One of the reasons God instituted the Feast of Tabernacles for the people of Israel is found in Leviticus 23:33-43. He wanted to give them a yearly reminder that He had them living in temporary shelters when He “brought them out of Egypt.” In previous posts I commented on the fact that the event itself occurred in the spring rather than the autumn, suggesting perhaps a look ahead to a “second exodus” for Christians and believing Jews. The events of the exodus and wilderness wanderings provide material for analogies that apply to both Christians and Jews, many of which are also found in the Bible.
The book of Hebrews, for instance is a letter written in the form of a sermon. The background of all of the warnings within it is the story of Israel’s refusal to enter the Promised Land when they first approached it. They were afraid of the “giants” that inhabited the land because of the negative report of ten of the twelve spies that Moses had sent.
There is a theme that appears early and throughout the exodus narrative that ties in with a larger biblical story arc. The story is found in Exodus 15:22-27. It begins a mere three days after Israel’s miraculous crossing of the Red Sea. As they continue their journey toward the land they are to inherit, they find themselves in a land without fresh water. That part of the land of Midian (modern Saudi Arabia) is a parched wilderness. Finally, after three days they find water at a place they would later call Marah. Unfortunately it is “bitter” and undrinkable. The people start complaining about Moses’ leadership and inability lead them to proper water.
God shows Moses a particular piece of wood and tells him to throw it into the water. Moses does, and the water becomes “sweet” to drink. They drink and are satisfied, and are then brought to Elim, a place with “twelve springs and seventy palm trees,” where they camp for a while.
This begins a theme of God miraculously providing life-giving water to His people as they wander in the wilderness.
Two chapters later they come to another place without water (Exodus 17:1-7). Once again the people complain about Moses’ leadership about needing water. It almost becomes a riot and Moses pleads with God for help. God tells Moses to use his staff to strike a particular rock. He does this and water gushes from the rock to supply their need. This is a miracle of a different kind. You don’t expect rock to be a water source, but there it is!
Almost 40 years later we still find Israelites complaining about not having enough water! They are on the verge of entering the Promised Land and still haven’t learned to trust God and Moses. God gives Moses the instruction to take his staff, point it at a rock and tell the rock to provide water. By now Moses is so fed up with the people that he yells at the people about their lack of faith in Moses’ ability to get water from the rock, then he whacks the rock with his staff. Nothing happens. He hits the rock again. After a heart-wrenching moment, the rock seemingly reluctantly splits open and emits a stream of water.
Moses is guilty of two sins. First, he tries to take God’s glory to himself by claiming that he can bring water from the rock. Second, he does not follow God’s instruction to talk to the rock. This creates an awkward moment and Moses reacts by hitting it again. God then has to save Moses’ reputation by bringing water from the rock when Moses worked against His own instructions.
In other words, God saves Moses’ reputation despite the fact that Moses did not honor God’s reputation in the sight of the people God had saved from Egypt. Moses is then told that he will not lead the people into the Promised Land because of these sins.
In spite of all of that, God still provides the life-giving water that the people need for that time. Note that they are still living in temporary dwellings since they are not yet in the Promised Land. Of course, one can also note that God continues to provide for them in spite of their ancestors’ refusal to enter the land of Canaan almost 40 years before. Their sin of refusal to enter the land sort of forced God to continue to provide water in the wilderness (not to mention 40 years of manna).
Then again, providing is something that God is not shy about doing, even for His enemies. Jesus tells anyone who would follow Him to love their enemies and pray for their persecutor “so that you may be children of your Father in Heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous” (Matthew 5:43-48).
One of Jesus’ longest exchanges with detractors starts toward the end of the Feast of Tabernacles in John 7:37-38. He declares that scripture says that rivers of living water would flow from anyone who believes in Him. I have to confess that I was not aware of what scripture Jesus was referring to. To the credit of the designers of Leo AI, it found the answer instantly. Jesus was referring to a passage in Isaiah 58 that was talking about what true fasting should accomplish. In describing how fasting should change our hearts to righteous living and serving the needy around us, the result in Isaiah 58:11 is that
The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. [emphasis is mine]
Jesus takes that simile and transforms it into a spiritual reality of transformation through His Holy Spirit after His ascension, as John interprets Jesus’ “living waters” speech in John 7:39. This brings up a dispute about Jesus’ authority to teach and heal that continues until the following day in chapter 10. Jesus begins telling them the He is the Good Shepherd who cares and protects His sheep. In John 10:22-30 Jesus tell the Pharisees that He gives his sheep “eternal life” and that “no one can snatch them out of my hand.” This is a kind of security that reminds one of Psalm 23. The allusion to Ps 23 reminds us of verse 2, where the shepherd leads them beside quiet waters. In other words, as once noted by a member of our fellowship, the conversation about being the Good Shepherd is not really a change of subject from that of Jesus giving living waters to and through believers.
Just in case we wonder if the idea of living waters applies only spiritually, we have many prophetic images of Jerusalem and the Temple of God being the source of “living water” such as in Isa. 35:1-10 and Ezekiel 47:1-12. More importantly, Jesus attaches the imagery of His provision of “living water” during the wilderness wandering memorial of the Feast of Tabernacles to the provision of the Holy Spirit as promised in places such as Joel 2:28-29 so that Peter can speak on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2:16-21.
The importance of water in the Feast of Tabernacles is highlighted in Zech 14:8, 16-19 in what may be considered a both positive and negative light. First, the Day of the Lord is a day of living water flowing from Jerusalem. On the other hand, a lack of rain (water) will also be the curse for nations that refuse to participate in Israel’s Feast of Tabernacles after Jesus’ return. Quite the contrast.
Finally, at the root of Jesus allusion to Isaiah 58:11 is the context: a change of heart that brings a new Spirit to the fore. The context of Isaiah 58 is the need for human beings to love God and love their neighbor in heart and action. Jesus’ solution is not a “true fast,” but rather a new Spirit of love and righteousness.
When living waters flow through a land, it brings vitality and life to the surrounding countryside. Isaiah 58:12 offers a look at the result of being “like a spring that never fails.”
Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.
By analogy, the spiritual living waters should flow out from believers in a way that repairs relationships and brings blessing to those around us. Verses 6 and 7 remind us of what the LORD wanted from His people, even in ancient times.
“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter— when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
If this is the kind of behavior God wanted from a fast, how much more does Jesus expect from those with the “living waters” of His Holy Spirit?
John Valade 
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