APRIL 25, 2009WEEK TWO: ROSH CHODESH ROSH (head) CHODESH (month) IYAR begins today. Iyar is the 2nd month on the Hebraic sacred calendar. Exodus 12:2, states, “This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you.” The first month is also called Nissan or Abib. When God gave the months to Moses, He spoke as 1st month, 2nd month, etc. Rosh Chodesh also is called the New Moon since the Hebraic calendar is based on the moon. (The Hebrew word Chodesh means both month and moon)The Torah provides that Rosh Chodesh can be proclaimed only by the rabbinic court, on the basis of two witnesses who testify that they observed the re-appearance of the moon. The members of such a court must have the semichah, or ordination, that was conferred by teachers upon their students, generation after generation, from the time of Moses. After the destruction of the Second Temple, the level of scholarship needed to qualify for this ordination ceased to exist, due to persecutions and dispersions. Had it reached a point where there was no one left who qualified for semichah, it would have been impossible to proclaim new months, and if that had happened, the Jewish calendar could not have continued. To avoid this catastrophe, in the year 4119 (358-9 C.E.) the court of Hillel II promulgated a calendar for all succeeding centuries, based on the calculations that had historically been used to corroborate the testimony of witnesses to the new moon. The celebration of the New Moon was very meaningful to the Israelites. This was the first commandment given to the nation as a whole. Before this time, God gave specific instructions to the Patriarchs and tribes, but not to an entire nation. As they were coming out of Egypt, they came out as a nation. Jacob and his 12 sons with family, 70 people in all, went into Egypt and 430 years later they had grown into a great population. Exodus 12:37 states there were about 600,000 men, plus women and children. This could be a figure of about 3,000,000. This did not include the mixed multitude (converts) that came out of Egypt with the Israelites. You will not find the name Iyar in the Bible because it is a Babylonian name given to the month. In I Kings 6:1, it is referred to as Ziv, the second month. This is the month when Solomon chose to begin to build the Temple.According to the Book of Formation (Sefer Yetzirah), each month of the Jewish year has a letter of the Hebrew Aleph-Bet, a zodiac sign, one of the twelve tribes of Israel, a sense and a controlling organ/limb of the body. I am not sure exactly where teaching came from, but 3 months ago I was prompted by the Lord to research each month and teach it to the attendees of our Rosh Chodesh service, held on the Tuesday prior to the beginning of the Jewish New Month. It is my intention to share each month what to expect on God’s time calendar. [by the way, the signs in the heaven were given by God to tell the entire story of Jesus and His plan for redemption but it was perverted by satan and the Church has lost the knowledge, to a certain extent, of God’s purpose for the constellations] LETTER: VAV, the 6th letter in the Aleph-Bet, numeric value of 6. The pictograph looks like a tent peg. First used in Genesis 1:1, joining heaven and earth matters. Vav symbolizes the connecting force of God, the divine “hook” that binds heaven and earth together. Vav also represents “man”, who was created on the 6th day. A broken Vav represents a man that is broken. Each curtain of the Tabernacle was fastened to its post by means of a silver hook (vav). Joshua, the 6th book of the Bible reveals that good success comes from meditating on the Word of God. (Joshua 1:8)MAZAL: (Zodiac Sign) “SHOR” (Taurus-ox) Constellation is made up of Taurus the bull, Orion the hunter, Eridanus the river, Auriga the shepherd. Ox is symbolic of a fierce conqueror and a servant. This shows the great judgment of God’s plan for a sinful world. He sent Jesus as a servant, but in the end Jesus will be the great conqueror. [did you know that Zephaniah 3:8 contains every letter of the Hebrew Aleph-Bet, plus uses all 4 final letters?]TRIBE: ISSACHAR, the scholarly tribe of Israel. The Hebrew schools were mostly made up of the tribes of Levi and Issachar. The Sanhedrin was mostly composed from the Tribe of Issachar and became known as the master of the “secret” of the Jewish calendar. I Chronicles 12:32, “of the sons of Issachar who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do.” The symbol of this tribe is of a humble donkey carrying 2 loads. A donkey is a symbol of humility and strength. The name Issachar comes from 2 root words: nasa, “to lift, exalt, raise up” and sakar “payment of contract, salary, fare, hire, price, reward, wages.” As we humble ourselves, we can come up higher to hear from God and receive revelation as to what we are to do in this hour. We must remember, we are bought with the price of the precious Blood of Jesus Christ and we have a responsibility to carry His burden to reach a dying world, full of confusion and death.SENSE: THOUGHT- contemplation or introspection- power of calculation, a month of counting. The root word of “to think” in Hebrew “chashav” means “numerical calculation”, “cheshbon”. This month each day is a counting of the Omer or L’Omer. It comes from Leviticus 23:15, “And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath (feast of First Fruits), from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering: seven Sabbaths shall be completed.” (7 weeks, 49 days until the Feast of Pentecost, ‘pente’ meaning 50) According to this verse, the Jewish people are obligated to count the days from Passover (Pesach) to Pentecost (Shavuot). If you have a good Biblical/Jewish calendar, you will see each Omer date on the bottom of each day. Today is Omer 16.CONTROLLER: RIGHT KIDNEY. The sages say “the kidneys give advice.” In particular, the right kidney relates to spiritual advice or introspection. The kidneys act similarly to the “conscience”, as is said “by night my kidneys chastise me”. This refers to the “chesbon nefesh” (introspection) of the month of Iyar. In John 9:4, Jesus said, “I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work.” This is speaking to me of the spiritual battle involved in these last days and a sense or urgency to finish our assignments here on the earth. The Living Bible reads, “All of us must quickly carry out the tasks assigned to us by the one who sent me, for there is little time left before the night falls and all work comes to an end.” None of us are here by accident, but born at such a time as this with an assignment. That assignment has a responsibility.Jesus lived his life knowing that His time on earth was limited and His days were numbered. Jesus lived His life with the awareness of time, but was not obsessed with it. His followers expressed a sense of urgency to get their assignments done. “Today is the day of salvation”, 2 Corinthians 6:2, “today if you hear His voice, harden not your hearts”, Hebrews 3:7-8. Paul said “come before winter.” Every tick of the clock says “today”, every beat of our heart says “today”, every obituary says “today”. Life is short, death is sure, time is passing.I grew up in Minnesota in a farming community where my father was a grain elevator manager. I know from experience that at harvest time everyone works, and the harvest moon is given so they can work through the night. There is an urgency to get the harvest out of the fields before the winter comes. Once the winter comes, the ground freezes and the heavy snow comes, whatever is in the fields is lost. Let us not be asleep on our watch. Wake up! Look up, for our redemption is drawing nigh. Eric Reeder of US Alliance for Reformation gave a report of the conference and made a recap quote, “We find that a majority of the Church is asleep, awaiting a day of escape, and relegating her responsibilities to some time in the future, while evil presses to advance its agenda.” Can you hear God’s angels playing the taps?Day is done,Gone the sun,From the hills,From the lakes,From the skies.All is well,Safely rest,God is nigh.We are hearing the message of the Lord right now, “Come up higher”. This is what He said to Moses in the 3rd month Exodus 19 as he was called to come up to Mount Sinai and meet with God for instructions. Verse 20 says “Moses went up”, ‘alah’, meaning to ascend, to go up, to rise”. This is also used when a sacrifice is offered up. May we each prepare ourselves; humble ourselves to hear what we are to be doing right now, in this hour, while it is still today. Selah.Shabbat ShalomMary BostromKen Bostrom Ministries, Incwww.unitedinhispurpose.org
Monday, April 27, 2009
ROSH CHODESH
APRIL 25, 2009WEEK TWO: ROSH CHODESH ROSH (head) CHODESH (month) IYAR begins today. Iyar is the 2nd month on the Hebraic sacred calendar. Exodus 12:2, states, “This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you.” The first month is also called Nissan or Abib. When God gave the months to Moses, He spoke as 1st month, 2nd month, etc. Rosh Chodesh also is called the New Moon since the Hebraic calendar is based on the moon. (The Hebrew word Chodesh means both month and moon)The Torah provides that Rosh Chodesh can be proclaimed only by the rabbinic court, on the basis of two witnesses who testify that they observed the re-appearance of the moon. The members of such a court must have the semichah, or ordination, that was conferred by teachers upon their students, generation after generation, from the time of Moses. After the destruction of the Second Temple, the level of scholarship needed to qualify for this ordination ceased to exist, due to persecutions and dispersions. Had it reached a point where there was no one left who qualified for semichah, it would have been impossible to proclaim new months, and if that had happened, the Jewish calendar could not have continued. To avoid this catastrophe, in the year 4119 (358-9 C.E.) the court of Hillel II promulgated a calendar for all succeeding centuries, based on the calculations that had historically been used to corroborate the testimony of witnesses to the new moon. The celebration of the New Moon was very meaningful to the Israelites. This was the first commandment given to the nation as a whole. Before this time, God gave specific instructions to the Patriarchs and tribes, but not to an entire nation. As they were coming out of Egypt, they came out as a nation. Jacob and his 12 sons with family, 70 people in all, went into Egypt and 430 years later they had grown into a great population. Exodus 12:37 states there were about 600,000 men, plus women and children. This could be a figure of about 3,000,000. This did not include the mixed multitude (converts) that came out of Egypt with the Israelites. You will not find the name Iyar in the Bible because it is a Babylonian name given to the month. In I Kings 6:1, it is referred to as Ziv, the second month. This is the month when Solomon chose to begin to build the Temple.According to the Book of Formation (Sefer Yetzirah), each month of the Jewish year has a letter of the Hebrew Aleph-Bet, a zodiac sign, one of the twelve tribes of Israel, a sense and a controlling organ/limb of the body. I am not sure exactly where teaching came from, but 3 months ago I was prompted by the Lord to research each month and teach it to the attendees of our Rosh Chodesh service, held on the Tuesday prior to the beginning of the Jewish New Month. It is my intention to share each month what to expect on God’s time calendar. [by the way, the signs in the heaven were given by God to tell the entire story of Jesus and His plan for redemption but it was perverted by satan and the Church has lost the knowledge, to a certain extent, of God’s purpose for the constellations] LETTER: VAV, the 6th letter in the Aleph-Bet, numeric value of 6. The pictograph looks like a tent peg. First used in Genesis 1:1, joining heaven and earth matters. Vav symbolizes the connecting force of God, the divine “hook” that binds heaven and earth together. Vav also represents “man”, who was created on the 6th day. A broken Vav represents a man that is broken. Each curtain of the Tabernacle was fastened to its post by means of a silver hook (vav). Joshua, the 6th book of the Bible reveals that good success comes from meditating on the Word of God. (Joshua 1:8)MAZAL: (Zodiac Sign) “SHOR” (Taurus-ox) Constellation is made up of Taurus the bull, Orion the hunter, Eridanus the river, Auriga the shepherd. Ox is symbolic of a fierce conqueror and a servant. This shows the great judgment of God’s plan for a sinful world. He sent Jesus as a servant, but in the end Jesus will be the great conqueror. [did you know that Zephaniah 3:8 contains every letter of the Hebrew Aleph-Bet, plus uses all 4 final letters?]TRIBE: ISSACHAR, the scholarly tribe of Israel. The Hebrew schools were mostly made up of the tribes of Levi and Issachar. The Sanhedrin was mostly composed from the Tribe of Issachar and became known as the master of the “secret” of the Jewish calendar. I Chronicles 12:32, “of the sons of Issachar who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do.” The symbol of this tribe is of a humble donkey carrying 2 loads. A donkey is a symbol of humility and strength. The name Issachar comes from 2 root words: nasa, “to lift, exalt, raise up” and sakar “payment of contract, salary, fare, hire, price, reward, wages.” As we humble ourselves, we can come up higher to hear from God and receive revelation as to what we are to do in this hour. We must remember, we are bought with the price of the precious Blood of Jesus Christ and we have a responsibility to carry His burden to reach a dying world, full of confusion and death.SENSE: THOUGHT- contemplation or introspection- power of calculation, a month of counting. The root word of “to think” in Hebrew “chashav” means “numerical calculation”, “cheshbon”. This month each day is a counting of the Omer or L’Omer. It comes from Leviticus 23:15, “And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath (feast of First Fruits), from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering: seven Sabbaths shall be completed.” (7 weeks, 49 days until the Feast of Pentecost, ‘pente’ meaning 50) According to this verse, the Jewish people are obligated to count the days from Passover (Pesach) to Pentecost (Shavuot). If you have a good Biblical/Jewish calendar, you will see each Omer date on the bottom of each day. Today is Omer 16.CONTROLLER: RIGHT KIDNEY. The sages say “the kidneys give advice.” In particular, the right kidney relates to spiritual advice or introspection. The kidneys act similarly to the “conscience”, as is said “by night my kidneys chastise me”. This refers to the “chesbon nefesh” (introspection) of the month of Iyar. In John 9:4, Jesus said, “I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work.” This is speaking to me of the spiritual battle involved in these last days and a sense or urgency to finish our assignments here on the earth. The Living Bible reads, “All of us must quickly carry out the tasks assigned to us by the one who sent me, for there is little time left before the night falls and all work comes to an end.” None of us are here by accident, but born at such a time as this with an assignment. That assignment has a responsibility.Jesus lived his life knowing that His time on earth was limited and His days were numbered. Jesus lived His life with the awareness of time, but was not obsessed with it. His followers expressed a sense of urgency to get their assignments done. “Today is the day of salvation”, 2 Corinthians 6:2, “today if you hear His voice, harden not your hearts”, Hebrews 3:7-8. Paul said “come before winter.” Every tick of the clock says “today”, every beat of our heart says “today”, every obituary says “today”. Life is short, death is sure, time is passing.I grew up in Minnesota in a farming community where my father was a grain elevator manager. I know from experience that at harvest time everyone works, and the harvest moon is given so they can work through the night. There is an urgency to get the harvest out of the fields before the winter comes. Once the winter comes, the ground freezes and the heavy snow comes, whatever is in the fields is lost. Let us not be asleep on our watch. Wake up! Look up, for our redemption is drawing nigh. Eric Reeder of US Alliance for Reformation gave a report of the conference and made a recap quote, “We find that a majority of the Church is asleep, awaiting a day of escape, and relegating her responsibilities to some time in the future, while evil presses to advance its agenda.” Can you hear God’s angels playing the taps?Day is done,Gone the sun,From the hills,From the lakes,From the skies.All is well,Safely rest,God is nigh.We are hearing the message of the Lord right now, “Come up higher”. This is what He said to Moses in the 3rd month Exodus 19 as he was called to come up to Mount Sinai and meet with God for instructions. Verse 20 says “Moses went up”, ‘alah’, meaning to ascend, to go up, to rise”. This is also used when a sacrifice is offered up. May we each prepare ourselves; humble ourselves to hear what we are to be doing right now, in this hour, while it is still today. Selah.Shabbat ShalomMary BostromKen Bostrom Ministries, Incwww.unitedinhispurpose.org
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
