Solomon's Temple

The Lord's timing never ceases to amaze me.

My scripture reading has had me in 1 Kings 8 this week. For a few weeks, I have been reading about the time leading up to the building of God's holy temple in Jerusalem. Today, I read Solomon's prayer of dedication over the temple, and it spoke to me in ways like never before.

It is interesting to note that right now, the Jews are in a time of mourning that leads up to Tisha b'Av (9th of Av) on the Hebrew calendar. The three-week mourning period began on the 17th of Tammuz. This year, the corresponding dates on the Gregorian calendar are July 24 to August 14. So what does this have to do with Solomon dedicating the temple?

The 9th of Av was the very day that Solomon's temple was destroyed by Babylon, and the very day that the second temple was destroyed by Rome.  The temple destructions are the main reason of mourning for the Jewish people

Sadly, throughout history, many other terrible things have happened to the Jewish people on Tisha (9th) b'Av. For example:

• The spies returned from Canaan on the 8th of Av. By the 9th, all Israel was mourning.
• The Bar Kochba revolt in Israel was crushed on this day by Rome in 135.
• The Jews of England were expelled on this day in 1290.
• The Jews of Spain were expelled on this day in 1492.
• World War I broke out on the 9th of Av, which of course led to World War 2 and the Holocaust.
• Deportations began on this day from the Warsaw Ghetto to Treblinka in 1942.

No wonder it is a day of mourning for the Jewish people.

A few things jumped out at me today while reading 1 Kings 8.

About 11 months after the temple was completed, the Ark of the Covenant was placed into the temple at the Feast of Tabernacles... the feast that commemorates Yehovah dwelling with His people. As soon as the ark was established, the glory of the LORD filled the place and the priests were so overwhelmed that they could not continue ministering. What an awesome moment that must have been!

In his prayer of dedication, Solomon acknowledged the vastness of Yehovah. The king declared that He is too vast even to be contained in the heavens and the earth, but then he humbly asked the LORD to come and dwell in the temple that he built for His holy name.

Over and over again, Solomon pleaded for the righteousness of the people of Israel. He acknowledged that they would continue to fall into sin and begged the Lord to be merciful.

Solomon then prayed for the foreigners in verses 41-43:
Moreover, concerning a foreigner, who is not of Your people Israel, but has come from a far country for Your name’s sake (for they will hear of Your great name and Your strong hand and Your outstretched arm), when he comes and prays toward this temple, hear in heaven Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to You, that all peoples of the earth may know Your name and fear You, as do Your people Israel, and that they may know that this temple which I have built is called by Your name.

Even though I have been grafted into the commonwealth of Israel through Yeshua the Messiah, I came to Him as a foreigner.

Ephesians 2:12-13 says this:

...that at that time you were without Messiah, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Messiah Jesus, you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Messiah.

Hallelujah!  I am forever grateful to God's people Israel, and yearn for the day that Israel is fully restored to the Kingdom of the LORD.

Word Became Flesh

Most of us know that Yeshua was not born on December 25, but since the eyes of the Gentile world are focused on the birth of Yeshua right now, I thought it would be a good time to post this beautiful reminder from the scriptures. 

And the Word became flesh and tabernacled (dwelt) among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.   John 1:14

Keep in mind that Yeshua is the Jewish Messiah, foretold over and over again in the Hebrew scriptures.

The Lord Yehovah gave us His feasts (the word for feast actually means appointed times, see Leviticus 23), along with a pilgrimage requirement, so that every time something big was to happen in his plan with mankind, great multitudes of His people would be on hand in Jerusalem to see it.

Naturally, God would send His Messiah to the world during one of His three required annual pilgrimage feasts, when Jews from all over the world would travel to Jerusalem in obedience to the Torah. The inns would be crowded. Many sheep would be in the fields round the clock in preparation for the great number of sacrifices by the pilgrims.

So which feast was it? A careful study of scripture points to the Feast of Tabernacles.

John the Baptist

The conception of John the Baptist would have taken place following Zechariah's time of service in the temple. Luke 1:5 tells us he served in the course of Abijah, which would have been the eighth course of the year according to 1 Chronicles 24. That course falls either just before or just after Shavuot (aka Pentecost to the Gentile world), depending on the lunar calendar. Zehariah would have continued his service through the busy pilgrimage feast of Shavuot, when all priests were required to serve at the temple.  Zechariah's son John would have been conceived by Elizabeth right after that time, as promised by the angel who visited him at the altar of incense in the temple.

(The counting of the courses began at the start of the new year - the first week of the first month Nisan, in the spring.  Passover fell on the third week of the first month, when all priests were required to serve at the temple.  Make sense?  Visit http://biblelight.net/sukkoth.htm for a more detailed description of the priestly divisions).

We know Yeshua was conceived six months after His foreunner and cousin John, per Luke 1:36. This puts the conception of Yeshua smack at Hanukkah, also known as the Feast of Dedication and Festival of Lights.  Isaiah 9:2 says,  The people who walked in darkness Have seen a great light; Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, Upon them a light has shined.  This passage is quoted in Matthew 4 when Yeshua began His ministry.  How fitting that the Light of the World would be conceived at Hanukkah.

John's birth would have coincided with Passover. Six months later we have the seventh feast, the most joyous of them all..  Sukkot!  Sukkot means booths, or tabernacles. It commemorated the Israelites' time in the wilderness, when the Lord Yehovah Himself dwelt (tabernacled) with them. Immanuel - God with us! Yeshua was quite likely born in a Sukkah booth!  Others have concluded a lambing cave, which is quite possible as well, seeing as He is the Lamb of God.  On the Gregorian calendar, the feast of Sukkot occurs in September or October.

If Yeshua was born on the first day of Tabernacles, then His cirumcision took place on the eighth day. He was given His name and became an Israelite on the Last Great Day of the feast, also called Simchat Torah, a day that celebrates the beginning of a new cycle of Torah reading.  A new beginning for the Word made Flesh.

Side note:  In Matthew 1:21, Yosef (Joseph) was told in a dream, And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Yeshua (meaning salvation), for He will save His people from their sins.

Timing of Yeshua's Ministry

Biblically, it can be shown that Yeshua ministered for three and a half years by counting all the feasts He celebrated.  It makes sense that He began His ministry at the Feast of Tabernacles, because exactly three and a half years later, He became our Passover Lamb.  (Remember, Passover and Sukkot are exactly a half year apart in the Hebrew calendar).  Priests begin their priestly service at age 30.  Does it not make sense that Yeshua would begin His ministry exactly when He turned 30?  God is so precise!

What was the first miracle that Yeshua performed?  It was at a wedding!  The Feast of Tabernacles is a picture of the future Wedding of the Lamb.

Why so hidden?

The timing of Messiah's birth can be gleaned from a close study of scripture.  But why would Yehovah require all the Biblical gymnastics to dig it out?

First of all, in the ancient Hebrew culture, birthdays were not the big deal.  Even today Jews celebrate a deceased person's yahrzeit, a Yiddish word meaning the anniversary of their death.  Perhaps this focus on the yahrzeit is because it looks back and celebrates the life a person lived, and not on the life that was yet to be lived. 

The only two birthday celebrations recorded in scripture had less than ideal results.  One was Pharoah's in Genesis 40, whereupon the baker was hanged.  The other one was Herod's in Matthew 14, whereupon John the Baptist was beheaded.  It seems that something about birthdays makes people lose their heads!

The main reason that the details of His birth are recorded in the gospels of Matthew and Luke are to show how the events of His birth fulfilled prophecy.  The gospel of Mark does not even mention His birth, and the gospel of John only mentions the verse which is written at the top of this post:  And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

Perhaps Yehovah in His infinite and all-knowing wisdom knew what the celebration of His son's birth (at the wrong time of year) would become.  I wonder what it would be like if the true timing of His birth was restored?  Can you imagine a world with no Black Friday?  No holiday stress?  No overspending?  No fighting over which holiday greeting to use?  Ahhh, bliss.

Hanukkah - Past, Present, and Future

This year we celebrate an early and unique Hanukkah (meaning dedication); the only time in our lifetime when Hanukkah converges with Thanksgiving.  The last time it happened was 125 years ago, and because of the nuances of the calendars, it will not happen for another 70,000+ years.

In other words, never again.

Hanukkah Past

Going back a few centuries, we can discover that the first Thanksgiving in America, celebrated by the Pilgrims, was based on Sukkot, or Feast of Tabernacles.  This seventh feast of the Bible can be likened to a Jewish Thanksgiving.  Sukkot has always been a time of celebration after the last great harvest of the year (and has a future fulfillment of the last great harvest of the Earth).

Going back even further, we discover that Hanukkah was a celebration to re-dedicate the refurbished holy temple in 165 BC.  It had been desecrated by the Syrian ruler Antiochus IV, who was then defeated by a small but feisty band of Jewish fighters known as the Maccabees.

What you may not know is that this particular celebration of Hanukkah in 165 BC was also based on Sukkot - in particular the Sukkot when Solomon dedicated the first temple in I Kings 8.  They were having such a blast at that dedication that Solomon decided to add a second week to the festivities, and finally on the eighth day of the second week, he sent them home.

This year's "Thanksgivukkah" brings them all together again.

Hanukkah Present

In this period we live in, between the previous second and future third temples, the Word tells us that we ARE the temple of the Holy Spirit. 

Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?  You are not your own; you were bought at a price.  Therefore honor God with your body."  I Corinthians 6:19-20

Thinking about the cleansing and rededication of the Temple - that Hanukkah commemorates - reminds us that we are to be continually cleansing and dedicating our lives and our bodies to the service of the Lord.  This dedication is not a one-time event, but a continual process of sanctification that lasts the rest of our lives.

 

 

Hanukkah Future

 

This will also have a future fulfillment when the third temple will be re-dedicated after the desecration by the antichrist.

 

The book of Daniel gives us a prophecy of the last seven years of history.  Without going into too many numerical details, after sixty-nine weeks (seven-year periods), a Messiah was to show up and then be cut-off (meaning be killed).  Guess who showed up 483 years after this prophecy?  The math shows Him riding into Jerusalem on a donkey at exactly the right time.

 

When the Jews as a national body rejected the Messiah, that seventieth week was put off until a future time so that the kingdom could be offered to the Gentiles. 

(Thank you, Lord, for the opportunity to join Your kingdom!)

 

Daniel 12 speaks of the horrible things that will happen during the second half of that 70th "week," which will last 3 1/2 years.  Revelation speaks of 1260 days, and Daniel speaks of 1335 days.  Why the extra 75 days?

 

It is interesting to note that there are 75 days from Yom Kippur to Hanukkah.  While we cannot dogmatically predict how every element of the fall feasts will be fulfilled, it seems to me that the national salvation of Israel on a future Yom Kippur will be followed by the third temple's dedication (or re-dedication) 75 days later. 

 

And the best part of all this is that the Lion of Judah - Yeshua, our King of Kings - will be present during all the festivities!

 

 

Happy Sukkot to you...

Today is the first day of Sukkot, also called Feast of Tabernacles, Feast of Booths, or Feast of Ingathering.  Sukkot is the seventh and final Biblical feast (literally "appointed time.").   It is a festival of great joy!

Preparing for Sukkot in Mea Shearim, and ultra-orthodox neighborhood in Jerusalem

The ancient fulfillment of Sukkot occurred in the wilderness, when the Israelites dwelt in tents.  Today, people build temporary shelters to remind them of that time when God actually tabernacled (dwelt) with them in the wilderness.


There is a future fulfillment of Sukkot coming, too.  So many elements of Sukkot parallel the ancient Jewish seven-day wedding feast.  I believe that there is a Sukkot coming, in the not too distant future, when Jewish and Gentile believers will be celebrating the Wedding Supper of the Lamb after the Messiah returns as the Conquering King. 

A Jewish wedding chuppah - could the canopy foreshadow the sukkah?

There is also Biblical evidence demonstrating that Yeshua entered the world at the Feast of Sukkot. John 1:14 says, And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.  The Greek word for dwelt, skenoo, literally means to pitch a tent.  Some translations even use the word tabernacled.  The Hebrew word Sukkot included animal shelters... Genesis 33:17 says And Jacob journeyed to Succoth, built himself a house, and made booths for his livestock. Therefore the name of the place is called Succoth.

A study of the time of the conception of John the Baptist reveals he was conceived about Sivan 30, the eleventh week. When Zechariah was ministering in the temple, he received an announcement from God of a coming son. The eighth course of Abijah (Luke 1:5), when Zechariah was ministering, was the week of Sivan 12 to 18, according to the Talmud. Adding forty weeks for a normal pregnancy reveals that John the Baptist was born on or about Passover (Nisan 14).

We know six months after John’s conception, Mary conceived Jesus (Luke 1:26-33). Therefore, Jesus would have been conceived six months later in the month of Kislev. Kislev 25 is Hanukkah.  What?  The Light of the World conceived at the Festival of Lights?

Starting at Hanukkah, which begins on Kislev 25 and continues for eight days, and counting through the nine months of Mary’s pregnancy, one arrives at the approximate time of the birth of Jesus at the Feast of Tabernacles (the early fall of the year).

During the Feast of Tabernacles, God required all male Jews to come to Jerusalem. The many pilgrims coming to Jerusalem for the festivals would spill over to the surrounding towns (Bethlehem is about five miles from Jerusalem). Joseph and Mary were unable to find a room at the inn because of the influx of so many pilgrims. They may have been given shelter in a sukkah, which is built during a seven-day period each year accompanying the celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles. Due to the difficulties during travel, it was common for the officials to declare tax time during a temple Feast (Luke 2:1).

Even though the Bible does not specifically say the date of Yeshua's birth, we know it was not during the winter months because the sheep were in the pasture. Round the clock shepherding would especially take place during a pilgrimage festival, where there would be great need of many animals for sacrifices.  

God does things with such precision!  If Yeshua was born on the first day of Sukkot, His circumcision would have been on the day after Sukkot ended, itself also a Biblical celebration.  Leviticus 23:36 tells us, For seven days you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord. On the eighth day you shall have a holy convocation, and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord. It is a sacred assembly, and you shall do no customary work on it.  This is the day that Yeshua would have been given His name and entered into the Abrahamic covenant through circumcision.  (Luke 2:21)

Here's another thought: priests began their service at age 30.  We know that Yeshua, our high priest, began His ministry at that same age. It makes sense that he turned 30 at Sukkot and immediately began His ministry.  He served for 3 1/2 years and then died and rose at the time of Passover (which is a half year away from Sukkot).  I also don't think it is any mistake that His first miracle was at a wedding - another foreshadowing of Feast of Tabernacles and the Wedding of the Lamb.

Memories of Sukkot

For about five years, I have wanted to celebrate Sukkot.  But as a Gentile, raised in churches whose calendars focus on the two main Roman-instituted holidays, I had no understanding of how to go about it.  So I kept my nose in the scriptures, and also watched a great movie called "Ushpizin," filmed in Jerusalem by an orthodox filmmaker. 

Also this year, I purchased this book:

Very helpful.  So I decided to just jump in and build a sukkah.  Using pallets, garden stakes, juniper branches, and leftover deck paint, I came up with the following:

Ironically, the only thing I purchased was Christmas lights.  We had a celebration with good friends and good food, complete with God-honoring worship and teaching time.  What a meaningful and joyous holiday it was!  I didn't feel empty afterwards, the way I used to when I still celebrated Christmas.  There was no materialistic frenzy that left a hangover-type feeling the next day.  Building the sukkah was way more fun than any tree I ever decorated.  And at our celebration, my daughter and a friend from her childhood experienced a wonderful restoration of friendship that had been lost.

I am so thankful that many congregations are looking back to their Biblical, Jewish roots and working to restore them.  Tradition can be a difficult thing to leave behind, but God's word gives us so many oppportunities to create new ones... traditions that are steeped in the Bible and in the Feasts (appointed times) of the Lord.  Zechariah 14:16 tells us that all the nations of the world will be celebrating this Feast in the coming kingdom, so we might as well start enjoying it now!

 



 

If you want some Biblical background for this wonderful Feast, check out my previous post. 

Feast of Sukkot... The Granddaddy of Them All!

Sukkot... Booths... Tabernacles... Ingathering...  It goes by numerous names.  It is the seventh and final feast of the seven outlined in Leviticus 23.  For the Jewish people, it is a celebration of great joy!  People look at me funny when I tell them that I, a non-Jewish person, am joining in the celebration.

Under the Mosaic Covenant, it was a pilgrimage feast; meaning that the Jews were required to travel to Jerusalem for the celebration.  However, Zechariah 14:16 tells us that this will be a feast for all the nations in the future kingdom, after the Lord returns (The Millenium):

And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot).

As I mentioned, the feast is a celebration of great joy.  It celebrates both God's provision and God's presence.  It looks back to the time in the wilderness, when God dwelt among His people in the Tabernacle in the wilderness.  It looks back to the time when God sent His son, Emmanuel, to dwell among us (more on this in a minute), and it looks forward to the time when God will dwell with His people once again on the Earth in the future kingdom!

There are two elements associated with Sukkot that deal with God's provision and presence:  water and light.  Sukkot is the end of the harvest and the beginning of the rainy season.  The water represents God's provision in sending rain to the earth.  The light represents His presence.

In John chapters 7 and 8, Yeshua was in Jerusalem for the Feast of Booths, and in that context He speaks of both water and light.  7:37-38 says, On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.  He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.  John 8:12 says Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”

There is Biblical evidence that demonstrates that Yeshua entered the world at the Feast of Sukkot. John 1:14 says, And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.  The Greek word for dwelt, skenoo, literally means to pitch a tent.  Some translations even use the word tabernacled.  The Hebrew word Sukkot included animal shelters... Genesis 33:17 says And Jacob journeyed to Succoth, built himself a house, and made booths for his livestock. Therefore the name of the place is called Succoth.

A study of the time of the conception of John the Baptist reveals he was conceived about Sivan 30, the eleventh week. When Zechariah was ministering in the temple, he received an announcement from God of a coming son. The eighth course of Abijah (Luke 1:5), when Zechariah was ministering, was the week of Sivan 12 to 18. Adding forty weeks for a normal pregnancy reveals that John the Baptist was born on or about Passover (Nisan 14).

We know six months after John’s conception, Mary conceived Jesus (Luke 1:26-33). Therefore, Jesus would have been conceived six months later in the month of Kislev. Kislev 25 is Hanukkah.  Starting at Hanukkah, which begins on Kislev 25 and continues for eight days, and counting through the nine months of Mary’s pregnancy, one arrives at the approximate time of the birth of Jesus at the Festival of Tabernacles (the early fall of the year).

During the Feast of Tabernacles, God required all male Jews to come to Jerusalem. The many pilgrims coming to Jerusalem for the festivals would spill over to the surrounding towns (Bethlehem is about five miles from Jerusalem). Joseph and Mary were unable to find a room at the inn because of the influx of so many pilgrims. They may have been given shelter in a sukkah, which is built during a seven-day period each year accompanying the celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles. Due to the difficulties during travel, it was common for the officials to declare tax time during a temple Feast (Luke 2:1).

Even though the Bible does not specifically say the date of Yeshua's birth, we know it was not during the winter months because the sheep were in the pasture. Round the clock shepherding would especially take place during a pilgrimage festival, where there would be great need of many animals for sacrifices.  

God does things with such precision!  If Yeshua was born on the first day of Sukkot, His circumcision would have been on the day after Sukkot ended, itself also a Biblical celebration.  Leviticus 23:36 tells us, For seven days you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord. On the eighth day you shall have a holy convocation, and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord. It is a sacred assembly, and you shall do no customary work on it.  This is the day that Yeshua would have been given His name and entered into the Abrahamic covenant through circumcision.  (Luke 2:21)

Thoughts on that Last Great Day

Today is known as the Last Great Day - Shemini Atzeret (meaning eighth day of assembly).  It is a special Sabbath, a celebration to close out Sukkot, and the final feast day of God's prophetic calender. 

The day commemorates the end of the agricultural year and the beginning of the new one.  The former rains would begin to fall, and the wheat and barley would be planted.  Even today, the Jewish people pray for rain as part of the celebration of this day.  In the arid country of Israel, water was obviously very important.

In the seventh chapter of the Gospel of John, Jesus was in Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles.  Look at what he says:

Verses 37 and 38 say:  On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.  He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”

The millenium, which is foreshadowed by the Feast of Tabernacles, will end.  This Last Great Day is a foreshadow of the coming Great White Throne judgment and the eternal life that follows for believers. 

In Revelation 21, John says, Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.  Also, there was no more sea.  Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.

Here is a thought.  If the wedding feast of the Lamb took place just before the millenium, it could perhaps be said that the millenium period is the "honeymoon" with our Bridegroom.  After the honeymoon, our new permanent home is revealed - the New Jerusalem... the place Jesus said He would prepare for us:

In My Father’s house are many mansions;  if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.

Tabernacles - The Grand Finale!

Today we are halfway through the seventh Biblical feast - The Feast of Tabernacles. We look forward with anticipation to the God of the Universe fulfilling this appointed time very soon! This morning in church, our pastor spoke of the dedication of Solomon's temple, which happened to also take place during the Feast of Tabernacles. I'm not sure if he even knew that Tabernacles is being celebrated this very week!

Remember, the seven Biblical feasts are a "mural" of God's redemptive plan with His people. The four spring feasts were fulfilled at His first coming to Earth, and the last three autumn feasts are awaiting fulfillment at His second coming.

Tabernacles is the seventh feast, celebrated in the seventh month, is seven days long, and there were 70 bulls sacrificed every year. The number seven again! Remember, seven in scripture represents completeness.

The Jewish people celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles by building and dwelling in "Sukkahs," or booths. This symbolizes the time spent in the wilderness - forty years - in temporary dwellings, with God's presence in their midst, in the tabernacle itself. The time in the wilderness taught them to trust God, and He lovingly cared for them during that time - giving them food and water to eat, and not allowing their shoes or clothing to wear out.

Tabernacles symbolizes God dwelling with us. The Feast is foreshadowing the millenium - the soon-to-be-fulfilled 1000 years on Earth. Jesus mentioned this in His prayer when he said "Your kingdome come." Look at history: From creation to Abraham was about 2000 years. Abraham to Yeshua was about 2000 years. And Yeshua until NOW is about 2000 years. The seventh millenium will be THE scriptural millenium, representing a Sabbath millenium.

Tabernacles also foreshadows the Wedding Feast of the Lamb. Hebrew weddings in scripture lasted seven days, and they were extremely joyous events. Even today, Jewish weddings are so awesome! I used to work for a caterer in a special event facility, and some of the grandest events held there were the Jewish weddings.

I have come to believe that Tabernacles is a likely time for Yeshua to have been born. It makes sense with the idea of Immanuel - God With Us. Also, being as He is the Alpha and Omega, it makes sense in my brain that the same day would fulfill the beginning and the end. And if He was born as Tabernacles began, He would have been circumcised on the eighth day, which is the celebration of Ingathering - also a holy day.

Of course, we can't be certain on this one, since God didn't chose to reveal the date in scripture - and I'm sure He has His reasons for that. However, I am pretty certain that he was NOT born on December 25. Don't get me started on that one... I'm sure I'll be posting more on THAT after Thanksgiving.

For a few years now, I have wanted our family to build a temporary shelter and celebrate in a Hebrew way. But time got away from me again, so I will have to let my chickens do the celebrating for us. They are living in their temporary sukkah in the backyard - and, ahem, awaiting a different sort of feast.

If you would like more understanding on how the Feast of Tabernacles is celebrated today among the Jewish people, I highly recommend the movie "Ushpizin," which is the Hebrew word for visitors. The movie was filmed in Israel by some orthodox Jews. And unless you understand Hebrew, you will need to turn on the subtitles. We loved this movie!