02/10/2026
During Sukkot, these words hold my attention a little longer.
On the last and greatest day of the feast, Yeshua cried out: “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.” He promised rivers of living water flowing from within those who believed in Him (John 7:37–38).
Jewish tradition records water drawn from the Pool of Siloam and poured at the Temple altar during Sukkot. Against that backdrop, Yeshua called the thirsty to Himself.
John explains that He was speaking about the Ruach, whom believers would receive after He was glorified (John 7:39). Coming to Him and drinking means trusting Him and receiving the life He gives. He offers what we cannot produce within ourselves. Through Messiah, we receive the Spirit. The life we receive from Him does not stop with us. It flows outward to others.
As I sit in our sukkah, I think about that. We can gather for the feast, open our Bibles and still need to come to Him thirsty.
The appointed times in Torah point us to Messiah and His work. Paul calls them a shadow of things to come, with the reality belonging to Messiah (Colossians 2:16–17). He does not cancel the feasts. He tells believers not to let anyone judge them concerning food, drink, a festival, a new moon or Shabbat. I understand that to include refusing condemnation for keeping Yehovah’s appointed times. Their meaning in Messiah gives us reason to treasure them.
Yeshua did not stand at Sukkot and announce that, now He had come, the feast should no longer be kept. That conclusion is an inference brought to the passage. His words in Matthew 5:17–19 warn against treating fulfilment as the abolition of Torah or teaching others to set aside its commandments.
“If anyone is thirsty…” I am grateful He said 𝗮𝗻𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲. And I still need to drink.
As Sukkot comes to a close, I hope your time in the sukkah reminded you how temporary our shelters are, how fragile our lives can be, and how faithful YHVH remains. Enjoy this last day of Sukkot. And there’s still another appointed day to share: Shemini Atzeret, the eighth-day assembly! More about that in my next post.
