There is a Sukkot—the Feast of Tabernacles—that none of us has ever celebrated.
I think about this every year as Sukkot approaches here in Israel. Almost overnight, the country begins to look different. Temporary shelters called sukkot appear on balconies, beside apartment buildings, in gardens, and wherever families can find enough space to build one. Children bring home decorations, branches are laid across temporary roofs, and meals move outside. For seven days, something God commanded Israel thousands of years ago becomes part of ordinary life again.
For Jewish people, Sukkot reaches backward. The temporary shelter reminds us of Israel’s journey through the wilderness and of a generation that had to depend upon God for everything. But the Bible also gives Sukkot another direction.
It points forward.
The prophet Zechariah describes a future unlike anything we have yet seen. He speaks of a day when people from the nations will come to Jerusalem—not simply to visit the city or observe a Jewish celebration, but to worship the King:
“Everyone who is left of all the nations… shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.”
Zechariah 14:16
I find that remarkable. Every sukkah being built across Israel today carries an ancient memory, but it also points toward something still ahead of us. The Feast remembers God’s faithfulness in the past while directing our eyes toward the Kingdom that is coming.
And perhaps the sukkah itself helps us understand why.
A sukkah is deliberately temporary. It is not supposed to feel like a permanent house. You sit beneath branches. You hear the neighbors. The evening air finds its way through the walls. Families fill these little spaces with meals, laughter, children, and conversation, and then, when the Feast is over, everything comes down again.
There is a lesson in that which reaches far beyond Sukkot.
We spend much of our lives trying to make things permanent. We make plans for the future, build careers, save money, establish homes, and try to create some sense of security around ourselves. None of those things are wrong. But life has a way of reminding us that circumstances can change very quickly. Things that seemed certain yesterday may look very different tomorrow.
The sukkah quietly reminds us not to confuse what is temporary with what is eternal.
Then Zechariah shows us what will remain. There is a Kingdom that will not disappear when circumstances change. There is a King whose authority does not depend upon governments, economies, generations, or anything else we normally depend upon for stability.
And this is where I believe prophecy needs to become personal.
It is very easy to become fascinated with biblical prophecy. We want to know when things will happen, what events will come first, and how everything will unfold. But sometimes our interest in the future can distract us from the question God is asking us today.
We can believe that Jesus will one day reign as King and still keep parts of our lives away from Him.
Perhaps we say, Lord, You can have this part of my life—but not that decision. Not that relationship. Not my plans for the future. Not this situation I am still trying to control.
So when I read Zechariah’s picture of the nations coming to Jerusalem to worship the King, I find myself asking a much simpler question: If Jesus is the coming King, is He already King here?
Moses said concerning Sukkot,
“Seven days you shall keep a sacred feast to the Lord your God”
Deuteronomy 16:15
Those words are easy to overlook: to the Lord.
Before the traditions, before the meals, before the decorations and family gatherings, the Feast belongs to Him. And perhaps this Sukkot there is something in our lives that needs to belong to Him again too.
Maybe it is a decision you have been protecting. Maybe it is a future you have been trying to arrange yourself. Perhaps it is a relationship, a fear, or a situation you cannot control but have struggled to surrender.
We do not have to wait for the Kingdom Zechariah describes before we bow to the King.
Soon Sukkot will end here in Israel. Families will finish their meals, decorations will come down, branches will be carried away, and balconies will return to normal. Another Feast of Tabernacles will become a memory.
But according to Zechariah, there is still a Sukkot ahead of us.
One day the nations will come to Jerusalem to worship the King. What we now read as prophecy will be something people are living. Sukkot will no longer be pointing toward that day because that day will have arrived.
Until then, every temporary sukkah can remind us to look beyond what will pass away and place our confidence in what will remain.
The King is coming. Let us make sure He already has His place in us.
“And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left of all the nations… shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.”
Zechariah 14:16
Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sukkot Sameach—Happy Feast of Tabernacles,
Pastor Israel Pochtar