19 October 2014
I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to Isaiah 12:2-3
Isaiah 12:2-3 (NIV)
2 Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The LORD,
the LORD, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation."
3 With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.
-- when I was a kid, we used to watch a lot of westerns
on TV -- and, you know, they were always the same -- either they revolved
around a lawman in a town who is fighting the bad guys who come into his
peaceful little town or else they were about cowboys out on the range, driving
cattle across the plains and deserts of the west
-- good shows and good movies, like Rawhide and Gunsmoke
and all those great John Wayne movies
-- I remember one western in particular -- it was a
throwback to the early days of the singing cowboys like Gene Autry and Roy
Rogers, and as the cowboys settled down around the campfire after a long day on
the range, someone grabbed a guitar and they started playing a song that Marty
Robbins made popular back in the 70s -- you might have heard it:
-- "All day I face the barren waste without the
taste of water -- cool water
-- "Old Dan and I with throats burned dry and souls
that cry for water
-- "Cool, clear, water."
-- there's just something about water that makes you feel
alive -- there's just something about water that draws us to it -- I guess
because that's one thing we all need to stay alive -- you can survive a long
time without food, but you can't go very long without water -- we need water to
live
-- growing up here in the modern south, I never really
thought much about water -- we have so much water in the southeast that it's
everywhere -- it's a major part of who we are -- our cities and towns are
mostly located along rivers and creeks, because our ancestors knew we needed
that source of water to live and prosper -- we find bunches of people along the
coast -- not just for the beaches -- but because that's where all the fresh
water eventually goes -- it's a natural place for people to settle
-- and with our modern water plants, water is just a turn
of the tap away -- water is something we tend to take for granted -- but when
you find yourself in a place where water is scarce -- or when you turn the tap
and the water doesn't flow -- then we start to panic
-- I remember what it was like on the Appalachian Trail
when I ran out of water on that last day I hiked -- I was already suffering
from my oxygen deficit from sleep apnea, and then when I ran out of water
because the streams were dry and I got dehydrated, I got in trouble -- if the
final shelter that night had been just a few miles more, I'm not sure I could
have made it
-- that's the fear that made Marty Robbins write the
song, "Cool Water" -- because to be without water, like that song
alludes to, is not a good thing -- it's literally a life or death situation
-- and in the majority of our world today, people do not
have access to clean sources of water, especially in arid areas like Africa and
the Middle East -- and it's a major health concern for the people who live
there -- there's not only the danger of dying of dehydration, but the danger of
dying from sickness and disease because of contaminated water -- so for people
like this, the thought of water and where they are going to get their water is
never far from their minds
-- the same was true for the ancient Israelites -- living
in the arid region of Israel, water was of primary importance -- the location
of springs and wells would be mapped out and guarded -- wars were fought over
ownership of wells, because without water, neither the people nor their animals
could live -- water was their source of life and they continually prayed to God
to provide the rain to fill up their cisterns, to keep their streams and rivers
full, to keep them alive
-- in fact, did you know they even had a special holiday
to celebrate the giving of water from God?
II. Sukkot
-- the Jewish holiday of Sukkot (pronunciation: SUE coat)
-- better known as the Feast of Tabernacles -- ended last Wednesday -- Sukkot
is an annual holiday that occurs each fall and lasts for one week -- this year,
the Jews celebrated Sukkot from October 8th through October 15th -- and I
thought it would be interesting for us to take a look at this holiday in a
little more detail, especially in how it relates to water
-- the thing to remember when we study and discuss Jewish
holidays is that they usually have many reasons and meanings for their
celebration -- in the case of Sukkot, there is both a historical, agricultural,
and spiritual meaning wrapped up with this holiday
-- Sukkot derives its name from a Hebrew word that means
"booths," referring to the temporary structures the Jews lived in
while they wandered in the wilderness after leaving Egypt -- so the Jews celebrate this
holiday to remember the time their ancestors were in the wilderness
-- the way they do this is virtually unchanged since
biblical times -- the people make booths -- temporary shelters -- that they
live in and eat in during the week of Sukkot -- traditionally, the booths were
put on the roofs of the homes in Israel -- remember that the roofs of most
homes were flat and open to catch the evening breezes, and they would build
their booths on the roof and enjoy the pleasant fall evenings under the stars
-- now, most Jews build their booths in the backyard -- kind of like backyard
camping
-- according to tradition, the booths must have at least
2-1/2 sides and be made from material that grew from the earth -- tree
branches, reeds, corn stalks -- most people now build theirs in panels from
wood and then cover the outside with branches and corn stalk to resemble the
traditional booths
-- the people are encouraged to live in the booths during
the entire week of Sukkot, but if the weather is bad, they at least try to take
all their meals out in the booths
-- so that's the historical meaning of the holiday --
but, like I said, there is also an agricultural meaning -- Sukkot is a feast of
ingathering -- it is a celebration of the fall harvest -- a time to give thanks
to God for the bounty He has provided
-- so once the booths are constructed, they are decorated
with symbols of the harvest, like squash and corn and pumpkins -- the decorated
booths of Sukkot remind you of Thanksgiving decorations -- they look very
similar
-- in fact, despite what you were taught in school, there
is good evidence the pilgrims got their idea of celebrating Thanksgiving from
the biblical tradition of Sukkot -- both occur in the fall -- both celebrate
the harvest and give thanks to God -- both decorate in similar manners -- both
involved meals eaten outside
-- but the major meaning of the Sukkot holiday I want us
to think about is the spiritual meaning -- Sukkot begins five days after Yom
Kippur, the Day of Atonement -- and, as you probably know, Yom Kippur is a day
of fasting and of sorrow -- it is a day when you confess yours sins before God
-- when you admit you have sinned and you commit to repenting of your sin --
from turning away from evil and turning to God -- it is on Yom Kippur that the
annual sacrifice of sin was made for the nation of Israel
-- but while Yom Kippur is a day of solemnity -- a day of
sorrow and seriousness -- it is followed by Sukkot, which is a time of joy and
praise and thanksgiving -- for joy must follow repentance as God's grace and
mercy washes over us and our relationship with God is restored
-- one of the events of Sukkot is the Celebration of
Water-Drawing and the water offering at the altar -- historically, when
sacrifices were made in the temple, wine was offered and poured on the altar as
part of the celebration -- during Sukkot, water was also poured over the altar
in a special joyful ceremony celebrated with music and dancing and singing all
night
-- on the last day of the Feast of Sukkot, the priests
would lead a procession of worshipers to the stream that flowed south of the
temple in Jerusalem within the walls of the city -- making their way to the
Pool of Siloam, through which the stream flowed
-- men holding shofars would line the procession route
and would sound them loudly as the priests passed along the route and then
walked down the steps to the pool -- once there, the priest would kneel at the
pool and draw three "logs" of water -- about two quarts -- from the
pool
-- the next morning, the people would gather in the outer
court to celebrate the offering of the water -- there were two holes in the
altar for liquid offerings -- a larger hole where wine was poured and a smaller
hole reserved for the water offering of Sukkot
-- as the priest approached the altar, he would lift the
ceremonial jug high above him so all in the crowd could see, and then he would
pour out the water offering on the altar -- as he did that, the people would
wave palm branches and shout the words of Psalm 118:25-26:
"Save us, we pray, O LORD!
O LORD, we pray, let us thrive!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD!
We bless you from the house of the LORD."
-- the people would also recite the words from Isaiah we
opened with this morning -- look back at that passage with me
Isaiah 12:2-3 (NIV)
2 Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The LORD,
the LORD, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation."
3 With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.
-- it's important
to note that both of these passages can be considered Messianic -- both of them
point to the Messiah -- the Hebrew word for salvation used in the Isaiah
passage is Yeshua -- this is also the
Hebrew name for Jesus -- in fact, that's probably what He was called when He
lived on earth -- we call Him "Jesus" because that is the Latin
translation of the Greek form of the Hebrew word "Yeshua" or Joshua
-- and it's interesting to note the people would wave
palm branches and say, "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the
Lord," from Psalm 118, just as they did on Palm Sunday when Jesus rode
into Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives
-- the tradition of the water offering is not in the
Bible, but it is part of the religious tradition of the people of Israel,
supposedly passed on from Moses -- the significance of the act is going to the
living water of God and drawing deep from His presence and His revelation and
His life -- an act made possible following the repentance and restoration of
Yom Kippur
Talmud recorded that
"one who had never witnessed the Rejoicing at the Place of the Water
Drawing had never seen true joy in his life."
-- if you would, turn over to John 7 and we'll end there
-- John 7:37-41
John 7:37-41 (NIV)
37 On the last and greatest
day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "If anyone is
thirsty, let him come to me and drink.
38 Whoever believes in
me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within
him."
39 By this he meant the
Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time
the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.
40 On hearing his words,
some of the people said, "Surely this man is the Prophet."
41 Others said, "He
is the Christ." Still others asked, "How can the Christ come from Galilee?
-- when John tells us Jesus stood up on the last and
greatest day of the Feast, this would have occurred during the water drawing
celebration and offering -- as the people waved their palm branches and recited
Messianic passages from Isaiah and the Psalms, Jesus stood up and cried out in
a loud voice
-- this was not just a quiet teaching among His disciples
-- He didn't do this as a Bible study while sitting on the steps of the temple
-- no, He stood up and in the midst of the crowd -- as the water was being
lifted high and the people were celebrating -- Jesus stood up and said,
"You are celebrating Me -- that water you are lifting up represents Me --
if anyone is thirsty, come to Me and drink deep -- come to Me, the Living
Water, and be refreshed for eternity -- come to Me and drink of Me and streams
of Living Water will flow from you"
-- when the people heard Jesus say this, they recognized
God in their midst -- some of them said He was the Prophet promised by Moses --
this Prophet was understood by some to be the prophet who would proceed the
coming of the Messiah, while others believed the Prophet to be a description of
the Messiah Himself -- we know today it was referring to the Messiah since John
the Baptist said he was not the Prophet prophesied by Moses
-- others heard what Jesus said and they got it right
away -- in verse 41 we read these people proclaimed Jesus was the Messiah
-- this promise Jesus made to the people during the water
drawing ceremony and offering -- that if we come and drink of Him we will be
filled with rivers of living water -- this promise is true for us today
-- as George Whitten writes, "Our Messiah is the
same yesterday, today and forever. -- He did not promise a sprinkling or a tiny
stream. -- He promised rivers of living water."
-- this promise is fulfilled in our lives in two ways --
first, as the passage from Isaiah 12 we opened with said, "with joy you
will draw water from the wells of salvation" -- to come and drink from
Jesus, the Living Water, is to draw water from the wells of salvation -- to
drink of Jesus is to come to faith in Him as our Lord and Savior -- to trust
fully in His atoning death on the cross and His victory over sin proclaimed through
His resurrection on the third day
-- but notice Jesus said this is "living" water
-- this water is alive -- it is flowing -- it is rushing -- we have already
talked about the fact we need water to live -- cool, clean water -- pure water
-- and so we must go back to this fount of living water if we are to remain
alive in Christ
-- one thing His living water does for us is cleanse us
of impurity -- as we walk in this world, we continually get dirty -- we pick up
filth and evil and sin -- we do things we shouldn't do and they contaminate our
souls -- and so we go to the living water and the water washes us clean -- it
purifies us from our impurities -- it cleanses us of our unrighteousness
-- every day, we should go to this living water and drink
deep of Jesus -- every day, we should go and drink from His life -- every day,
we should renew ourselves with His cool, clean water
-- let us pray
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