My Yom Teruah 5778

Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing 
when he returns.
- Matthew 24:46

It's September 20, 2017. Tonight, at sundown, the year 5778 in the Hebrew calendar, begins. This significant event is observed for two days, Tishri 1 and Tishri 2, in a joyous celebration called Rosh HaShanah.

But this event is actually referred to as Yom Teruah in the Bible. It falls on the first day of the seventh month, or Tishri 1. Its name comes from Numbers 29:1, which recounts, “In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a holy convocation; you shall do no servile work: it is a day of blowing of trumpets to you.”

It is also referred to as Zikhron Teruah (“a memorial of trumpets”) in Leviticus 23:24-25, “In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, shall be a solemn rest to you, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. You shall do no regular work; and you shall offer an offering made by fire to YHWH.”

It marks the beginning of the three Fall Feasts in the Hebrew calendar, Yom Teruah (Feast of Trumpets), Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), and Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles).

The past years, I have reconnected to the Hebrew roots of my Christian faith, and have found deep meaning in observing the feasts of the Lord.

The Bible enumerates these feasts in Leviticus 23 where God clearly explains to Moses that they are His feasts, and are to be observed as holy convocations, a memorial to be proclaimed throughout your generations in all your dwellings.

The Hebrew word for feast is moed, which literally means "appointed time, place, or meeting."

Really, an appointment with God.

It was like finding missing pieces to a puzzle when I first understood what it meant. Moed is a set time in God's calendar on which He expects His people to meet with Him throughout all their generations.

It's not just an Old Testament thing, as many people believe. These feasts are to be observed for all generations.

Another thing that struck me is the Hebrew word miqra for "convocation."

Miqra means a "solemn assembly," but it also connotes "rehearsal." (See miqra in the Strong's Lexicon of Hebrew words.)

That has completely changed the way I look at these feasts. I have come to understand that when we observe these special days by gathering together, we are in fact rehearsing for the actual days when the feasts will be fulfilled, in accordance with God's prophetic timeline.

So, today, as Yom Teruah begins at sundown, which also marks the beginning of the Hebrew New Year Rosh HaShanah, I take time to meditate on its significance in my own personal spiritual journey.

I ask myself,  "What is the message of Abba Father for me as I rehearse, or prepare for, the actual day of the fulfillment of this feast?"

The year 5778 in the Hebrew calendar holds a depth of meaning, too deep to be put into words. The number 70, which is the decade we are in, is ayin in the Hebrew alphabet, and has the picture of a seeing eye. This is the decade to see like we have never seen before.  It is also a silent letter, which speaks to me of the truth that there are things God is revealing that may not be spoken of, just pondered and treasured in my heart.

For meditation. For rumination. For absorption.

The number 8 is represented by chet in the Hebrew alphabet.

The picture we get from the character chet is that of a doorway in a wall or fence. It is a passageway, a crossing over from one place to another.

John 10:9 uses the idea of chet as a doorway so clearly:

I am the gate; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved.
He will come in and go out and find pasture.

Other versions use "door" instead of "gate" - but the Greek word thura for "door" can also mean "entrance." Gate is not an inaccurate translation.

For me, it points to an inner movement...

from a place of complacency, to a place of engagement and involvement;
from a place of passivity, to a place of action;
from a place of discouragement, to a place of renewal and hope;
from a place of wrong priorities, to a place of divine assignments.

There are just so many areas within my heart that need a forward movement, and an upward thrust.

And today is the best time to make a renewed commitment to the Triune God as my Father, my Lord, and King... my Redeemer, my Savior, and Friend... my Comforter, my Teacher, my Guiding Light.

My Living Hope.

Chet also means a fence. Lance Wallnau mentions a few key words relating to this: heart, private, separate.

Been pondering on these words this morning. Chet speaks of a passageway that could lead to a private enclosure, an inner room, a secret garden.

A tent of meeting with God my Father. A place of communion and intimacy where deep calls to deep.

Chet speaks to me of a crossing over, from bondage to freedom, from doubt to certainty, from the superficial to the deep.

Precious time is so easily wasted on things that do not matter. I have been guilty of this time and time again.

God laments: ... for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water. - Jeremiah 2:13

Yet Father never gives up. Repeatedly He issues an invitation to return to Him, to draw near to Him.

I come to God in repentance and brokenness.

(Note: You may want to listen to the song below before reading the rest of the post.)

Chet is the number 8 in the Hebrew alphabet, a number that stands for new beginnings. Jesus Christ rose on a Sunday morning, technically the first day of the week... but counting beyond the seventh day, Resurrection Sunday is sometimes prophetically referred to as "the eighth day."

Chet therefore indicates resurrection life, and new birth.

A new season to celebrate the newness of life.

It is significant that Rosh HaShanah commemorates the creation of the world.

Indeed I am grateful for this season, a reminder that God is waiting for me this Yom Teruah, to keep my appointment with Him... watching and waiting for the final fulfillment of this day when the trumpet will be blown and Jesus will return for His own.

When exactly will that be?

I take to heart the precious words of Jesus in Matthew 24:32-39, and I quote,

32 Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. 33 So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near—at the doors! 34 Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place. 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away. 36 But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. 37 But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 38 For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, 39 and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.

Jesus gives us the signs that the time is near. He doesn't want us to be in the dark about these important things. Rather, he wants us to understand the times and the seasons. By watching, and waiting for His return, and being alert, we are ready at any given moment.

I do not want to live like the people in Noah's day, who did not know what time it was! Rather, I want to operate on God's timetable, so that these things do not catch me by surprise.

Note: The Spring feasts have been fulfilled: Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits, and Weeks (Pentecost). We are still awaiting the fulfillment of the Fall feasts: Trumpets, Atonement, and Tabernacles.

In truth, there are many indicators that the end is near. Earthquakes, destructive storms, wars and rumors of wars... these are just some of them.

Ryan LeStrange says that 5778 is "the year of glory storms." Even before the hurricanes struck the Carribean Islands and Florida, he wrote:

There are glory storms of fierce winds coming forth. These are winds of refreshing, winds of transition and winds of shift. 

When the winds of God's glory come, they are meant to help us find our proper place in Him, a place of faithfulness where we are doing the very thing He has created us for.

Sometimes the winds come forcefully, to expose false foundations, and to shake us from our complacency, in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain.

This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. - Hebrews 12:27

The Lord's word is an encouragement to my heart: When these things begin to happen, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near. - Luke 21:28

Maranatha! Come, Lord Jesus, come!


Also posted in my Holy Ground blog.