Every night that I go outside, I find myself looking up at the moon and saying “Hullo Lord”. Not because I’m mistaking the moon for Him, or heading into some weird form of worship, but because the moon is a great reminder to me that He has set many ways to communicate with us, and in a sense the moon is one of those.
The moon is, in effect a calendar. Not only do the sun and the moon govern day and the night but they were also set to be signs marking sacred times, and days and years.
So every time I look at the moon, I wonder, is it waxing or waning? Where are we in the cycle of lunar/Hebrew months?
This is about the only time of year that I’m sure of the answer to that – as we head into the month that GOD HIMSELF set as the first month of the year… 3500 years ago, when He said to Moses at the time of the Exodus from Egypt “This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year.” (Ex 12:2)
God Himself set the pattern of days and months and years, and God Himself designated the beginning of the count in terms of following a calendar. God Himself set the Passover at the 14th day of the first Hebrew month and God Himself designated Jesus to die in fulfilment of the Passover feast.
Each Hebrew month begins at the first sliver of new moon. So Passover is always at full moon. The 14th day of the cycle. While the crucifixion took place at Passover, the disconnect between the Hebrew and Gregorian calendars means our ‘Easter’ doesn’t often coincide exactly to Passover, but it’s always close.
So the date today on the Bible calendar is 21 Adar 5773. Next Tuesday, the 12th March will be the 1st day of Nisan 5773. This to me marks the beginning of the most special time of year… the time where I love to follow along the Biblical calendar and days, focusing on the instructions recorded for those specific days – not because I have to – not because of law – not because of obligation – but because there are treasures of understanding to be found.
While Passover happens on the 14th of the month, other instructions are given which affect what the Hebrews would have been doing in the days leading up to the 14th. One of the pointers that led me into all this in the first place was to read the OT books of law (Genesis to Deuteronomy) to see how the law would have affected Jesus daily life… I learned far more than I could have ever expected. My heart sings with agreement to Psalm 119: 97 “Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long.” – Like I said before – not because I have to – not because of law itself – not because of obligation – but because they point, in a multitude of ways, to the work of God through Jesus the Messiah who Was, who Is, and IS to come.
(This little series has been posted with dates in the opposite order to which it was written so as to appear sequentially to readers)