The Four Species

And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs [fruit] of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days.
Leviticus 23:40 (KJV)

On Sukkot (Feast of Booths), God instructs us to take up four elements from four different species of trees. We hold these in our hands… for what? To understand this, we need to reflect on the details of this verse and contrast it with another one earlier in the Bible.

So according to Leviticus, we take up these four species and rejoice! It is not very clear, is it? I would like to share a contrast of events with you. Looking back at verse 40 from Leviticus 23, the words begin with “ye shall take you the fruit” or “you shall take for yourself the fruit”… where have we read something like this before? Do you remember another passage where someone took for themself the fruit of a tree?

Ah, yes, the Garden of Eden. We will now contrast the garden event with this joyous holy day. First, what happened after Adam and Eve took and ate of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil?

Emotions: Sadness vs. Happiness

Garden of Eden	Sukkot
Genesis 3:18-19 ¹⁸Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; ¹⁹In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.	Leviticus 23:40 And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs (fruit) of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days.

The result of Adam and Eve’s decision was discomforting, sorrowful, and difficult. But the result of taking up the four species and celebrating this holy day is meant to be joyous!

Taking the Fruit

Garden of Eden	Sukkot
Genesis 3:6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.	Leviticus 23:40 And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs (fruit) of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days.

The woman saw the fruit and took it. So too are we instructed to take of the fruit during Sukkot.

Beautiful Tree

Garden of Eden	Sukkot
Genesis 3:6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.	Leviticus 23:40 And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs (fruit) of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days.

And now we see the tree in the garden was “good” or beautiful. Similar language is used in Leviticus to describe the trees from which we are to take from.

Hidden from God vs. Before His Presence

Garden of Eden	Sukkot
Genesis 3:8 And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.	Leviticus 23:40 And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs (fruit) of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days.

In the garden, after taking the fruit from a beautiful tree, Adam and Eve hid from before God. During Sukkot, we are called to take of the fruit from beautiful trees and rejoice before God.

Eating vs. Not Eating

Garden of Eden	Sukkot
God instructed them not to eat, but they took the fruit and ate it.	God instructs us to take our fruit… but no mention of eating it. We simply hold it.

1 fruit vs. 4 species

Garden of Eden	Sukkot
It was 1 fruit.	There are 4 species.

We can begin to see how Sukkot is another version of what happened in the garden. In the garden the taking of the fruit from a beautiful tree brought sorrow when it was eaten, and an absence from God. During Sukkot, the taking of the fruit from a beautiful tree brings joy in the presence of God.

While Adam and Eve took it upon themselves to disobey God, we remember Sukkot today in our efforts to commit ourselves in obedience to God. This is what brings us joy and a closeness with our Creator.