Happy New Year - 3/23/2022

By Bill & Karen Bishop

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What a wonderful time of year, when the bitterness of winter is past, and the trees begin to bud, the birds begin their singing, and life springs forth all around us. How insightful it was that our Father above chose this timing for the start of His new year.

Exodus 12:2
(2) This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you.

The first day of the first month this year falls on 03/23. This passage calls it "the beginning of months”. It is the “chief chodesh” of our calendar year, as it signals the beginning of the year.

It is always on weekday 4 on the Zadokite calendar. This is the servant candle of the Menorah that corresponds to our days of the week. Weekday 4 is the fulcrum of the week – the pivotal point of Yah's week of creation – the day when He ordered the celestial lights to show us the way to count His calendar. He put it all in place as a time/space continuum whereby man would be able to relate to Him, then He created man to do just that!

Moving on through history, it was this first day of the first month of the year that Yah instructed Moses to “rear up the tabernacle”. Likewise at this time, he was to clothe Aaron in holy garments, anoint him, and sanctify him for his priestly role.

Exodus 40:2-3, 13, & 17
(2) On the first day of the first month shalt thou set up the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation.
(3) And thou shalt put therein the ark of the testimony, and cover the ark with the vail.
(13) And thou shalt put upon Aaron the holy garments, and anoint him, and sanctify him; that he may minister unto me in the priest's office.
(17) And it came to pass in the first month in the second year, on the first day of the month, that the tabernacle was REARED UP.

This passage speaks of the Tabernacle being reared up (verses 2 & 17), the Ark of the Covenant (verse 3), and holy garments being given to the priests (verse 13). This whole passage may have relevance to mankind today. The symbolism of this Old Testament Tabernacle may provide spiritual significance for us now:

In our online Torah study by Issachar Oasis, we learned that the Tabernacle being “reared up”(verse 17) simply means that it was raised up – so the tabernacle was “raised up” on the first day of the first month.

Paul tells us that as Believers we have become a type of Temple/Tabernacle of God:

1 Corinthians 3:16
(16) Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

The Ark of the Covenant was where Yah met with man. The cover for this ark was called the “mercy seat”. Likewise, we have an ark within our bodies – the seat upon which the Holy Spirit is enthroned. The timing this was symbolically put in place within the Tabernacle was also the first day of the first month (verse 3 of this Exodus passage).

In a similar spiritual sense, the human soul is considered to be clothing:

Revelation 3:4
(4) Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.

So the clothing (souls) of those who would be priests were changed out and made holy (verse 13 of this Exodus passage), and this was done on the first day of the first month.

We are also to be priests to Yah:

1 Peter 2:5 & 9
(5) Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.(9) But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

This passage ends with the call to come out of darkness and into Yah's light for a reason. Y'shua said that while He was here, He was the light of the world:

John 9:5
(5) As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.

He knew when He said this though that He would be going away, so He insinuated that man should carry forth His torch:

Luke 11:33
(33) No man, when he hath lighted a candle, putteth it in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they which come in may see the light.

Matthew 5:14
(14) Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

Likewise, Paul tells us to walk in the light:

Ephesians 5:8
(8) For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light.

This is the time of year that we transition from days that have more darkness than light to days that have more light than darkness. As we come into increasing light each day the cycle of life goes into full swing, and we become aware of the new glories each day brings.

All of this shows us that Exodus 40 passage above is RICH in symbolism that relates to all of us today! Spiritually speaking then, it is this time of year that the house of God is raised and the clothing (souls) of the priesthood are to become holy. There is an outside chance that just maybe some year this might have prophetic implication of great magnitude. This year maybe? Only time will tell.

In the meantime though, we should acknowledge that our Heavenly Father put the lights in the firmament in place and created the cyclical flow that would bring more light into our world this time of year. It is our prayer that each of us would allow Him to place more light into our hearts to burn brightly to those we encounter and to bring the glory back to our Father above that He deserves.

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