Shana tovah 5785! Today and tomorrow are the two-day Jewish New Year Rosh Hashanah, also known as the Feast of Trumpets or the Day of the Awakening Blast. This feast is one of three fall feasts that occur during this Hebrew month of Tishrei. This feast is a time of rejoicing and celebrating another year coupled with serious introspection and an examination of one’s life. It is a time to celebrate but also a serious time of reflection as we prepare to enter into a new season. Why is Rosh Hashanah important to Christians today?
What so many Christians do not understand is that when God set up the feasts, He was not implementing Jewish rituals; He was putting in place a prophetic cycle that would point to the life of the Messiah. God’s calendar is cyclical, and every year, we are to go deeper in our relationship with Him and grow in maturity. The feasts are road markers on our journey. They are checkpoints for an examination of our hearts as well as celebrations for what God is doing.
There are two seasons where the primary feasts occur—spring and fall. At Jesus’ first coming, He fulfilled all the spring feasts. At His second coming, He will fulfill all the fall feasts. The first of these is Rosh Hashanah. In Matthew 24:36, Jesus says about His second coming, “But of the day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, not the Son, but the Father alone.” Jesus was referring to the two days of Rosh Hashanah. The Jews were not exactly sure when the new moon appeared. It had to be seen by two witnesses, confirmed by the Sanhedrin and then announced to the people. Jesus’ return could be any time during this two-day feast. Only the Father knows the exact hour. This fall feast will one day be Jesus’ coronation and wedding! Every year when we celebrate, we are rehearsing for our wedding to Him.
Rosh Hashanah represents when God opens the books of life and death. These books will remain open for ten days until they are closed again on Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement. These ten days are known as the Days of Awe or Days of Repentance. God’s people are to be introspective and examine their lives before Him during these ten days. During the Ten Days of Awe, we repent and ask for Jesus' blood to atone for our individual sins. On Yom Kippur, we also ask that the blood of Jesus atone for communal sins from the previous year.
If you would like to have a traditional Rosh Hashanah meal, what would you include? The main tradition for all celebrations is to eat apples dipped in honey. Apples represent God’s Divine Presence (Song of Solomon 2:3). Honey represents Israel, the land flowing with milk and honey (Deuteronomy 26:15). Other traditional foods for health and prosperity would be dates, string beans, beets, pumpkin, and leeks.
Rosh Hashanah and this new month of Tishrei are special times on the Hebrew calendar! There are specific prophetic pictures on God’s calendar that we can see in the details of the feast. What is the Holy Spirit specifically saying regarding this year? Tomorrow’s post will address the specific things I am hearing from the Holy Spirit concerning 5785 and how we should be positioning our hearts. I will also include a study to go along with the prophetic word so you can dive deeper into the text that accompanies the word.
As they say in Hebrew,
L’shana tovah u’metukah
May you have a good and sweet year!
Blessings,
Brandee
*Please forgive the weedeater noises in the background of the video. I had already started recording when they started next door!
Share this post