The Last Great Day
The Last Great Day or Shemini Atzeret is rather mysterious. It just follows the seven-day Festival of Tabernacles or Sukkot. It is often assumed that Shemini Atzeret is simply the eighth day of Sukkot. That characterization, unfortunately, is not accurate.
The Hebrew word shemini means eighth and although closely connected with Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret is regarded as a separate holy day rather than simply the final day of the Festival of Tabernacles.
Continuing with Leviticus 23
36 Seven days ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord. On the eighth day shall be a holy convocation unto you, and ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord. It is a solemn assembly, and ye shall do no servile work therein.
— the Feast of Tabernacles is a seven day festival, symbolizes the seven millennium; and on the eighth day, which in Hebrew is called Shemini Atzeret, is also an holy convocation as on the first day; both are a solemn assembly when they were gathered together before the Lord.
39 “‘Also on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the Lord seven days; on the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a sabbath.
— on the first day and on the eight day shall be a Sabbath; both on the first and last days of this festival period, there is to be abstention from any servile work;
— although this Feast of Tabernacles and the Last Great Day or Shemini Atzeret, which is on the eightth day, is expressed as a composite, it is actually two distincet feasts; the opposite of the Passover and Unleavened Bread festival;
— that is, the Last Great Day or Shemini Atzeret is mentioned only in verses 36 and 39, and although it is intertwined with the description of the Feast of Tabernacles, it is actually a separate and distinct feast; the opposite to the Passover and Unleavened Bread analogy.
41 And ye shall keep it a feast unto the Lord seven days in the year. It shall be a statute for ever in your generations; ye shall celebrate it in the seventh month.
— seven days in the year; these seven days Tabernacle is the feast of Tabernacles proper, whilst the eight days in Leviticus 23:39 include the concluding festival of the Last Great Day or Shemini Atzeret;
— they need only to dwell in booths for only seven days, but that last day which was the eighth, the ceremony of drawing water from the pool on Shemini Atzeretl;
— it seems to have been the introduction of a later period (John 7:37); where Jesus hints at what the festival was meant to be understood;
“On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink,” John 7:37.
The thirst and hunger is for understanding and knowledge.
7 “Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.
8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,” saith the Lord.
9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:7-9
Jewish commentators often share a parable about a king who invites all his friends to feast with him for several days, offering ten bulls each day for the celebration. When it’s time for everyone to depart, the king asks one special guest to remain for an extra day so he can enjoy his company and express how he intends to share his thoughts and plans.
On that extended day of Shemini Atzeret, only a single bull was offered, and the king brought out his drawing board to share the progress of his ambitious projects, asking and inviting his special guest if he would team up with him.
In this parable, the king symbolizes God, the seventy bulls represent the seventy nations of this world and the special guest represents the Jewish people. By giving his laws and statutes to them, God also shows and entices them to participate in his plans.
On this basis, Sukkot is understood as having a universal dimension, while Shemini Atzeret is understood as a more intimate celebration of the relationship between God and the Jewish people, it also reveals a gist of God’s plan and vision beyond the seven thousand year project already scheduled for the Universe, and man’s involvement to participate in future projects.
