Sukkot: Fruit, a Contemplative Exercise

There is fruit in every believer. 

During Sukkot the people of Israel were to dwell in temporary dwellings. (Leviticus 23:33-43)

 “39 ‘On exactly the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the crops of the land, you shall celebrate the feast of the Lord for seven days, with a rest on the first day and a rest on the eighth day. 40 Now on the first day you shall take for yourselves the foliage of beautiful trees, palm branches and boughs of leafy trees and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days. 41 You shall thus celebrate it as a feast to the Lord for seven days in the year. It shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations; you shall celebrate it in the seventh month. 42 You shall live in booths for seven days; all the native-born in Israel shall live in booths, 43 so that your generations may know that I had the sons of Israel live in booths when I brought them out from the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.’”

No one was to appear before the Lord empty handed. ( Deuteronomy 16:16)

“16 ‘Three times in a year all your males shall appear before the Lord your God in the place which He chooses, at the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Passover) and at the Feast of Weeks (Shavuot/Pentecost) and at the Feast of Booths, (Sukkot) and they shall not appear before the Lord empty-handed.’”

Sukkot is the feast of the latter harvest. (Leviticus 23:39) In particular, Fruit is brought to Jerusalem as part of the offering to the Lord.

“39 ‘On exactly the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the crops of the land, you shall celebrate the feast of the Lord for seven days, with a rest on the first day and a rest on the eighth day.’”

A Sukkot Drash (Illumination)

Temporary dwellings

The present life is temporary. Our lives are filled with temporary dwellings—work places, houses, shopping malls and yes, even church buildings. The fruit believers bring to G-d to adorn these temporary dwellings is the fruit of the Holy Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is eternal. It will seed more fruit and fill not only our lives but also the lives of others, now and into future generations, l’dor v’dor.

Empty handed or fruit filled?

As followers of Messiah, we are unable to appear before God empty handed, because Messiah lives in us by His Ruach ha-Kodesh—Holy Spirit—and the Holy Spirit bears fruit in us.When we become followers of Messiah we are given The Holy Spirit.

“For we know how dearly G-d loves us, because He has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.”
Romans 5:5

The Holy Spirit bears fruit in us…

“The fruit of the Holy Spirit is: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”
Galatians 5:22-23

This fruit is not something we can make happen. It is produced from the tree of the Holy Spirit in us. We see this fruit in our lives and the lives of others, not by creating it ourselves but by cultivating an intimate relationship with God, through Messiah and in His Holy Spirit.

There is fruit in every believer.

The enemy wants to tell us that there is no fruit in us. He hopes to miss direct us into hiding away in shame, so that the fruit in us will not benefit others.

G-d on the other hand, wants to encourage us to see the fruit of the Holy Spirit that is in us. So that we are set free to unashamedly present that fruit to the world. Why? So that by consuming this good fruit, the world will be drawn to G-d’s Son Yeshua the Messiah, and reconciled to G-d.

Every believer exhibits the fruit of the Spirit who lives within us. In a very tangible way, we become that fruit.

“love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”

Halakhah -- The Way We Walk

Take some time to read through the list of the fruits of the Ruach ha-Kodesh—Holy Spirit. Read it carefully at least three times. Consider each fruit. Picture the fruit it most reminds you off. Perhaps lemon reminds you of the zesty delight of joy?

Love – ahava –אהב  

Joy – simcha –   שׂמחה

Peace – shalom – שׁלום

Patience – savlanoot – סבלנות 

Kindness – chesed – חסד

Goodness – tov – טוב

Faithfulness – emunah –    אמנה 

Gentleness – anavah –   ענוה

Self-control – shelyitah eytzmiyt –   שליטה עצמית 

Take some quiet time before G-d. Surround yourself with a tallit or blanket, close a door or find a peace-filled place in the garden. Ask G-d our Abba (Daddy) this one question:

“What fruit of Your Holy Spirit do you see in me?”

Simply listen, He will answer you. Write down the fruit or fruits He speaks into your heart and mind.

As you consider your fruit, consider also the fruit of the lives of other believers who you know well, remind yourself that the fruit you see in another believer is reflected in your own life. In return, the fruit that has been seen in you is being reflected in their lives. Rewrite the fruit or fruits that the Ruach ha-Kodesh has shown you onto small squares of paper and pin them to the wall, attach them to a bathroom mirror or magnetize them to your fridge. Keep this fruit before you so that you don’t forget who you are becoming in Messiah.

Speak the name of the fruit you’ve been given to yourself—saying, “the fruit of …… has been seen in me.” Say it three times. Then thank G-d for the gift of His Holy Spirit in you.

© 2014 Yaakov Brown