Sunday School

INTRODUCTION. Five days after the somber Day of Atonement where the focus was on sin, the children of Israel observed the week-long Feast of Booths. This was the most joyous of all festivals of Israel. Regarding this feast, the LORD said “Thou shalt rejoice in thy feast…therefore thou shalt surely rejoice” (see Deuteronomy 16:13-15). The Feasts of Booths was also known as the Feast of Tabernacles. The Hebrew name for this feast is “Sukkot” which means “booths.” This feast was like a combination of Thanksgiving Day and a week at summer camp. The feast was not only sacred, but also considered the happiest of all the ancient feasts of Israel. In fact, it’s a festival that modern Jews still observe. If someone lives near a Jewish family, he or she may wonder why they build temporary dwellings in their backyards in the fall. They are simply following what God commanded through Moses thousands of years ago. This is the feast we will examine in this week’s lesson.