On the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus interrupted a time honored Jewish tradition to
proclaim the following prophetic utterance.
John 7:37-39
On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, "If anyone thirsts, let
him come to me and drink.
38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his
heart will flow rivers of living water.'" 39 Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who
believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not
yet glorified. ESV
None of the thousands of people assembled on the last day of the feast understood what Jesus was
really talking about. His words produced arguments among both the people and the religious scholars.
The same is true to this day even though the reasons for the misunderstanding are completely different.
It seems that the rejection of the appointed times and their true significance have clouded and
diminished Jesus’ statements.
Jesus interrupted the Temple traditions that anticipated the Messiah and the gift of the Holy Spirit. He
identified Himself as the Messiah standing before them. The result: arguments.
Today we skip over the significance of the feast days--appointed times--days when we can purposely
unite worldwide with believers and assemble as one man in the place where God has chosen to put His
name. In particular, we miss the significance of “on the last day of the feast, the great day…”. This was
the phrase that caught my attention some 15 years ago. I began to ask what the last and great day of the feast was.
As it turns out, the last day is the last day of the whole cycle of the appointed time calendar in each year
and as such it is the picture of the culmination of the pattern and purpose of the restoration of all
people (individuals), families, and nations. Jesus is not only identifying Himself as the Messiah, He is
foretelling the redemptive purpose and goal for humanity.
See John 7:40-51
Quoted From: http://www.rj-anderson.com/docs/tabernacles.html
In Jesus' time, Jewish pilgrims came from the farthest distances, representing a multitude of
nations. Many would leave weeks in advance, so as to reach Jerusalem and complete the necessary
preparations before the Feast began. Upon arrival in the great city, each family would construct its own
tabernacle, or booth, in which to live. They would move into the booth on the first day of the Feast and
stay there for the rest of the week -- effectively going camping with God.
The ritual associated with the Feast was nothing short of spectacular. Thousands of "tabernacles" made
of olive, myrtle, palm and other branches (Nehemiah 8:15) dotted the streets and roofs of Jerusalem, as
the Feast opened with an exuberant celebration at the Temple. Leaping flames from four gigantic
menorot flooded the Temple Mount with daylight brilliance, while beneath the great lampstands the
people danced and sang to the Lord. Through the open gates leading from the Court of the Women the
illumination of the candelabra and the sounds of worship and praise spilled out into the Court of the
Gentiles…….
… Each morning the High Priest, accompanied by a procession from the Temple, went down to the Pool
of Siloam and filled a golden pitcher full of water. As the sweet savor of the last morning sacrifice rose
from the altar of burnt offering into the sky, the High Priest re-entered the Temple through the Water
Gate on the south side. There he was met by another priest bearing wine for a drink offering, crushed
from the grapes gathered in just before the Feast. Through silver funnels the priests simultaneously
poured their libations out at the base of the altar. The water, symbolizing the Holy Spirit poured out
upon men, flowed down the Temple steps into the outer courts. Though introduced solely by tradition,
this outpouring aspect was regarded as one of the Feast's most significant features. ……..
Remember that YHWH’s instructions to Israel for the Feast of Tabernacles were to REMEMBER the
journey through the desert when Israel lived in tents (Sukkot). The desert is a dry and dangerous area in
which to live, Israel’s dependence upon the Lord’s provision was never as complete as it was during that
time. It is important to remember the dependence upon the Lord and the completeness of His provision.
In the desert, where there is no water, God provided water out of a large rock (Exodus 17:6). It is likely
that this gushing spring of water produced a lake from which the people of Israel drank during the
period of time that the Tabernacle and its furnishings were constructed. This effort was no small task
and it required skilled artisans who had been trained in Egypt as slaves. There were goldsmiths,
silversmiths, skilled wood workers who transformed the twisted trees of the desert into interlocking
components of the modular Tabernacle structure. There were weavers, embroiderers, workers in
precious stones, and much more. Just as the skilled workers who drank from the rock in the desert were
to build the first dwelling place for the presence of the Lord, so now “you yourselves like living stones
are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to
God through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:5.) ESV
Christ was the rock in the desert.
1 Corinthians 10:1-7
I want you to know, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through
the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same
spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that
followed them, and the Rock was Christ.
Living water.
This is the promise that Jesus was communicating to those people at the feast. When we drink from
Christ (for our deliverance) we will receive the very Spirit of God, the gift of the Father (John 14:15-30),
who will comfort us, teach us all truth, convict us from sin (John 16:5-11), and give us power and gifts to
edify the new temple of God (1 Corinthians 12:4-31) that is not made with hands (Acts 7:44-50), but
with living stones (1 Peter 2:4-6).
Wine and water.
Wine is a symbol of blood. When Jesus’ side was pierced by the Roman solder, blood and water came
out of His body and flowed onto the earth (like a small stream). In the water ceremony, water and wine
were poured together from the altar and allowed to flow onto the outer courts. We can see the picture
of the Crucifixion that opened the way for the Holy Spirit to indwell our lives (John 19:31-37).
Ezekiel’s vision (read Ezekiel 47: 1-12).
Ezekiel 47:1 Then he brought me back to the door of the temple, and behold, water was issuing
from below the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). ESV
What started as a trickle of blood and water becomes a river ankle deep, knee deep, waist deep and
then too deep to stand. This is the river of God--His Spirit once again flowing from heaven right into the
hearts and lives of the people. This is the same thing that Jesus was telling the people during the last
Great Day of the Feast. Moreover, Jesus was openly identifying Himself as the Messiah, the necessary
starting point. Believe in me…..! This is God’s goal; this is the culmination of redemption.
Ezekiel 47:12
And on the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their
leaves will not wither, nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the
water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing.
ESV
This is a picture of us, God’s ekklesia, the Bride of Christ displaying the nature of YHWH.
The woman of Samaria (read John 4:7-25).
John 4:13-15
Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks
of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty forever. The water that I will give him will
become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." 15 The woman said to him, "Sir,
give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water." ESV
The water poured out during the water ceremony during each day of the feast is available not only to
the Jews, but also to the Samaritans and the nations. God’s provision and desire is for the whole world.
This is a large river indeed.
As the LORD brought forth water out of the rock in the desert at the beginning, so He makes available
the fullness of the indwelling Spirit of God to bring us to completion.
Isa 44:2-4
Fear not, O Jacob my servant,
Jeshurun (Israel) whom I have chosen.
For I will pour water on the thirsty land,
and streams on the dry ground;
I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring,
and my blessing on your descendants.
They shall spring up among the grass
like willows by flowing streams.
ESV
Galatians 3:13-14
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, "Cursed is
everyone who is hanged on a tree"— so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the
Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith. ESV
1 Corinthians 12:13
For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body— Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made
to drink of one Spirit. ESV
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