Let's Go Camping!
What is the best way to go camping?
I love to go camping. Some of my happiest days were spent living in a tent.
Sometimes, I went camping carrying nothing with me but a knife. I could use the knife to make a shelter, start a fire, and make tools for foraging for food and catching fish. (My brother David could one up me and not even take a knife. He could make one from flint.)
I could make a comfortable bed using fallen leaves over a spot of soft dirt. All I needed to keep insects away was some freshly cut cedar branches.
My hygiene needs were not hard to take care of. I could go behind a bush to relieve my self. I could dig a hole, take a squat, wipe with a large leaf, and then bury what came out.
In northwest Arkansas, it was not hard to find a clear pool in a running stream to bathe in. I could also wash my clothes in that clear running stream, and then hang them on a tree branch to dry. Sometimes, I would take a shower in a waterfall of a clear running stream.
Likewise, it was not hard to find clean drinking water. The water at the top of these clear running streams was always safe to drink.
Of course, I mostly did this type of camping in fair weather.
In colder weather, I always took a lot more than a knife. While I could build a shelter in the Winter, including a snow house (igloo) if there was snow, it was a lot harder than camping in the warmer weather. If there was snow, then I needed pots and pans to melt the snow for water. I had to bring in food, because there is very little food that can be foraged in the Winter. I also make sure that I had a sleeping bag. Of course, all of this stuff required a backpack to carry it in.
Most of the time, I went camping with a bunch of other men and boy in tents. Sometimes, we would even camp in bunkhouse like we did at Camp Rudy.
Whenever I went camping with women, like my mother or my wife, we had to camp somewhere with a bathhouse and restrooms. The needs of women are much more complicated than those of men.
I love to go camping. Some of my happiest days were spent living in a tent.
Sometimes, I went camping carrying nothing with me but a knife. I could use the knife to make a shelter, start a fire, and make tools for foraging for food and catching fish. (My brother David could one up me and not even take a knife. He could make one from flint.)
I could make a comfortable bed using fallen leaves over a spot of soft dirt. All I needed to keep insects away was some freshly cut cedar branches.
My hygiene needs were not hard to take care of. I could go behind a bush to relieve my self. I could dig a hole, take a squat, wipe with a large leaf, and then bury what came out.
In northwest Arkansas, it was not hard to find a clear pool in a running stream to bathe in. I could also wash my clothes in that clear running stream, and then hang them on a tree branch to dry. Sometimes, I would take a shower in a waterfall of a clear running stream.
Likewise, it was not hard to find clean drinking water. The water at the top of these clear running streams was always safe to drink.
Of course, I mostly did this type of camping in fair weather.
In colder weather, I always took a lot more than a knife. While I could build a shelter in the Winter, including a snow house (igloo) if there was snow, it was a lot harder than camping in the warmer weather. If there was snow, then I needed pots and pans to melt the snow for water. I had to bring in food, because there is very little food that can be foraged in the Winter. I also make sure that I had a sleeping bag. Of course, all of this stuff required a backpack to carry it in.
Most of the time, I went camping with a bunch of other men and boy in tents. Sometimes, we would even camp in bunkhouse like we did at Camp Rudy.
Whenever I went camping with women, like my mother or my wife, we had to camp somewhere with a bathhouse and restrooms. The needs of women are much more complicated than those of men.
Perhaps, that is why only men refer to some place that is thirty miles from the nearest indoor plumbing, as "The Great Outdoors".
In fact, one time I went camping with my wife and her entire family near Branson, Missouri. This camping area was unusual in that we rented a small wooden hut with beds to sleep in.
Obviously, not all seasons are equally good for camping. In the Ozarks, there is always the chance of being rained on during your entire camping trip in the Spring. In the Summer, it can get uncomfortably hot, and you have to contend with bugs, snakes, and other wildlife issues. In the Winter, it can be uncomfortably cold, and you have to deal with snow and ice.
The best season in the Ozarks is the Fall (Autumn). The bugs are dying down, the nights are cooling down, and the rain showers are often short, when they occur.
The best part of the Fall is from the Fall Equinox to about five weeks later. The bugs are pretty much gone, it is still warm enough to do things during the day, it is comfortable at night, and the cold weather has not moved in yet. Whenever this time of year comes around, it makes me want to say, "Let's go camping!'.
I am not the only one who feels that way. The Father of Truth (YHVH aka God aka THE LORD), who created this optimum time for camping, has made a celebration that revolves around camping for a week during this time of year. He is saying to the Children of Truth (those who obey The Father of Truth because they love Him), "Let's go camping!".
This celebration begins the fifteenth day of the month (close to the first full moon), of the first month whose fifteenth day occurs after the grape harvest is over in Israel (Deuteronomy 16:13).
(The grape harvest ends about the time of the Fall equinox. The grape harvest can end a week earlier, if a year has ideal conditions like it did in 2017 AD. However, there is no way to know if this rare event will occur in time to set the first month. The first month must be determined before the grapes have even blossomed. So, the first month of the year must be determined based on the normal end of the grape harvest.)
This celebration is called Sukkot (The Feast of Tabernacles) (Leviticus 23:34). People go camping for a week (Leviticus 23:41-42).
This camping is unusual in that it was not meant to be done out in the wilderness. It is meant to be done in the city of Jerusalem (Yerushalayim) whenever the Temple is standing there (Deuteronomy 16:15-17).
Although only men are required to go camping in Jerusalem, women and children are encouraged to come as well (Deuteronomy 16:14). The more complex needs of women and children are not a problem - since they are camping in a city!
The Rabbis have many traditions about how this camping trip is to be conducted, both in the land of Israel and outside of the land of Israel.
First, they have requirements for the Sukkah (booth) that people are to live in during this urban camping trip. A Sukkah must meet the following requirements:
It must have three walls. It must have at least 16 square cubits (about 48 square feet or 5 square meters) of floor space. It must have a S'chach as a roof.
The walls must be at least two cubits high (about 3 feet or 1 meter). The walls must be rigid enough to have minimal movement in normal winds. The walls must form right angle corners.
The S'chach must be made of organic material that was not processed for a different use. It must be thick enough to provide more shade than light in the Sukkah. It must allow at least some of the stars to be seen when looking up through it at night. It must allow rain to come into the Sukkah. At least part of the s'chach must under the open sky.
The final requirement is that it be inspected by a Mashgiach (supervisor), usually a Rabbi, who will stamp it with a Hechsher (seal of approval aka Kosher mark), if it meets all of the requirements.
Second, people are required to spend at least part of each day in the Sukkah, usually at least eating a meal in it, unless it is raining. People are not usually required to sleep in them.
Third, people are to treat the first day of Sukkot as a Sabbath, as well as the day after the camping ends - the eighth day.
Fourth, people are to treat the other days as Chol Hamoed (literally 'the appointment sand", but commonly referred to as "weekday holiday" or "secular holiday") which are considered half-holiday days. Some work is permitted, particularly work that applies to keeping the festival, while other work, like doing the laundry, is not. Going to work for pay is permitted, if the worker cannot take vacation.
Also, there is an extra Aliyot ("going ups") of reading of the Law of Truth (Torah aka The Law) in the synagogues during a Chol Hamoed.
Fifth, when the one of the Chol Hamoed is the weekly Sabbath, then the usual prohibitions of regular work apply like any other weekly Sabbath. However, the order of the synagogue service is different than regular Sabbaths. Also, the Sabbath meal (Oneg) is eating in the Sukkah.
Sixth, every day, except the Sabbath, the Four Species must be waived.
The Four Species consists of two parts:
The first part is a Lulav usually made by binding together a ripe, green, closed frond from a date palm tree, two branches with leaves from a willow tree, and three boughs with leaves from the myrtle tree. The Lulav is bound together by strips of another palm frond that form a Hadasim.
The second part is the fruit of a citron tree, called the Etrog. The Etrog is considered particularly holy, and will sometimes be kept in a silver casing called an Avarot, or a glass box. Some Etrogs are examined with a jeweler eyepiece for flaws, like diamonds. An exceptional Etrog can cost $500 or more.
Of course, a Mashgiach must inspect the Lulav and Etrog and place a Hechsher on the Lulav to show that they meet the requirements.
The Four Species are then used in a ceremony, called the Na'anu'im. The Lulav is placed in one hand, and the Etrog in the other. Then a blessing, called the Shehecheyanu, is recited. After that, the Lulav and Etrog are brought together, with both pointing away from the holder in the same way that they pointed away from the trees, from which they were taken. Finally, they are gently shaken three times in each of the four directions (north, east, south, west), then upward and downward.
The Na'anu'im is part of the Synagogue services. It is accompanied with making a circuit with everyone carrying their Lulavs and Etrogs around the synagogue in a processional while reciting the Hashanot prayers.
The Na'anu'im can also be done in the home or Sukkah of an individual as well. It is not done at all on the weekly Sabbath that falls during the Chol Hamoed.
Seventh, there are various other ceremonies that are not celebrated everywhere, but they usually are celebrated in Jerusalem. These include the Hakhel, held when Sukkot is at the end of a Sh'mita (Year of Release), the Simchat Beit HaShoevah, and the Hoshana Rabbah.
Is this really what the Father of Truth meant when He said, "Let's go camping!"?
The point of living in a Sukkah is to remind people that the descendants of Israel had to live in a Sukkah during their many years of wandering in the wilderness (Leviticus 23:41-43).
People slept, ate, played, worked, had sex, and gave birth in a Sukkah during this time. They lived in a Sukkah through all four seasons. They lived in a Sukkah through all kinds of weather.
A Sukkah obviously did not have one open side and leaky roof!
So what did a Sukkah look like?
The Hebrew words used do describe a Sukkah in the Book of Truth (The Bible) give a pretty good idea.
The Hebrew word "Sukkah" literally means, a booth made from interwoven leaves and branches. The Hebrew root word that it comes from, is used to describe the dwelling place of wild lions.
A Sukkah was like a primitive shelter that is built when you go camping carrying only a knife. Long, slender, and supple branches or vines are used to lash together thicker branches to form a basic frame. More branches were lashed to the frame to form walls and a roof. An opening was left in one wall to allow entrance into the shelter, and a door is formed that opens upward for that entrance.
The Sukkot, that they live in the wilderness, are also called, "tents" and "tabernacles" (Numbers 24:5). The Hebrew word translated as "tents" literally means a nomad tent - a tent with walls and a roof made of thick cloth or animal skins that can be disassembled quickly for travel. It is used numerous times of The Tabernacle, which had walls and a roof made of these materials that could be disassembled quickly for travel. The Hebrew word translated as "tabernacles" is the same word used of The Tabernacle itself.
So a Sukkah had the same basic structure and shape as The Tabernacle. It had a frame made of interwoven leaves and branches that was covered by thick cloth or animal skins. These walls were on all four sides with an opening in the front wall to allow entrance into them. They were rectangular in shape. Their roofs were practically flat.
So, a finished Sukkah resembled a game booth at the arcade of a carnival.
If each Sukkah was the same height and width, then they could be organized in rows, the backs of two rows facing each other, to form a Sukkah block. (The length of the Sukkah in the front could vary according to how many people lived in it.) This would help each Sukkah in the Sukkah block to be made more stable by the other Sukkot in the block. These Sukkah blocks could be spaced to put a street between blocks on all four sides. Finally Sukkah blocks and streets could be arranged to form a Sukkah city. There could be spaces scattered throughout a Sukkah city where the livestock could have been kept at night, similar to city parks. This might have been the arrangement of the camp of each tribe of Israel in the wilderness (Numbers 1:52).
These booth shaped tents are what the people of Israel lived in during their time in the wilderness, when the Father of Truth told them, "Let's go camping!".
During Sukkot people are to gather four types of branches with leaves (Leviticus 23:39-40). The best way to understand these four types of branches with leaves is to examine the Hebrew words in the list (Leviticus 23:40).
The first type was to be a fruit bearing bough of a highly esteemed tree. Most of the branches from qualifying trees would not have fruit on them, since Sukkot begins after the fruit harvest is over (Leviticus 23:39).
The second type was to be the palm of a palm tree. The idea of "the palm of a palm tree" is that the palm branch is to be wide open like a human palm with the fingers spread out. (Hence the name "palm tree".) No specific type of palm tree is given, so it could be a date palm or any other kind of palm tree.
The third type were to be a branch covered with smaller limbs that have dense interwoven foliage. Although branches of a myrtle tree would meet these requirements, these branches do not have to be from a myrtle tree to meet these requirements. These branches could be from any tree that has these types of branches, like an elm tree or a pine tree.
The fourth type was to be a branch of dark wooded trees with braided branches found near places were streams flow at least part of the year. Although willow trees meets these requirements, they are not the only tree to do so. Poplar trees also meet these qualifications, particularly the black poplar. (The black poplar is so named due to the darkness of its wood.)
What are people supposed to do with these four types of branches on Sukkot?
They are to use these branches to make a Sukkah (Nehemiah 8:14-15). It is worth noting that olive branches were the fruit bearing boughs of highly esteemed trees, pine branches were the branches with covered with smaller branches and dense interwoven foliage, and that branches of thick trees were also used to build each Sukkah (Nehemiah 8:15).
So there is nothing in the Law of Truth about having a ceremony with the Four Species. In particular, the citron tree, which bears the Etrog, is never even mentioned in the Book of Truth. This fruit tree originated in Babylon, and was brought into the land of Israel after the Babylonian exile, just like the ceremonies involving the Four Species.
In fact, the Na'anu'im is a modified re-enactment of the processional that the Babylonians performed to honor their idols during their harvest festival in the month of Tishrei. The wording and explanation of the symbolism was changed to point to the Father of Truth, instead of Tammuz, similar to many of the rituals of Christmas and Easter, that are "Christianized" Pagan rituals.
So, this ceremony is actually contrary to the Law of Truth. The Father of Truth does not want the Children of Truth to worship Him with the same rituals that idolaters use to worship their idols (Deuteronomy 12:29-31)!
Not only that, people are to dwell in these booths during Sukkot, like the people of Israel did in the wilderness (Leviticus 23:42-43). People are to sleep, eat, play, work, have sex, and give birth in a Sukkah during this time. This is what the Father of Truth means, when He says, "Let's go camping!".
The other customs were added by religious professionals over the centuries. While there is nothing inherently wrong with a few of them, it is inherently wrong to treat any of them like they are part of the instructions given in the Law of Truth for Sukkot. No one has the authority to add commandments to the Law of Truth (Deuteronomy 4:1-2).
The only ceremonies commanded during Sukkot revolve around sacrifices at the Temple (Numbers 29:12-38).
The only commandments concerning Sukkot, besides those involving the Sukkah, are these:
The first day is a Sabbath when people are not do their regular work and congregate together (Leviticus 23:35). Then they are to gather the four types of branches on this day (Leviticus 23:40). Lastly, they are to use those branches to build their Sukkah on that day, so that Sukkot are everywhere in Jerusalem, including the courtyard of the Temple (Nehemiah 8:15-16).
After a Sukkah is built, then people are to live in their Sukkah for the next seven days and nights (Leviticus 23:42).
People are bring their tithes from the fruit harvest season, rather fruit or money, to the Temple at Sukkot (Deuteronomy 14:22-25). No man is to show up empty handed at Sukkot (Deuteronomy 16:16-17).
People are to use part of those tithes to buy whatever they need to rejoice during Sukkot (Deuteronomy 14:26). They are to use part of those tithes to make sure the Levites have whatever they need to rejoice with them (Deuteronomy 14:27). They are to make sure that everyone, including widows, orphans, and foreigners, are able to have whatever they need to rejoice with them (Deuteronomy 16:13-14). Everyone is to spend the days of Sukkot rejoicing (Deuteronomy 16:15).
After people have spent seven days and nights rejoicing in their Sukkah, then the eighth day is another Sabbath when people are not to do their regular work and congregate together (Leviticus 23:36). The Sabbath of the eighth day marks the end of Sukkot, just as the Sabbath of the first day marked the beginning of Sukkot (Leviticus 23:39). This Sabbath is the end of the sacrifices at the Temple for Sukkot as the grand finale of those ceremonies (Numbers 29:35-38).
So, this is what the Father of Truth means when He says, "Let's go camping!".
It is truly the best way to go camping, because everyone can participate!
His instructions for keeping Sukkot are very different from those of the Rabbis. Today, the instructions of the Rabbis prevail in Jerusalem, but His instructions will prevail when the Man of Truth (Yeshua HaMashiach aka Jesus Christ) is using the Law of Truth to rule the world from Jerusalem, and the people of Israel are walking in his light (Isaiah 2:1-5)!
The return of the King will be right after with the final harvest of the Tribulation. In the aftermath of the Tribulation, the River will flow and bring the waters of salvation.
His reign will move the world closer to the end of all troubles. It will be like the day of new beginnings for the human race!
The Man of Truth will conduct the greatest camp meeting ever! It will be a real Jamboree!
Not only will all of the people of Israel celebrate Sukkot in Jerusalem, but so will all the Goy (Gentiles) (Zechariah 14:16). If any of the Goy refuse to go camping in Jerusalem during Sukkot, then their land will get no rain for the next year (Zechariah 14:17). The Man of Truth will not be fooling around when He says, "Let's go camping!" (Zechariah 14:18-19).
I long for the day when he says to the whole world, "Let's go camping!".
The Man of Truth came down from Heaven to live as one of us (John 1:14). He lived in a Sukkah on this earth like every persons lives in - a body is only temporary and not eternal (2 Corinthians 5:1). He understood our desire to no longer live in a Sukkah, but to live in a body that would be a permanent home (2 Corinthians 5:2-4). He understood that our bodies are like a Sukkah - they are lived in for a while and then taken apart (2 Peter 1:12-14).
So, the Man of Truth died and rose again, so we could become a new kind of person, that will live in a permanent home, instead of a Sukkah (2 Corinthians 5:14-17). Because of that, one day the Father of Truth is going come down to Earth to camp with the Children of Truth forever in the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:2-4)!
Everyone who has come into the House of Truth will be glad when the Father of Truth says, "Let's go camping!".
You can come into the House of Truth and be glad on that day as well, because the Man of Truth came to be savior of the entire world (John 4:41-43). The Father of Truth sent him to die in the place of those who broke His commandments, and raised him to life, so they could be saved by his life (Romans 5:6-10). You will experience that salvation, if you surrender control of your life to the Man of Truth, because you believe that the Father of Truth raised him from the dead (Romans 10:8-10). Everyone can come into the House of Truth, rather or not they are part of the people of Israel (Romans 10:11-13).
Come into the House of Truth!
In fact, one time I went camping with my wife and her entire family near Branson, Missouri. This camping area was unusual in that we rented a small wooden hut with beds to sleep in.
Obviously, not all seasons are equally good for camping. In the Ozarks, there is always the chance of being rained on during your entire camping trip in the Spring. In the Summer, it can get uncomfortably hot, and you have to contend with bugs, snakes, and other wildlife issues. In the Winter, it can be uncomfortably cold, and you have to deal with snow and ice.
The best season in the Ozarks is the Fall (Autumn). The bugs are dying down, the nights are cooling down, and the rain showers are often short, when they occur.
The best part of the Fall is from the Fall Equinox to about five weeks later. The bugs are pretty much gone, it is still warm enough to do things during the day, it is comfortable at night, and the cold weather has not moved in yet. Whenever this time of year comes around, it makes me want to say, "Let's go camping!'.
I am not the only one who feels that way. The Father of Truth (YHVH aka God aka THE LORD), who created this optimum time for camping, has made a celebration that revolves around camping for a week during this time of year. He is saying to the Children of Truth (those who obey The Father of Truth because they love Him), "Let's go camping!".
This celebration begins the fifteenth day of the month (close to the first full moon), of the first month whose fifteenth day occurs after the grape harvest is over in Israel (Deuteronomy 16:13).
(The grape harvest ends about the time of the Fall equinox. The grape harvest can end a week earlier, if a year has ideal conditions like it did in 2017 AD. However, there is no way to know if this rare event will occur in time to set the first month. The first month must be determined before the grapes have even blossomed. So, the first month of the year must be determined based on the normal end of the grape harvest.)
This celebration is called Sukkot (The Feast of Tabernacles) (Leviticus 23:34). People go camping for a week (Leviticus 23:41-42).
This camping is unusual in that it was not meant to be done out in the wilderness. It is meant to be done in the city of Jerusalem (Yerushalayim) whenever the Temple is standing there (Deuteronomy 16:15-17).
Although only men are required to go camping in Jerusalem, women and children are encouraged to come as well (Deuteronomy 16:14). The more complex needs of women and children are not a problem - since they are camping in a city!
The Rabbis have many traditions about how this camping trip is to be conducted, both in the land of Israel and outside of the land of Israel.
First, they have requirements for the Sukkah (booth) that people are to live in during this urban camping trip. A Sukkah must meet the following requirements:
It must have three walls. It must have at least 16 square cubits (about 48 square feet or 5 square meters) of floor space. It must have a S'chach as a roof.
The walls must be at least two cubits high (about 3 feet or 1 meter). The walls must be rigid enough to have minimal movement in normal winds. The walls must form right angle corners.
The S'chach must be made of organic material that was not processed for a different use. It must be thick enough to provide more shade than light in the Sukkah. It must allow at least some of the stars to be seen when looking up through it at night. It must allow rain to come into the Sukkah. At least part of the s'chach must under the open sky.
The final requirement is that it be inspected by a Mashgiach (supervisor), usually a Rabbi, who will stamp it with a Hechsher (seal of approval aka Kosher mark), if it meets all of the requirements.
Second, people are required to spend at least part of each day in the Sukkah, usually at least eating a meal in it, unless it is raining. People are not usually required to sleep in them.
Third, people are to treat the first day of Sukkot as a Sabbath, as well as the day after the camping ends - the eighth day.
Fourth, people are to treat the other days as Chol Hamoed (literally 'the appointment sand", but commonly referred to as "weekday holiday" or "secular holiday") which are considered half-holiday days. Some work is permitted, particularly work that applies to keeping the festival, while other work, like doing the laundry, is not. Going to work for pay is permitted, if the worker cannot take vacation.
Also, there is an extra Aliyot ("going ups") of reading of the Law of Truth (Torah aka The Law) in the synagogues during a Chol Hamoed.
Fifth, when the one of the Chol Hamoed is the weekly Sabbath, then the usual prohibitions of regular work apply like any other weekly Sabbath. However, the order of the synagogue service is different than regular Sabbaths. Also, the Sabbath meal (Oneg) is eating in the Sukkah.
Sixth, every day, except the Sabbath, the Four Species must be waived.
The Four Species consists of two parts:
The first part is a Lulav usually made by binding together a ripe, green, closed frond from a date palm tree, two branches with leaves from a willow tree, and three boughs with leaves from the myrtle tree. The Lulav is bound together by strips of another palm frond that form a Hadasim.
The second part is the fruit of a citron tree, called the Etrog. The Etrog is considered particularly holy, and will sometimes be kept in a silver casing called an Avarot, or a glass box. Some Etrogs are examined with a jeweler eyepiece for flaws, like diamonds. An exceptional Etrog can cost $500 or more.
Of course, a Mashgiach must inspect the Lulav and Etrog and place a Hechsher on the Lulav to show that they meet the requirements.
The Four Species are then used in a ceremony, called the Na'anu'im. The Lulav is placed in one hand, and the Etrog in the other. Then a blessing, called the Shehecheyanu, is recited. After that, the Lulav and Etrog are brought together, with both pointing away from the holder in the same way that they pointed away from the trees, from which they were taken. Finally, they are gently shaken three times in each of the four directions (north, east, south, west), then upward and downward.
The Na'anu'im is part of the Synagogue services. It is accompanied with making a circuit with everyone carrying their Lulavs and Etrogs around the synagogue in a processional while reciting the Hashanot prayers.
The Na'anu'im can also be done in the home or Sukkah of an individual as well. It is not done at all on the weekly Sabbath that falls during the Chol Hamoed.
Seventh, there are various other ceremonies that are not celebrated everywhere, but they usually are celebrated in Jerusalem. These include the Hakhel, held when Sukkot is at the end of a Sh'mita (Year of Release), the Simchat Beit HaShoevah, and the Hoshana Rabbah.
Is this really what the Father of Truth meant when He said, "Let's go camping!"?
The point of living in a Sukkah is to remind people that the descendants of Israel had to live in a Sukkah during their many years of wandering in the wilderness (Leviticus 23:41-43).
People slept, ate, played, worked, had sex, and gave birth in a Sukkah during this time. They lived in a Sukkah through all four seasons. They lived in a Sukkah through all kinds of weather.
A Sukkah obviously did not have one open side and leaky roof!
So what did a Sukkah look like?
The Hebrew words used do describe a Sukkah in the Book of Truth (The Bible) give a pretty good idea.
The Hebrew word "Sukkah" literally means, a booth made from interwoven leaves and branches. The Hebrew root word that it comes from, is used to describe the dwelling place of wild lions.
A Sukkah was like a primitive shelter that is built when you go camping carrying only a knife. Long, slender, and supple branches or vines are used to lash together thicker branches to form a basic frame. More branches were lashed to the frame to form walls and a roof. An opening was left in one wall to allow entrance into the shelter, and a door is formed that opens upward for that entrance.
The Sukkot, that they live in the wilderness, are also called, "tents" and "tabernacles" (Numbers 24:5). The Hebrew word translated as "tents" literally means a nomad tent - a tent with walls and a roof made of thick cloth or animal skins that can be disassembled quickly for travel. It is used numerous times of The Tabernacle, which had walls and a roof made of these materials that could be disassembled quickly for travel. The Hebrew word translated as "tabernacles" is the same word used of The Tabernacle itself.
So a Sukkah had the same basic structure and shape as The Tabernacle. It had a frame made of interwoven leaves and branches that was covered by thick cloth or animal skins. These walls were on all four sides with an opening in the front wall to allow entrance into them. They were rectangular in shape. Their roofs were practically flat.
So, a finished Sukkah resembled a game booth at the arcade of a carnival.
If each Sukkah was the same height and width, then they could be organized in rows, the backs of two rows facing each other, to form a Sukkah block. (The length of the Sukkah in the front could vary according to how many people lived in it.) This would help each Sukkah in the Sukkah block to be made more stable by the other Sukkot in the block. These Sukkah blocks could be spaced to put a street between blocks on all four sides. Finally Sukkah blocks and streets could be arranged to form a Sukkah city. There could be spaces scattered throughout a Sukkah city where the livestock could have been kept at night, similar to city parks. This might have been the arrangement of the camp of each tribe of Israel in the wilderness (Numbers 1:52).
These booth shaped tents are what the people of Israel lived in during their time in the wilderness, when the Father of Truth told them, "Let's go camping!".
During Sukkot people are to gather four types of branches with leaves (Leviticus 23:39-40). The best way to understand these four types of branches with leaves is to examine the Hebrew words in the list (Leviticus 23:40).
The first type was to be a fruit bearing bough of a highly esteemed tree. Most of the branches from qualifying trees would not have fruit on them, since Sukkot begins after the fruit harvest is over (Leviticus 23:39).
The second type was to be the palm of a palm tree. The idea of "the palm of a palm tree" is that the palm branch is to be wide open like a human palm with the fingers spread out. (Hence the name "palm tree".) No specific type of palm tree is given, so it could be a date palm or any other kind of palm tree.
The third type were to be a branch covered with smaller limbs that have dense interwoven foliage. Although branches of a myrtle tree would meet these requirements, these branches do not have to be from a myrtle tree to meet these requirements. These branches could be from any tree that has these types of branches, like an elm tree or a pine tree.
The fourth type was to be a branch of dark wooded trees with braided branches found near places were streams flow at least part of the year. Although willow trees meets these requirements, they are not the only tree to do so. Poplar trees also meet these qualifications, particularly the black poplar. (The black poplar is so named due to the darkness of its wood.)
What are people supposed to do with these four types of branches on Sukkot?
They are to use these branches to make a Sukkah (Nehemiah 8:14-15). It is worth noting that olive branches were the fruit bearing boughs of highly esteemed trees, pine branches were the branches with covered with smaller branches and dense interwoven foliage, and that branches of thick trees were also used to build each Sukkah (Nehemiah 8:15).
So there is nothing in the Law of Truth about having a ceremony with the Four Species. In particular, the citron tree, which bears the Etrog, is never even mentioned in the Book of Truth. This fruit tree originated in Babylon, and was brought into the land of Israel after the Babylonian exile, just like the ceremonies involving the Four Species.
In fact, the Na'anu'im is a modified re-enactment of the processional that the Babylonians performed to honor their idols during their harvest festival in the month of Tishrei. The wording and explanation of the symbolism was changed to point to the Father of Truth, instead of Tammuz, similar to many of the rituals of Christmas and Easter, that are "Christianized" Pagan rituals.
So, this ceremony is actually contrary to the Law of Truth. The Father of Truth does not want the Children of Truth to worship Him with the same rituals that idolaters use to worship their idols (Deuteronomy 12:29-31)!
Not only that, people are to dwell in these booths during Sukkot, like the people of Israel did in the wilderness (Leviticus 23:42-43). People are to sleep, eat, play, work, have sex, and give birth in a Sukkah during this time. This is what the Father of Truth means, when He says, "Let's go camping!".
The other customs were added by religious professionals over the centuries. While there is nothing inherently wrong with a few of them, it is inherently wrong to treat any of them like they are part of the instructions given in the Law of Truth for Sukkot. No one has the authority to add commandments to the Law of Truth (Deuteronomy 4:1-2).
The only ceremonies commanded during Sukkot revolve around sacrifices at the Temple (Numbers 29:12-38).
The only commandments concerning Sukkot, besides those involving the Sukkah, are these:
The first day is a Sabbath when people are not do their regular work and congregate together (Leviticus 23:35). Then they are to gather the four types of branches on this day (Leviticus 23:40). Lastly, they are to use those branches to build their Sukkah on that day, so that Sukkot are everywhere in Jerusalem, including the courtyard of the Temple (Nehemiah 8:15-16).
After a Sukkah is built, then people are to live in their Sukkah for the next seven days and nights (Leviticus 23:42).
People are bring their tithes from the fruit harvest season, rather fruit or money, to the Temple at Sukkot (Deuteronomy 14:22-25). No man is to show up empty handed at Sukkot (Deuteronomy 16:16-17).
People are to use part of those tithes to buy whatever they need to rejoice during Sukkot (Deuteronomy 14:26). They are to use part of those tithes to make sure the Levites have whatever they need to rejoice with them (Deuteronomy 14:27). They are to make sure that everyone, including widows, orphans, and foreigners, are able to have whatever they need to rejoice with them (Deuteronomy 16:13-14). Everyone is to spend the days of Sukkot rejoicing (Deuteronomy 16:15).
After people have spent seven days and nights rejoicing in their Sukkah, then the eighth day is another Sabbath when people are not to do their regular work and congregate together (Leviticus 23:36). The Sabbath of the eighth day marks the end of Sukkot, just as the Sabbath of the first day marked the beginning of Sukkot (Leviticus 23:39). This Sabbath is the end of the sacrifices at the Temple for Sukkot as the grand finale of those ceremonies (Numbers 29:35-38).
So, this is what the Father of Truth means when He says, "Let's go camping!".
It is truly the best way to go camping, because everyone can participate!
His instructions for keeping Sukkot are very different from those of the Rabbis. Today, the instructions of the Rabbis prevail in Jerusalem, but His instructions will prevail when the Man of Truth (Yeshua HaMashiach aka Jesus Christ) is using the Law of Truth to rule the world from Jerusalem, and the people of Israel are walking in his light (Isaiah 2:1-5)!
The return of the King will be right after with the final harvest of the Tribulation. In the aftermath of the Tribulation, the River will flow and bring the waters of salvation.
His reign will move the world closer to the end of all troubles. It will be like the day of new beginnings for the human race!
The Man of Truth will conduct the greatest camp meeting ever! It will be a real Jamboree!
Not only will all of the people of Israel celebrate Sukkot in Jerusalem, but so will all the Goy (Gentiles) (Zechariah 14:16). If any of the Goy refuse to go camping in Jerusalem during Sukkot, then their land will get no rain for the next year (Zechariah 14:17). The Man of Truth will not be fooling around when He says, "Let's go camping!" (Zechariah 14:18-19).
I long for the day when he says to the whole world, "Let's go camping!".
The Man of Truth came down from Heaven to live as one of us (John 1:14). He lived in a Sukkah on this earth like every persons lives in - a body is only temporary and not eternal (2 Corinthians 5:1). He understood our desire to no longer live in a Sukkah, but to live in a body that would be a permanent home (2 Corinthians 5:2-4). He understood that our bodies are like a Sukkah - they are lived in for a while and then taken apart (2 Peter 1:12-14).
So, the Man of Truth died and rose again, so we could become a new kind of person, that will live in a permanent home, instead of a Sukkah (2 Corinthians 5:14-17). Because of that, one day the Father of Truth is going come down to Earth to camp with the Children of Truth forever in the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:2-4)!
Everyone who has come into the House of Truth will be glad when the Father of Truth says, "Let's go camping!".
You can come into the House of Truth and be glad on that day as well, because the Man of Truth came to be savior of the entire world (John 4:41-43). The Father of Truth sent him to die in the place of those who broke His commandments, and raised him to life, so they could be saved by his life (Romans 5:6-10). You will experience that salvation, if you surrender control of your life to the Man of Truth, because you believe that the Father of Truth raised him from the dead (Romans 10:8-10). Everyone can come into the House of Truth, rather or not they are part of the people of Israel (Romans 10:11-13).
Come into the House of Truth!
Labels: Camping, Feast of Tabernacles, Sukkot
posted by The House Of Truth @ September 23, 2018
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