SUCCOTH, A TEMPORARY PLACE

 

A city, east of the Jordan River in the territory of Gad, about 30 miles north of the Dead Sea, is a very important little piece of land. It is important because, it is a part of Bible history. On the way back to Canaan, after Jacob had ended his exile from his family, in fear of his brother Esau’s anger against him from Jacob having stolen his birthright; Jacob built himself a temporary place to live and made booths for his cattle, and he called the place Succoth. Succoth was not a place that Jacob intended to stay forever. But to only dwell for a short time, until he could make amends with his brother Esau, for having wronged him. Succoth appears in a number of places in the Bible, as a physical location, and even as one of the Feasts that the Children of Israel were commanded to keep and celebrate throughout their generations.

 

Today, the place that used to be known as Succoth is part of the country of Jordan. There is a two-fold meaning for this little name; Succoth. It has both a spiritual and a practical meaning to God’s people. Because of its importance, it was a  Biblical Mandate to remember it and celebrate it as such. The exodus from Egypt by the Children of Israel is probably the most significant event in the history of the Israelite people. In fact, many Judaic festivals owe their origins to this event. After the Children of Israel departed from Egypt in route to the Promised Land, they wandered in the wilderness for 40 years. During their nomadic wanderings, they too dwelt in these small temporary booths and shelters like the ones in Succoth.

 

 For the child of God today, Succoth should represent to us, and be a physical reminder that this world is not our home. We are only here for a very short time.  It should also remind us that Succoth  has a spiritual aspect as well, and remind us that we should consider the places that we often end up at in our lives, as little plots of Succoth. Temporary places that were not intended for permanent dwellings or places to stay. Just temporary places, until the Lord opens up for us clarity to move on from the place we may be for a time. Because of the hardness of their hearts where they ended up in the dessert, many Jews died there, never seeing the promised land that was intended for them, while others eventually moved out, and into the land that God had promised.

 

You see Succoth represents to the believer that our time frame is not always Gods, and it is always best to stay at the place we may be at, until God instructs us to move on to the next phase of our lives. Like the patriarch Abraham, Gideon also was a great example of waiting on God. Gideon stepped out of his comfort zone where he was, as Abraham did, not having all the answers he may have wanted and obeyed God, even though he may have been a little skeptical about what he was ask to do. When we step out of our comfort zones at the leading of the Lord, He doesn’t expect us to remain comfortable; that’s the whole point. If it wasn’t uncomfortable then we’ve merely stepped from one comfort zone into another. The idea is that we do uncomfortable things in faith. That is what faith is. So never think, that you aren’t demonstrating sufficient faith when facing a grueling challenge, and you have fears and worries along the way.

 

If you ask any soldier who has ever been in combat if they were afraid, they will tell you “absolutely, they were!” What they had to learn was to control that fear in order to function, not dismiss it. Even so, Gideon would have to appear sure and confident among his men because, nothing frightens soldiers more, than to have a wavering leader. We can trust God’s leading, for He never wavers and our faith in Him will move us from our temporary places to the places of better dwellings.

 

As I said, we should always consider the places that we oftentimes end up at as little plots of Succoth. Simple places that were not intended for permanent dwellings or places to stay. But temporary places until the Lord opens up for us clarity to move on from the place we may be for a time. Into a better place, a place of promise!

Hold Fast,

Bren