Have you ever gone camping with your family? As a child, camping was a wonderful time to be in natural settings without the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Fresh air, campfires, incredible food, sleeping in a tent--it doesn't get much better than that. I can still vividly remember playing Monopoly in a tent during a rainstorm or sitting by a fire with my dad. Memories such as these are strong and remain with us for a long time, if not forever.
The Feast of Tabernacles, Sukkot in Hebrew, is like this--and so much more. It is an incredible Jewish festival and considered the greatest and most joyous. It is a special holiday time for family. In this festival, a family erects a tent structure in remembrance of their ancestors wandering in the wilderness after the Exodus from Egypt. They eat and sleep there for seven days. They laugh, sing, dance, and have fun. Sounds somewhat like our holiday time in the United States, doesn’t it?
We pick up this event in John 7:1-13 when Jesus was in His early thirties. His childhood memories of Sukkot had to have been strong for Him, too. He was longing to get away from the murderous religious leaders in Judea (vs. 1) and return to His home to be with His earthly family at Sukkot. Instead, His brothers wanted Him to go to Judea and prove Himself publicly rather than spend time alone with Him during this family holiday. What a horrible sentiment coming from His brothers. “Jesus, we would rather you go get yourself killed than be with us for the holiday.” I am sure that as Jesus refused their plan, they walked away grumbling insults, striking more hurt into the heart of the One who would be their Savior.
I will never forget the year my in-laws had me over for Thanksgiving, only to realize that I was the turkey they wanted to roast because of my new- found faith in Jesus. They did not believe in Jesus as the Messiah and blamed the Spanish Inquisition on Him and anyone who professed to follow Him. I know I am not alone in this. There are many of you reading this who could share stories about family betrayal, especially during the holidays. Use those experiences to walk in the sandals of Jesus. Understand that Jesus knows first-hand what hurt like this is. Know He longs to set up a tabernacle, light the campfire, spend intimate time in fellowship with you, and heal your heart.
Jesus secretly went to the festival anyway and declared out loud, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink!" Allow Jesus to heal your disappointments and quench the thirst of your soul. Then go and declare the living waters of Jesus to all the hurting souls you meet.
