​Tragedy struck in Israel last week! A 21-year-old Palestinian man planned to attack Jewish families as they exited their synagogue in Jerusalem. Seven Israelis were killed and three injured by this young man. Since that attack videos and photos showing Palestinians celebrating these murders have been played around the world. Tensions are high as we see that violence against innocent people seems to be the new normal.
 
United States Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken traveled to Israel and expressed his administration's views on how to advance peace. He suggested that improving the daily lives of Palestinians in the "West Bank" and Gaza and realizing a two-state vision would do so. My opinion is that these suggestions are like putting a small band-aid on a large, open wound.
 
There is a root issue that is being ignored as we try to solve the problem of growing violence in communities all around the world. At the risk of oversimplifying this problem, I want to share a deeper issue that has grown over the years and has created a huge void in the lives of young people. It seems to me that many of the young people in our society are part of a lost generation. They are in desperate need of families who bless and impart to them a sense of purpose, identity, and destiny for their lives. God's plan is to bless every child born on the earth. Ephesians 1:3 says it well:  "Every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm has already been lavished upon us as a love gift from our wonderful heavenly Father, the Father of our Lord Jesus—all because He sees us wrapped into Christ. This is why we celebrate Him with all our hearts!" (TPT)
 
Who is affirming the call and sense of destiny that our children have through Christ? Terry and Melissa Bone authored a book called The Power of the Blessing. They ask, "How do our heavenly blessings get transported to earth?" The answer:  "Through words! Words we speak are vehicles that transport spiritual blessings from heaven to earth. They transform the promises of God from potential in heaven to power on earth."
 
In the Jewish culture, when a child turns13 there is a ceremony to mark their transition into maturity and to bless them on their next stages of life. This ancient rite of passage is called bar mitzvah for boys and bat mitzvah for girls. Family and friends and leaders of their synagogue join together to celebrate the child and impart blessings to them. The key is to affirm them in the call on their lives, to give them a sense of purpose, and to assure them that they are loved and supported.
 
I cannot help but wonder:  If all the cultures in the world adopted this form of blessing for their teenagers, would it not make a difference in their self-esteem and sense of purpose, and in the way they integrate into society? Such an encouraging life event for these young people might completely change the way they think.  We might see the manifestation of love and peace instead of hate and violence. For children who are missing parents, and even for those who have them, this could be a place where the Church steps into the gap and implements a blessing time for the young ones in their care. We must sow into the next generation! Without our doing so, we will have a lost one that cannot find their God-given purpose on earth.

The eleventh month on the Hebrew calendar, Shevat, started one week ago. Tzadik is the letter in the Hebrew alphabet for this month and symbolizes "The Righteous One." Jeremiah prophesied the coming of the Righteous One in chapter 23 of his book. The chapter is titled "The Righteous Branch." "'I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and will bring them back to their pasture where they will be fruitful and increase in number. I will place shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or terrified, nor will any be missing,' declares the Lord. 'The days are coming,' declares the Lord, 'when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land. In His days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which He will be called: The Lord Our Righteous Savior.'" (Jeremiah 23:3-6)
 
This description of our Savior as the Branch is quite interesting to me since on the fifteenth of Shevat the Jews celebrate what they call, "The New Year of the Trees" or "Tu B-Sh'vat." Rabbis used this date to determine the beginning of the agricultural cycle for Biblical tithes of fruit. The most important part of a tree's structure is its root system. The roots feed the branches that produce leaves and fruit. Their job, in addition to anchoring the tree, is to take in water and nutrients that help the branches grow healthy and strong and produce good fruit. That is why the location for a tree is critical. Farmers prepare their soil by adding organic matter to it. They may also look for a planting location near the water so that their trees can be well irrigated.
 
Did you know that in the prophetic realm large, leafy trees represent powerful and prosperous kingdoms? (The Prophets Dictionary, by Paula A. Price, PhD) Chuck Pierce's book, When God Speaks, says that trees also represent people. Kingdoms are made up of people, each one making a contribution to their kingdom. As children of the Kingdom of Light, we must be rooted in fertile soil. Colossians 2:6-7 gives us directions on where to root. "So then, just as you receive Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in Him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness." If we are rooted in Christ then we take in His love and righteousness and are destined to produce good fruit, "...fruit that will last." (John 15:16)
 
We, as children of the Most High God, (El Elyon) are made in the image of the Lord, Our Righteous Savior. Why is righteousness so important? It means we are in right standing with God and conformed to His image. Our righteousness in God comes through faith in Jesus Christ. Our goal is to become like Him. It is available to us as it says in Romans 3:21-22. "But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and Prophets testify. This righteousness is given through Jesus Christ to all who believe."
 
There is a promise in Mathew 5:6 for those of us who desire to be like our Savior. "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled." Are we firmly anchored in Him? Do we take in all the good He has for us? How productive are we? In this month of Shevat, let us be especially mindful of where we are planted, what we take in, and how we use what our Righteous Lord provides so that we can produce good fruit for the Kingdom of Light. God bless you.

​It is through Rabbi Jonathan Cahn that I learned about the Hebrew word "mohar."  For an ancient Hebrew wedding to take place, the groom had to pay the bride's family a dowry, a precious gift or large sum of money to show his love for his bride. Without the mohar there would be no wedding. No covenant could be made. There is Biblical precedence for this practice in several places in the Bible. Here are a few of them:
 
Genesis 24:53 - Eliezer, acting in the place of the groom's father, Abraham, gave precious gifts to Rebekah's family as a dowry so that she would come with him to be Isaac's wife.
 
1 Samuel 18:25 - Saul tells his servant to say to David, "The king wants no other price for the bride than a hundred Philistine foreskins, to take revenge on his enemies." David took Saul seriously and brought back 200 Philistine foreskins for Michal's hand in marriage.
 
Hosea 3:2 - At God's instructions, Hosea purchased Gomer the prostitute as his wife for "fifteen shekels of silver and about a homer and a lethek of barley."
 
Christmas is here, a time when we contemplate the precious gift that God sent from heaven to purchase a bride for His son Jesus. We must see this gift through to its conclusion. The love of Christ is demonstrated not only by His birth, but also by His death. The life and death of Jesus on earth was God’s mohar so that His bride, the Church, can live with Him for eternity. Rabbi Cahn asks a pertinent question about other religions who ask for extreme devotion from their adherents. When we look at Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, and Orthodox Judaism, "Where is the mohar?" A gift was not given to make covenant in these religions. It only happened for those who believe Jesus is the Son of God. The mohar could not be more valuable!
 
This season I have been touched by the words of a song sang by the group "Down Here," called "How Many Kings?" I encourage you to listen to it. Below you will find some of the words to the song. Please pay particular attention to the questions in the chorus. In essence, the questions can be summed up by asking, "Where is the mohar?"
 
Verse 1 -  "Follow the star to a place unexpected. Would you believe after all we've projected, a child in a manger? Lowly and small, the weakest of all, unlikeliest hero, wrapped in his mother's shawl, just a child. Is this who we've waited for?"    Chorus.
 
 Verse 2 - "Bringing our gifts for the newborn Savior, all that we have, whether costly or meek, because we believe. Gold for his honor, and frankincense for his pleasure, and myrrh for the cross He will suffer. Do you believe? Is this who we've waited for?"
 
Chorus:   "How many kings step down from their thrones? How many lords have abandoned their homes? How many greats have become the least for me? And how many gods have poured out their hearts to romance a world that is torn all apart? How many fathers gave up their sons for me? Only one did that for me."
 
Let us join in the worship of our God for being willing to be our Mohar.

​The 400 years between the Old and New Testaments are known as the "silent years." It was during these years that Hanukkah took place. The Jews called the Greek-Syrian General who led the forces against them "Antiochus the Madman." His belief was that he was one of the Greek gods who had come to earth. He took the name Epiphanes, which means "God manifest" and expected the Jews to worship him. In the town named Modi’in, just outside of Jerusalem, a representative of Antiochus came to demand that the Jews bow down and worship a statute of Antiochus. The priestly family called the Maccabees was unwilling to compromise their faith and began a campaign of guerrilla warfare against the Greek-Syrian army.
 
A miracle was in the working! God honored the Maccabees and their small band of fighters for refusing to assimilate into the world around them by honoring the Word of God . They understood they would be put to death if they lost their battle. But they were “steadfast and immovable” (1 Corinthians 15:58) in their belief. They were “rooted and grounded” (Ephesians 3:17) in the Lord and would not be moved. On the 24th of Kislev on the Hebrew calendar, in the year 165 B.C., the three-year campaign waged by the Maccabees against their persecutors ended in victory. Antiochus the IV failed in his attempt to "Hellenize" (absorb into Greek culture) the Jews.
 
Because the Temple had been defiled by the Greek-Syrian soldiers, it had to be cleansed and rededicated. The Maccabees removed all the stones from the altar because it had been defiled by the sacrifice of a pig upon it. A new altar was built, and they set about to relight the seven-branched candelabra known as the Menorah. Once lit, the Jews realized that there was not enough sacred oil to keep the flame of the candles burning for more than one day. It took eight days to prepare more holy oil. The miracle of Hanukkah is that the Menorah oil burned for eight days without any oil being added to the original supply.
 
Today Hanukkah is celebrated for eight days in honor of the miraculous light that shown brightly in the Temple. The Menorah that is used today has eight branches to signify the eight days the oil burned in the Temple. There is a ninth branch in the center for the Shammas or Servant candle. It sits higher than the other candles and is used to light all the others. Christians may recognize that this candle symbolizes Jesus, "The Light of the World." (John 9:5) He is the Light that shines to show the way for a new beginning for all who come to Him.
 
Those of us who have been "lit" by Jesus have a responsibility to keep our "lights shining before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." (Matthew 5:16) Today we are faced with a society of people with immoral and alternative lifestyles that would like to snuff out our lights. Their scheme is to make us forget who we are as defined by God. They entice us to compromise our faith and encourage us to assimilate into their dark life patterns. We can see the erosion of a Biblical lifestyle. But, we can make a difference because we are the light of the world! (Matthew 5:14) Let the light of the Hanukkah candles remind us of our call to shine the light of Yeshua in the darkness. We have been set ablaze through His love, and the Holy Spirit provides us with an eternal supply of oil. Burn, dear ones! Burn!

On Tuesday, November 11, a bomb was remotely detonated near the entrance of the Jerusalem Bus Station killing two people and wounding 18 others, including a sixty-two-year-old man. Shrapnel penetrated several areas of the sixty-two-year old's body except for his heart. In his pocket he was carrying his Book of Psalms. (Tehillim in Hebrew)
 
The gentleman with the Book of Psalms was rushed to Shaare Zeder Medical Center which means Gates of Justice or Righteousness. He had to have a series of operations to remove shrapnel from his body. The Book of Psalms had been pierced by a shred of debris from the explosion. However, it stopped at Psalm 124 and pointed to verse 7. "Our soul has escaped as a bird from the snare of the fowlers; the snare is broken, and we have escaped." (NKJV) Not only did the Book stop the shard, but it gave a life message to this man that I believe comes from God.
 
Psalm 124 (NKJV):  "'If it had not been the Lord who was on our side,' Let Israel now say: 'If it had not been the Lord who was on our side, when men rose up against us: Then they would have swallowed us alive, when their wrath was kindled against us; Then the waters would have overwhelmed us. The stream would have gone over our soul; then the swollen waters would have gone over our soul.' Blessed be the Lord, who has not given us as prey to their teeth. Our soul has escaped as a bird from the snare of the fowlers; the snare is broken, and we have escaped. Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth." 
 
Psalm 124 is a Song of Ascent written by King David, who is praising God for His rescue and deliverance. David was encouraging the children of Israel to be thankful to God. He wanted them to recognize that the Lord is actively working on their behalf. The Lord is Immanuel, God with us! Many times, David experienced "when men rose up against them.” Hordes of Philistines came at them multiple times. The disasters that could have overtaken Israel were stopped by Yeshua alone. He was their Savior. "Bless be the Lord," David says. This is an expression of thanks and praise to Him. Satan is like the fowlers who have many ways in which to trap small birds. He attempts to ensnare us into unhealthy lifestyles and thoughts. But God is our Deliverer!
 
We can have confidence, as David says, that the Lord is our help. The mighty God who created heaven and earth is our protector, sustainer, and provider. Throughout Scripture, Jesus, who is the Living Word (John 1:1) is called our shield:  "Every word of God is flawless. He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him." (Proverbs 30:5) "You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in Your word." (Psalm 119:114) God gave us a living example of His protection through the 62-year-old man from Jerusalem. He never changes! We are recipients of His protection and guidance. We must trust that "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble." (Psalm 46:1) Let us use the Word as our shield against "the fowler's snare" and praise the Lord for the victory that is ours.

An interesting Psalm gives direction on how we should prepare for the coming of the Lord. "Righteousness goes before Him and prepares the way for His steps." (Psalm 85:13) John the Baptist took this call seriously. Isaiah 40:3 adds understanding to the verse:  "A voice of one calling: 'In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.'" This should speak to us as we look for the returning of our Lord. The Jews say we should look for His return during this month, the eighth month, called Cheshvan. They say it is reserved for the Messiah since there are no feasts or fasts included in it. Eight is the number of new beginnings and new revelation.
 
Cheshvan occurs during autumn and after the fall feasts are completed. It is significant in that the great flood occurred during this time. If we go back to Genesis 6, we see that God was greatly grieved by the state of humanity during Noah's day. "The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time...But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord." (Genesis 6:5,8) Chapter 6 continues to make it clear that the "earth was corrupt in God's sight and was full of violence." God instructed Noah to build an ark according to His specifications. This ark would save Noah and his family and two of every kind of creature. He told Noah, "Go into the ark, you and your family, because I have found you righteous in this generation." (Genesis 7:1) This is what the Lord looks for in His people—righteousness!
 
"In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, on the 17th day of the second month (The eighth month on the calendar given to the Hebrews in Egypt)—on that day, all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of heaven were opened, and the rain fell on the earth 40 days and 40 nights." (Genesis 7:11-12) No one paid attention to Noah or the warnings from God. As the day of judgment approached, everyone continued in their ungodly lifestyles. We are warned not to repeat the ungodly patterns of life from Noah's days. Jesus said, "Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. People were eating and drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all. It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur (brimstone) rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed." (Luke 17:26-30)
 
For me, this is a sobering thought! It is my opinion that the corruption we have today probably rivals the corruption of Noah's day. So many seem to have an evil intent as they live their lives in selfish ways. This is manifesting not only in society, but also in the Church. How long will the Lord allow this to continue? It is my prayer that the fear of the Lord falls upon our nation and the world before it is too late. While we know that God made a covenant with Noah to never flood the entire world again, the unrepentant will reap what they have sown in whatever way the Lord decides.
 
In the meantime, we have a responsibility to follow the ways of the Lord and prepare a path for Him to walk on. Proverbs 15:9 tells us what the Lord is looking for:  "The Lord detests the way of the wicked, but He loves those who pursue righteousness." The prophet Isaiah also has something to say about righteousness. In Isaiah 28:17 it states, "I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the plumb line..." As the Jews look for the coming of their Messiah during this month, we can be like John the Baptist and prepare the way for the Lord's return. Hosea tells us how:  "Sow righteousness for yourselves, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the Lord until He comes and showers righteousness on you." (Hosea 10:12)

The Feast of Tabernacles, which begins tonight, is a time of remembering God's faithfulness to the children of Israel while they were in the wilderness. Yet this celebration is also for remembering how the Lord brought them into the Promised Land. The sukkah (a temporary dwelling made of broken branches) represents their wilderness journey. However, fruit is present in the branches to represent what was to come in the Promised Land. We could look at this time as one that joins together the wilderness with the Promised Land. Rabbi Jonathan Cahn says that the celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles is a joining together of the wilderness with the Promised Land. We, as children of God, could say heaven and earth are being joined together. How appropriate that Jesus taught His disciples to pray, "Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." (Matthew 6:10)
 
For God to have more intimacy with us (His greatest desire) there needs to be a connection between heaven and earth. That is one of the reasons that the Lord set up times and seasons for special meetings with Him. All of His feasts come to a culmination during the Feast of Tabernacles or Sukkot. The name of this feast should draw us back to the first time God spoke to Moses and instructed him and the Israelites to construct a tabernacle for Him where He would dwell in their midst. (Exodus 25:8)  The Hebrew word "Shakan" means to dwell. The first time this word appears in Scripture is in Genesis 3:22-24. God had to bar Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden after their sin, so He placed cherubim at the entrance. They were to dwell at the entrance to guard the way to the Tree of Life. In this case, the dwelling of the cherubim was an act of kindness.
 
The desire of God to dwell with His people is shown in many places in the Bible. Exodus 29:45-46 says, "Then I will dwell among the Israelites and be their God. They will know I am the Lord their God, who brought them out of Egypt so that I might dwell among them..." God calls the place where He abides with His people the "dwelling for His Name." (Deuteronomy 12:11) The prophet Joel ends his book with a statement that tells us where God will dwell with His people on earth:  "The Lord dwells in Zion!" (Joel 3:21) The tabernacle was the temporary structure where God dwelt with His people. Once Israel settled in the Promised Land, they build a permanent structure called the Temple. This edifice was built by Solomon, and God instructed Israel to walk in His statutes and keep His commandments so that He could live among them. He said, "And I will live (dwell) among the Israelites and will not abandon my people, Israel." (1 Kings 6:13)
 
As explained by Psalm 74:7, the Lord's instructions were not followed. "They defiled the dwelling place of Your name." This did not stop the Lord's pursuit of His people. He is compelled to draw near to us. Look at Zechariah 8:3. "I will return to Zion and dwell in Jerusalem..." The prophets consistently declare that God will dwell among His people. Isaiah 7:14 explains the great lengths that God goes to for intimacy. "Therefore, the Lord Himself will give you a sign:  The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and will call Him Immanuel," meaning God with us. The gospel of John brings clarity to this:  "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us..." The Feast of Tabernacles is our reminder of God's great desire to dwell with us. Jesus/Yeshua is the tabernacle of God among us. He desires to tabernacle with us. He encourages us to use this season as one to sit in His presence and dine from His table of delights. John 14:23 takes us back to what God said to His children in the wilderness. "...Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home (dwelling place) with them." 
 
Not only are we meant to dwell with the Lord, but we are a dwelling place for His Holy Spirit. Let us use this week called The Feast of Tabernacles to connect with the Lord by setting aside time to contemplate His goodness, listening for His words of affirmation, and celebrating that He is, indeed, God with us, "Immanuel."

The Hebrew calendar is one to encourage the culture of the Kingdom of heaven here on earth. It brings to our attention weekly, monthly, and yearly seasons of rest and times to connect with the Lord. These times are meant to bring us closer to Him. To do this, we must set priorities and need to ask ourselves, "What is my highest priority?" How intentional are we at setting aside special times to seek greater intimacy with the Lord? We have an opportunity this evening at sundown to join with our Jewish brothers and sisters in the celebration of the New Year 5783. After all, we have a common history with them. In Leviticus 23 we find a list of the Feasts of the Lord, and we are told in verse 4, "These are the Lord's appointed festivals, the sacred assemblies you are to proclaim at their appointed times." We also see throughout the New Testament that Jesus kept these feasts.
 
The spring feasts are a reflection of the Messiah's appearance on earth and His death and resurrection. The late spring feast demonstrated the power of the Holy Spirit as He poured it out on those who were gathered in Jerusalem. The fall feasts are thought to be the time when Messiah will return to earth to fulfill the Feast of Tabernacles. He will come for the pure and spotless bride called The Church and take her to heaven for eternal fellowship.
 
Rosh Hashanah means "Head of the Year" and is also referred to as the Feast of Blowing (Yom Teru’ah) or Trumpets. It begins on the first day of the seventh month on the Hebrew calendar called Tishri. For two days sacred assemblies take place, and the shofar (ram's horn) is blown 100 times each day. It is thought to be the day that God created the world and announces the beginning of the fall feasts and what is called "The Ten Days of Awe." These days are meant for self-examination and repentance, prayer and fasting. From Biblical times, these ten days have been set apart as a time for preparation of Yom Kippur or The Day of Atonement. The Israelites would gather as their High Priest went into the presence of the Lord in the Holy of Holies, the innermost sanctuary of the Temple. Here he would present sacrifices and prayers to the Lord on their behalf. During the final celebration, the harvest of the fields is brought in, booths are built for families to live in for seven days so that they are reminded of God's care for their ancestors in the desert, time is set aside to rest and fellowship, and offerings of thanksgiving are brought to the Lord.
 
In the book The Messianic Church Arising by Robert Heidler, the yearly feasts are called a "Cycle of Blessing." Robert writes, "The fall feasts provide the pattern for revival for any individual or nation. The fall feasts were given to create a pathway into God's glory." Here is what each feast is meant to do:
 
                        The Feast of Trumpets:                   A wake-up call
                        The Days of Awe:                            A time for seeking Him
                        The Day of Atonement:                   A day to be restored
                        The Feast of Tabernacles:              A week to experience glory
 
Robert continues. "...I believe Tabernacles is the key feast for the church today. We live in a day when God wants to draw us into His presence in a unique way. It is a time for His power and blessing to be poured out. He wants us to experience His glory."
 
Our wake-up call comes this evening. We are being called into a new season. We are being called to awaken. God is ready to meet us. Are we ready to meet Him? We can join our Jewish brothers and sisters in the Spirit by remembering our blessings, confessing and repenting of our sins, and bringing the Lord a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving. This will set us on a path of blessing for the new year. 

​The word "kadosh" in Hebrew is holy. Its meaning is sacred, devout, pure, spotless, and untainted. To be holy requires one to be set apart and separated from the typical pattern of life. From the beginning, it was God's desire to have a special people that were separated unto Him. He began to implement His plan through Abram. (Later Abraham) In a divine encounter, Abram was instructed to "Leave it all behind.” and "Follow me." (Genesis 12:1-2 - TPT) God gave him a promise if he would follow Him. "I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all people on earth will be blessed through you." (Genesis 12:2-3)
 
Later, a covenant was made between God and Abraham as the meaning of being separated from the other nations became clearer. The covenant required that every male be circumcised. This would be a physical sign of separation. The people God called to be separated from other nations became known as the Israelites. After they were rescued from slavery in Egypt, God gave them commandments and told their leader, Moses, "...Though the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." (Exodus 19:5-6) God set before the children of Israel commandments and laws to follow and put in place a tribe of people who would be consecrated to serve Him. In Israel there were twelve tribes. The tribe of Levi was separated out from the others. They owned no property, and dressed differently, and their daily provisions were supplied by the other tribes.
 
The name Levi means joined or attached. Indeed, he and his tribe were joined to God and had the privilege of ministering in the tabernacle. Out of this tribe God called the priests (Cohanim) who were the sons of Aaron. Priests from this order would minister to the Lord and were the only ones chosen to minister in the Most Holy Place. We see levels of ministry or separation being formed. Each separation came with a cost. The people of Israel were taught how to live and knew they could not participate in the ways of the world. The cost for the tribe of Levi was that they had no inheritance and no land. They were expected to depend entirely on the Lord. Priests had additional requirements and instructions to abide by. When Rabbi Jonathan Cahn writes about these restrictions, here is what he says: "The greater the calling, the greater the separation. The greater the separation, the greater the limitations. But the greater the limitations and requirements, the greater the ministry, and the greater the blessing."
 
Christians are called priests unto the Lord. Each of us is called to fulfill a unique purpose of God and His Kingdom. That means our separation to walk in our calling requires us to be distinctly different. We must separate ourselves from sin, the ways of the world, and the flesh. How do we view ourselves? We have been sanctified and consecrated to the purposes of the Lord. We have a different standard than the rest of the world. As members of His church, we are called the ecclesia, which means "called out ones." The only way for us to fulfill our callings is to separate ourselves from the expectations of the world. We must let God set the standard for our lives, a standard that requires holiness.

Why would the sixth month on the Hebrew calendar be referred to as "a haven in time"? To answer this question, we must look back at the last two months, Tammuz and Av. The fourth month, Tammuz, is remembered as the time when the Israelites sinned by building the golden calf and worshiping it. Av, the fifth month, is known as the low point on the Hebrew calendar. It was during this month that the children of Israel decided to receive a negative report from the ten spies who searched out the Promised Land. Their sin of unbelief and negative confession put them under a curse. This has allowed Israel's enemies to destroy what they are attempting to build.
 
Now comes the sixth month—Elul. God is so in love with His children that it is painful for Him to be separated from them. Hence, Elul has been designated as the month of repentance, mercy, and forgiveness. Our Heavenly Father gives us an opportunity to repent for past sins so that He can extend mercy and forgiveness. And, He has decided to do this in a very personal way! He wants us to prepare ourselves for a face-to-face meeting with Him.
 
The Jewish people say that this is the month that "The King is in the field." Most of the year the King lives in a palace, separated from his people. But during this one month the King left His palace to be with His people. He selected this time to set up His tent in the field of His people so that He could make Himself accessible to us. His heart is set on tabernacling with us, and, as a sign of this passion for intimacy, the Hebrew letter for the sixth month is Vav, which pictures a tent peg or nail.
 
Let us take God's eagerness for connection with us a little further. His yearning for intimacy is the reason He sent Jesus to earth. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God...The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us." (John 1:1 and 14) The word dwelling is the word for tent or tabernacle. Jesus left His throne to live in our fields. For 33 years the King lived in the fields on the earth. He lived in a tent of mortal flesh during that time so that we could relate to Him more closely. He came to extend mercy and forgiveness and to show everyone what love looks like. Jesus did that by dying on the Cross, by allowing the nails to attach Him to that Cross and making a way for us to spend eternity with Him. That way is through repentance of our sins and acceptance of His offering to be Lord over our lives. We become His dwelling place forever as we receive Him into our hearts.
 
The King's delight to walk in the fields with us is so strong and beautifully expressed in several passages in the book Song of Solomon. He calls to us as expressed in Song of Solomon 2:14. "...Show me your face, let me hear your voice." Song of Solomon 6:3 is actually a Hebrew acronym for "Elul." "I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine..."
 
It is time for us to pursue the King as He comes to walk in our fields. We must open our ears to hear what He has to share about our fields as He guides us with wisdom and kindness. He wants to provide for every one of our needs. As it says in Matthew 6:33, "But seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." The Lord is here to remind us of His love and desire for us. We must respond with open arms that welcome Him. This is truly "a haven in time."