15 May 2010 (Shibi'i/Sukkot)
Day #61, 5934 AM
Rosh Chodesh III 5934
Day of the Head
Shabbat shalom and a blessed Rosh Chodesh which today providentially fall on the same day. Today I have an important revelation and prophetic word to share with you which we given me two days ago.
Our passage today is from Hosea the prophet who wrote:
"The ga'on Yisra'el (pride of Israel) dith testify to his face; therefore shall Yisa'el and Ephrayim stumble and fall in their avon (iniquity): Yehudah (Judah) also shall fall with them. They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek Yahweh; but they shall not find Him; He hath withdrawn Himself from them. They have dealt treacherously against Yahweh; for they have begotten banim zarim (strange, illegitimate children): now shall a Rosh Chodesh (New Moon) devour them with their fields" (Hoshea/Hosea 5:5-7, OJB).
How does a Rosh Chodesh devour a people? We have spoken much of this festival recently. The New Moon marks the beginning of each month, it's a time for consulting the prophets and it's a time to assemble the people:
"Why are you going to [visit the prophet Elisha] today? It is neither the New Moon (Rosh Chodesh) nor the Sabbath (Shabbat)" (2 Kings 4:23, NKJV).
In that respect, it is almost the same as a Sabbath though it is not a rest day - you can work on it when not gathered. It is also the day that the annual festival of Yom Teruah is celebrated, which is also a High Sabbath - it was on this occasion of the Feast of Trumpets that unspiritual merchants were complaining:
"When will the New Moon (Rosh Chodesh) be past, that we may sell grain? And the Sabbath, that we may trade wheat?" (Amos 8:5, NKJV).
At Rosh Chodesh members of the royal household were expected to dine with their Sovereign of King:
"David said to Jonathan, 'Indeed tomorrow is the New Moon (Rosh Chodesh), and I should not fail to sit with the king to eat'" (1 Sam 20:5, NKJV).
This is a time when the whole family is expected to gather at the table of the head of that family to acknowledge the family head's sovereignty. That is, after all, another reason why we gather at Rosh Chodesh as Messianic Israel to acknowledge our Head and Cohen Gadol (High Priest), Yah'shua the Messiah! What, indeed, does the 'Rosh' part of Rosh Chodesh mean anyway? It means 'Head' or 'Head of the Moon'. THIS IS A FESTIVAL ABOUT HEADSHIP. Every Rosh Chodesh husbands should call their wives to sit and eat around the table with them so that their headship is affirmed. This is a special meal, a kind of a sacrament or communion in which the oneness of echadness of the marriage covenant is affirmed. Therefore when we gather for the evening meal at Rosh Chodesh we are gathering to honour our heads, just as we gather around the table of the Lord's Supper each Sabbath evening to honour our Cosmic Head, Yah'shua the Messiah, as His allegorical Bride. The Sabbath and Rosh Chodesh are therefore twin festivals, with Rosh Chodesh the Lesser Rosh and Shabbat the Greater Rosh.
At Yom Teruah, when Yah'shua returns, the Sabbath and New Moon are on the same day. Is that a coincidence? Not one bit. This was by Yahweh's design. Rosh Chodesh is an earthly meal whereas the Lord's Supper, which is supposed to be served on Shabbat, is a heavenly one. When Yah'shua returns and establishes His theocratic kingdom on the earth He is coming to combine heaven and earth as one echad! He will once again share the fruit of the vine in the flesh with His disciples as He said one day He would (Mt.26:29; Mk.14:25; Lk.22:18). So of course Yom Teruah has to be both on Rosh Chodesh as well as being a High Sabbath! He will be drinking the fruit of the vine with us again at the Grape Harvest at Sukkot, which is the Marriage Feast of the Lamb (Rev.19:9).
We also know that in the Millennium both Rosh Chodesh and Shabbat will be observed, as they must be, since our Head will be here with us:
"'And it shall come to pass that from one New Moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, all flesh shall come to worship before Me,' says Yahweh" (Isa 66:23, NKJV).
Rosh Chodesh is perpetually a part of the sacred calendar in this world and was never abolished, as some claim - why would Yahweh 'abolish' it only to reinstitute it again when Yah'shua comes back? You see, Rosh Chodesh is a part of the set-apart rhythm of Yahweh's people. And it has many more functions than we might at first have supposed. I am continually surprised by all that I find out about it!
What, then, does our passage mean when it says that Israel and Judah would be devoured by Rosh Chodesh? This was the day that Israel and Judah were supposed to sit at table with Yahweh and to consult with Him, just as Israel was supposed to confer with the prophets to know the divine will. David was forced to absent himself from King Saul's New Moon feast because that monarch was evil and seeking his life. Jonathan noted:
"Tomorrow is the New Moon; and you will be missed, because your seat will be empty" (1 Sam 20:18, NKJV).
However, our Heavenly Monarch is not evil and seeks to give us life, not to remove it. So when we absent ourselves from it, we are declaring that we have no need of Him longer as well as rejecting His Headship. Israel was in apostacy and had rejected Yahweh, as had Judah, which was being preserved a little longer than Ephraim not because he was more righteous but in order to fulfil prophecy and bring forth the Messianic seed. Therefore on the day that they refused to acknowledge Yahweh any longer as their Sovereign - by refusing to sit at the Sovereign's Table at Rosh Chodesh in recognition of His Lordship over them - Israel and Judah were marked for destruction. And indeed that is exactly what happened.
Therefore at Rosh Chodesh, on the first day of the Fifth Month of the sacred calendar (also known as Av), the Northern Kingdom of Israel was divorced and destroyed; and some time later, on eactly the same day, the same fate met Judah. This was the fearful day that Yahweh rejected both northern and southern kingdoms! And their remarriage would have to await the death of the King, Yah'shua, on the Cross before they could be rebetrothed again on that first New Covenant Shavu'ot or Day of Pentecost.
Yah'shua our Messiah is "the Alef (Alpha) and the Taw (Omega), the Beginning and the End" (Rev.1:8), marked by Rosh Chodesh and Shabbat, respectively. Thus Yah'shua's return at Yom Teruah is marked, so to speak, with His Name, for it will be an Alef-Taw or Rosh Chodesh-Shabbat day. Even as Yah'shua is the Lord or Rosh (Head) of Sabbath, He is also Rosh Chodesh - the head and sovereign of the month. Yahweh is the Rosh Chodesh, for He is the sovereign of times and seasons in our lives, and the One who changes them, even as the book of Daniel says. Where our passage of Scripture Scripture speaks of being consumed by the Rosh Chodesh itk points to the disobedient being consumed by Yah's righteous wrath when He brings the new season of judgment.
Why is Rosh Chodesh also a meal? Because it is a picture of Elohim's provision for us. Who provided for the guests at the King's Table at Rosh Chodesh? - the King, so that the guests may both live and be satisfied. In a similar manner, Yah'shua is our manna that comes from heaven. Part of the purpose of of coming to this meal is also that we are supposed to come hungry - Yah'shua does not feed self-sufficient souls who think they can provide for their own needs. What, thenm is the food specifically? It is Yahweh's Ruach-quickened words (represented by the silver trumpets which may only be blown at Rosh Chodesh, not the Shofar which is for all other assemblies), both in the form of prophetic words (which is one reason we are commanded to gather at Rosh Chodesh and quickened Scripture - we are given understanding and revelation as I hope you are receiving today.
One last thought. Food is not to be looked at but actually eaten. The Word must not only be sought after by attending the King's Feast but also eaten, and this entails obedience to and 'in' the Word, which is also Yah'shua Himself, the Living Word. Yah'shua's food was to do the will of His Father Yahweh - His Rosh or Head - just as our food is to be obedient to the Son - our Rosh of Head. We must eat the Word so that it becomes an integral part of ourselves, a living integration with the Ruach or Spirit of the Messiah. A Word disobeyed is food uneaten, unable to give strength or satisfaction, for it is not alive in us. Moreover, there is a time frame in which to eat it. If we do not eat this heavenly manna not only might it be taken away from us by the Master's servants (His angels) but will spoil like hoarded manna.
We are given this monthly festival - repeated every New Moon - precisely to teach us this lesson. Not only that, but if we do not receive it at the "appointed time", we will miss it altogether. That is why we are given these festivals, to teach us this spiritual discipline. Those who refuse to obey the symbolic gaherings tend to be less likely to obey instructions given in the timeless sphere of moment-to-moment servanthood or discipleship.
This is the first day of the Third month this year. The fifth one - on which Israel and Judah were destroyed as covenant nations - falls on 11/12 July in the Roman Calendar this year. We should perhaps keep our eyes open then and celebrate the fifth Rosh Chodesh each year as a warning not to apostacise as our forefathers did, for if we do, how can we possibly enter into our Sabbath rest? Five is the number of 'Creation (4) Plus Beginning (1)' and therefore represents a new beginning, that is, Yahweh's undeserved loving kindness or grace. We can choose to remain saved by attending the Heavenly King's Rosh Chodesh banquet, receiving His undeserved bounty and nourishment, or we can turn away and starve. This third month this year, in which we observe a Shabbat and Rosh Chodesh concurrently, is a reminder that Yom Teruah is never far off and that we need to be watchful and prepared. We are gathered here today for a spiritual feast just as we gathered yesterday evening for a literal meal in anticipation of this assembly. May Yahweh bless us as we obediently receive His will and go forth and labour in our patch of the vineyard. Amen.
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