All of the biblical feasts are prophetic; rich with symbolism and laden with spiritual nourishment for both Jews and Gentiles. They speak of who God is, our journey with Him and His plans for the future. The Spring feasts speak of the Messiah’s coming: Pesach (Passover) is a foreshadow of Calvary, Feast of Unleavened Bread, First Fruits of the resurrection, and the Feast of Weeks is a forerunner to the outpouring of His Holy Spirit on Shavuot (Pentecost), 50 days after Passover. There are three Fall Feasts which have yet to be fullfulled: Yom Teruah/Rosh Hashanah (Feast of Trumpets) symbolize the last trumpet that will sound as the Messiah returns, Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) points to the final judgement, and Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacle) is the final feast where God and man can at last move in together, like a newly-wed couple who have been longing for complete union.
The meaning of the Sukkah / Tabernacle
The sukkah (which means tabernacle or booth; sukkot is the plural) reminds us of the wandering in the desert as God led Israel from slavery to the Promised Land.
You are to live in sukkot for seven days. All the native-born in Israel are to live in sukkot, so that your generations may know that I had Bnei-Yisrael to dwell in sukkot when I brought them out of the land of Egypt. I am Adonai your God.
(Leviticus 23:42-43)
God’s point about making these makeshift homes for a week is to help the children of Israel remember this particular part of their journey with Him. The desert times were intense and temporary, but a very special time of forging the relationship between God and His people.
Following the covenant they made at Sinai when they agreed to follow Him, Israel was then escorted by God to the place He had prepared for them. In fact, God refers to it as a honeymoon period:
I remember the devotion of your youth,
your love as a bride,
and the way you followed Me in the wilderness,
in a land not sown.
(Jeremiah 2:2)
Many times throughout scripture, God paints a picture of Himself as a husband and His people as His bride, often lamenting Israel’s unfaithfulness, as in the book of Hosea. It is a deliberate metaphor that God often uses to communicate His passionate love, the seriousness of His devotion and commitment, and the way He wants us to see Him.
The tent of meeting in the desert similarly provided a prototype of the reality of God’s holy temple in heaven. These things are shadows, types, and are temporary and passing away. But they speak of the tremendous and permanent reality to come. Several times throughout scripture God offers a dwelling place and a covering, a shelter and a canopy. He brings us to His banqueting table and His banner over us is love.
The meaning of the Chuppah / Wedding canopy
The word chuppah means covering or protection, and acts as a symbolic roof, covering the couple who are getting married. It is where the legal business of betrothal takes place, and symbolizes the home of the groom, into which the bride is welcomed. In a Jewish wedding ceremony, the bride and groom stand under the chuppah, as a symbol of the bridegroom’s permanent and real home, and the bride in Song of Songs talks about being invited into her love’s chambers. Like a sukkah, it’s a temporary shelter symbolizing a home, where there is great rejoicing and intimate fellowship.
In Jewish weddings, rejoicing is taken very seriously! So too with the Feast of Sukkot. It is the only feast in which we are actually commanded to rejoice!
“You are to keep the Feast of Sukkot for seven days, after gathering in the produce from your threshing floor and winepress.” So you will rejoice in your feast—you, your son and daughter, slave and maid, Levite and outsider, orphan and widow within your gates. Seven days you will feast to Adonai your God in the place He chooses, because Adonai your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hand, and you will be completely filled with joy.
(Deuteronomy 16:14-16)
The link between the joyous feasting in the sukkah at the Festival of Tabernacles and the joy under a wedding chuppah is noted by the rabbis (Tractate Sukkah 25b), which releases wedding parties from the obligation of rejoicing in sukkot during the feast:
“What is the reason? Because they have to rejoice… There is no proper rejoicing but under the wedding canopy… There can be no real rejoicing except where the banquet is held.”
Similarly, the cloud that protected the Israelites by day during their desert years has also been likened to this canopy:
“With the cloud of a chuppah and the shadow of a sukkah, Israel will commune with their God.”
A wedding equals maximum rejoicing in rabbinic thinking. But the connection between the joyful times in the sukkah and the unbridled joy of the chuppah is a link that makes perfect sense. This is what Sukkot is all pointing towards. This is our joy – the ultimate wedding feast of the Lamb of God and His spotless bride.
A wedding invitation
Yeshua speaks of the ultimate wedding at the end of time in Matthew 22, and John’s Revelation pulling back the curtain on the best and most joyous wedding feast humanity has ever known:
“Behold, the dwelling of God is among men,
and He shall tabernacle among them.
They shall be His people,
and God Himself shall be among them
and be their God.
He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes,
and death shall be no more.
Nor shall there be mourning or crying or pain any longer,
for the former things have passed away.”
(Revelation 21:3-4)
As human beings, we can’t boast about anything that we intend to do in the future, since we have no idea what will end up happening, but God can say with absolute certainty what will be. All of His feasts are called moedim in the Bible – the word moed meaning appointed time, something that is destined to happen. In fact, the tent of meeting in Hebrew is called “ohel hamoed”—the tent of destined or appointed meeting! This is God’s purpose, and this is our destiny – to dwell together in perfect union with Him in the place He has prepared for us. This is the wonderful meaning of the Feast of Tabernacles: a small preview of the last page in God’s magnificent story of redemption.
Waving the Lulav & Etrog
A Messianic believer can observe the lulav and etrog during Sukkot as a joyful, Scripture-rooted act of worship—giving thanks for God’s provision, remembering Israel’s wilderness journey, and looking forward to God dwelling with His people. The traditional Jewish blessings are widely used; you may add prayers that explicitly thank the Father through Yeshua the Messiah.
The core biblical basis is Leviticus 23:40: Israel is commanded to take “choice fruit,” palm branches, leafy branches, and willows, and rejoice before the Lord for seven days. The four species are traditionally called the *arba minim*: the etrog (citron), lulav (palm), hadassim (myrtle), and aravot (willow).
What you need
Lulav bundle is made up of four species (arba minim): One palm frond, Three myrtle branches, and Two willow branches, bound together.
- Etrog (אתרוג): Citron; the beautiful fruit
- Lulav (לולב): Palm branches
- Hadassah (הדסה): Myrtle; boughs of leafy trees
- Aravah (ערבה): Willows of the brook
Simple Messianic ceremony
This is a practical home or congregational outline. It distinguishes the historic Jewish liturgy from Messianic additions rather than claiming the traditional wording was originally Messianic.1. Readings for each day
Read Leviticus and Deuteronomy on the first day only:
Leviticus 23:33–43 — the command to celebrate Sukkot and dwell in booths.33 Adonai spoke to Moses saying:Deuteronomy 16:13–15 — the command to rejoice at the feast.
34 “Speak to Bnei-Yisrael, and say, On the fifteenth day of this seventh month is the Feast of Sukkot, for seven days to Adonai.
35 On the first day there is to be a holy convocation—you are to do no laborious work.
36 For seven days you are to bring an offering by fire to Adonai. The eighth day will be a holy convocation to you, and you are to bring an offering by fire to Adonai. It is a solemn assembly—you should do no laborious work.
37 “These are the moadim of Adonai, which you are to proclaim to be holy convocations, to present an offering by fire to Adonai—a burnt offering, a grain offering, a sacrifice and drink offerings, each on its own day,
38 besides those of the Shabbatot of Adonai and besides your gifts, all your vows and all your freewill offerings which you give to Adonai.
39 “So on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the fruits of the land, you are to keep the Feast of Adonai for seven days. The first day is to be a Shabbat rest, and the eighth day will also be a Shabbat rest.
40 On the first day you are to take choice fruit of trees, branches of palm trees, boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook, and rejoice before Adonai your God for seven days.
41 You are to celebrate it as a festival to Adonai for seven days in the year. It is a statute forever throughout your generations—you are to celebrate it in the seventh month.
42 You are to live in sukkot for seven days. All the native-born in Israel are to live in sukkot,
43 so that your generations may know that I had Bnei-Yisrael to dwell in sukkot when I brought them out of the land of Egypt. I am Adonai your God.”
13 “You are to keep the Feast of Sukkot for seven days, after gathering in the produce from your threshing floor and winepress.”
14 So you will rejoice in your feast—you, your son and daughter, slave and maid, Levite and outsider, orphan and widow within your gates.
15 Seven days you will feast to Adonai your God in the place He chooses, because Adonai your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hand, and you will be completely filled with joy.
Days 2-7, Read Zechariah:
Zechariah 14:16–19 — the nations coming up to worship the King and celebrate Sukkot.16 Then all the survivors from all the nations that attacked Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, Adonai-Tzva’ot, and to celebrate Sukkot.
17 Furthermore, if any of the nations on earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, Adonai-Tzva’ot, they will have no rain.
18 If the Egyptians do not go up and celebrate, they will have no rain. Instead, there will be the plague that Adonai will inflict on the nations that do not go up to celebrate Sukkot.
19 This will be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not go up to celebrate Sukkot.
Day 8, Read John and Revelation:
John 7:2, 37–39 — Yeshua’s declaration on the last and greatest day of the feast: “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.”2 Now the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles was near.Revelation 21:3 — the future reality: “The dwelling place of God is with man.”
37 On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Yeshua stood up and cried out loudly, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.
38 Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture says, ‘out of his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’”
39 Now He said this about the Ruach, whom those who trusted in Him were going to receive; for the Ruach was not yet given, since Yeshua was not yet glorified.
3 I also heard a loud voice from the throne, saying,
“Behold, the dwelling of God is among men,
and He shall tabernacle among them.
They shall be His people,
and God Himself shall be among them
and be their God.
2. Gather the Four Species
Hold the lulav bundle in the right hand. Hold the etrog in the left hand with its stem end (*pitom*, when present) pointed downward at first. This customary positioning means that the mitzvah is completed only after the blessing, when the etrog is turned upright and joined with the lulav. Now say the blessing which literally refers to 'taking the lulav' even though the whole set of 4 species is in view. Hebrew text: בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו וְצִוָּנוּ עַל נְטִילַת לוּלָב Prayer: Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha-olam, asher kideshanu b’mitzvotav v’tzivanu al netilat lulav. English: Blessed are You, LORD our God, King of the universe, who has sanctified us by Your commandments and commanded us concerning the taking of the lulav.*** First-time blessing
On the first use of the lulav and etrog that Sukkot season, add the *Shehecheyanu*. This blessing is traditionally said once each year at the first observance of this ritual. Hebrew text: >בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, שֶׁהֶחֱיָנוּ וְקִיְּמָנוּ וְהִגִּיעָנוּ לַזְּמַן הַזֶּה Prayer: Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha-olam, shehecheyanu v’kiy’manu v’higianu laz’man hazeh. English: Blessed are You, LORD our God, King of the universe, who has given us life, sustained us, and brought us to this season.3. Join and wave
Now that you have the bundle altogether, turn the etrog upright and bring it beside the lulav bundle. You will now face each direction and shake. Different Jewish communities use slightly different orders, so do not treat the order as the central issue. The essential idea is worship: God is present and sovereign in every direction, over heaven and earth, and over every part of life. A common order is:- East/front
- South/right
- West/back
- North/left
- Up
- Down
4. Messianic prayers
After the traditional blessings, a Messianic community may pray in its own words: Avinu shebashamayim, our Father in heaven, we thank You for bringing us to this appointed season. As we rejoice before You with these fruits and branches, remember Your faithfulness to Israel, Your provision in the wilderness, and Your promise to dwell among Your people. We thank You for Yeshua the Messiah, through whom You have brought near those who were far off. Fill us with the living water He promised during this feast. Make our hearts a dwelling place for Your Spirit, and teach us to rejoice in You with all our strength. In the name of Yeshua our Messiah, amen.Psalm Chapter 118
1 Praise Adonai, for He is good. For His lovingkindness endures forever.
2 O let Israel say: For His lovingkindness endures forever.
3 O let the house of Aaron say: For His lovingkindness endures forever.
4 O let those who fear Adonai say: For His lovingkindness endures forever.
5 Out of a tight place I called on Adonai—Adonai answered me with a spacious place.
6 Adonai is for me—I will not fear! What can man do to me?
7 Adonai is for me, as my helper. I will see the downfall of those who hate me.
8 It is better to take refuge in Adonai than to trust in man.
9 It is better to take refuge in Adonai than to trust in princes.
10 All nations surrounded me—in the Name of Adonai I cut them off.
11 They surrounded me, yes, all around me—in the Name of Adonai I cut them off.
12 They swarmed around me like bees—they were extinguished like burning thorns—in the Name of Adonai I cut them off.
13 You pushed me hard to make me fall, but Adonai helped me.
14 Adonai is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation.
15 Shouts of joy and victory are in the tents of the righteous: “Adonai’s right hand is mighty!
16 Adonai’s right hand is lifted high! Adonai’s right hand is mighty!”
17 I will not die, but live, and proclaim what Adonai has done!
18 Adonai has chastened me hard, but has not given me over to death.
19 Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and praise Adonai.
20 This is the gate of Adonai—the righteous will enter through it.
21 I give You thanks, because You have answered me and have become my salvation.
22 The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone.
23 It is from Adonai: it is marvelous in our eyes!
24 This is the day that Adonai has made! Let us rejoice and be glad in it!
25 Hoshia-na! Please, Adonai, save now! We beseech You, Adonai, prosper us!
26 Baruch haba b’Shem Adonai—Blessed is He who comes in the Name of Adonai. We bless you from the House of Adonai.
27 Adonai is God, and He has given us light. Join the festival with branches, up to the horns of the altar.
28 You are my God, and I praise You. You are my God—I exalt You!
29 Praise Adonai, for He is good, for His lovingkindness endures forever.