In Leviticus 23:39-43, God stated that the purpose of the Feast of Tabernacles was to insure that future generations would remember him having told the Israelites to dwell in booths or tents as he took them out of Egypt and into the wilderness. [1] Beyond this observable purpose, there lies a symbolism within the feast in the person of Jesus.
According to Meredith, The Feast of Tabernacles represents Jesus, who tabernacles with mankind on Earth, and was fulfilled in John 1:14, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us….” He also asserts that the Feast of Tabernacles represents the birth of Jesus according to historical, scriptural and astronomical documentation which indicates that he was born during the Feast of Tabernacles. [2]
Towns describes how, on the final day of the feast, the priests would collect water to dispense over the altar, and how it is representative of Christ when he said that if anyone thirsts to come to him and rivers of living water would flow from the belly of the believer, as recorded in John 7:37-38. [3] This indicates that Jesus is that water which was poured out on the altar.
Ridout has some things to add to this. He begins with the significance of water, in that John 3:5 says, “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God,” and he goes on to explain that being born of water indicates a water baptism, which indicates regeneration through Christ, therefore being made a member of Christ and an inheritor of the kingdom of Heaven. Water then is a medium of fresh birth. [4]
In addition to the symbolism of the water, Colon writes that when night fell there was an illumination of Temple lamps. The first was the reality of the “Light of all Lights: The Shekinah Glory; the visible presence of God that filled the first Temple, which Solomon built. The second was Ha’or Gadol (the Great Light) who would soon come and bring light to those who were spiritually dead and dwelling in darkness. [5]
Colon claims that it may have been during the extinguishing of these lamps that Jesus stated that he is the light of the world, indicating that he is the Shekinah Glory (John 8:12). However, Morris states that it wasn’t a question of the physical illumination; rather Jesus is calling for faith in himself, and his use of “light” points to the illumination of life that he brings.”[6]
Finally, the symbols of water and light come together in dramatic fashion. Dr. Day contends that, before the account of healing the blind man in John 9, Jesus explained the divine rationale for what he was about to do by restating that he is the light of the world. This statement was perhaps a reference to the ceremony of the illumination of the Temple since
