival that's basically all about hanging out.
Sukkot is yet another example of the differences the Torah makes between those obligated and those not obligated.
You shall dwell in booths for seven days. All native Israelites shall dwell in booths. (Lev. 23:42, emphasis mine)
There you have it. It's plain as day. Only the native, physical descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are obligated by Torah to dwell in a sukkah for seven days (According to the rule of the sages, it is also only obligatory for males, since it is a time-bound commandment). And according to the sages, dwelling requires that one eat, drink, and live in the sukkah, making the sukkah a frequented place, and one's home an occasional place. According to many opinions, this also includes sleeping, but others dispute this and consider sleeping in the sukkah to be a matter of custom.
So does this mean that I, a Gentile, won't be celebrating Sukkot? By no means! Obviously, I am spending time, money, and effort to put up a sukkah, purchase a lulav and etrog, buy extra special food, and drive quite a distance to go visit friends (who are also Gentile) during the feast.
Sukkot is a festival that attracts many Gentile believers to Messianic Judaism. Perhaps this is because this is also the role Sukkot will play in the Messianic Age. Zechariah 14 describes the days when our Messiah Yeshua will sit on his throne in Jerusalem. It is the great Day when, "the LORD will be one and his name one." In 14:16ff, the prophet describes the involvement of the nations in the celebration of Sukkot in eschatological Jerusalem. First, notice that the nations are distinguished from Israel, though they obviously have a close relationship with them and join together with them in their worship of the LORD of Hosts. Second, it is worth noting that the nations receive blessing (in the form of rain) for their celebration of Sukkot.
This is just an illustration to show that despite changes in language regarding obligation, Divine Invitation actually makes little practical difference. There is still immense blessing and worth in observing the Torah beyond obligation. And in reality, I would wager that most Messianic Gentiles came to Torah in this way. Not out of obligation, guilt, or out of a sense that we were sinning. But we experienced first hand the blessing that comes from God's Torah.
If we reclaim the joy we once felt for God's Torah, other Christians will inevitably be drawn to it. Let us put off harsh words, condemnation, and unfair rhetoric against those who have not tasted of the feasts. God's Torah can speak for itself. As is is frequently said and proves time and again to be true, our actions speak louder than words.
So keep the feast, hang out, and let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
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