Living Water

The bus was full of college students sharing animated conversation and robust laughter. Excitement and anticipation managed to subdue any weariness from a day of travel following a weekend of hiking and exploring Yosemite National Park. With the soft light of twilight, voices became quieter, more subdued as the bus climbed a steep mountain pass. Reaching the summit and beginning a gradual descent into the valley below, silence enveloped the bus….a silence that was almost reverent. It is a sight I will never forget….a brilliant full moon shining down on Lake Tahoe on a clear, crisp fall evening. The vast lake shimmered with moonbeams, illuminating the night. I was awestruck…this was the beginning of the Feast of Tabernacles, my freshman year in a Christian college that taught the holy days were relevant for our day. Lake Tahoe was one of several different festival locations, and the closest one for students on the California campus of Ambassador College. I had learned about the Holy Days years before, but this was my first opportunity to participate in a festival celebration. We stayed at Lake Tahoe for the entire seven day festival, attending services every day in Olympic Village with thousands of church members. I was 18 years old, and more than four decades later, it remains a treasured memory….mostly, I remember the feeling of joy…

What a sight it must have been in ancient Jerusalem, when pilgrims came from all over Israel to worship during the fall feasts, each carrying an offering of thankfulness to the Lord. At twilight, the hills around the city must have shimmered with lights of candles and lanterns as far as the eye could see. I could imagine those making the journey for the first time being filled with joy and anticipation. The Feast of Tabernacles was the culmination of the “Feasts of the Lord,” which began with Passover in the spring. It was the most joyful of all the festival celebrations. This feast reminded Israel, “on the one hand, of their dwelling in booths in the wilderness, while on the other hand, it pointed to the final harvest when Israel’s mission should be completed, and all nations gathered unto the Lord” (The Temple, Its Ministry and Services, pp 232-233, by Alfred Edersheim). The service in the temple (referred to as “Sukot”) looked backward in history, reminding the Israelites of their exodus from Egypt, and it looked forward in prophecy, to the fulfillment of the covenant promise given to Abraham of the time when “all peoples on earth will be blessed through you” (Gen. 12:3). And to the time when “the survivors from all nations that have attacked Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord Almighty, and to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles” (Zech 14:16).

One of the most beautiful ceremonies of the ancient Festival of Tabernacles was the libation of water procession each morning. “The water was brought in a golden flask from the fountain of Siloam and poured by the officiating kohen (priest) into the basin near the altar. This was the most joyous of the temple ceremonies…..accompanied by a torchlight procession, dances, singing and chanting by the Levitical choir….it was a symbolic act performed in compliance with the prophetic verse, ‘With joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation’ (Is. 12:3)’” (quoted from Jewish Worship, p. 204, by Abraham Millgram). Jesus was observing this festival in Jerusalem when He stood in the temple and gave perhaps the shortest and most encouraging sermon of all time…. “On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, ‘If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him” (John 7:37).

While I do not believe observing the Feast of Tabernacles is a requirement for Christians today, I cannot help but believe that reflecting on the meaning of these days is of enormous value for Christians. When we pray “Thy kingdom come” we are praying for the fulfillment of these days …when the “earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea” (Is. 11:9) Imagine a time when “the eyes of the blind will be opened, the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert” (Is. 35). Christ will say, “To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life” (Rev. 21:3-6). This is a thirsty world….Your kingdom come, Lord!