Sub-Total: $0.00
The three fall feasts of Israel occur in the holiest month of the Hebrew calendar, the sacred month of Tishrei. This year, all three begin in September on our Gregorian calendar. Rosh Hashanah, the Feast of Trumpets, also known as the Civil New Year, begins the year 5787 on the Hebrew calendar at sundown on Friday, September 11. Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, begins at sundown on Sunday, September 20, and five days later, at sundown on Friday, September 25, Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles, begins. Interestingly, these fall feasts of Israel thematically picture the beautiful road to redemption for us as followers of Jesus the Messiah.
Let me explain.
The fall feasts are unique among God’s appointed times because they form a natural progression of thought. As Mitch and Zhava Glaser write in their book The Fall Feasts of Israel:
“The Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah), teaches repentance; Yom Kippur, The Day of Atonement, redemption, and Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles or Booths, rejoicing. On the Feast of Trumpets, the sound of the ram’s horn calls upon each Jew to repent and confess his sins before his Maker. The Day of Atonement is that ominous day when peace is made with God. On the feast of Tabernacles, Israel obeys God’s command to rejoice over the harvest and the goodness of God. It’s necessary to pass through repentance and redemption in order to experience His joy.”
Rosh Hashanah (Leviticus 23:23–25) is the Jewish New Year; in Hebrew, the name literally means “head of the year.” During this time the shofar is sounded, beginning what is known as the Ten Days of Awe. It is a season of repentance, when Jewish people have long examined their lives and repented of their sins, and many still do today.
Similarly, the announcement of Jesus’ mission, and the content of His own message, was a call to repentance. John the Baptist prepared the way for Jesus, calling out, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand,” a theme Jesus Himself repeated throughout His earthly ministry (Matthew 3:2; 4:17).
After Rosh Hashanah, Jewish people approach Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 23:26–32), with repentant hearts. Yom means “day,” and kippur means “atonement,” from the Hebrew root kaphar, “to cover.” Throughout the day, Jewish people fast and implore God for forgiveness, asking Him to seal their names in the Book of Life (Psalm 69:27–28; Daniel 12:1).
As Christians, we celebrate the redemption accomplished through the person and work of Jesus: “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace” (Ephesians 1:7). Because we have been redeemed, our names are written in the Book of Life, as the New Testament reveals (Luke 10:20; Philippians 4:3; Revelation 3:5; 21:27). Not hoped for, not pending, but written.
Lastly, the Feast of Tabernacles (Leviticus 23:33–34, 39–43), or Sukkot in Hebrew, begins five days after Yom Kippur. Traditionally, as soon as the sun goes down and the Day of Atonement ends, many Jewish families begin building their sukkah (booth). In biblical times this was a joyful celebration of the final fall harvest, so joyful that Jewish tradition calls Sukkot Z’man Simchateinu, “the Season of Our Rejoicing.” The Feast of Tabernacles also commemorates God’s deliverance of His people from Egypt and their 40 years of wilderness wandering, when they dwelt in tents. God’s tabernacle was with them. We remember and rejoice in God’s faithfulness and His provision!
And the apostle John saw this feast fulfilled in the Messiah: “The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). The Greek word for “dwelt” literally means “tabernacled.” Just as God’s presence once filled a tent in the wilderness, God Himself pitched His tent among us in Jesus.
As believers, we remember and rejoice in God’s provision of salvation found in the person and work of Jesus our Messiah, who has delivered us from sin’s bondage, and in His continual faithfulness to us as we journey life’s road on our way to our own promised land, the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21).
So, our salvation journey follows a similar thematic progression as the fall feasts of Israel: we repent of our sins, experience God’s redemption as we put our trust in Jesus, and rejoice in His salvation!
This is a wonderful season to be praying for and witnessing to the Jewish people in your life, as spiritual sensitivity toward the things of God is elevated, even among many who are nominally religious or not religious at all.
And as we ponder our road to redemption and the joy our salvation brings, may that joy be a powerful witness to those who have not yet recognized Jesus as the Way. Amen.
