Feast of Tabernacles: Water Ceremony

Feasts of Israel Series: Part 27

We only see Jesus once during the Feast of Tabernacles, and it’s during the water ceremony in Gospel of John.

In the beginning of the seventh chapter, Jesus’ brothers rather mockingly encourage Him to go to Jerusalem and show Himself to the world. If He was, as some believed, the promised Son of David, this would surely be the moment to prove it by taking up His crown during the Feast of Tabernacles. (See Feast of Tabernacles: the Kingdom.) Instead, Jesus arrives secretly a bit later, because it was not yet His time to appear as King (John 7:1–9).

The ritual of water pouring connected to the Feast of Tabernacles isn’t mentioned in the Old Testament. It was added to the festivities long after the wilderness years. If you’re ready to get up early to participate, let’s drop in on the city of Jerusalem during the feast in Jesus’ day.

Water Poured Out

As the morning sacrifice is being prepared, we follow a priest carrying a golden pitcher away from the Temple. He leads our parade of palm-waving worshippers to the pool of Siloam where he dips the vessel into the pool and fills it with water. Carrying it back into the Temple, he circles the altar once before pouring the water out at its base. He will repeat this ritual each morning of the feast.

He does this in response to scriptures such as Isaiah 12:3. “Therefore with joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.” ¹

Joy is especially appropriate during the Feast of Tabernacles (see Feast of Tabernacles: a Human Harvest). Water, too, seems equally fitting. In the natural, the coming early and latter-day rains promise to soften the soil and support a great fruitfulness for the harvest cycle to come.

While water often symbolizes the Word of God (Ref) in Scripture, in this case, it’s a plea for God to pour out His Spirit over the harvest of His people (see Feast of Tabernacles: a Human Harvest). This expectation is because of prophetic words such as the following:

“Fear not, O Jacob My servant; and you, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen. For I will pour water on him who is thirsty, and floods on the dry ground; I will pour My Spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on your offspring; they will spring up among the grass like willows by the watercourses” (Isaiah 44:2–4 NKJV).

“And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh. . . . And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days” (Joel 2:28–29 NKJV).

The ritual called for the water to be drawn from the Pool of Siloam–a word meaning “sent” or “sent one” according to John 9:7. Whether the patriarchs knew it or not, they included a detail that implied God’s Spirit poured out would come from “the Sent One.” It was a clear message that Messiah—the coming King and Son of David–would be the source of God’s spiritual out-pouring.

Jesus and Water

The water ceremony changes slightly on the seventh day of the feast. So let’s return to the temple where our scene opens in John 7:37–38. This morning initiates what’s known as “the Great Day of the Feast.” The priest is just returning from the Pool of Siloam with his golden pitcher. He begins his trip around the altar and keeps going until he’s circled it seven times! With each circuit, our accompanying hosannas grow louder as we shake our palm branches toward the altar.

The priest finishes his final revolution and the sound of our praise is reaching a deafening pitch. At last, he begins to tip the golden pitcher and water flows out. We lift our voices still louder as we reach the final verses of our praise:

“Open to me the gates of righteousness; I will go through them, and I will praise the Lord. This is the gate of the Lord, through which the righteous shall enter. I will praise You, for You have answered me, and have become my salvation. The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This was the Lord’s doing; It is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. Save now, I pray, O Lord; O Lord, I pray, send now prosperity. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! We have blessed you from the house of the Lord. God is the Lord, and He has given us light; bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar. You are my God, and I will praise You; You are my God, I will exalt You. Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever” (Psalm 118:19–29 NKJV).

Just then, Jesus lifts His voice above the roar of the crowd. “If anyone thirsts,” He cries, “let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water” (John 7:37–38 NKJV).

Everyone’s mouth snaps shut in stunned silence. “It’s Him,” someone breathes to our right. “The Christ. The Sent One.”

“Bah!” says another. “Can’t be. He’s from Galilee.”

There’s confusion, division in the crowd. Where are the temple guards? They should be arresting Jesus. He has interrupted a holy ceremony. But they’re as befuddled as we are and return to their overseers emptyhanded. They’re asked for an explanation for their failure. All they can do is gasp, “No man ever spoke like this Man!” (John 7:46 NKJV)

What Does it Mean?

Let’s pause a moment to take in what just happened.

Consider the words from Psalm 118:25–known as the Great Hosanna. “Save now, I pray, O Lord; O Lord, I pray, send now prosperity.” The word “save” in Hebrew is yeshua—Jesus’ name. So is the word “salvation.” Throughout their prayers asking for salvation, they’d been uttering the name of Jesus.

When Isaiah told them to draw waters from “the wells of salvation,” it was Messiah he talked about (Isaiah 12:3). And there, attending His final Feast of Tabernacles before His crucifixion, stood the very salvation for which they cried. The Sent One was saying yes. He would indeed pour out His life-giving Spirit into their thirsty souls. More than that, He would cause that same Spirit to well up from within them to pour out again—not pitcher by pitcher this time, but river after overflowing river.

What have you done with Jesus’ cry from the Temple? Have you recognized Him as the answer to your prayers? He wants to fill your dry and dusty heart with water. Open wide your mouth and let Him pour His Spirit in.

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1. Alfred Edersheim, The Temple: its Ministry and Services as they were at the time of Jesus Christ (Arcadia Press 2017, 1874) 99.