Rosh Hashanah 2014 & The Days of Awe

"I set before you Life and Prosperity, death and destruction... Choose Life!"

I came home from SB for the two weeks before school starts =) The days have been going by pretty fast and I've been letting them slip through my fingers for the most part :/ and it's crazy how we're almost in October and just seem to be in huge hurry to end the year. I was on you tube the other day and I saw a video about Rosh Hashanah and realized that the Jewish New Year has already started. I also looked up some more information online (about the first 10 days on the Hebrew calendar ~> a lunar calendar)  which I'd like to share with y'all as well as the application so read on. But first, I find it interesting that this weekend my family all came together -which has become rare coz of the distance and busy-ness of everyone so it reminds me of a holiday gathering =) K read this first before I add my commentary and share the application (References: Huff Post: The New Year Begins, About.com: Holy Days, Wikipedia )

*Rosh Hashanah (Hebrew, literally for "head of the year"), the Jewish New Year, is celebrated in 2014 from sundown on September 24 to nightfall on September 26. The new year is the only Jewish holiday that is observed for two days by all Jews (other holidays are observed for just one day within the Land of Israel) as it is also the only major holiday that falls on a new moon.

It is considered the new year of people, animals and legal contracts. In the Jewish oral tradition, Rosh Hashanah marks the completion of the creation of the world. The day is believed to be the anniversary of the creation of Adam and Eve, the first man and woman, and their first actions toward the realization of humanity's role in God's world. Rosh Hashanah customs include sounding the shofar (a hollowed-out ram's horn) and eating symbolic foods such as apples dipped in honey to evoke a "sweet new year". The mitzvah (commandment) to hear the shofar, a literal and spiritual wake-up call, is special to this time of year.

*Days of Awe (Yamim Nora’im) or the "Ten Days of Repentance" (Aseret Yamei T’shuvah) begins with Rosh Hashanah and ends with Yom Kippur. The time between these two main holidays is special in the Jewish calendar. Jews are required to focus on repentance and atonement during this period. The Mishnah refers to Rosh Hashanah as the "day of judgment," and it is believed that God opens the Book of Life on this day and begins to decide who shall live and who shall die. . While God passes judgment on Rosh Hashanah, the books of life and death remain open during the Days of Awe so that Jews have the opportunity to repent and change which book they are in before it is sealed on Yom Kippur. Jews spend these days working to amend their behavior and seeking forgiveness for wrongs done during the past year.
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TIME TO REPENT: INDIVIDUAL AND CORPORATE APPLICATION :)

This week, my sis Sheila and Kenya had encouraged us to fellowship together as a family (read the Word and pray together) and I find it interesting that last night and tonight (though my family were unaware of the Rosh Hashanah holiday coz we don't usually celebrate them and I had also forgot about it) my dad lead us into reading Deuteronomy 30: 15-19

"See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction, in that I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, that you may live and multiply, and that the LORD your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to possess it. "But if your heart turns away and you will not obey, but are drawn away and worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today that you shall surely perish. You will not prolong your days in the land where you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess it. "I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants"

My dad then briefly said that God gives us free will and it's up to us to choose life and blessings or death and curses. And that we are living in the last days so it's best to make the wise choice. I find it interesting that God definitely used my dad to share this with us yesterday and today, and that's exactly what Rosh Hashanah and the Days of Awe are about... First to tie it to the idea that Rosh Hashanah is "the anniversary of the creation of Adam and Eve, the first man and woman, and their first actions toward the realization of humanity's role in God's world" Adam and Eve were created last because humans are special (made in the image of God) and they were also given free will to choose life and death.... And you might be familiar with the story titled, "The Fall of Man" if not check out this quick read "Beauty and the Beast: Prologue  the story of Adam and Eve (The Fall of humanity) leading to the story of Jesus ("The Salvation of humanity) all explained using Beauty and the Beast movie =) You can also check out this really cool spoken word piece that I got to see at Rhetoric 2014. So powerful! =)

And like in the times of  Adam and Eve we are on the verge/ at the beginning of a whole new world but we have choices to make... we can choose to rule and reign with Jesus the King of Glory in His Kingdom, abiding in His Love and filled with His power, or we can reject God's leadership and love and just do things however we seem fit and then find ourselves mislead and miserable :(

So the call is for us to rise up :D asking God to examine our hearts, confessing our sins and releasing to Him all our burdens, in exchange for His freedom. The blood Jesus shed on the cross is sufficient to wash away all our wrongs and God our Father is so full of love, He doesn't care what we've done in the past He is so this is not a call to beat ourselves up but rather receive God's grace, love and freedom free of charge =) Related posts:  Behold!, The Kingdoms, My G.P.S, Pimp My Ride.  Also get yourself a Bible and dig in! :)

IT'S A NEW YEAR!!! GOD HAS SO MANY BLESSINGS AND BREAKTHROUGH IN STORE FOR THOSE WHO TAKE REFUGE IN HIM. REDEMPTION AND RESTORATION. BUT AT THE SAME TIME JUDGEMENTS ARE COMING UPON THE LAND SO WE NEED TO WAKE UP AND SEEK GOD. PRAY FOR OURSELVES AND OTHERS. IT'S A TIME TO RECONCILE WITH EACH OTHER AND TO GOD OUR FATHER THROUGH JESUS WHO MADE THE WAY FOR US :D

Let's return to our Father's unfailing Love! :-)

 

"Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord." (Acts 3:19) post: Search me. Test me. Lead me.