Blessings, Beautiful Family!
Did you hear the Shofar? Did you sound the Shofar?
The evening of September 12th marked the beginning of the new Hebrew year, also called Yom Teruah, the Feast of Trumpets. What does that mean for believers?
First, and most importantly, God commanded His people to observe these High Holy Days (Leviticus 23:24, 27-28, 34), that we might remember what He has done for us, and look ahead to those things yet to come. Jesus reminded us of this when came to live among us.
“Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven. He answered and said to them, “When it is evening you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red’; and in the morning, ‘It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times. A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.” And He left them and departed.” – Matthew 16:1-4 NKJV
The first grouping of “Appointed Times” God gave us, Passover, First Fruits, and Pentecost, were fulfilled by Christ’s death and resurrection, and the pouring out of the Holy Spirit. These spring feasts commemorate God’s Salvation and restored relationship with us.
The second grouping, the High Holy Days of the fall have not yet been fulfilled. They are ongoing. The sounding of the shofar or trumpet has always signaled a call to alert, whether for meetings or trouble. The walls of Jericho were brought down with the blast of the shofar and a shout. The Feast of Trumpets calls us to wake up! It calls us to examine our walk with Christ and ask Him to show us where we are lacking in our journey to unity with Him.
“Awake, awake! Put on your strength, O Zion; Put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city! For the uncircumcised and the unclean Shall no longer come to you. Shake yourself from the dust, arise; Sit down, O Jerusalem! Loose yourself from the bonds of your neck, O captive daughter of Zion!” – Isaiah 52:1-2 NKJV
This is followed by the nine Day’s of Awe, when we press into the Lord with all we have, spending more time with Him in prayer, fasting, and in His Word, and asking Him to reveal Himself to us and show us what is holding us back. Is it unforgiveness? Hidden sin? Sloth? Bitterness? This is a time God has set apart to meet with you. A time of ascension. But you must show up.
“Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.” – Jeremiah 29:12-13 NKJV
This nine days culminates in the Day of Atonement. Yom Kippur. And this is the feast we are all looking forward to being fulfilled. If we are right with God, that is. Because this is when the High Priest entered the Holy of Holies to sprinkle the blood of the sacrifice for atonement of sins on the Mercy Seat, and it is completed with one final resounding blast of the shofar. Sound familiar?
“Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” 1 Corinthians 15:51-53 NKJV
“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.” – 1Thessalonians 4:16 NKJV
The third and final Appointed Time to be fulfilled is Sukkot. The Feast of Tabernacles, where we will forever dwell in the presence of the Lord. Hallelujah!
“Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.” – 1 Thessalonians 4:17 NKJV
That’s what I call a happy ending! So, press in, beloved! There is much to be gained in this New Year!
We are now in the Hebrew year 5787. This is a very special year, because it began with a Sabbath and it will end with a Sabbath. This Hebrew year has 385 day in it. The most possible. And this only occurs three or four times in a lifetime. That’s 55 weeks, and 5 is the number of grace, so God is pouring out double grace in this year!
Also, we have a year sandwiched by rest and joy. A year of bliss. I don’t know about you, but I could sure use it!
That’s not all, so let’s break it down.
5787
5000 – We are still in the millennium of grace. Our focus should be on prayer and repentance, for ourselves, our families, our communities, our countries, and the world. We should not only be recipients of God’s gift of grace but extenders of it, seeing others not as offenders, but of fallible human beings just like ourselves. In short, we are to reflect the love of Jesus to everyone we meet.
700 – We are also still in the century of the Holy Spirit, seven representing spiritual completeness and perfection in creative works and time. The Holy Spirit is poised to do some heavy lifting in this century, refining us with His sanctifying fire, making us more like Christ. But this will take time and effort on our part. Time spent alone with Him in praise, worship, and earnest seeking.
80 – We are in the decade of abundance, as that is what the number eight represents (spiritual completeness plus one). God is waiting in this decade to pour out His abundance on His people. We need only to get right with the Lord, repent of old mindsets about Him, about money, about church, about ourselves, whatever may be holding us back, and press into Him with passion. Ask Him to show you what is possible and for the faith to receive it. You will be amazed by how He responds.
7 – And the year is sandwiched with more Spiritual perfection and completion. This is the year to pray for transformation for us, our families, and the territories He has given us to take. Now is the time to pray for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit, to pray for God to invade the earth with His power.
If you have been struggling in an area of your life or feeling distant from God, I encourage you to put aside all worldly pursuits this year and seek the Lord with all your heart, mind, and soul. God is waiting for you. He wants to show you great and mighty things you do not know. He wants to reveal His glory to you and bring true and lasting revival to His people.
Who knows, we may just start a wildfire!
Shana Tova (A Sweet New Year)!
Rebecca
