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T'SHUVAH:
A Special Season
of Repentance
As we approach the "High Holy Days" in the Fall, which include the most solemn Day of Atonements, we are in a special preparatory time on which we traditionally blow the shofar every day to remind ourselves that they are drawing near. This month of soul-searching parallels the prophetic time in which we are now living, which is a prelude to the dramatic upheavals which will signal the beginning of the end of the age and the Messianic Kingdom. The "beginning of birth pangs" alerts us to wake up and "lift up your heads, for your redemption draws near!" This year there seem to be many indications that it we may be done with the rehearsals and approaching the real thing very quickly.
There are two "days of judgment" on YHWH's annual calendar. The first is the Feast of Trumpet-blasts (Yom haT'ruah) the first day of the civil year, but also considered in some aspects the end of the prior year., because of the concept of overlap in Hebraic thought.
"Rosh haShanah" (as Yom haT'ruah is often called, based on the civil calendar) is when the court of 24 elders is seated and "the books are opened" (Dan. 7:9; Rev. 4:1). The first book opened is the "Book of the Righteous", or, the Book of Life. The second is for another clear-cut category, the "wicked", with whom YHWH has stopped striving.
But the third book is less conclusive. It is called the "Book of the Sinners", and refers to the average people who are "missing the target", in whatever way, through ignorance.
It is necessary in Scripture to distinguish between "the wicked" and "sinners". Yeshua said he was "betrayed into the hands of sinners" (Matt. 26:45), and he forgave them, for were not sinning deliberately. In the Torah, only deliberate sins are punished by death; those done ignorantly can be atoned for by a sacrifice. Hebrews 10:26 reminds us that for those who go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins. David says he will "teach sinners [YHWH's] ways" (Ps. 51:13), so there is yet hope for them as long as the gates have not yet been closed.
The 40 days before Yom Kippur, and especially the last 10, are spent in fervent repentance, paralleling Jonah's effect on Nin'weh. During this period Israelites typically greet each other with "may you be sealed for the day of redemption" or "may you be written and recorded for the best", and pray to the same end. Ephesians 4:30 tells us that the Spirit of Holiness is what seals us for that day, through faithfulness to the Messiah (cf. 1:13-14). The seal also reminds us of the mark placed upon Cain to prevent him from being judged by anyone but YHWH, and that mark (and its counterfeit) show up again in the books of Ezekiel and Revelation.
However, even within the Kingdom there are various levels of reward, and our attitude during this time sets the tone spiritually for the doors that will be opened for us in the following year. We fast on Yom Kippur to "afflict our souls" (suppress our wills and appetites, and pay attention to our motives), because they are "gates" by which sin gains entrance. (Gen. 4:7) Therefore, we close them up on the day when YHWH renders His verdict on the spiritual health of the nation of Israel as a whole.
YHWH prescribed a curious practice in Leviticus 13:21, 33 for dealing with people who had leprosy: if the verdict was still unclear, they were given a 7-day waiting period. Why 7? Because it relates to the judgment scenario mentioned above: after Yeshua comes for those who have believed "on time", it appears there are 7 years of sifting, when many, who are judged to be wicked, are destroyed outright. But the Two Witnesses and 144,000 Israelites (possibly one and the same) give the undecided one last opening to repent.
But this is to their shame. The five virgins who were not ready when the bridegroom arrived had already missed the wedding itself, unlike the five who were ready. (Mat. 25)
The fruitless tree that was given extra care and more time (Lk. 13) shows that YHWH is not quick to condemn. In fact, at this season alone, the King is said to be "in the field", having stepped down from His throne to walk among His people and be nearer to us than at any other time of the year, feeling our pain and recognizing where patience and mercy are truly warranted.
But, as a rule, why require Him to give us "days of grace"? Why not be found not only ready but eager to "pay the rent on time" and be people whom He not only allows into the Kingdom, but welcomes with open arms and designs special positions for? Remember, Yeshua is coming chiefly "for those who love His appearing"--not those who just tolerate it.
This song attempts to capture the essence of the first 30 days of this season, the month known as "Elul", which in Hebrew is also an acrostic for "Ani L'dodi V'dodi Li" (I am my Beloved's, and He is mine." (Song of Songs 6:3)
Make it Real This Year
I must confess that sometimes I have approached the fall high holy days with prayers that the events of which the “Days of Awe” are dress rehearsals be deferred to a later year. I just did not feel ready for that level of intense and rapid change. This year there is a special sense of urgency, as many things we used to take for granted have had the rug pulled out from under them, and there are threats of many more such occurrences which could be even more earth-shaking. Could this be the last go-round?
Whether or not we are about to experience the beginning of the actual Kingdom, we have huge dragons raising their heads at the personal level, and there are hideous societal trends that need stemming and watershed elections coming up that could very easily be a step in an apocalyptic direction. In the words of Psalm 11, foundations are being torn down.
But that Psalm leaves us with the more positive take-away that YHWH is still on His throne. Politics won’t solve the problem—though they may be a useful tool—and neither can they ruin things completely (see Psalm 2) if we have put what we treasure out of their reach (Mat. 6:20). Phil Keaggy summarized it well in a 1970s song:
“When everything else is falling apart
and crumbling to the ground,
There’s a Kingdom emerging,
and to me that’s very encouraging,
A society where we can be
the people of [YHWH].
Take a look around and listen to the sound:
A new kind of laughter we’re following after, the king worthy of his crown…”
Before the kingdom (as foreshadowed by Sukkoth), though, there does have to be shaking of all that can be shaken (Haggai 2:6), symbolized by Yom T’ruah (the wake-up call), and a judgment, like Yom Kippur.
Old men are dreaming many dreams; young men are seeing visions. (Joel 2:28) A Christian pastor had a dream that after major shakeups in both religion and politics around these high holy days, big things would come upon the world at Passover next year. Not Easter (the pagan-turned-Christian holiday) but Passover! That makes us give pause. A dream from YHWH would certainly use His calendar, not man’s.
Whether his will come true, time will tell. But if it does, are we ready? Are your roots deep? Are you ready to face the intense adversity that must precede the coming of the Kingdom, to burn away the remaining dross and prepare a people fit for the new society He is about to give to this world? Yeshua said that time of trouble would be worse than any ever before—and any ever after it.
I don’t presume anyone can expect to be ready by his or her own strength, but have you surrendered yourself to YHWH and are you resisting the adversary? (Yaaqov/James 4:7) When Yeshua’s disciples were faced with some stubborn demonic opposition, after (as usual) castigating them for their lack of faith, he admitted, “But this kind does not come out except by prayer and fasting.” (Matithyahu 17:21)
And that’s just what this season is about. The war may already be won, but not all the battles are over yet. Even if our sins are covered by Yeshua’s blood, we still face judgments at each stage in our walk, testing whether we have grown and put what we were taught into practice—or not. Testing if we are building on Messiah’s foundation with the right materials. (1 Cor. 3:11ff) Many years the verdict is “Take another lap around Mt. Sinai, ‘til you’ve learned your lesson”, in Al Poirier’s words, based on Deuteronomy 2:3 (when YHWH said we’d been circling it long enough and now it was time to move on).
Will this year be one where we do move up to the next level? It can be—if we do the right thing(s), and if we hold to the right things—the things that cannot be shaken. (Hebrews 12:27) “Since we are receiving an unshakeable Kingdom, let us take hold of the empowering ..” (Heb. 12:28) You may even qualify to be spared the worst: “Because you have guarded my word about patient endurance, I will also guard you from the season of testing that is about to come on the whole inhabited world.” (Rev. 3:10)
“If we would judge ourselves, we would not [need to] be judged. But when we are judged, we are corrected by YHWH, so that we will not be condemned along with the world.” (1 Corinthians 11:31-32)
Of course it should not take impending catastrophe to bring us to repentance; we always need it. This might not be the final round. Maybe our land(s) can still be healed again for a while. (2 Chron. 7:14)
But even if what we need to repent of this year is more “normal”, still, no sin is normal, no matter how common, no matter even how universal since Adam. Any deviation from the true norm puts a barrier between us and YHWH, muffles our cries to Him (Isaiah 59:2), and holds back at least some of the good things He would otherwise be able to give us. (Jeremiah 5:25) Barriers that keep our outcry from reaching the heavens (Ex. 2:23; 1 Sam. 9:16, etc.) are the last thing we need at a time like this.
Not treating one another properly can hinder our prayers. (1 Peter 3:7) Yom Kippur is part of this time when we are told YHWH cannot forgive sins against our fellow humans that the humans have not forgiven. Have you made things right with not only YHWH but also the others who sincerely follow Him but have had disagreements with you? Can you “leave your offering”—which gives you the right to the fellowship with YHWH as experienced at Sukkoth—“on the altar and go, first be reconciled with your brother who has something against you”? (Mat. 5:24) Of course, some are not willing to be reconciled, but are you “insofar as is possible, wherever it is within your responsibility and power, living at peace with all men”? (Romans 12:18) Can we enter the Kingdom with animosity toward our fellow citizens whom Yeshua has also redeemed? Can we really love the King without loving the others He loves?
On the other hand, what is called for may be reproof instead of--or before there can be--forgiveness. To fail to rebuke a fellow Israelite, letting his guilt remain on him, is the Torah’s definition of hating him. (Leviticus 19:17) “Brothers, if a person should indeed be overtaken in some [moral] lapse, you who are spiritual, set such a one straight in the spirit of gentleness, watching out for yourself, so that you will not be tempted as well… Elohim is not scorned, because whatever a person sows, that is what he will reap. Indeed, the one who sows into his own flesh will reap corruption out of the flesh.” (Galatians 6:1-8)
Have you committed yourself to, by YHWH’s grace, be among those who “overcome [the ‘world’, the ‘flesh’, and the adversary] by the blood of the Lamb, by the word of their testimony, and who do not love their own lives even to the point of death” (Rev. 12:11) and/or among “the remnant of the woman’s seed who [both] guard the commandments of YHWH and hold fast to the testimony of Yeshua” (12:17)?
How do you guard them? Is YHWH’s word stored up in your heart for the time when there may be a famine of its availability? (Psalm 119:11; Amos 8:11) Do you have what it takes to last through the night and still have your lamp burning, like the wise bridesmaids? (Mat. 25:1-13)
What is it that has delayed the Master’s return? (Mat. 24:48) The fact that “YHWH is…slow to avenge, preferring that no one perish, but that all come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9) But will that just happen by accident? “How shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without someone to proclaim [that repentance is available]?” (Romans 10:14) Irrefutable logic.
Whether or not you like or agree with the methods of evangelism typically carried out today, this proclamation is a job that must get done. If you come up with a better, more Hebraically-correct way, by all means use it. But the people who are alive now are the only thing that cannot be replaced when the Kingdom comes, if they have not been “saved” before the system crashes and “re-boots”. Are you willing to be among the witnesses who must “proclaim the glad news of the Kingdom to the entire world as a testimony” before the end of this age can come (Mat. 24:14)?
Preparing for the Sabbath is the busiest time of the week, because we have a deadline after which we can prepare no more. First comes the evening, then the morning; first comes the strain and struggle, and then the rest that the Sabbath foreshadows. “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning” (Psalm 30:5)—when it is all over and the smoke clears.
“Those who sow in tears will reap with shouts of joy. The one who goes out weeping, carrying valuable seed, will certainly come back with shouts of joy, bringing his bound [sheaves].” (Psalm 126:5-6)
But what is that valuable seed? Yeshua says “the seed is the word of YHWH.” (Luke 8:11) Once the “latter rains” have passed, it is too late to sow. It needs time to sink in and germinate. Yeshua had already hidden it in his heart before the adversary tempted him, and he did overcome him very effectively by knowing how to wield that sword and how to parry the thrusts the accuser would use in his own abusive wielding of that same sword. And wield it he will, so be sure you know it better than he does. Getting in practice may require sacrificing time and resources you might have wanted to spend on things that are more “fun”. But of what value will those things be in just a few short years—or months?
This age is a sinking ship; will you try in vain to salvage it or take the lifeboat YHWH has provided through Yeshua’s blood, and trust Him to restore the things you would lose, in a better (resurrected) form than you could imagine them now? Are you willing to “joyfully ‘sell’ all you have and buy the ‘field’” in which the treasure of the Kingdom (that very “valuable seed”?) is hidden? (Mat. 13:44) Do you love the Age to Come, as YHWH has revealed through His prophets, more than this present age? (2 Timothy 4:10) Are you willing to lose access to being able to buy and sell on its grid or its platforms, if that is what it takes to stay loyal to Him? (Rev. 13:16-17; 14:9-12)
If it would do that to you, it is only showing its true colors, and is that what you want to be a part of? While things are still relatively quiet, while “the King is in the field” in a special way, cultivate the courage that you will need when the real tests come. It comes not from lack of fear but from wanting Him more than what you fear--from being close to Him, under His wings of refuge, knowing Him well enough to trust Him when the enemy casts His goodness into question, and loving YHWH enough to choose Him over pretty things dangled in front of your eyes in an effort to complete with that love.
But the ‘world’ system never gave its life for you, nor would it be capable of that kind of love. Remember, it is a slick scam to “steal, kill, and destroy” whatever it can (Yochanan/John 10:10) from both you and the One who deserves everyone’s loyalty—that King worthy of His crown. So press on through to victory, so YHWH gets the most return on His own sacrificial investment—in Graham Kendrick’s words, “that the Lamb who was slain might receive the reward of his sufferings.”
Don’t we want YHWH’s Kingdom—and His righteousness--“badly” enough to “seek it first”? (Mat. 6:33)
