Promise and Shadow

The Prophetic Character of the Feast of Tabernacles

Numerous sacrifices were offered in the Temple - bullocks, rams and goats - for a sin-offering. The first day of the Feast thirteen bullocks were offered, twelve the next day, eleven the third, diminishing every day until seven bullocks were offered on the seventh day, making a total of seventy.

The Rabbis explain that this number of seventy bullocks was a sacrifice on behalf of the seventy nations of the world, looking toward their conversion to the God of Israel and their gathering under the Shekinah glory.

The Feast of Tabernacles, like the other feasts of Israel, focuses the attention of God's people both on the past, on what God has done, and on the future, on what God will do. The prophetic message of the Feast of Tabernacles is that there is shelter in the Tabernacle of God under the wings of the Shekinah glory, for the Jew first, and also the Gentile nations.

Wells of Salvation

There were two outstanding features which characterised the Temple service of the Feast of Tabernacles. (1) The pouring of water in the Temple. (2) The brilliant illumination of the Temple.

A specially appointed priest was sent to the Pool of Siloam with a golden pitcher to bring water from the Pool. This was poured by the high priest into a basin at the foot of the altar. From another pitcher wine was poured into the same basin. These mingled together and flowed through special pipes back to the Brook of Kidron again.

The significance of the pouring of water was twofold. First, it was a symbolic and ritual prayer for abundant rain. Summer was at an end. Winter and the rainy season was about to begin. Upon abundant rain Israel then depended as now for her daily bread. Hence the prayers for the gates of Heaven to open and for abundant rain. Even today in the synagogue much prayer for rain is offered at this time. The pouring of water was a visual interpretation of God's grace in sending rain.

Secondly, the ritual of water libation went beyond the merely physical; it was prophetic and Messianic in its hope, looking toward the outpouring of the Holy Spirit not only upon Israel, but also the believers of all the nations under the reign of Messiah King.

The Day of the Great Hosanna

The ritual of water pouring lasted six days, climaxing on the seventh day, which concluded the Feast of Tabernacles. This day was called Hoshana Rabba, The Day of the Great Hosanna. It has a special messianic significance. The pouring of the water from the golden pitcher took place amidst the blasting of the trumpets by the priests and the singing of sacred music by the Levites, while the people, waving their lulavs, or palm branches, chanted the Hallel, Psalms 113-118.

The closing words of Psalm 118 are these:

"Save now, I beseech thee, O Lord: O Lord, I beseech thee, send now prosperity.

Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord: we have blessed you out of the house of the Lord.

God is the Lord, which hath shewed us light: bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar.

Thou art my God, and I will praise thee: thou art my God, I will exalt thee."

From the words "Save Now" (in Hebrew "Hoshana"), this day was known as the "Great Hosanna". It was peculiarly Messianic in nature, a prayer for the speedy salvation through the Messiah. This is why our Saviour was greeted on another occasion with the waving of palm branches and the words, "Hosanna to the son of David," meaning, "Save us Son of David." This is important for the understanding of what happened when the Lord attended the Temple service on the day of the "Great Hosanna".

It was while all this was going on, the pouring of the water from the Pool of Siloam into the altar basin, the blasting of the trumpets by the priests, the singing of the Psalms by the Levites, and the prayers of the people, "Save now, I beseech thee, O Lord," when the Messianic fervour was at the highest pitch, that the Lord Jesus stood in the Temple crying:

"If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water" - John 7:38. What our Saviour said by implication was: "I am the answer to your prayers."

The Messianic claim of our Saviour was clearly understood by all. It must have come like a bolt from the blue. Here was the One claiming to be the answer to the fervent hope and prayer of long centuries and many generations. Could He, the carpenter's son of Nazareth, be the long expected Messiah?

Temple Lights and the Light of the World

Another central feature of the Feast of Tabernacles was the illumination of the Temple in Jerusalem. The festive pilgrims came to the Temple bearing lights and torches, while in the Temple itself the golden candlesticks were lighted, transforming the Temple into one brilliant focus of light which illuminated most of Jerusalem and surroundings. What an eloquent symbol of the Sanctuary of God which was to be a light of the world!

Amidst all this splendour and the brilliant lights of the Temple, our Saviour stood proclaiming: "I am the light of the world."

Without true knowledge of the rites and symbols of the Feast of Tabernacles, we miss the profound significance of our Lord's pronouncements in the Temple.

- Victor Buksbazen, The Gospel in the Feasts of Israel

The Interpretation of Signs

In S. John's Gospel we find also that Christ states the interpretation of His signs. Signs are treated in an exactly parallel manner to the parables, or rather to the parables that are strictly symbolic, such as the Sower and the Tares. The Feeding of the Five Thousand is interpreted, "I am the Bread of Life"; the recovery of sight to the Blind Man is interpreted, "I am the Light of the World"; the Raising of Lazarus is interpreted, "I am the Resurrection and the Life."

Some of the interpretations are peculiarly significant. The great declaration, "I am the Light of the World," is repeated before the healing of the blind man in a special form - "I am the Light of (or to) the World," as if this sign were a particular illustration of the principle before enunciated. The Walking on the Sea is interpreted, "I am; be not afraid," meaning that there is no impossibility of His presence, but that He ever comes to the help of those who believe in Him.

It is worth repeating here that each of these interpretations begins with the words "I am," recalling the ancient name of Jehovah, and in themselves constituting a claim to divinity.

- A. Allen Brockington, Old Testament Miracles in the Light of the Gospel