In Old Testament times under the Law of Moses there was a particular feast called the Feast of Tabernacles, or Sukkot. It was one of three required feasts, along with Passover (and Unleavened Bread) and Feast of Weeks or Pentecost. Feast of Tabernacles was really the biggest event, even though Passover gets more attention in our culture, and was called simply The Feast.
The Lord said, "Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths: That your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God" (Leviticus 23: 42-43). Thus, it's significant that this becomes a commemoration of Israel's deliverance from Egypt, the house of bondage (Exodus 20: 2).
As a recovering alcoholic and addict, I perk up whenever I see the words bondage or deliverance in the scriptures, since that speaks of addiction and recovery. Addicts like me should pay close attention to the events of the Feast of Tabernacles. What lessons is the Lord teaching here?
For one, I believe the Lord is setting up a type for recovery in that He invites the recovering addict to feast at the table of the Lord and to prepare to enter His holy temple. The booths and the tabernacle are both forerunners to the temple which will later be built in the Promised Land. The booths and tabernacle are a kind of portable temple and a place of refuge from the storm (see Isaiah 4: 6).
There are many reasons scriptural scholars believe King Benjamin's speech was given during the Feast of Tabernacles. Here are a few of the ideas linking this event with Sukkot.
1. The king in Israel would give a speech patterned after the requirements given in Deuteronomy 17: 14-20 at the Feast of Tabernacles. Benjamin actually quotes from these verses where it states that the king should not "multiply to himself silver and gold" (see Deuteronomy 17: 17 and Mosiah 2: 12). He reverses the order of "silver and gold" to "gold nor silver" according to Seidel's Law where someone quoting an earlier writer inverts the order. This is a typical Hebrew writing style. The king should not be "lifted up above his brethren" (Deuteronomy 17: 20). This is a recurring theme in Benjamin's speech. Moses commanded, "At the end of every seven years, in the solemnity of the year of release, in the feast of tabernacles, When all Israel is come to appear before the Lord thy God in the place which he shall choose, thou shalt read this law before all Israel in their hearing" (Deuteronomy 31: 10-11).
2. This gathering at the temple to hear King Benjamin had to correspond with one of the three required feasts where all Israel is gathered (see Deuteronomy 16:16). The Feast of Weeks was a single day event, although it later was changed to a multiple-day celebration, so this gathering basically has to be at Passover or Feast of Tabernacles, since the people pitched tents (or tabernacles) to stay overnight.
3. Tent and tabernacle are used interchangeably in Hebrew. Both are translated from the Hebrew word ohel.
4. The number of required sacrifices was doubled at the Feast of Tabernacles (see Numbers 29: 12-38). In the Book of Mormon immediately after it mentions the large crowd assembled, it states, "And they also took of the firstlings of their flocks, that they might offer sacrifice and burnt offerings according to the law of Moses" (Mosiah 2:3).
5. The feast had a principal theme of overwhelming joy and thanksgiving. An Isaiah reference to the water libation where water is poured over the altar of the temple, creating a river running down the steps, states, "Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation" (Isaiah 12:3). One of the reasons given for the assembly is, "And also that they might give thanks to the Lord their God, who had brought them out of the land of Jerusalem, and who had delivered them out of the hands of their enemies, and had appointed just men to be their teachers, and also a just man to be their king" (Mosiah 2: 4). Notice again the theme of deliverance. Many Bible scholars believe the early Pilgrims got the idea of a Thanksgiving celebration from this feast in the Bible. In Mosiah chapter 3, Benjamin quotes an angel who said he was "sent . . . to declare unto thee that thou mayest rejoice; and that thou mayest declare unto thy people, that they may also be filled with joy" (Mosiah 3: 4).
6. The mention of women and children gathered together as families has ties to the Book of Nehemiah, where a "congregation both of men and women, and all that could hear with understanding" were gathered to hear the book of the law delivered by Ezra, the priest at the Feast of Tabernacles (Nehemiah 8:2).
7. Also, at this public reading of the law in Nehemiah held during Sukkot, Ezra stands "above the people" on a pulpit of wood. King Benjamin erects a tower to speak to the people (Nehemiah 8:4-5 and Mosiah 2:7-8).
8. The booths were made from branches of trees. In Nehemiah 8:15 it mentions olive branches, a type of Gethsemane (the "oil press"), and palm branches which were waved at the Feast of Tabernacles as the people chanted "Hosanna" (see Bible Dictionary, "Hosanna"). The palms symbolize victory and are mentioned at the dedicatory prayer of the Kirtland Temple (see D&C 109: 76). The booths were made from a framework of branches. King Benjamin speaks of his own "mortal frame" being yielded up to its "mother earth" (Mosiah 2: 26). The tabernacles (or tents) were built from trees coming from "mother earth." He also speaks of Jesus Christ who would dwell in a "tabernacle of clay" (Mosiah 3:5). The early Hosanna Shout, meaning "save now," was a petition to the king seeking deliverance or rescue. It served as a type of Jesus Christ, the King of kings, who rescues each of us. The central theme of Mosiah chapter 3 is the Atonement of Jesus Christ.
King Benjamin becomes a type of Christ. It adds significance to his message if it occurred at this celebration of deliverance from bondage. Chapters 2 and 3 of Mosiah are a precursor for chapter 4 where King Benjamin is actually going to deliver the first published version of the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous.
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