Pearls of the Word

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The sukkah of God

by Jean-Louis Coraboeuf

"For in the day of evil He shall hide me in His shelter [soc]; in the secret places of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me up on a rock" (Psalm 27:5).

The Hebrew word soc means lair, den, booth; it gave birth to the word succah (plural succoth), the booth Jacob made to protect his cattle (Genesis 33:17). The Feast of Succoth or Feast of Booths in which Jesus participated (John 7:2), reminds us of the time that God's people remained in the desert after the Lord brought them out of Egypt, and also of his fragile condition on earth (Leviticus 23:42-43).

The soc or succah has a roof of branches allowing the sky to be seen. Then, for seven days, Jews party before the Lord (Leviticus 23:34) and invite each day a different honorary guest. For us, as Christians in the succah of God, Jesus Christ is our permanent honorary guest (Matthieu 28:20).