More from Sukkot

Hello again!

Here we are with a couple more reports and thoughts on the Feast of Tabernacles from this year.

The first one is from HananiYah:

"Of the last three Sukkots my family and I have been to, Sukkot 2011 has
been the best one yet. This year included deeper studies to help build
our relationship with Abba YHWH. Although this Sukkot was smaller than
the last ones, it was by far more peaceful, intimate, and a more
meaningful time with other believers. Everyone helped each other to
reach the next level of maturity in our walk. Sukkot is a time for
fellowship and I was thankful to have such wonderful brothers and
sisters in Ha' Mashiach to fellowship with.

Blessings,
HananiYah"


The next thoughts about the Feast of Tabernacles comes from Lorenz:

"As our Hebrew forefathers left Egypt to make their way to Canaan, our creator Yahweh revealed to them his feasts which are supposed to be observed from generation to generation each year.

One of these feasts was the feast of Sukkot which is commonly translated as the feast of tabernacles. It started on the fifteenth day of the seven month with a day of rest and ended with another day of rest after the eight days. Thus Sukkot is the last of the biblical feasts of the year to be kept according to the hebrew calendar and takes place five days after the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur. That order is quite important for prophecy by the way. However I want to focus on another aspect and wisdom that i see in the days of Sukkot. Our creator instructed us to observe this feast in order to, as Leviticus 23, 42-43 tells us, remember how our Hebrew forefathers lived in booths after they left the land of Egypt and hiked through the desert for decades. There we find a significant message hidden in this feast of joy. We didn't leave Egypt because we didn't like the river nile or for any ethnic reasons but rather because Yahweh called us out. He liberated us through great, breathtaking miracles from slavery, oppression and Pharaoh's tyranny and even more important from idol worship and evil ways of life. After we left Egypt we walked the desert for forty years being a homeless people without belonging to either Egypt or Canaan. We were sort of stuck between these two directions while quite a lot wanted to return to their slavemasters and only a few, namely Joshua from the tribe of Ephraim and Caleb from the tribe of Judah proposed to enter the land despite the existence of giants and all the other scary things they might have seen. They put their trust in the one who had set them free.

Right now in the 21st century the believer is in a pretty much equal situation. We have left the lies we inherited from our fathers, whether it be mainstream Christianity, Darwinism or any other possible ideology that we held. We have left or still try to leave the world, the broad path, Egypt, Babylon, the matrix or whatever one wants to call it. However Egypt calls on us day and night to return to an "easy" life of materialism, consumerism and promiscuity, which is how it measures success and happiness. All that while the believer is stuck in the desert between the world that he lives in but cannot be part of and the kingdom of Yahweh and the return of our beloved Messiah which is yet to take place. The scary giants of today one may discover in economic isolation or other possible threats waiting for the believer which might keep us from fully implementing the Torah in our lives and to follow our Messiah without compromising.

And in the same way as some of our forefathers had left Egypt but Egypt hadn't left them and their hearts, we see that today we might have left the world but the world didn't necessarily leave us and some still pledge their loyalty to it's many faces and appearances while being to stubborn or proud to listen to the Joshua's and Caleb's of today who call us to fully enter the kingdom of the Most High. As our forefathers lived in booths for forty years without having a solid home we do not have a home right now, not in a geographical but in an ideological way. Yet while we are still in the desert longing for the arrival of our King and for the end of injustice and the rule of world this feast of Sukkot gives us hope. Zechariah 14:16-20 reveals to us that one day this feast of Sukkot will be a time where all nations will gather and head to Jerusalem to worship Yahweh. Thus we are reminded and should constantly remind ourselves that the time of this world is running short and the days of injustice, idol worship and evil conduct will end and be replaced with the worship of the almighty. We´ll see the days when Egypt, Assyria and Israel shall be the three lights of the world: „ In that day shall there be a highway out of Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian shall come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians shall serve with the Assyrians. In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of the land: Whom Yahweh of hosts shall bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel mine inheritance.“ Isaiah 19:23-25.

We´ll see swords being transformed into plowshares and spears into pruning knifes and nations learning war no more(Isaiah 2:4). Days of peace, brotherhood, love, prosperity and mercy. Thus the message that I´m reminded of when thinking about and/or celebrating Sukkot is both a warning to not turn my heart back to Egypt but even more importantly a message of hope for the amazing things which are yet to come and after all Sukkot as much as all the other feasts is only a shadow of what we are going to see.This is just a tiny aspect of many potential teachings and wisdoms a learned brother may find in the feast of Sukkot but it´s the message but it´s the message i want to give. If anything of what I've said is correct in the eyes of Yahweh it is totally from Him and the honor belongs to Him alone. If there is anything incorrect it is my own words and ideas and should be ignored.

May peace and blessings be upon all brothers and sisters in the faith.

Your brother
Lorenz"

We hope you enjoy what these youth have to share, and feel free to leave comments or send us a message.

May YHWH bless you.
Jared

Sukkot is Here!

Actually, Sukkot just passed last month. We have been meaning to post some pictures and reports from the feast, but as usual, we've all been a bit busy and haven't gotten around to it until now.

Nonetheless, we do have some reports for you, as well as some pictures, poems, songs, and other thoughts. We hope you enjoy!

But to start it off, I (Jared here) might as well fill you in on the Feast of Tabernacles I attended in Rockford, Illinois. To describe it briefly, it was a blessed time of fellowship, praise, and healing for all involved. One of the more blessed parts of the week was seeing how caring and willing the were when it came to participating in activities, and more importantly, being a part of the body there. The Youth Service that was put together for one meeting was probably one of the best during the entire week, if not one of the most interesting (in a good way). There was also plenty of great music throughout Sukkot, with many of the youth avidly participating in that, as you will see in the pictures below.
(Photos courtesy of Micaela A.)

Here's a picture of everyone in attendence. Look at all those smiling faces you can only barely make out in the distance! (Close ups to follow.)

Below are pictures of Art, Mike, and Marcus, preparing to jam and practicing for a special offering:

And here is the whole group of youth playing and singing together:

Here's a photo of me reading something up front (can't remember which something this was):

A photo of some of the younger children doing something:

(I'm not sure what's going on here, but I suspect they are having a board meeting.)

And with that, I will leave you lovely readers until next time. Look back here for more posts about FOT 2011. There is some good stuff to come; hope you enjoy!
Be safe and may YHWH bless you!