Jesus and the Thanksgiving Feast

In the seventh chapter of John, the Lord Jesus is seen interacting with the multitudes who have gathered to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles, or Feast of Booths. God had commanded the people to keep this feast, saying, "On the fifteenth day of this seventh month and for seven days is the Feast of Booths to the LORD. On the first day shall be a holy convocation; you shall not do any ordinary work. For seven days you shall present food offerings to the LORD. On the eighth day you shall hold a holy convocation and present a food offering to the LORD. It is a solemn assembly; you shall not do any ordinary work. ...that your generations may know that I made the people of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God" (Leviticus 23:34-36, 43, ESV). The Expositor's Bible Commentary says of this feast, "In contrast to the fast and repentance of the Day of Atonement, the Feast of Booths was an occasion of joy - a thanksgiving day" (TEBC: AE, vol. 1,159).

The Feast of Booths was a national holiday that served to remind the Children of Israel that God had personally led them out of Egypt and provided for them in the wilderness, before ultimately establishing them in the promised land. But more importantly in the seventh chapter of John, this national holiday served to illustrate the offer that Jesus was making to those who would accept Him by faith, as well as to allude to the Old Testament prophecies that would ultimately be fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

Jesus laid the foundation for both of these points, when, as John records, "On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, 'If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.' Now this He said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified" (John 7:37-39, ESV). Concerning the significance of Jesus referring to "living water" during this feast, The Expositor's Bible Commentary says, "The celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles included a daily procession of priests from the temple to the Pool of Siloam, from which they drew water that was poured out as a libation at the altar, accompanied by a recitation of Isaiah 12:3: 'With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.' This offering of water memorialized God's provision for the thirsty people in the wilderness, but the water had been poured out and had left them unsatisfied" (TEBC: AE, vol. 2, 321). It was on the eighth and final day of the feast, after the priests had stopped pouring out this offering of water, that Jesus stood to announce His offer of "living water" that truly satisfies the thirst of those who drink it.

This traditional ceremony of offering water, and what it signified, provided a wonderful illustration for Jesus to explain what He was offering those who would simply believe in Him. John Phillips writes, "As Israel in the Old Testament drank from that life-giving stream flowing from the riven rock, so Christ offers those who believe in Him an ever flowing, never failing, soul satisfying, thirst quenching inner supply of living water... As Moses smote the rock, so it was that our Lord was smitten. He returned at length to His home on high and sent the Holy Spirit to take His place on Earth. The Holy Spirit filled the disciples. On the day of Pentecost the rivers began to flow" (Exploring the Gospel of John, 152). Therefore, the Feast of Booths clearly illustrates the promise of the Holy Spirit, which was a promise that Jesus alone could make and fulfill. When a person chooses to believe in Jesus by faith, the Lord's promise is immediately fulfilled, through the presence of the Holy Spirit and the satisfaction that He brings to the life of the believer; much like what water brings to the body of a desperately thirsty man.

This traditional ceremony of offering water also makes a clear allusion to Old Testament prophecy concerning both the Messiah and the Feast of Booths. Zechariah spoke of the future time when God's enemies have been ultimately defeated, saying, "On that day living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea and half of them to the western sea. It shall continue in summer as in winter. And the LORD will be king over all the earth. On that day the LORD will be one and His name one... Then everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Booths." (Zechariah 14:8-9, 16 ESV). Though this flow of "living waters" from Jerusalem is not directly linked with the Feast of Booths in this passage, when this prophecy has come to pass, the "living waters" will be an ever present reminder of the offer that was made by Jesus so long ago during the Feast of Booths.

When all is said and done, Jesus has fulfilled what the Feast of Booths illustrated, through providing the Holy Spirit to all who choose to believe in Him. As for its allusion to the future celebration of the Feast of Booths by all nations, Jesus will fulfill that when He returns as King of Kings and Lord of Lords! In light of what the Feast of Booths signified before Jesus came, and what it has signified since, one could truly call the Feast of Booths the ultimate Thanksgiving Feast.

My question to you for this upcoming Thanksgiving is: Do you have the "living water" to be thankful for? Will you be one who gathers before the King of Kings and Lord of Lords to give thanks for what He has provided to save you and change your life? Don't forget the price that He paid to purchase that gift for you. It was for you that He died and it was for you that the Holy Spirit was given. Satisfaction for life's deepest, spiritual thirst is just a prayer away. Trust me, that is what my thanksgiving to God is mostly about! So when you partake of your own Thanksgiving Feast, don't neglect to drink from the "living water" that Jesus offered you at His.

"Dear Lord God, my soul once thirsted for that which I did not understand, nor could find. Thank-you for giving to me that which I needed most. My life is still overflowing with the blessing of having the 'living water' of Your Holy Spirit. I thank-you, my God and King. Amen."