Today we are celebrating the “Harvest thanksgiving Service ,” and I would like to bring some biblical reflections on the multiple harvest festivals mentioned in the Bible.
The Jewish Festivals were instituted as part of the covenant at Sinai (Exodus 23:14-19) and were to be observed by the entire nation. These solemn feasts, also called Holy Convocations, were instituted by God for the people to reflect on His goodness and remember the great deeds of the Lord throughout the nation’s history.
In Leviticus 23, we see God commanding His people to celebrate these festivals, each carrying significant meaning for the Jewish people and also for us Christians. These biblical feasts are all related to the manifestations of Jesus on earth and in His church.
Unfortunately, we do not study these topics much, but today I would like to shed some light on it.
In Spring time, there are four festivals: Passover (Pesach), Unleavened Bread (Matzot), First Fruits (Bikkurim), and Pentecost (Shavuot).
For instance, Jesus died during the “Passover” because He is our Passover Lamb (1 Corinthians 5:7-8), sacrificed for the remission of our sins. Jesus rose on the first day of the “Feast of First Fruits” (1 Corinthians 15:20-22) because He represents the first-fruits, the first to rise from the dead. Just as He did, we will also one day rise and receive a glorified body like His.
During these feasts, the Jews had to present the first fruits of their barley harvest.
When the Holy Spirit first came upon the early church, it was during the “Feast of Pentecost,” the Jewish festival celebrating the receiving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. After being set free from Egypt, the Jewish people were in the desert when God manifested Himself with fire on Mount Sinai. In this same way, when the Holy Spirit descended upon the church during Pentecost, He appeared as tongues of fire (Acts 2:1-3).
During this festival, the wheat harvest was presented before God.
These four Spring festivals represent phases of the church life that have already been fulfilled through the life of Jesus and the establishment of the church, as they represent our salvation and the beginning of the Christian journey.
There are also Autumn festivals, which represent phases that have not yet been fulfilled, as they speak of the second coming of Jesus. The Autumn festivals start seven months after Passover, which are connected to the Messianic return of Jesus: the “Feast of Trumpets,” the “Day of Atonement,” and the “Feast of Tabernacles.”
The “Feast of Trumpets” is celebrated annually in Israel and is a time when God calls His people to sanctification and reflection on the past year.
Ten days after the “Feast of Trumpets” comes the “Day of Atonement,” or Yom Kippur, a day of fasting and repentance. Through repentance, they believe that one’s name is written in the Book of Life, and so they live another year in God’s presence because they have repented from their sins. As Christians, we know that through repentance and the blood of Christ, our names are already written in the Book of Life, but we must continue to sanctify and repent, not only on “Yom Kippur” but every day.
Five days after the “Day of Atonement,” the “Feast of Tabernacles” begins, where the final harvest of grapes, olives, figs, dates, and pomegranates are brought before the Lord as a thanksgiving offering. This is the most joyous festival in Israel, also known as “Sukkot” or the “Feast of Tabernacles” (by the way, the Feast of Tabernacles will start next week in Israel, from October 16th to 23rd).
For the Jewish people, this is a feast of gratitude and celebration, where they build booths outside their homes to remember the time they lived in the desert and how God dwelt with them in the tabernacle. They celebrate the end of the harvest and remember God’s care during the desert journey when, for 40 years, their clothes did not wear out, and their sandals did not break. This feast also represents the “Marriage of the Lamb,” where the Lord takes His church to dwell with Him. The Jews expect the Lord to come and dwell with them, believing that the Messiah is still to come for the first time.
Interestingly, according to several scholars, Jesus was born during the Feast of Tabernacles (not at Christmas time). He has already come once and will return a second time, and it is likely it’ll be during this same season, according to various prophecies from the Old and New Testament.
Every Jewish feast has a meaning for the past, a meaning for the present, and one for the future, just as our God is the same yesterday, today, and forever!
These biblical festivals remind us of what God has done in our lives in the past, caring for us while we wander and suffer in the “desert” of life. They also remind us of His care today and our hope of dwelling with Him eternally. Jesus came and dwelt among us and will soon return to take us to live with Him.
Let’s read John 1:14 “And the Word (Christ) became flesh (human, incarnate) and tabernacled (fixed His tent of flesh, lived awhile) among us; and we [actually] saw His glory (His honour, His majesty), such glory as an only begotten son receives from his father, full of grace (favour, loving-kindness) and truth. [Isa. 40:5.]” John 1:14 AMP
John 14: 2-3
“In My Father’s house there are many dwelling places (homes). If it were not so, I would have told you; for I am going away to prepare a place for you. And when (if) I go and make ready a place for you, I will come back again and will take you to Myself, that where I am you may be also.”
During these past few days, as we have been preparing to celebrate the “Harvest Festival,” the Lord reminded me that the Bible also speaks of the “Feasts of Harvest,” one of which is the “Feast of Tabernacles” or “Sukkot” (Leviticus 23:39-43).
The Bible says that this is a feast where all nations that are living in Israel should dwell in booths and celebrate with great joy. In verse 40, it says to take branches of trees and rejoice before the Lord. Just as the Passover meal has its physical elements like bread and wine, which we use in communion to represent Christ’s body and blood shed on the cross, the Feast of Tabernacles also has several tangible elements, each with full of spiritual significance.
In conclusion, I would like us to study one of the elements used in the Feast of Tabernacles, which is the four different plants which form an obligatory part of the rite of Sukkot mentioned in verse 40 and look at its meaning according to Jewish tradition and the Bible’s spiritual perspective.
In the Orthodox version of the Bible, we see the names of the plants used in this part of the feast. I can assure you that in Israel, they follow this text precisely.
And ye shall take you on the Yom HaRishon the fruit of the citron tree, branches of temarim (date palms), and twigs of plaited trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before Hashem Eloheichem shivat yamim.” Leviticus 23:40.
Leviticus 23:40 speaks of four types of trees, and in Jewish tradition, each one has a meaning:
- Etrog (Citron) – produces fruit and fragrance.
- Lulav (Palm) – produces fruit but has no fragrance.
- Hadassim (Myrtle) – has fragrance but bears no fruit.
- Aravot (Willow) – neither bears fruit nor has fragrance.
These four types of trees symbolise the four types of people in the world— just as Jesus compares people to types of soil where the seeds are planted in Matthew 13.
Let’s first look at the “Etrog” or Citron.
Jesus, in Matthew 13:8-23, in the Parable of the Sower, speaks of people who bear fruit a hundredfold, sixtyfold, and thirtyfold and who spread the essence of God through their lives. They receive the Word and put it into practice. In this same way, as Christians, we are called to be like the “Etrog,” bearing fruit and exuding fragrance.
There is also the second type of people, represented by the “Lulav” or Palm/ Date tree. In Matthew 13:7,22, Jesus compares this person to one who receive the seeds, but let it grow among thorns that choke the plants until they die. This illustrates how some begin well with God, but worldly pleasures steal their attention, and they do not remain faithful. They may bear fruit at first, but they do not persist, and they lack fragrance—God’s presence is no longer evident in their lives.
The third component in the bundle of plants used in the Feast of Tabernacles is the “Hadassim” (Myrtle), which has fragrance but bears no fruit. This represents people who appear to be Christians but do not bear fruit and have hidden sins in their lives. In Matthew 13:5-6,20-21, Jesus describes in verse 21 ‘ Yet it has no real root in him, but is temporary (inconstant, lasts but a little while); and when affliction or trouble or persecution comes on account of the Word, at once he is caused to stumble [he is repelled and begins to distrust and desert Him Whom he ought to trust and obey] and he falls away.’ Matthew 13:21
These people who try their best to exhale the right fragrance cannot bear fruit because they lack deep connection with God.
The last of the plants is the “Aravot” (Willow), which neither bears fruit nor exudes fragrance. This represents the hard soil where no seed can growth (Matthew 13:4,19). These people have no experience with God; they hear the Word, but their hearts are hard and rebellious, and there is no repentance or transformation.
During the Feast of Tabernacles, when Jews pray with this bundle of four species, they point to the four corners of the earth, asking God to bless everyone. We know that there are people who exude a good fragrance and bear fruit, but there are also those like Martha, who bear fruit (they work for God) but lack fragrance because they do not spend time at the Lord’s feet. Others may have fragrance but do not bear fruit—they enjoy coming to church and praise the Lord, but they do not get involved or work for the Kingdom. And there are those who have neither fragrance nor fruit, who hear the Word and immediately let it be stolen by the enemy and human philosophy because their hearts still close/ “hardened heart.”.
Our desire and goal should to be like the Etrog, to be fruitful and exude the sweet fragrance of Christ. May your heart turn to the Lord of the Harvest during this harvest festival. Reflect on the condition of your heart and prepare yourself to meet the Lord.
I understand that the end of every year (and in the Bible, the year ends with the final harvests) is an opportunity for us to reflect and reassess the condition of our hearts.
The Seven Jewish Feasts are a reminder that God has a plan for the history of humanity.
Jesus Christ is the fulfilment of these prophecies and the centre of our faith.
The church (you and I) must be attentive to the prophecies of the return of Jesus Christ. We should live a godly life and be ready for His return.
For the Lord is coming back. He went to prepare a place for us to live with Him, but that place is for a people who love Him and truly desire to be united with Him like the “Etrog,” been fruitful and exuding fragrance of Christ.