A Sukkot Thought

A Sukkot Thought – Yeshua’s love wrecks us for this world.
“’All native-born Israelites are to live in booths so your descendents will know that I had the Israelites live in booths when I brought them out of Egypt. I am the L-rd your G-d.’” Leviticus 23:42-43.

Yeshua wrecks us for this world. Yeshua’s great love for us is poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit. And it is this love that changes us so much that this world has nothing left to offer us that can even come close to satisfying our thirsty hearts and souls. And it is Sukkot that I believe reminds us of this truth.
The L-rd revealed to Moshe many reasons for Sukkot. But in Leviticus 23, we are told that every Israelite is to live in booths for the entire Feast because G-d had or made their ancestors live in booths when they came out of Egypt.
Yet, it is interesting to note that G-d making them live in booths is not recorded anywhere in the Exodus story! In fact, the only time the word for “booth” is used prior to Leviticus 23 is Genesis 33:17. In this passage, Jacob builds himself a permanent home and then a booth/tent/shelter for his animals. G-d is making a contrast between a temporary shelter for the animals with a more permanent structure for Jacob.
It is my belief that the G-d wanted from the very beginning to ingrain into the hearts and minds of the Israelites that though He was going to give them a piece of real estate that would be theirs for all time, that parcel of land was not their final destination. They were not to get too attached to their new homeland, because it was not to be their permanent home. It was only a temporary shelter.
During Sukkot we are to leave our permanent homes and live in temporary quarters. We are to leave a few holes in the roof so we can see the stars by night and feel the breeze by day. This shelter not only helps us appreciate what the L-rd has given us, but it also reminds us of a bigger picture; this world is not our home, so why put so much effort on “stuff” that not only cannot satisfy us, but also can’t be taken with us?
Rabbi Shaul tells us in Philippians 3:20 that this world is not our permanent dwelling place. It is only a temporary shelter because our citizenship is in heaven. Though we all have earthly passports, the important one is the one Yeshua gives us – our heavenly passport. It is from heaven where we get all our true rights and privileges, not from our home countries.
Sukkot is a reminder of this truth. This world and all that it has to offer us is only temporary. It is less than filling. It is empty. It is only Yeshua’s love for us that can truly satisfy. And it is this love that wrecks the world for us as nothing in this world can come even close to His love. The world can’t even offer a second best in comparison to Yeshua’s love. Its “stuff” (homes, careers, cars, recreation, food, friendships, gadgets, etc.) is a distance last!
As you live in your sukkah this week and peek through the hole in your roof at the stars, remember that you are looking at your real home – heaven. As you feel the breeze come through the sides of your booth, remember that this world’s shelter can never really satisfy your needs; only the love of Yeshua can.
As you continue to experience Yeshua’s love, you will become even less attached to this earthly “home”. Yeshua’s love simply wrecks this world for us.

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