Sweeping Out the Leaven

 I was watching a YouTube video posted by a gentlewoman on the other side of this continent from me. She was sharing how she prepares for Passover. It sounded like she said that she cleans out the leaven AFTER Passover dinner! I grabbed my Bible, presuming she had misspoken, but there it was in black and white. "...the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses." Ex. 12:15 (KJV) The Feast of Unleavened Bread begins on the 15th of the first month and ends on the 21st. Passover is on the 14th!

 Suddenly I saw a picture in my mind of what all this pointed TO! Another verse popped into my head "...while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8 KJV

And yet, here I am scrubbing my house to prepare for Passover. -trying to make it clean. -trying to find every last piece of leaven before we sit down to partake of the Lord's Supper. But, these Feast Days are object lessons! They show us, by using physical things, a spiritual truth.

Guys! ("Guys" is the Northwestern version of "y'all" 😉) We can fast all month! We can scrub our houses from top to bottom. But, we can NEVER make ourselves clean! We can never DO enough to be worthy to partake of the Passover.

His sacrifice comes first!

The Lamb of God, who died for the sins of the whole world, died while we were still IN SIN! Our "houses" still contained "leaven". We were still in Egypt. We were still slaves! 

We didn't have to rescue ourselves. We just had to be ready to follow Him.

Our spiritual journey of being saved parallels the Israelites' deliverance from Egypt. As we prepare our hearts and homes for Passover may we remember that we cannot be good enough on our own strength. We need to apply the blood of the Lamb to the doorpost of our hearts. That is the only way we can be saved. Having a clean house didn't keep the death angel away. Only the blood of the lamb did. In the same way, us giving up something we like, or cleaning our house, doesn't cleanse us, only the blood of Jesus can do that!

Do you know what happens when the house begins to fill with the aroma of a special meal cooking and fresh bread baking? We WANT to tidy up the house! We WANT to throw away the old stale bread! It is not tempting at all! Old things have passed away! 

When we become children of God, He calls us first! Then, we have a choice. Do we want to accept His sacrifice for our sins, or do we want to stay in bondage? He doesn't force us. When we accept His sacrifice for our sins it is like the blood is being applied to the doorposts of our hearts. Our identity changes. We are no longer slaves to sin, but are still living in Egypt. When we become "new creatures", He gives us the strength to clean out all that old leaven. -the old beliefs that only brought death. 

I Corinthians 5:7-8 (KJV) says: "Therefore let us keep the feast, not with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth."

Yes, we should examine our hearts.

Yes, we should make peace with those we may have wronged throughout the year.

But, WE cannot make ourselves worthy of partaking of the Lord's Supper. Only Jesus can do that!

Later on in I Corinthians Paul goes back to talking about Passover.

 "For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come. Wherefore whosever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But, let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body." I Corinthians 11: 26-29 KJV

What makes us "unworthy"?

Is it being human? Is it making mistakes? Is it forgetting to read our Bible sometimes? Or, could it be a heart thing? Is it not accepting Jesus' sacrifice for our sins? -not allowing Him to change our hearts. -continuing to be hateful and wicked and mean. Not loving God, or people. Being prideful and arrogant. Pushing ahead as if we are good on our own power and don't need the blood of the Lamb to protect us.

What makes us "worthy"?

Going without our favorite activity, or food for a month? Walking a mile on our knees? Piercing our own skin with nails until we bleed as Christ did? Looking at our own lives and deciding what we need to change? Or, humbly asking our Heavenly Father to show us areas that we need to change and cleanse us from all unrighteousness? -to sincerely and truly want to be all that Jesus wants us to be. -to take in the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. To be like Jesus.

Interesting to note that the Feast of Unleavened Bread comes AFTER Passover. 

The usual pattern seems to be to spend time fasting and preparing BEFORE a special appointed time. Wouldn't it make more sense to have the Feast of Unleavened Bread first, so we can be all nice and clean for Passover? Yet, these physical assignments teach us spiritual concepts. And, this is a lesson that seems so very hard for us humans to grasp. Either we believe nothing is free and we must work hard to be deserving of Jesus' sacrifice for us. Or, we believe everything is free and we don't need to change, or try to do anything differently, Jesus' blood covers everything so we can continue living however we want because He paid the price. 

As I physically prepare the Passover meal and then, at some point during Passover, throw out all of our leaven and eat unleavened bread, I spiritually understand the order of salvation. As we eat the bread and drink the juice, in remembrance of Him (I Corinthians 11: 24-26) we can see that His love for us delivers us while we are still sinners. He feeds, serves, and washes others' feet, knowing that he will soon suffer. But, as we watch this unfold and try to fathom this kind of sacrificial love, we are reminded that He is our example! We are to follow in His footsteps. We are to wash each other's feet. We are to feed and serve. We are to love.

As we finish the Passover meal, and completely clean up any leftovers, we stand, as the Children of Israel did, ready for our new life in Christ. Our shoes on our feet and our staff in our hands. And, as the cries of our captors ring in our ears, we hear the cry of our savior, "Come follow me!" The door swings open and we begin our journey to the promised land!

                                   

For a whole week, we only eat unleavened bread. The bread, of course, represents Christ, the living Word of God! Taking up our cross, or rejecting the leaven, comes after we have made a commitment to follow Christ. If you think about it, this makes sense. Without the power of the Holy Spirit changing us into a new creature, (which happens at conversion) it would be impossible to follow Him.  

That's the unleavened bread part of the feast, but, wait, why is it called a Feast? Shouldn't it be a FAST? A fast is doing without something. And, we are not eating leaven for a whole week!

Yep, it is called a FEAST, not a FAST. 

While Exodus 12:19 clearly says that no one should eat leaven during the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the focus is on what we SHOULD do, not what we shouldn't do. We are commanded to eat unleavened bread. These days with so much gluten intolerance, many of us don't eat much bread, so it might not be so much of a sacrifice to give up yeast bread for a week. But, we are commanded to eat unleavened bread. (Exodus 12:18)

My mind wanders a lot, and, if I haven't lost you yet, let me show you where I went next. The Word of God- the Bible. What if, during the Feast of Unleavened Bread, I only read the Bible?

You see, even though we usually think of leaven as representing sin (and it does). Jesus told his disciples to beware of the "leaven" of the Pharisees. When they asked him for clarification, they realized he was referring to the "doctrine" of the Pharisees.

So, can leaven also represent teachings, or beliefs?

It is so easy to start listening to many different voices. There are so many wonderful, Christian, Bible-based books available. Devotion books and Bible studies. Dynamic preachers with lists of good things we can do to be closer to God.

But, maybe it would be helpful, for just one week, to not listen to all those other voices. -to get back to the pure, unleavened Word of God. -to only listen to Jesus' teachings. When we start listening to those other voices again, we just might notice some things that are not matching up. 

Well, this ended up being a lot longer than I intended and I really wanted to clean out that back room today. Oh, yes, with all that talk about how cleaning our house isn't required, and doesn't save us, I do intend to do some deep cleaning. I mean, it is spring! Who knows maybe I will uncover something that I forgot I had and really need to get rid of. Physically, or spiritually? Either really. It's a good time to clean house! :) 

No More Sand in my Ears

(I wasn't happy with my previous post. Here it is again with an alternative ending.)

 

It was my voice I heard...

-shouting above the noise of what, to me, was normal.

- questioning that my prayers were being answered.

"Who made you a prince and a judge over us?!" (Exodus 2:14)

So, I chased him into the desert.

The one who understood. I made him leave.

It was me who didn't believe...

- a generation later.

- who is this coming from nowhere, promising the impossible?

"You are making things worse, not better!" (based on Exodus 5:20-23)

Making bricks was what I did, all I knew.

Taking away the straw made it harder, not easier.

It was me who begged for captivity.

- when I felt surrounded by enemies.

- when someone said to walk through the ocean.

"Did you bring us out here to die?" (Exodus 14: 11)

I felt scared, betrayed.

This wasn't the way deliverance was supposed to look.

It was me who thought I was dying.

- when I was thirstier than I had ever been.

- when those depending on me asked for something I could not supply.

"You are killing us, and our animals, and our little ones!" (based on Exodus 17: 3)

The desert is very dry.

Water is vital for survival!

It was me who ran in fear.

- at the mountain.

- running from the very thing I had been running to all these months.

"You talk with God. I can't!" (based on Exodus 20: 19)

I felt vulnerable and weak in God's presence.

I backed away and hid.

It was me who asked for an idol.

- demanding the minister of God make an idol for me.

- believing I was abandoned.

"Get up and do something, spiritual leader. I've given up on waiting." (based on Exodus 22: 1)

Forty days is a long time to sit in the desert and wait.

This is definitely NOT what I left Egypt for.

It was me who complained about eating bread from heaven.

- boring menu.

- hungry for more.

"There is nothing to eat but manna!" (based on Numbers 11: 6)

How many ways can I fix this?

Running out of recipes!

It was me who was quick to judge God's servant.

- Did you see who he married? tsk, tsk.

- I could do a better job!

"Has God only spoken to you? We hear from God too, you know." (based on Numbers 12:2)

If you had to put up with her as a sister-in-law, you would understand.

This heat makes anyone grumpy. 

It was me who took one look at the promised land and cried.

- those giants are really scary looking.

- slavery has its perks: stability, peace, consistency... 

"We're all gonna die. I wish I was dead! Let's go back!" (based on Numbers 14:1-4)

This isn't what I signed up for.

It shouldn't be this hard.

It was me who changed my mind, too late.

- isn't this what I am supposed to do?

- see, I told you it wouldn't work.

"Okay! Here we go to obey God!" (based on Numbers 14: 40)

Did you say something, Moses?

Don't listen to him! I can hear from God too, and He said to storm the hill!

It was me who blamed God for not giving me what He had promised. 

- wandering in the wilderness is NOT the land of milk and honey!

- I don't think these leaders know what they are doing.

"You think you are all that, but we are all holy people of God. I'm done!" (based on Numbers 16:3, 14)

You brought us OUT of a land flowing with milk and honey, INTO the desert!

Let's get real here people, this man has not given us anything that he promised us!

It was me who didn't recognize the Son of God.

- I follow everything Moses taught.

- I am one of God's chosen people.

"Search the scriptures! No prophet comes from Nazareth!" (John 7:52)

I know this man is from Nazareth. 

He can't be a prophet!

It was me who killed Stephen.

- How dare he say I wouldn't have listened to Moses?

- How dare he call me stiffnecked and uncircumcised? 

"Ahhhhhhh!!! I'm not listening!!!" (based on Acts 7:57)

Did he say he can see into heaven?

He deserves to die!

It was me who lost my sight so I could finally see.

- I thought I WAS doing God's work.

- Heading down the wrong road.

"Lord, what do you want me to do?" (based on Acts 9: 4-8)

So, Jesus was... IS the Messiah!

Count me in!

It is me who is watching and waiting.

- for my Lord to return

- to hear "well done"

"Even so, come, Lord Jesus." (Revelation 22:20)

They will look upon Him whom they have pierced.

He will bring healing to the nations.

"Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2: 9-11"

By Sarah Whitney March 2023

Sand in my Ears

 It was my voice I heard...

-shouting above the noise of what, to me, was normal.

- questioning that my prayers were being answered.

"Who made you a prince and a judge over us?!" (Exodus 2:14)

So, I chased him into the desert.

The one who understood. I made him leave.

It was me who didn't believe...

- a generation later.

- who is this coming from nowhere, promising the impossible?

"You are making things worse, not better!" (based on Exodus 5:20-23)

Making bricks was what I did, all I knew.

Taking away the straw made it harder, not easier.

It was me who begged for captivity.

- when I felt surrounded by enemies.

- when someone said to walk through the ocean.

"Did you bring us out here to die?" (Exodus 14: 11)

I felt scared, betrayed.

This wasn't the way deliverance was supposed to look.

It was me who thought I was dying.

- when I was thirstier than I had ever been.

- when those depending on me asked for something I could not supply.

"You are killing us, and our animals, and our little ones!" (based on Exodus 17: 3)

The desert is very dry.

Water is vital for survival!

It was me who ran in fear.

- at the mountain.

- running from the very thing I had been running to all these months.

"You talk with God. I can't!" (based on Exodus 20: 19)

I felt vulnerable and weak in God's presence.

I backed away and hid.

It was me who asked for an idol.

- demanding the minister of God make an idol for me.

- believing I was abandoned.

"Get up and do something, spiritual leader. I've given up on waiting." (based on Exodus 22: 1)

Forty days is a long time to sit in the desert and wait.

This is definitely NOT what I left Egypt for.

It was me who complained about eating bread from heaven.

- boring menu.

- hungry for more.

"There is nothing to eat but manna!" (based on Numbers 11: 6)

How many ways can I fix this?

Running out of recipes!

It was me who was quick to judge God's servant.

- Did you see who he married? tsk, tsk.

- I could do a better job!

"Has God only spoken to you? We hear from God too, you know." (based on Numbers 12:2)

If you had to put up with her as a sister-in-law, you would understand.

This heat makes anyone grumpy. 

It was me who took one look at the promised land and cried.

- those giants are really scary looking.

- slavery has its perks: stability, peace, consistency... 

"We're all gonna die. I wish I was dead! Let's go back!" (based on Numbers 14:1-4)

This isn't what I signed up for.

It shouldn't be this hard.

It was me who changed my mind, too late.

- isn't this what I am supposed to do?

- see, I told you it wouldn't work.

"Okay! Here we go to obey God!" (based on Numbers 14: 40)

Did you say something, Moses?

Don't listen to him! I can hear from God too, and He said to storm the hill!

It was me who blamed God for not giving me what He had promised. 

- wandering in the wilderness is NOT the land of milk and honey!

- I don't think these leaders know what they are doing.

"You think you are all that, but we are all holy people of God. I'm done!" (based on Numbers 16:3, 14)

You brought us OUT of a land flowing with milk and honey, INTO the desert!

Let's get real here people, this man has not given us anything that he promised us!

It was me who didn't recognize the Son of God.

- I follow everything Moses taught.

- I am one of God's chosen people.

"Search the scriptures! No prophet comes from Nazareth!" (John 7:52)

I know this man is from Nazareth. 

He can't be a prophet!

It was me who killed Stephen.

- How dare he say I wouldn't have listened to Moses?

- How dare he call me stiffnecked and uncircumcised? 

"Ahhhhhhh!!! I'm not listening!!!" (based on Acts 7:57)

Did he say he can see into heaven?

He deserves to die!

It is me who thinks I have it all figured out.

- that thinks I can hear God better than anyone else.

- that is quick to criticize spiritual leaders.

"This is the right way. All the rest of you are crazy!" (today)

I understand perfectly what God is doing right now.

Follow me because I have it all right! 

By Sarah Whitney March 2023

The King Who Clung to God (part 2)

 

In reading some of my past blog posts I noticed I never came back and finished the story of King Hezekiah. So, here is part 2. 

II Chronicles 31: 20-21 KJV says: "And thus did Hezekiah throughout all Judah, and wrought that which was good and right and truth before the Lord his God. And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with his heart, and prospered."

But, even Hezekiah was fully human. And here, in the story's second half, we can see his struggles.

 His fear.

 His weakness. 

His frailty. 

His moments of brokenness. 

A villain, named Sennacherib, king of Assyria, enters the picture. He brought in his army and set up camp near the fenced cities of Judah. They were preparing to take over the country.

 Hezekiah developed a strategy to protect his country from these invaders. He changed the course of a stream and had his men dig a tunnel to supply the sieged city with water. But, that isn't the part of his story I want to focus on today.

I want to talk about the day God told him he was going to die. I have heard some people say they wish they knew when they were going to die. Somehow if they knew they had a year, or ten, or fifty years left they could somehow plan how to live those years. Maybe they would make better choices, or just not have as much anxiety. If a person knows they have many more years to live, maybe they would have more confidence and take risks. Well, Hezekiah had the blessing of knowing.

 

The prophet Isaiah was a very close friend of King Hezekiah. God gave Isaiah an assignment that must have been very hard for the old prophet to carry out. Isaiah had to tell Hezekiah it was time. His life was over. It was time to get his house in order, tell his family good-bye... Hezekiah didn't take the news very well.

 

Some people say King Hezekiah had the bubonic plague. He was too sick to get out of bed. When Isaiah came with the news Hezekiah broke. How could God do this to him? How could He just let him die after all they had been through together?

            "Remember me, God?" he sobbed. "I have always trusted you. My heart has always been turned toward you. I have done whatever you have asked. I have done so much good!..." he cried bitterly. This famous, highly-intelligent man, turned his face to the wall and cried like a child who is sent to bed without dessert. 

The heartbreak. 

Isaiah couldn't stay. 

But, soon God told Isaiah to go back.

"Thus saith the Lord, the God of David thy father, 

I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears:

behold, I will add unto thy days fifteen years..."

God would heal him and give him fifteen extra years!

Not only that, but God wanted to show Hezekiah a special sign from Him that He had heard his prayer. He had the shadow on the sundial go backward ten degrees! 

Wow! What does that mean? How did that happen? 

I have noticed two ways for a shadow from artificial light to go backward. One is for the light source to be moved in the opposite direction. Another way is for a brighter light to overpower the original light. I don't know exactly HOW it happened, but the shadow went backward and Hezekiah relived that afternoon as well as an extra fifteen years! 

Isaiah instructed Hezekiah's caregivers to make a plaster using figs to put on the boil. And he soon recovered completely. 

He wrote a beautiful poem after he recovered to remember this amazing experience and glorify God.

News traveled fast and soon King Hezekiah was entertaining visitors from near and far. As was the custom, they came bearing gifts, and King Hezekiah gladly gave them a tour of his palace. 

I don't know if that boil affected his brain, or what, but somehow his judgment wasn't as good as it had once been. 

Isaiah especially noticed this one day as he passed a group of very influential-looking people leaving the palace as he arrived. He suddenly had a feeling something was wrong.

"Who were those guys?" Isaiah asked the happy king.

"Oh, some really nice people from a faraway placed called, Babylon." the king innocently answered.

"And, what did you show them?" Isaiah asked.

"Everything in my treasure rooms, my house, the temple... I gave them the grand tour...EVERYTHING!"

It was Isaiah's turn to feel heartbroken. 

"Every last thing you showed those men, they are going to come and steal. They will also take your descendants and raise them as Babylonian eunuchs." 

In a moment of pride, Hezekiah had messed up. 

But, II Chronicles 32:26 says he repented of his pride and God forgave him. God promised him that he would not have to live to see this happen.

Manasseh, the son of Hezekiah, would.

Manasseh was born during those extra fifteen years and gained the throne at only twelve years old. He was evil. He rebuilt the broken altars of false gods. He worshipped the stars. And, even worse than that, he caused his own little ones to walk through the fire. 

Some say this is a sad story that teaches us that IF Hezekiah hadn't lived an extra 15 years, wicked Manasseh would have never been born. The Babylonians would have never visited the little country of Judah. God's people could have continued to live in peace.

Is this a sad story? Was much of history, and even the light in the sky, altered because a grown man wasn't ready to say goodbye to this life?

Or is this an inspiring story? Did God extend the time of peace because a precious child of his cried out to Him and asked for a few more years to live?

And, just when you think you have answered that question, here is another fact. Hezekiah's great-grandson was the young, God-fearing, evangelist: King Josiah!

Was it good, or bad that he lived an extra 15 years?

Let me know what you think!

The Courage of Esther

 Our family has been hearing from the Father that we should reach out more. 

    -that we need to be His hands and feet

    -that God can use us even as the unique and peculiar people we are. 

We are still determining exactly what that means, and how to do it. 

It is so quiet and comfortable here on the mountain. My husband has lived here his whole life. As a young child, he spent hours playing alone in the yard. When he was a teenager he would often escape into the woods for days. He would take a few packages of Ramen Noodles and a fishing pole and hop on his dirt bike. I have lived here for 22 years now, and I understand why it is so hard for him to leave this hill. Our girls are young adults and love this mountain as much as their Dad. Our 11-year-old son is the only extrovert in the family, but, even he prefers to stay home.

 

The trees never complain about our singing and never interrupt us when we share our thoughts out loud. The deer are also very easy to communicate with. The creek doesn't pout and say we don't visit often enough. The rain comes and goes as it pleases and never needs to be entertained. 

But, people are intimidating sometimes. Maybe it is because we know ourselves. We know we have prejudices and flaws. We know we get annoyed easily. And, if WE have those unhospitable feelings, OTHERS probably do too! Maybe THEY would prefer to be left alone as well.

My oldest daughter took the assignment seriously this Purim.

Most of our friends and relatives don't celebrate this little-known (at least in our circle) holiday. But, we were reminded that it is okay to embrace our uniqueness. 

It ended up being a good start to this assignment. 

We made up several little packages to distribute. Our list of friends and neighbors who might appreciate them somehow grew to about a dozen. Nothing fancy. Just a little box, or bag with a few yummy treats and a homemade card painted by our thoughtful Rebecca.

The delivery time came. Jojo didn't want to dress up and was kind of pouty at first. But, as we stopped and saw the smiling faces, we all felt better. This wasn't so bad! 

Sure, the responses were inquisitive.

"Oh, is it a holiday?"

"This is nice! What is it for?"

"Purim?! What's Purim?!"

And, a couple...

"Oh, is it Purim today?!"

But, this is where Jojo got to do what he loves to do... share knowledge. My kids are way better at communicating than I am. Somehow they all got their Dad's short and to-the-point way of answering questions (which is super helpful in situations like these). 

"Purim is about the story of Esther!" Jojo answered. "It teaches us to have the courage to do the right thing when God puts you in the right place. It is about helping people."

"Wow! That is exactly right!" I said as I pushed all the words swarming inside my head back down. The words about Mordecai raising his cousin and why she was an orphan and who Haman's ancestors were and how many times, throughout history, the enemy has tried to annihilate God's people. And, how God's name isn't even in the book of Esther, but HE is there...

 He is working and moving, even when we cannot see Him! Even when we feel like we are all alone among foreigners who couldn't possibly understand all of our weirdness. And to realize that we don't need to be ashamed to be who God created us to be, even with all of our little quirks. Because maybe, he made us who we are and put us among the people we are among, because He wants to use us, right where we are.

Can God use us introverts, living so far away from the city? 

My first thought when we were discussing how we could serve God was to pack sandwiches and go to a nearby town and pass them out to the homeless. But, then I began to wonder if that was what HE wanted us to do. 

He didn't place us in town. He placed us here in the woods.

Maybe He has a use for us country folk too. There are people in the woods who need Jesus. There are many introverts, like us, who will never drive to the city and go to a big church full of people. I don't know what it would look like for us to reach out to them. But, maybe we will learn, in time.

Maybe serving our Father doesn't always look the way we think it will.

For Esther, it took becoming the queen of an ungodly country, married to a short-fused, partying king.

But, in time, and with support from her friends and family, she humbled herself before God and let Him use her, knowing she might not survive the experience. But, she did survive! And, in the process, so did God's people! 

Somehow the idea of letting God use us, whatever that may mean, doesn't sound so scary. Sure, it feels like we are putting our lives in jeopardy when we knock on our neighbor's door, but most of them will recognize us and not shoot! And, if sweet, beautiful Esther had the courage to risk her life to face Haman, surely we can have the courage to say yes to Him as well.

May God bless you and your family as you shine for Him where you are planted!

Please comment with Purim traditions that your family has.

How we Observe Purim at our House

 Purim is a sweet little holiday that looks back to yet another time in history when a villain attempted to annihilate the Jewish people. God sent someone to deliver His people in an unexpected way. The origins of this holiday are, as you probably know, described in the biblical book of Esther.

This is the Holiday that we celebrate the least often.

The first time we celebrated Purim was with our homeschool group. We bought this wonderful book titled:

A Family Guide to the Biblical Holidays by Robin Sampson & Linda Pierce

It is a nice thick book filled with activities, fun ideas, and extended learning references. Homeschool Moms love thick books full of great learning ideas!

My girls were little at that time and loved to dress up as princesses and bake cookies. We watched VeggieTales: Esther; dressed in ruffles and lace and ate sugar and spice and everything nice!

One of our friends showed up with a color-themed basket. Her kids were dressed up as characters from the Esther story. The girls loved the basket. They found fresh fruit, home-baked goodies, and a lovely card signed by each of their little friends. It was so sweet. The opposite of Halloween.

Somehow I didn't realize this was part of the celebration, giving gifts. Even though it literally says, in the Bible, that they sent gifts and food to each other to celebrate still being alive! I just thought my friend was really smart.

Now that none of my kids are little, we don't dress up. We fix up goody bags for a few of our friends and deliver them on Purim. It is best if they aren't home. We try to not let our right hand see what our left hand is doing!

Some years we Moms have fasted. It is a fast in remembrance of the fast Esther and her people did before she went before the king. 

We read the book of Esther around Purim time. It seems like we learn something new each year. But we don't have a fancy party like some people do. I guess I'm just not big on parties.

I hope you enjoyed this view inside our home! Stay tuned for posts about how we observe other feast days!

If you decide to celebrate Purim this year, or ever, may you never lose sight of Jesus in the middle of it all!

May God bless you and your family!

Please comment on what your family does to celebrate Purim!

Biblical New Year and Our Amazing Moon

 One thing I didn't fully realize before I started learning about the Feast Days was that God's calendar is quite different from the Roman calendar that we currently use.

It says in Genesis that God created the sun, moon, and stars for "...signs and seasons and days and years... (Gen. 1:14)" While we know that God definitely does NOT want us to worship them, or use them to foretell the future, they were created for our use.

When I was in college I took an astronomy class. Most of it was way over my head, but I remember being impressed with the moon. As I studied the Feast Days I learned even more about this "lesser light." Everything in creation points to our Creator and teaches us about Him. The moon teaches us to watch and wait.

The moon changes shape a little every night.

The amount of days from one visible new moon to the next is not exact! It may take 28-30 days!

The time the moon rises and sets changes every night.

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To be clear I am talking about how we see the moon, from the earth, with our naked eye. So, for example, in Bible times, and even now. We don't go by the "astronomical new moon" which is when there is no moon at all, but by what we call the "first visible moon". We can get a pretty good idea of when it will occur, by looking up astronomical charts but we won't really know for sure it is a new moon until we see it!

Do you know how the ancient Israelites determined the beginning of the month? I'll tell you in this article!

I got so excited when I learned this because it is like God is having us practice something in the physical realm that we also need to do in the spiritual!

Every month, the moon grows and shrinks (again, from OUR perspective, not actually!). It is called "waxing" when it grows and "waning" when it shrinks. It appears to grow a little more every day until it becomes a full circle of light. Then it wanes every day until it is a circle of darkness that we cannot see. Then, when we see the new little sliver of light, it is the beginning of a new month on God's calendar!

But, here is the thing, we cannot exactly predict when we will be able to see that little sliver of the waxing moon! Many things determine if we can see it. For example, say the "astronomical new moon" (when it is a black circle) is scheduled for January 21 at 9:00 am.

If the moon rises at 7 am that day and sets at 6:30 pm. AND, If the SUN sets at 4:30 PM. Then, it may be dark enough and the moon may have "waxed" enough that we might see a small sliver of light making January the 22nd the first day of the month on God's calendar (I'll explain the month names in another post.).

However, as I said, the time the moon rises and sets varies, as does the sun!

(I don't know why I get so excited about this, yet it is so hard to explain!)

So, stay with me here.

What if the variables are different?

What if the astronomical new moon occurs at 4 pm on January 21, then the sun sets at 4:30 pm, and the moon sets at 6:00 pm? Even though the moon is up for a couple more hours after the sun set, it isn't illuminated enough for us to see it, so we wait. On January 22 we look up moonset and sunset times and find out that the moon is going to set at 5:30 PM. It is so close to the sun all day that there is no way we can see it, so we have no choice but to wait ANOTHER day! But, we don't give up, because we KNOW that that moon of ours IS going to shine again and soon. On January 23, we look at the horizon shortly after the sun sets and we see a little sliver of a moon shining! So, we finally get to blow the trumpet and declare January 24th Day One!

Did any of that make sense?

I feel like I had to actually DO it a few times before I figured out how it all works.

But, really it is quite simple if you don't worry about the science behind it. When you see the new sliver of the moon, then that is the first day of the month on God's calendar!

Now that I thoroughly confused you, do you want to know how to tell when the first MONTH of the YEAR is on God's calendar?

For that, we turn to Exodus! (If I use one verse from each book of the Bible we will be here awhile! lol)

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Exodus 12 tells us when the "beginning of months is". Yep. Passover. Early spring. An in-depth study teaches us a few signs to look for to determine when we are at the right season for month ONE, day ONE. of the New Year. (hint: It's not January! BUT, we already knew that!)

But, I'll just tell you: It is when the barley is ready to harvest.

So, in ancient Israel, the watchmen would watch the moon change.

They would watch the seasons change.

As the barley grew from grass to grain, they watched. When they saw the barley was almost ready for harvest, they would watch the moon. When the first little sliver of the new moon shone, they would blow the trumpet and everyone would know it was the first day of the first month!

Now, get this! ONE person seeing the little sliver wasn't enough! They needed 2 or 3 WITNESSES who found ripe barley and saw the new moon in order to declare it so!

I guess you can probably see the significance here! And this is why I really love the feast days! As I am DOING all these very physical things and becoming more AWARE of the physical world around me, my heart is understanding spiritual things too!

And, quickly my mind is flooded with New Testament verses about harvest and witnesses and promises that one of these days we will SEE the sign in HEAVEN that we are so longing for. When the season is right. We must continue to watch!

Just as surely as the dark moon will shine again, and just as surely as the barley will become ripe and bow with fullness, Jesus WILL once again come in the clouds!

There will be TWO witnesses!

There will be a TRUMPET!

So, why not practice watching and waiting now?

There are several groups that watch for when the barley is ready to be harvested in Israel and when the first visible new moon is seen each month. Of course, they don't all agree. So, don't stress too much about it. We all know in part and see in part. Each year, each month, each day, we learn something new. We realize a truth in a deeper, more meaningful way. So, don't worry if you don't understand all the hows and whys. If God is leading you to go on this journey, do what you DO know and HE will guide you.

And don't forget LOVE!

In fact, if you are going to forget something... PRIDE would be a good thing to forget! Because this journey can be quite humbling!

Start watching the moon phases and tell me what you notice. Just a few more moons until Passover! (which actually occurs two weeks AFTER the new moon, so it is usually a full moon at that time- just in case I haven't confused you enough. See Exodus 12. You'll get it! ;) )

God bless you as we prepare...