A lot of people would love to celebrate
with doing no ordinary work. Imagine if everyone followed this ordinance…life
would just shut down for two days. Remember the Feast of the Trumpets, or Rosh
Hashanah the beginning of the New Year, is a two day holiday because it won’t
start until there is a new moon at sunset, Jerusalem time…and that couldn’t
always be predicted. Now we have more accurate prediction of new moons—but the
tradition of two days continues. The important thing about this holiday is that
it is a call to repentance.
Time—lots of time—is spent in the Jewish
synagogue reading the Torah and praying. The focus on this Festival is meeting
with God in the synagogue, not family time at home. The Saturday before Rosh
Hashanah Jews meet in small groups to study, pray and reflect on their
relationships with each other and with God. Introspection is important to
reveal flaws in one’s personality and to commit to change. In the synagogue services
include prayers asking for forgiveness and scripture is repeatedly read about
God’s merciful qualities as the Lord Himself proclaimed to Moses when He gave
him the second set of stone tablets inscribed with the Ten Commandments.
Then the LORD passed by in front of him and
proclaimed, "The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to
anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for
thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no
means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the
children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations." Exodus
34:6-7 NASB
It blesses us to remember these attributes
of God.
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| Oregon Coast |
One enduring custom that the Jews perform
on is to throw bread crumbs into a nearby body of flowing water to symbolically
cast off their sins on afternoon of the first day of Rosh Hashanah. They even
empty their pockets of lint—as though those were the sins that they carried
with them.
Repentance is the key. Jesus called people
to repent—and we are still responsible for that in each of our own lives today.
Now after John had been taken into custody,
Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, "The
time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the
gospel." Mark 1:14-15 NASB
Some of the Jews followed Jesus…and some
did not. Everyone has a choice…then and now. How will you choose to respond?
What will you do with the sin in your life?… for all have sinned and fall short of the
glory of God….Romans 3:23 NASB. The key is repent. Jesus also taught
that whatever we ask for in His name we will receive. It makes sense to ask for
forgiveness. Here’s my sin…I’m sorry…forgive me. Can you do that—with God and
with others?
Prayer
~ Holy Spirit, bring to my remembrance any way in which I have offended others
or God. I cast all these sins away…into the depth of the deepest ocean…and ask
for forgiveness. Thank you for hearing my prayer.
Daily Bible Reading: Daniel 4-6
©
2017 Text and photos by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.
All
scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless otherwise noted.
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