10/14/2025
Water Libation ( water-drawing ) on the last day of the Great Feast. This is beautiful !
There were 3 pilgrimage feasts in ancient Israel ~ Pesach (Passover), Shavuot (our Pentecost), and Sukkot (The Feast of Tabernacles).
For these 3 feasts, all able-bodied Jewish men were commanded to travel to Jerusalem to meet before God in His temple. Often their families came with them.
Jesus would have been among those men who journeyed to Jerusalem for each of these “appointed times”.
When Jesus was in Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles the last year of His life, He made one of his most profound declarations.
It was the custom for a band of Levites (the Jewish tribe responsible for spiritual leadership), along with a choir and orchestra, to go down to the pool of Siloam to gather water each day of the Feast and bring that water to the altar.
They would march around the altar, crying out “Hosannah" ("Lord save us.")
Then they would pour the water lavishly over the altar with much rejoicing.
Water symbolized God's Spirit.
In Jesus' day, it was commonly known that this ceremony symbolized the Messiah coming and pouring His Spirit on the Jewish people.
This "water-drawing" (also called the “water ceremony”) was the most joyful celebration of all in this holiday that was called “The Season of our Joy."
In fact, the Talmud tells us, “He who has not seen the rejoicing at the place of the water-drawing has never seen rejoicing in his life."
Rejoicing in anticipation of the coming Messiah!
And then......
"On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out,
'If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” (John 7:37-38)
Jesus ~ Announcing He is the source of the water, the Spirit of God.
How eyes must have begun to open and hearts must have begun to sing!
