The Joy
of YHVH is
Your Strength!
How many times have you quoted this phrase from the Word of YHVH...
"the joy of the Lord is my strength."
I know it has been said to me many times...and I have said it many times. It has been spoken to me as an admonishment to be joyful rather than down. It has been spoken to me as an encouragement. It has been spoken to me as a reminder. It is part of many songs, many sermons, many gift cards. It is printed on coffee cups, on wall hangings, on note paper, on tote bags, on T-shirts, on key chains, on tea towels, on Bible covers, on jewelry, on journals, on magnets, on bookmarks, on computer mouse pads....you can even order it printed on a flattened copper penny (for $10 + postage).
Do you know the context of this verse?
Do you know what we have been missing out on by not printing THE WHOLE STORY?
Can you tell me why Ezra and Nehemiah said this?
(Did you know they were the ones who said it?)
Do you know what was happening at the time this was spoken?
It is SO IMPORTANT to have the whole story...so important to know the Word of YHVH, the Torah of YHVH. His life is in His Word...our relationship with Him must be founded upon His Word. Otherwise we don't really know Him or have relationship with Him, and we are just fooling ourselves and practicing false religion.
Here's the whole story from Nehemiah chapter 8 (after many Israelite exiles had been allowed to return to Jerusalem and the land of Israel):
Nehemiah 8:1-12
Ezra the priest brought the Torah before the assembly, which consisted of men, women and all children old enough to understand. It was the first day of the seventh month.
Facing the open space in front of the Water Gate, he read from it to the men, the women and the children who could understand from early morning until noon; and all the people listened attentively to the scroll of the Torah....Ezra opened the scroll where all the people could see him...when he opened it, all the people rose to their feet. Ezra blessed YHVH, the great God; and all the people answered, "Amen! Amen!" as they lifted up their hands, bowed their heads and fell prostrate before YHVH with their faces to the ground.
The Levites... explained the Torah to the people, while the people remained in their places.
They read clearly from the scroll, in the Torah of God, translated it, and enabled them to understand the sense of what was being read.
Nehemiah the Tirshata, Ezra the priest and Torah-teacher and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, "Today is consecrated to YHVH your God; don't be mournful, don't weep." For all the people had been weeping when they heard the words of the Torah.
Then he said to them, "Go, eat rich food, drink sweet drinks, and send portions to those who can't provide for themselves; for today is consecrated to our Lord.
Don't be sad, because the joy of YHVH is your strength."....
Then the people went off to eat, drink, send portions and celebrate; because they had understood the words that had been proclaimed to them.
Do you see why it is so important to know the context of these words, this popular "Christian" phrase? Do you see that this phrase is so wrapped in hearing, obeying, knowing the Torah of YHVH...the commandments, instructions, precepts of our God?
His people had forgotten...they had stopped hearing, obeying and knowing the Word of YHVH.
When they stood still and listened (for many hours) and heard and understood what the Torah, the Word of YHVH said, they cried! They realized they had not been living as YHVH said
and they cried!
Ezra and Nehemiah and the Levites reminded them not to cry, but to find their strength in the joy of YHVH and to celebrate.
Why?
Because that very day was a day YHVH had set aside. That is what they heard in the Torah reading that made them cry. But after they mourned their sin, their loss of relationship with YHVH, then they celebrated. They heard what YHVH said about that day, the first day of the seventh month, and they DID what YHVH told them to do on that set-aside day.
Now, don't you want to know what was so special about the first day of the seventh month?
(I'm sure you have guessed by now if you did not already know.)
Why don't we hear from YHVH's own Word what this day is all about.
(And by the way...today is the first day of the seventh month...as long as the new moon has been sighted within Israel.)
Leviticus 23 is the chapter that lists all of YHVH's appointed times in summation (including the weekly appointed time of keeping the Sabbath). So let's go first to Leviticus 23.
Leviticus 23:1-4, 23-25
YHVH said to Moses,"Tell the people of Israel, 'In the seventh month, the first of the month is to be for you a day of complete rest for remembering, a holy convocation announced with blasts on the shofar. Do not do any kind of ordinary work, and bring an offering made by fire to YHVH."
Again in Numbers chapter 29, YHVH commands this set-apart day:
Numbers 29:1-6
"'In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you are to have a holy convocation; do not do any kind of ordinary work; it is a day of blowing the shofar for you. Prepare a burnt offering to make a fragrant aroma for YHVH [the next verses detail all that is to be offered to YHVH]... This is to be in addition to the burnt offering for Rosh-Hodesh (the New Moon offering)...this will be a fragrant aroma, an offering made by fire to YHVH.'"
The Hebrew word that YHVH used in these verses is the word TERUAH, which means "loud clamor, shouting with an acclamation of joy or a battle cry, sounding the alarm by shofar or shout," etc.
In Leviticus, YHVH uses the words Zikron Teruah (zikron means "memorial or mentioning").
In Numbers, He uses Yom Teruah (yom means "day").
So this is where we get the English name for this set-apart day...
Yom Teruah - Day of Trumpets or Day of Shofar (also known as the Feast of Trumpets). If you look at the Leviticus wording, it is also known as the Shout of Memorial or the Shout of Mentioning.
You can see that YHVH does not give much instruction
for this set-apart day.
He also does not tell us what the purpose of the day is...
why do we shout and blow the shofar?
What is the meaning of doing these things?
Do we need to know why YHVH tells us to do something
before we do it? I hope the answer is NO!
Of course, we want to obey, even when we don't know why He commands what He does. But we can trust that His reasons and His purpose are right and true and bring glory to Himself and deeper relationship between Himself and His people.
There is relationship and life in obedience!
But let's not stop here with these unanswered questions. Let's look a little bit deeper.
Incidentally, before we go on, I want to mention that today is more popularly known as Rosh Hashanah, or the Head of the Year (New Year) by the majority of Jews in Israel and around the world. I won't take time here to go into it, but I will say that YHVH does not say this day is the Rosh Hashanah. YHVH says this day is Yom Teruah. He states clearly in His Word that the new year begins in the first month, the month when Pesach or Passover occurs.
Sidenote...
(If you would like to see a Jewish explanation of why the Jewish people have taken YHVH's Word and turned it into another holiday on this day, see this website link from Karaite Korner.
http://www.karaite-korner.org/yom_teruah.shtml
Karaites are Jews who do not agree with Rabbinical Judaism and want to get back to the truth of YHVH's Word...rather than following the traditions of men and religion. They do not YET believe in Yeshua as the Messiah, but I know that the promise in YHVH's Word is that their hearts will be softened, their eyes will be opened, and they will know the COMPLETE truth of the Living Word of YHVH and the Messiah Yeshua! This is my prayer, along with my prayer that the traditional adherents to Rabbinical Judaism will see the Word of YHVH for what it says, rather than through the lens of tradition and the interpretations and additions of men, and also come to know their Messiah Yeshua.
And, I might add here that I am also praying for the adherents of traditional Christianity to see the TRUTH of what YHVH's Word says and come back to following His Word alone rather than the traditions and misleading interpretations of men...that we might see the truth of who Yeshua is rather than the traditional picture we have been presented and continue to present. I am one of those who has recently come to understand, like the Israelites in Nehemiah, that I have not really HEARD and OBEYED the Word of YHVH, but I have been following teachings that led me away from obeying the complete Word of my God! I have cried about this...and now I am celebrating the TRUTH as YHVH is revealing it more and more to my willing eyes and heart. It is so refreshing and so humbling and so exciting to know my God through His Word in ways I have never before!)
Okay, now back to the topic at hand...
Deeper diggings into this set-apart day, Yom Teruah...
According to Psalm 81:3, the shofar was blown to announce the beginning of every new month (the Rosh Chodesh). So the commandment to blow the shofar on the first day of the seventh month would not be an unusual thing. In fact, it would already be a usual thing to happen on the first day of the month.
So what makes this day special?
Why would YHVH set this day aside as a commanded Appointed Time or Set-apart Day...Yom Teruah or the Day of Shofars?
This is where the rest of the Feast days or Set-apart Days from Leviticus 23 come in. Yom Teruah is a VERY important day...it is the day of announcing something very important that is about to happen.
If you look at the Jewish calendar and at Leviticus 23, you will see that this day, Yom Teruah, is the beginning of the series of 3 Feasts that happen in the latter part of the year (the autumn season in Israel). I will have other blog posts about these other feasts soon, but for now let's just remember that in 10 days, we will be observing the commanded Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur. And then on the 15th day of the 7th month the Feast of Booths or Tabernacles (Sukkot) will begin and will go for 7 days, with a final day of celebration wrapping it all up on the 8th day of the Feast.
Now, we know from the many occassions in YHVH's Word when shofars or trumpets are sounded that this can mean several things:
it sounded the call to come together, to gather as one before YHVH;
it sounded the battle cry;
it sounded the alarm, the call to watch for something or someone coming;
it sounded the call to prepare for something about to happen;
it was used in praising YHVH and in shouting aloud to Him, sometimes while the burnt offering was being offered;
it could signify victory
etc.
Put this all together with the fact that Yeshua is the Living Word, the Torah...He is the Alef and Tav (beginning and end), the Creator of all. He is what the commandments of YHVH are all about. He is what the Set-apart times are all about. He has been and will continue to be the fulfillment of ALL parts of YHVH's Word, including these 3 Set-apart times beginning with Yom Teruah (together with the other Set-apart times)!
Yom Teruah is the sounding of the shofar, the call to prepare, to alarm, to watch, to victory.
The 10 days between now and Yom Kippur are known as the Days of Awe among Jews...days they use to prepare themselves for Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.
And then everything is followed up by and brought to completion in the Feast of Tabernacles, Sukkot.
So to understand Yom Teruah and the reasons for celebrating it, we must also understand what has already happened and what is coming.
Yom Teruah is the CALL, the SIGNAL of the beginning of the end!
It is the beginning of the time that will lead us into the terrible Judgement Day, the Day of Wrath. It is the beginning of the time when our KING Yeshua will reign in complete victory. It is the beginning of the time when we will dwell with our YHVH forever in the dwelling place He has prepared!
Why did YHVH command us to follow His Word, His Torah, His set-apart times forever, for all generations? Because they will never end!! From the beginning, they were meant to teach His people how to live in relationship with Him; they were meant to point us to the TRUTH of His character; they were meant to show us what eternity will be like.
This is why I said at the beginning of this post that if we do not keep YHVH's Word, then we really are not in relationship with Him. (Actually, HE said that....time and time again in His Word.)
Now is the time!
It is time to WAKE UP!
It is time to HEAR THE ALARM CALL!
It is time to repent, to come back to YHVH'S WORD in obedience!
It is time to look ahead, to look up in expectation, in awe, in reverence, in humility....
John 14:23, 24
Yeshua answered, "If someone loves me, he will keep my word; and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. Someone who doesn't love me doesn't keep my words -- and the word you are hearing is not my own but that of the Father who sent me.
Revelation 11:15
The seventh angel sounded his shofar; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, "The kingdom of the world has become the Kingdom of our Lord and his Messiah, and he will rule forever and ever!"
Our King is coming to dwell
with His people forever!
If you are interested in reading a more in-depth study of this, I have found a website that has helped me. It is published by a believer in Yeshua. Of course, none of us will ever agree completely on every point of doctrine interpretation, so of course there are some minor things I am not sure about in this website, but on the major issues, this website has been one that I have appreciated:
http://www.hoshanarabbah.org/pdfs/yom_teruah.pdf
There is so much more to study and know, even in just this one day that is commanded and yet not much else is said directly about it!
Imagine when we see and know ALL the parts of YHVH's Word and how they come together in Yeshua!
What a glorious time that will be, dwelling with Him forever, knowing Him and seeing Him in ALL of His glory!
Psalm 98
A psalm: Sing a new song to YHVH, because he has done wonders. His right hand, his holy arm have won him victory.
YHVH has made known his victory; revealed his vindication in full view of the nations, remembered his grace and faithfulness
to the house of Israel.
All the ends of the earth have seen the victory of our God.
Shout for joy to YHVH, all the earth!
Break forth, sing for joy, sing praises!
Sing praises to YHVH with the lyre, with the lyre
and melodious music!
With trumpets and the sound of the shofar, shout for joy
before the king, YHVH!
Let the sea roar, and everything in it; the world,
and those living in it.
Let the floods clap their hands; let the mountains sing together
for joy before YHVH,
for he has come to judge the earth; he will judge the world rightly
and the peoples fairly.
Heeding the call of the shofar,
Gina
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