Today is the first day of the seventh month on the Biblical Calendar. Before Babylonian exile, this month was called Ethanim which means "enduring." Post-exile, it has been called Tishri which is a Babylonian name, meaning "beginning." Although this day is celebrated by Jewish people as Rosh Hashannah, which means "head of the year," the Hebrew calendar was not divided into civic and ecclesiastical order until exile. According to the Word of God, this is the seventh month.
This is the month when the Fall Feasts of the seventh month take place. These include the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), and the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot.)
The Feast of Trumpets is a day for blowing trumpets and a solemn assembly. This leads into ten days of repentance in preparation for the Day of Atonement.
The Day of Atonement is the only day of the year when the High Priest was able to enter the Most Holy Place with the blood of a sin offering to atone for the sin of the people. Then, he would transfer the people's sins onto the scapegoat and send the scapegoat off into the wilderness to remove sin entirely from the community. If the atonement offering was not accepted by God, the people were still in their sins and subject to destruction. But if the offering was accepted, they were cleansed and blessed. It is Jewish tradition on Yom Kippur to read aloud the entire Book of Jonah, the story of the reluctant prophet.
The Feast of Tabernacles begins five days after the Day of Atonement. This is a great celebration of the rich harvest God has provided. People offer multiple offerings and dwell in tents/tabernacles to remember God's faithfulness to their ancestors when they dwelt in tents in the wilderness before inheriting the Promised Land. In the course of Israel's history, it was during the Feast of Tabernacles that Solomon dedicated the Temple on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem, the place God had chosen to put his name. He prayed a marvelous prayer of devotion and consecration and offered so many sacrifices to the Lord that they could not be numbered. Years later after the exiles had returned, it was during this feast that Nehemiah read the Law of Moses to the returned exiles, telling them not to weep because the joy of the Lord was their strength.
Jews have an expression and believe that during these Fall Feasts, God decides for the year ahead "who will live, who will die, who will laugh, who will cry." However, these Feasts actually foreshadow the return of Jesus, Israel's Messiah and eternal Great High Priest. In the times to come, the trumpets of the Book of Revelation will sound off in succession until Jesus returns at the final trumpet for the ultimate Day of Judgment/Atonement. Everything not atoned for through faith in the blood of Jesus will be judged and all of God's enemies will be removed. After that day, those who trust in Jesus' as our eternal sin offering and scapegoat will rejoice in His salvation. According to Zechariah, we will celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles with the Lord on the new earth, remembering how He faithfully led us through this world and into the promise of eternity.
Other notable Biblical events in this month include Noah's Ark resting on the mountains of Ararat after the earth had been cleansed by the flood; Hezekiah completing an offering to give the Levites and Priests what was due them according to the Law of Moses; and the false prophet died after contending against Jeremiah by prophesying only two years of exile.
This is a month of reflection, humbling ourselves in genuine repentance, and celebrating all that God has done in our lives. Therefore, in Jesus' name, be blessed this month to reflect on the goodness and mercy of God. May you enter into new depths of worship in honor of the atoning sacrifice of Jesus as we eagerly await His return at the final trumpet!
Traditional Jewish Readings:
Trumpets: Genesis 22
Atonement: Book of Jonah
Sukkot: Ecclesiastes
Scripture References in the Seventh Month:
Genesis 8:4
Leviticus 16:29, 23:24-41, 25:9
Numbers 29
1 Kings 8
2 Kings 25:25
1 Chronicles 27:10
2 Chronicles 5:3, 7:10, 31:7
Ezra 3
Nehemiah 7:73,8:2,14
Jeremiah 28:17, 41:1
Ezekiel 45:25
Haggai 2:1-9
Zechariah 7:5, 8:19, 14:16-19
John 7
Revelation 8-11, 20-22
Originally published as: "The Blessing of the Seventh Month (Ethanim/Tishrei)" - Reprinted from Blessings of the Biblical Calendar, Copyright © 2015 Wendy Bowen – ALL RIGHTS RESERVED WORLDWIDE