The Lord said: “So that your generations may know that I had the sons of Israel live in booths when I brought them out from the land of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.” Leviticus 23:43

There is something very powerful about leaving the security and comfort of our homes and sitting beneath a temporary covering. The sukkah reminds us of Israel’s journey through the wilderness and of God’s provision during that time. Yet as I sit in a temporary dwelling, I am also reminded that my life here on this earth is temporary.

Everything that we have in this present life is temporary. Our homes, possessions, positions, accomplishments, and even these bodies in which we live will not last forever. We spend so much of our lives building, planning, accumulating, protecting, and worrying about things that will not last. Yet Sukkot gives us an opportunity to remember that the One who provided for Israel in the wilderness is the same God upon whom we depend today.

The question is not whether this earthly dwelling is temporary, because Scripture makes it clear that it is. Sukkot should cause us to look at our own lives and ask what we are doing with the time God has given us. God did not deliver Israel from Egypt so that Israel could simply exchange one place of residence for another. He delivered Israel to Himself.

Just before the instructions concerning His appointed times, the Lord says:

So you shall keep My commandments, and do them; I am the LORD. You shall not profane My holy name, but I will be sanctified among the sons of Israel; I am the LORD who sanctifies you, who brought you out from the land of Egypt, to be your God; I am the LORD.
Leviticus 22:31–33

I believe those final words are very important because God says that He brought Israel out of Egypt “to be your God.” Freedom was never meant to mean independence from God. He delivered His people so that they would belong to Him and live according to what He had commanded them. Our freedom is found in Him and within His will for our lives.

This is also a question for each one of us. God has given us life, provision, relationships, abilities, and time. What are we doing with what He has given us? What are we filling our lives with? Are we filling them with things that will pass away, or with the things of God that have eternal value?

This question becomes even more significant when we come to the prophetic reading for Sukkot in Zechariah 14. Zechariah describes a future time when the nations will gather against Jerusalem. The chapter speaks of the nations gathering against the city, the Lord going forth against them, and His feet standing on the Mount of Olives. Then we read:

And the LORD will be king over all the earth; in that day the LORD will be the only one, and His name the only one.
Zechariah 14:9

When I look at our world today, I cannot ignore how much attention is focused on Israel and Jerusalem. Nations debate Jerusalem’s future and believe that they can determine what will ultimately happen to this city. Yet God has already spoken about Jerusalem’s future. Zechariah tells us that the nations will gather against Jerusalem, that the Lord Himself will intervene, and that He will be King over all the earth.

I am not suggesting that we try to fit every headline into biblical prophecy. However, we also cannot ignore what God has clearly told us about the future of Jerusalem. At the end of the chapter, Zechariah connects this future directly to Sukkot:

Then it will come about that any who are left of all the nations that went against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of armies, and to celebrate the Feast of Booths.
Zechariah 14:16

When we celebrate Sukkot, we remember God’s faithfulness to our people in the wilderness, but Zechariah reminds us that Sukkot also points to something still ahead. The feast that reminds Israel of temporary dwellings also points toward a future time when the nations will come to Jerusalem to worship the King.

Zechariah continues:

And it will be that whichever of the families of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of armies, there will be no rain on them.
Zechariah 14:17

God is giving the nations a warning. Those who survive from the nations that came against Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King and celebrate Sukkot. Those who refuse will face His judgment.

That should cause every nation to take seriously how it regards the God of Israel, His Word, His people, and Jerusalem. Political power may appear permanent today, but it is no more permanent than the sukkah in which we sit during this appointed time. God alone determines how the story ends.

Yet before we apply this warning only to the nations, we also need to look at ourselves. We should ask ourselves whether we are truly worshiping the King and living as though He owns our lives. We should ask ourselves whether we are using this temporary dwelling for His purposes or whether we are building our own kingdoms as though we will remain here forever. We should also ask ourselves where we stand. Will we align ourselves with those who oppose Jerusalem and the God of Israel, or will we submit to the King and stand with what He has spoken? I can look at the nations and see their rebellion against God, but I also need to ask where I am resisting Him in my own life.

At the end of Sukkot, we take the sukkah down. The temporary dwelling has served its purpose. What a powerful reminder of our own lives. One day, this temporary dwelling will also be finished. The question is what we did with the time God gave us.

I am thankful for everything God has entrusted to me in this life. I am thankful for my family, for the privilege of living in the Land, for the opportunity to serve Him, and for every provision that comes from His hand. However, none of these things should cause me to forget that my hope is ultimately in Him and in what He has promised.

Yeshua taught us not to store up treasures for ourselves on earth, where moth and rust destroy, but to store up treasures in heaven. That truth becomes very tangible when we sit inside a sukkah and are reminded of how temporary the things around us really are.

This should cause us to ask whether we are investing our lives in what has eternal value or spending them primarily on what will pass away. We should consider how we are using the time, resources, relationships, and opportunities that God has entrusted to us. We should examine whether we are living primarily for our own kingdom or for His.

As a follower of Yeshua, Sukkot reminds me that my hope is not in making this temporary dwelling as comfortable as possible. My hope is in the Messiah. I am looking forward to His return and to the fulfillment of everything God has promised. Until that day, I want to be faithful with whatever He has placed in my hands.

The kingdoms that appear powerful today will not remain forever. Political maps will change, leaders will come and go, and human institutions will rise and fall. Even the homes in which we feel secure today are temporary.

God’s Word, however, will stand, His purposes will be accomplished, and the King will reign. Perhaps this is one of the most important reminders that Sukkot can give us this year. We are living in temporary dwellings, but we are moving toward an everlasting Kingdom.

As we sit in the sukkah and remember how God provided for our people in the wilderness, let us also look forward to what He has promised. Let us examine how we are living today and what we are filling our lives with. What we do with this temporary life matters.

Until the day when the King reigns from Jerusalem and the nations come to worship Him, may we be found faithful with the time and everything else that He has entrusted to us.

Hag Sameach (A joyful and meaningful feast) and Shabbat Shalom,

Moran