Under the Sukkah of David

Category: Kedoshim

Under the Sukkah of David

Tags: King, messianic era, res, restoration, sukkah, tabernacle of David

Vayikra (Leviticus) 19:1-20:27 | Amos 9:7-15

According to the Stone Edition Chumash note on haftarat Acharei, this week's reading from Amos (9:7-15) is originally supposed to be read with parashat Acharei Mot while last week's Haftarah (Ezekiel 22:1-19) was meant to be the reading accompanying parashat Kedoshim. How did they become reversed? In non-leap years Acharei Mot and Kedoshim are read together as a double portion. Because of the long-standing tradition of ending the Haftarah on a note of hope, the more hopeful reading from Amos was read after the dire and bleak prophecy from Ezekiel. Thus they were printed in reverse order in early chumashim. As a result, when read in non-leap years, the two readings from the prophets were read with the opposite portion. Some lection schedules have now corrected the error.

For believers, this portion of Amos is of great interest because it is quoted by Yaakov the brother of the Master as the proof-text which validates the inclusion of the Gentiles. This corresponds to the passage from Kedoshim that says, "The stranger (ger) who resides with you shall be to you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you were aliens (gerim) in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God." (Leviticus 19:34)

The Fallen Sukkah Rebuilt

In Acts 15, Yaakov the brother of the Master quotes from the following passage to validate the inclusion of the Gentiles.

"In that day I will raise up the fallen booth of David, and wall up its breaches; I will also raise up its ruins, and rebuild it as in the days of old. That they may possess the remnant of Edom And all the nations who are called by My name," declares the Lord who does this. (Amos 9:11-12)

The first part of verse twelve presents us with a translation problem. The NAS renders it, "...that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations who are called by My Name." The LXX however, translates the same words, "...that the remnant of men, and all the Gentiles upon whom my name is called, may earnestly seek me...." The difficulty lies in how we are to understand the Hebrew, edom . With the traditional vowel pointing this word should be rendered Edom, but without the vowel points, it is the identical word for "man" or "mankind." When Amos was written, the vowel pointing did not exist. Hence, the Lxx may preserve for us not only the oldest translation of this verse, but also an ancient interpretation which agrees with the words of James in Acts 15:13-18. In the Septuagint/Acts reading, there is nothing in the verse about possessing Edom. Rather, it speaks about the remnant of men, especially those from among the Gentiles, seeking shelter in the tabernacle (sukkah) of David.

What does it mean? The prophecy predicts the reestablishment of the house of David. In the days of Amos, the godliness of the ruling family in Israel, the house of David, was quickly disintegrating. In the days of the Acts of the Apostles, there had not been a member of the house of David sitting upon the throne of David since the fall of Jerusalem. For Yaakov and the believers in the book of Acts, David's fallen sukkah was already rebuilt. The Messianic era began with the coming of Yeshua, the Messiah.

Fellow Citizens with Israel

The passage also predicts that when David's throne is reestablished there will be nations of men called by God's Name. We see the significance of this when we examine the use of this passage in Acts 15. Those early Jewish believers witnessed how God was miraculously working among the Gentiles in a way never before seen. They observed that God was bringing many Gentiles into their midst and understood that what God was doing with the Gentiles was a direct fulfillment of the words of the prophet Amos. Therefore, they saw that Amos 9:11-12 was not intended for the millennial reign of Yeshua when He would come to set up His earthly throne. Rather, they saw that already in their time and era, God was bringing many Gentiles into the shelter of the house of David, i.e. into the family of the Messiah.

In this, they did not witness a beginning of a second stream of God's people. They understood from the passage in Amos that the new Gentile believers were brought under the sukkah, or shelter, of the house of David. In other words, they were brought into Israel and were made to be fellow citizens with Israel, with the descendant of Israel's King ruling over them, King Messiah Yeshua!

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Category: Kedoshim