RUSSELL SANDERS
9-18-2025
THE FALL FEASTS – LESSON 9
FEAST OF TABERNACLES – PART 5
SUKKOT PART 4 – THE FEAST OF REJOICING

The fifth day of Feast of Tabernacles and the fourth day of living in booths (Sukkots). This period of feasting heartily is also called the “Feast of Rejoicing.” The Jews rejoice in the hope of salvation of the coming Messiah.

We have spoken of water as a cleansing agent to purify both body and soul. There is a ceremony during Sukkot which gives a great prophetic illustration of the connection between water and salvation and Yeshua (Jesus).

During Tabernacles (Sukkot) the priest would carry a water pitcher from the Temple in Jerusalem to the town of Bethlehem, Yeshua’s birthplace, (where he “tabernacled” among us in human flesh). He would fill the pitcher with water from the pool of Siloam and take it back to the Temple.

Crowds of people would follow him dancing and singing Psalms 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, and 118. The highlight of this ceremony and rejoicing was when the priest would pour out this water at the altar of the Temple. This foreshadowed Jesus, the “living water” who poured out himself on calvary and placed His blood upon heaven’s altar.

Jesus identified Himself to the Samaritan woman at the well as the “living water” (John 4:10) that brings eternal life. The pool of Siloam at Bethlehem was also where Jesus sent the man born blind to go wash. Obedience gave him sight. Clearly the water pool at Messiah’s place of birth carried special significance for salvation or soul cleansing.

The rejoicing, dancing, and singing of the people during the priest’s ceremony of drawing the water and pouring it out at the altar brings to attention the words of Isaiah 12:3, “Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation (Yeshua).” It clearly identifies Yeshua (Jesus in N.T.) as the source of salvation, the “eternal living water.”

In the Old Testament, the word translated 63 times as “salvation” is the Hebrew word “Yeshua.” A variant form of Yeshua is used for “salvation” another 35 times, a total of 98 instances. In the New Testament, “Yeshua” is written in Greek as “Iesous” (Gr. Pr. Ee-ay-sooce’) which in English is “Jesus.” It is the same name as the O.T. “Yeshua” which is translated “salvation.” This Sukkot ceremony of pouring water from Jesus’ birthplace at God’s altar was a prophetic type of Jesus himself, the living water poured out for our salvation. Yeshua is all through the Old Testament from Genesis (49:18) through the prophets (Isaiah, Jonah, Habakkuk). He is and always has been our salvation.