Every year, families from across the country pack their tents, load their vehicles, and gather together for 10 days of worship, fellowship, and celebration. Outsiders sometimes wonder why. The answer is simple: we keep the Feast of Tabernacles because YHWH told us to.
The Feast of Tabernacles, called Sukkot in Hebrew, is not a tradition we invented. It is one of YHWH's appointed times, spoken from His own mouth and recorded in Scripture as a permanent statute. Here is the biblical foundation for why we keep it.
Leviticus 23: The Command
The foundational text for the Feast of Tabernacles is Leviticus 23, where YHWH lays out all of His appointed times, or moedim. Sukkot is the seventh and final feast on the calendar, and it carries a distinct command.
"On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the fruit of the land, you shall keep the feast of YHWH for seven days. On the first day there shall be a sabbath-rest, and on the eighth day a sabbath-rest. And you shall take for yourselves on the first day the fruit of beautiful trees, branches of palm trees, the boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook; and you shall rejoice before YHWH your Elohim for seven days. You shall keep it as a feast to YHWH for seven days in the year. It shall be a statute forever in your generations."
— Leviticus 23:39-41Three things stand out from this passage: it is a harvest celebration, it involves dwelling in temporary shelters, and it is described as a statute forever. Not a suggestion. Not a cultural custom. A permanent appointment set by the Creator Himself.
Deuteronomy 16: The Joy
In Deuteronomy 16, YHWH adds another layer to the command. He does not just tell us to keep the Feast; He tells us how to feel.
"You shall observe the Feast of Tabernacles seven days, when you have gathered from your threshing floor and from your winepress. And you shall rejoice in your feast, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, who are within your gates. For YHWH your Elohim will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that you shall surely rejoice."
— Deuteronomy 16:13-15This is the only feast where YHWH explicitly commands joy. Not solemn reflection, not fasting, but full-hearted, whole-family, inclusive rejoicing. Everyone is welcome: your children, your workers, the foreigners among you, the fatherless, the widow. Nobody is left out.
The Meaning of Dwelling in Booths
One of the most distinctive elements of Sukkot is the sukkah, a temporary shelter or booth. Scripture tells us exactly why we build them.
"You shall dwell in booths for seven days. All who are native Israelites shall dwell in booths, that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt." — Leviticus 23:42-43
The sukkah is a living memory. It connects us to the wilderness journey, where our ancestors depended entirely on YHWH for shelter, food, water, and direction. When we leave our comfortable homes and dwell in tents and temporary structures for a week, we are practicing dependence on our Creator. We are remembering that everything we have comes from Him.
The Harvest Celebration
Sukkot falls in autumn at the end of the agricultural harvest season. It is a time to look at what YHWH has produced through the work of our hands and give thanks. In ancient Israel, this was the gathering of grapes, olives, and grain. For us today, it is an opportunity to reflect on the spiritual and physical blessings of the past year and give YHWH the glory for every one.
The connection between harvest and gratitude is woven throughout Scripture. Sukkot is essentially YHWH's Thanksgiving, and it predates any national holiday by thousands of years.
Zechariah 14: The Prophetic Future
Perhaps the most powerful reason we keep the Feast of Tabernacles is found in the prophetic writings. Zechariah 14 describes a future time when all nations will be required to celebrate Sukkot.
"Then the survivors from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, YHWH Almighty, and to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles. If any of the peoples of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, YHWH Almighty, they will have no rain."
— Zechariah 14:16-17If the Feast of Tabernacles is important enough that all nations will keep it in the age to come, why would we not begin keeping it now? We do not wait for a future command when the original command is still standing. We practice now what the whole world will practice later.
What Sukkot Means for Us Today
For our community, keeping the Feast of Tabernacles is an act of obedience, gratitude, and prophetic witness. It is obedience because YHWH commanded it. It is gratitude because we celebrate His provision. And it is prophetic because we are rehearsing what all nations will one day do.
But it is also deeply personal. Sukkot is the week every year when families unplug from the noise of modern life, gather with fellow believers, sit under the stars, sing praises around campfires, and experience the tangible presence of YHWH among His people. It is the most joyful week of the year.
We have been celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles since 2010 and every year the gathering grows. New families arrive curious and leave transformed. Children grow up with the Feast as a cornerstone of their faith. Friendships forged during Sukkot become some of the deepest relationships in people's lives.
The command is clear. The joy is real. The Feast is for you.
Come Keep the Feast With Us
Sukkot 2026 runs September 25 through October 5 at South Harpeth River Retreat near Nashville, TN.
Register for Sukkot 2026Questions? Call or text us: 931-319-8270