Blessings Family,
Leshana tovah tikatevee v’tichatemee!
(May you be written and sealed for a sweet new year!)
Last Sunday at sunset, we sounded the shofar and lit the candles to usher in a new year, the first of Tishri, according to the Command of God in Numbers 29:1.
On this Appointed Time (Rosh Hashanah), we celebrate God’s promise of redemption through His faithful servants, Abraham and Isaac at Moriah, foreshadowing God’s own Son dying on the cross in our place. It is a time to reflect on our relationship with God. Have we allowed the Holy Spirit to work in us, conforming us to God’s likeness and image? Have we treated others with the same grace Christ extended to us on the Cross? Have we truly laid down our lives as our Savior did in service of God and His Kingdom?
These are the things we think and pray about for the next ten days, the Days of Awe, that we might repent of our shortcomings and commit ourselves to a deeper walk with God in the New Year. That we might be ready at the blast of the Last Trump to meet our Lord and Savior in the sky.
This Rosh Hashanah is especially meaningful, because it brings another Shemitah (Sabbath) year of a seven-year cycle to rest. A nation is judged and punished or rewarded according to their faithfulness to God at the end of each Shemitah year. I have great hope for the U.S. in the coming years because of the abolishment of R vs. W in the U.S. Supreme Court. That is a huge step in the right direction, and I believe God will bless us for it. But we still have a long way to go.
But what do the numbers say? The new year on the Hebrew calendar is 5783.
We’ve already discussed the significance of the number five. It is the number of Grace, so we are still in the millennium of God’s grace. Thankfully, God is a patient and forgiving Father. But, as we’ve seen from history, even God has His limits.
Seven is of course the number of the Spiritual Completeness and Perfection. It is the hallmark of the Holy Spirit. We are still in a century that the Holy Spirit is active and working in us. His power enables us to do things for the Kingdom of God we never imagined possible. He makes us Supernatural! But He doesn’t dwell in us by default. We must actively seek Him, learning to discern His voice and leading, and then acting on it. Now is not the time to leave the Holy Spirit standing around twiddling His thumbs. He is ready to act on your faith.
Next, is the number eight. As seven signifies Spiritual Completeness, the number eight signifies going beyond completeness, the “over and above” of blessings. In the Word, it usually represents resurrection, which also makes it a signifier of New Beginnings. If you’ve been keeping up on my posts, you know that my dreams have been talking about just this thing regarding the church. God is doing something new in this decade. Will you recognize it when it comes?
“Call out to me, and I will answer you — I will tell you great things, hidden things of which you are unaware.” – Jeremiah 33:3 CJB
Lastly, we come to the new year, number three. As three denotes the persons of the Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, it declares the perfection of everything created by God, from the three kingdoms of animal, vegetable, and mineral, to the three components of fire: heat, fuel, and air, to the three states of water: liquid, solid, and vapor. So, three represents Divine Perfection. It is also a number representing resurrection, as the land rose out of the sea on the third day of creation, and Christ rose from the grave on the third day.
And now it’s time to do the math. Stay with me, here.
Since the number four is the sum of three (Divine Perfection) and one (Unity), it refers to all things created by God. We can see this in the fourth day of creation, the four elements, the four seasons, the four regions of the earth, etc.
Mankind was created by God, so Divine Perfection also applies to us. We especially see this in the number twelve, the product of 3 x 4, which is why there are twelve Tribes and twelve Disciples.
But how are we, weak, fallible human beings supposed to achieve Divine Perfection? Isn’t that impossible? Isn’t that what we’re waiting for Jesus to do when He returns? Actually, it’s very possible, and the heavy lifting has already been done. By Jesus. On the Cross.
We have already been created in the likeness of the Trinity: body, mind, and spirit, so we’re almost there. What remains is some simple subtraction.
Most of you probably know that the number of man is six (4 + 2). I’ve explained what the four is, we are God’s creation. We belong to Him. Since the number two is the first number with which you can divide, it often, as it does here, represents mankind’s rebellion against God. But it also holds the possibility of unity with him. To make that happen, something must be taken away.
Just as 5 + 1 = 6, representing man’s falling short of Grace, 6 – 1 = 5, representing man’s receiving it.
What is the “one” that must be taken away? The part of us that must be willingly offered to God as a sacrifice in His sanctifying fire. Our pride, our will to self-govern. The only way to Divine Perfection is for mankind is to stop imagining that we are equal to God and remember that we are merely His creation, created by Him and for Him. Then, and only then, will we experience that unity (1) with Him, through His Divine grace, that allows us to be divinely perfected by Him.
6 – 1 = 4 + 1 (Grace)
Does that mean we are no longer God’s physical creation? Yes, it does. Because that “one” that was subtracted doesn’t just go away. It is combined with the One (Jesus) to make a new creation. One that transcends the physical.
(4 + 2) – 1 + (1 + 1) = 7
Again, seven is the number of Spiritual Completeness and Perfection, which is what we aspire to when we accept the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for our redemption. It is the mark of the Holy Spirit’s work in us and our submission to Him.
Are you ready to be Spiritually Perfected and Complete? Are you ready to give yourself, mind, body, and spirit, over to worshiping God, forsaking all earthly ties? This is the year to do it, and there’s no better time to start than now, during the Days of Awe, culminating with Yom Kippur (The Day of Atonement) at sundown on October 5, 2022.
I’m excited for those of you who choose to run into the fire this year, fasting, and praying, worshiping God with the abandon and faith of a little child.
“When you seek me, you will find me, provided you seek for me wholeheartedly.” – Jeremiah 29:13 CJB
I’m believing that many of you will find Him, and I’ll be here, praying for you. I hope you will share the amazing things God is doing in your lives. It is a great time to be called the children of God!
God’s grace and peace be yours,
Rebecca
