THE WATER POURING CEREMONY (HOSHANA RABA)
At one point during the Old Testament days the ancient People of God began a tradition. They called the new tradition “water drawing.”
This Water Drawing part of the Feast of Tabernacles is typically carried out in the evenings.
DURNG FEAST OF TABERNACLES
The Priests would receive the water drawn from the pool of Siloam. Typically the water was drawn in the evenings. They would keep this water to pour over the altar every morning during the Feast of Tabernacles.
A PRAYER FOR RAIN
This “water pouring” worked like a prayer for rain. It was offered so that the crops for the coming year would be abundant in the land.
Today, the ceremony still serves as a prayer for abundance in the land. However, we are praying more for “spiritual rain” than “physical rain.”
We want God to rain down His Holy Spirit to the earth. It is hoped He will give this gift in great abundance during the next year. We make this request so that there will be a great spiritual harvest for God’s Kingdom.
PRAYERS FOR HEALING FOR THE NATIONS
During the Water Drawing Ceremony we will be offering many prayers for the healing of our nation. Also, we will be praying for all nations of the earth.
As each evening commences, the shofars blast the sound that signals the time is right. The water-bearers stand with the people waiting at The Water Gate. Then the water is drawn and taken to the Temple.
A TIME OF GREAT JOY
It was taken up to the Temple with songs of Psalms and praises. The Water Drawing was done with great joy.
The Prophet Isaiah wrote about this event. His words, found in Isaiah 23:3 were; “with joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.” As the people drew the water they were also praying for salvation.
This day is sometimes called Hoshana Raba which means “Great Salvation” in Hebrew.
The Talmud says, “if you have never experienced the water drawing ceremony, you have never truly experienced joy!”
ANCIENT DISCRIPTION OF THE CEREMONY
Here is a passage from the Talmud describing The Water Ceremony in detail:
“He who has not seen the rejoicing at the place of the water-drawing has never seen rejoicing in his life.
“At the conclusion of the first festival day of Tabernacles they descended to the court of the women. There they made a great enactment. There were three golden candlesticks with four golden bowls on the top of each of them. And there were four ladders to each. There were four youths drawn from the priestly stock in whose hands were held jars of oil. Also, there was not a courtyard in Jerusalem that was not illumined by the lights of the water-drawing.“
SINGING SONGS OF ASCENT
“Men of piety and good deeds used to dance before them. They danced with lighted torches in their hands. The men sang songs and praises. Levites without number with harps, lyres, cymbals and trumpets and other musical instruments were there. They were upon the fifteen steps leading down from the court of the Israelites to the court of the women. This was corresponding to the fifteen songs of ascents in the psalms…” (Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Sukkah 51a and 51b)
MESSIAH WITH LIVING WATER
This prayer ceremony was very common in the days when Yeshua walked the earth. On this day we hear of Yeshua going to the Temple Mount. At that place He was telling the people He could give them living water.
Here are the words of scripture from John 7:37-38 which record this fact:
On the last and greatest day of the festival Jesus stood. He said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them. (John 7:37-38)
SALVATION AND ETERNAL LIFE
We need to consider why Jesus went to the Temple and proclaimed this to the people.
What exactly was happening?
Hint: This was like an open proposal from the KING OF KINGS to his Bride, The Church. He was saying; “Come and live with me and I will bring you Salvation and eternal life.”
To understand this further, we have to go all the way back to one of the stories found in Genesis.
A SIGN FROM GOD
In Genesis, Chapter 24, Abraham’s servant, Eliezer takes an oath to go back to Abraham’s home land. He is going to seek a wife for Isaac (Abraham and Sarah’s beloved son.)
When Eliezer arrived in Nahor, the home of Abraham’s relatives, he prayed for God to give him a sign. He asked YHVH to let him know which one of the young maidens would be the right wife for Isaac. Eliezer asked God to let her be the one who offered to give him a drink. To be even more certain, he asked that she would water his camels.
Of course we all know the story. Rebekah came along and did exactly what Eliezer had requested of God. She did all things that Eliezer prayed Isaac’s future bride would do.
MARRYING INTO THE GREAT FAMILY
This smart young girl married into The Great Family.
All of us have an invitation from Yeshua Messiah to do the same thing.
In addition to this story, we will want to consider another story from the New Testament. It is inside The Book of John, in Chapter 4. This is the story of the woman at the well.
THE WOMAN AT THE WELL
This story is about a woman from Samaria who approached the town well during the 6th hour of the day. It was there that she encountered Jesus, who asked her for a drink of water.
She is very surprised that a Jewish man would ask a woman from Samaria for a drink of water. Jews would normally not speak to a Samaritan, much less a Samaritan woman.
The people called Samaritans were the descendants of the ten lost tribes of Israel. They had been conquered by the Assyrians and taken into captivity. The Assyrians took away their identity as a people. They did this by moving them away from their homeland and forcing them to intermingle with other nationalities. These “other nationalities” were more people groups the Assyrians were also holding captive.
A PICTURE OF THE NATIONS
Because of their intermarriages, the Samaritans are a good picture of all of the nations of the earth. This is because so many nationalities had been mixed together in that one land.
This is definitely a picture of the Gentile nations. Rebekah was definitely an example of the Jewish nations.
Yeshua Messiah extends an invitation to all of these people groups.
Because they were of “mixed-blood,” most Jewish men considered the Samaritans to be half-breeds. They thought this to be an insult to God and Israel. All Israelites were carefully warned not to marry outside of their own nationality. Here Yeshua Messiah takes a completely different view.
LIVING WATER FOR ETERNAL LIFE
Though it wasn’t the norm for most Jewish men, Yeshua Messiah carried on a long conversation with this Samaritan woman. Their conversation ended in Yeshua Messiah telling her He could give her the “living water” that leads to eternal life.
The woman was very surprised to find out that Yeshua Messiah knew she had been married many times before. He also knew she was now living with another man who was not her husband.
She ran all the way home. On the way she was telling everyone she had met a most astounding man at the well.
The people she talked to from her village were curious. They came out to hear Yeshua Messiah too. He wound up staying with these people for two days. They were amazed at his wisdom and knowledge.
TWO WOMEN AT THE WELL
I love both of these stories.
You see, I’m truly a romantic at heart. I have come to realize that both of these women at the well were receiving a marriage proposal. One woman was a Gentile. The other woman was Jewish. Jesus loved both women and offered them the living water that comes from the Salvation which He alone can give.
We have to see that Rebekah was accepting her role as Isaac’s bride by offering Eliezer a drink of water. (She didn’t know this; but it is true all the same.) This is a beautiful picture of the marriage of God to the nation of Israel.
The other woman at the well was offered a drink by Yeshua Messiah. This drink would lead to eternal life with Him. This scene portrays a symbolic picture of Yeshua Messiah coming for His Bride, the Church. This will be a mixture of both Jews and Gentile believers.
THE GOSPEL IN THE WATER STORIES
We know that Rebekah spent a lot of extra time and attention giving Eliezar’s ten camels a drink. This action is similar to how the Gospel came to the nations through the stories of the People of Israel.
In comparison, when Yeshua Messiah met the people from the Samaritan woman’s village, He paid attention to their needs. This is comparable to how He gave the good news of The Gospel to the nations. He brought salvation to us.
The time these people spent with Yeshua Messiah must have been refreshing. Perhaps as refreshing as a long drink of pure clean water from the well.
We know and understand that Rebekah became Isaac’s beloved bride. She represents Israel in the story of God’s marriage to Israel.
This other woman, the one called the Samaritan woman, represents the nations of the world. John, Chapter 4 makes a solid point that The Messiah wants all nations to become a part of His Bride.
As Rebekah, a foreign woman, was chosen to be the wife of Isaac, the nations of the world (foreigners also) have an opportunity to become part of The Bride of Christ. One does not replace the other. Both continue the long beautiful story of The Great Family of God.
THE WATER DRAWING CEREMONY
We have seen how water from a well plays an intriguing role in the process of drawing the Bride of Christ from the nations of the world. Once again, we see the symbolism playing out in The Water Drawing Ceremony. It takes place at The Feast of Tabernacles.
Many people around the world choose to perform this ceremony while they are at the Feast. This ceremony was observed every morning during the ancient days. There was a much larger celebration that took place on the last day of the feast. Some feast goers of today choose to have such a service in their modern-times festivals.
This is a beautiful ceremony. Many incorporate sacred dancing and songs into their observances. The water and the wine are poured together. They reflect Salvation and Sanctification. The water is symbolic of God’s Holy Spirit. Additionally, the wine is symbolic of Christ’s blood which saves us. This perfect offering keeps our hearts rejoicing before God Our Father. It is very similar to a renewing of wedding vows which happebns each year.
PREPARING FOR A FUTURE
Now is the time for the Bride of Christ to prepare. It is time to get ready for a future in God’s Kingdom. In comparrison and as an annual reminder, The Water Drawing Ceremony is gathered in the evening. This is in preparation for the next day’s special offering at the alter of the Temple.
Today’s Temple is made up of our own bodies who have God’s Holy Spirit living in them. These are our “temporary dwellings” which house Gods Holy Spirit living inside of us. As we walk this earth, we carry God’s love inside our spirits. Our hearts have now become God’s altar.
The water and the wine are poured out together at The Feast of Tabernacles. This is the perfect way of knowing God is going to answer our prayers. He will bring us to the place of new wine and abundance in the coming year.
Sometimes the preparation for the ceremony does more for improving the individual celebrating than the actual ceremony itself. At the feast each year; we are preparing for what God has in store for our futures. Preparation of the hearts of the people is vitally important.
So at each Feast of Tabernacles we celebrate this future time with the Water Drawing.
BECOMING HOLY TO THE LORD
The Book of Zechariah tells us more about the culmination of the story of The Woman At The Well. It speaks of a time in the future:
Zechariah 4:16 Then all who survive from all the nations that came to attack Jerusalem will go up annually to worship the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, and to observe the Feast of Shelters.
17 But if any of the nations anywhere on earth refuse to go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, they will get no rain. 18 If the Egyptians will not do so, they will get no rain—instead there will be the kind of plague that the Lord inflicts on any nations that do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Shelters. 19 This will be the punishment of Egypt and of all nations that do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Shelters.
20 On that day the bells of the horses will bear the inscription “Holy to the Lord.” The cooking pots in the Lord’s temple will be as holy as the bowls in front of the altar. 21 Every cooking pot in Jerusalem and Judah will become holy in the sight of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, so that all who offer sacrifices may come and use some of them to boil their sacrifices in them.
On that day there will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. (Zachariah 14:16-21)
FEASTING NEAR A BODY OF WATER
One day Yeshua Messiah will reign as King of Kings. In that future time, all nations will go up to keep The Feast of Tabernacles. Those who refuse will not receive the rains they need for their crops to grow. However, those who obey will receive God’s greatest blessings.
Our family has chosen a feast sight near water this year. Living water needs to come from a spring. We are told the lake we are visiting is spring-fed. This reminds us of the Pool of Siloam in the days of The Water Ceremonies held in Jerusalem.
The water will remind us of these two precious stories which speak into our future. We will probably rent a pontoon boat large enough to float the whole family around the lake.
As we look at the water around us, we will enjoy our time together. We will definitely be remembering these stories of ancient days. Also, we will be looking forward to the future days they point us to. There will be new days of love and hope among God’s people again.
MAY THE GLORY OF GOD RAIN DOWN ON YOU AS YOU ENJOY YOUR FEAST!