Rosh Chodesh - A Remembrance for His People...

     ...and you shall know that I am YHVH your Elohim!

Tonight , as the sun sets outside my window and the new crescent moon is just visible, I have the joy of wishing you a Happy New Month (Rosh Chodesh..means "head of the month") and a Happy New Year (Rosh HaShanah...means "head of the year")!

(Actually I can't currently see the thin crescent of moon because of the bright city night lights and all the tall buildings around me...but I look forward to seeing it soon!)


"And יהוה (YHVH) spoke to Moses and to Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, 'This month is the beginning of months for you, it is the first month of the year for you.'"  Exodus 12:1-2

This was one of the very first commandments YHVH gave to the people of Israel as He was about to lead them out of the land of Egypt, where the the sun god Ra was worshipped, into HIS land with HIS yearly calendar of months and appointed times, based on the moon's phases.

The sighting of the new moon sets the beginning of each month and is a critical part of determining the proper timing of each of YHVH's appointed times for His people.

This particular new month is also commanded by God in His Biblical calendar to be the first month of the year!  

He made this the beginning of the year to be a perpetual memorial to His people of the time He brought them out of Egypt...a remembrance for all generations of His mighty work on behalf of His people.


"...so that I show these signs of Mine before him, and that you relate in the hearing of your son and your son’s son what I have done in Egypt, and My signs which I have done among them. And you shall know that I am יהוה.”   Exodus 10:1, 2

“And you shall inform your son in that day, saying, ‘It is because of what יהוה did for me when I came up from Egypt.’  And it shall be as a sign to you on your hand and as a reminder between your eyes, that the Torah of יהוה is to be in your mouth, for with a strong hand יהוה has brought you out of Egypt.  And you shall guard this law at its appointed time from year to year."  

Exodus 13:8-10 

 (referring specifically to the festivals of Passover and Unleavened Bread, also part of the departure from Egypt, also commanded in the first month)

The sad thing is that very few people in the world follow this important command of YHVH (as well as many others).  Christians observe another new year.  Many observant Jews celebrate the official new year at the time of the Feast of Trumpets.  Most of the world has a new year date that is other than what YHVH commanded!
But as for me and my house (which is just me at the present time), I WILL SERVE THE LORD YHVH!

Another sad thing is that many people have taken what YHVH gave as a sign, a remembrance that should point His people to focus on HIM, and instead they have focused on the sign itself.  The moon has become a central element in much of the world's idol worship.

But YHVH tells us in His Word what purpose He had in mind when He created the moon...

Psalm 104:19 says, "He made the moon for appointed times; The sun knows its going down."

The word for "appointed times" in this verse is the Hebrew word "moedim."  

Moedim is the word used even today in the Hebrew language for all of YHVH's commanded and appointed times in the Word (such as the Sabbath, Passover, Sukkot, Yom Kippur, and all the other commanded set-apart days).

YHVH tells us in His Word that He created the moon as a sign of the appointed, set-apart times He has commanded His people to observe....and all of this is for one purpose:  

So we will know that He is YHVH our Elohim (God)...so we will focus on Him always!!

But instead, the moon has become for some a symbol of "mother earth" and other pagan ideas and for others it is something to be worshipped in itself.  Many cultures use lunar calendars, but not in the way YHVH has set up in His Word.
And others go the opposite extreme and say that anyone who follows YHVH's commands regarding the new moon, regarding His set-apart, appointed times and feasts, is actually falling into legalism and is not experiencing the "freedom" of a relationship with God (and yet these same people live daily by a calendar that includes names of false gods such as Saturn in Saturday, Frigga in Friday, Thor in Thursday, Janus in January, Mars in March, Augustus Caesar in August, etc).

Read the rest of Psalm 104...see how the creation is treated in YHVH's Word.  It's all about HIM!
Everything He has created and everything He commands and expects His people to do is all about HIM!
He wants us to be in relationship with Him, and He has made clear the way for that to happen.  (Remember, Yahshua, who is THE answer for the way to life with YHVH, also lived His life in complete obedience to YHVH's Word, His Torah, His commands.)

For many years I followed the traditions of man that said I must do certain things at certain times of the year.  I was taught that these traditions and actions and yearly celebrations are signs of God and His relationship with us (such as Christmas, Easter, etc).

BUT...if they do not fit into His commanded way of life, if they go against what He has commanded, then I don't want to have anything to do with them.

I know this could come across as negative (which I do not want to be).
So let me state it another way...

Shout for joy to Elohim our strength; raise a shout to the Elohim of Jacob. 

Lift up a song and beat the tambourine, the pleasant lyre and with the harp. 

Blow the ram’s horn at the time of the New Moon, at the full moon, on our festival day. 

For this is a law for Israel, and a right-ruling of the Elohim of Jacob. 

He appointed it in Joseph for a witness, when He went throughout the land of Egypt; I heard a language that I did not know. 

He says, “I removed his shoulder from the burden; his hands were freed from the baskets. 

You called in distress, and I rescued you; I answered you in the covering of thunder; I proved you at the waters of Meribah. Selah.     Psalm 81:1-7

“And in the day of your gladness, and in your appointed times, and at the beginning of your months, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and over your peace offerings. And they shall be a remembrance for you before your Elohim. I am יהוה your Elohim.”   Numbers 10:10

In my deliberate study of YHVH's Word over the past few years to seek HIS way of life, while learning about how to keep the set-apart times He has commanded, I noticed how important the monthly moon phases were in many places in His Word.

So, in the past few months I have been reading YHVH's Word to specifically learn more about how He uses the moon every day, every month, every year as a sign of His faithfulness to His people, His desire to dwell in relationship with His people, His plan for LIFE!  

And now whenever I look up in the night (or day) sky and see the moon at various phases, my heart does a little leap of gladness!   At the same time, my mind goes immediately to focus on YHVH, and I say "thank you" for His plans, His faithfulness, His nearness, His mighty works on the behalf of His people!  

In my life up to this point, before I had intentionally read and paid attention to what His Word says about this command of the new month and the new year, seeing the moon in the night sky would not bring any response at all within my heart and mind (except maybe to say "how pretty or how big or how bright the moon is tonight").

But now my heart jumps when I see the moon!  

Why?  

Because I am reminded of so much of His goodness, the perfection of His plan, the intricacy and extent of His love for His people!

What a difference it makes to know and follow the Word of YHVH rather than just following traditions of man!  

His commands, precepts, instructions, purposes are so much richer and meaningful than anything man could come up with!  

Why do I waste my time following anything else in this world other than what YHVH has said?  

(good question)

His Word is full of these signs and remembrances!  So many items, events, parts of creation are used by YHVH as memorials for us to constantly remember Him and His faithfulness and His mighty works!

I won't go into details on any of these...you can research more on your own.
But here is only a partial list of what YHVH has given us as signs pointing to Him, remembrances that remind us that He is Elohim:

A rainbow - Genesis 9:15
Circumcision - Genesis 17:11
His NAME - Exodus 3:15, Psalm 135:13, Hosea 12:5
The Festival of Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread  - Exodus 12 & 13  (coming up soon!!)
The Stones on the priest's garment  - Exodus 28, 39:7
Tzitzit (tassels on garment corners) - Numbers 15:39-40
The Sabbath  - Exodus 20:8-11; 31:13; Deuternomy 5:12-15; Ezekiel 20:12 etc
The Word of YHVH - Deuteronomy 6; 11:18
The 12 stones at the Jordan River  - Joshua 4
Yahshua - His life, death and resurrection...He is THE sign!  - Isaiah 7:14;  Matthew 16;  Luke 2; Luke 11 (sign of Jonah)
YHVH's sustaining of Israel -  Mary's song in Luke 1
Communion... taking the bread and wine, symbolizing the body and blood of Yahshua -  Luke 22:19; 1 cor 11:24-25


So, as you look at the moon tonight, fix your gaze on YHVH...remember the faithfulness of your Elohim and rejoice! 
Let your heart do a little leap of gladness, and thank Him!

If we really know the Word of YHVH and truly live life in Him the way He has commanded, then we should be reminded of Him continuously throughout every day of our lives!

May this be so as we prepare ourselves for the coming Passover celebration.

Under His never-slumbering watch care,

Gina

Yom Teruah...Sound of the Shofar!

      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

When the seventh month arrived, after the people of Israel had resettled in their towns, all the people gathered with one accord in the open space in front of the Water Gate and asked Ezra the Torah-teacher to bring the scroll of the Torah of Moses, which YHVH had commanded Israel. 

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: 'The designated times of YHVH which you are to proclaim as holy convocations are my designated times.  Work is to be done on six days; but the seventh day is a Shabbat of complete rest, a holy convocation; you are not to do any kind of work; it is a Shabbat for YHVH, even in your homes.  These are the designated times of YHVH, the holy convocations you are to proclaim at their designated times.'"....

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