Song of Solomon 6:3 I am my beloved’s, And my beloved is mine. He feeds his flock among the lilies.
This begins a very special season on God’s calendar — the month of preparation before the Fall Feasts. The month of Elul is unique: it is the 12th month on the civil calendar and the 6th month on the prophetic/biblical calendar. Each day of Elul is marked by the blowing of the shofar, a trumpet call that awakens the soul. These daily blasts prepare our hearts for Yom Teruah (the Feast of Trumpets, Rosh Hashanah) and ultimately for Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement).
In Jewish tradition, there are two calendars that run side by side. The civil calendar begins in the fall with the month of Tishrei, making Elul the 12th month — the close of a yearly cycle. The prophetic or biblical calendar, however, begins in the spring with Nisan (the month of Passover), which makes Elul the 6th month — the number often associated with man and preparation. In this way, Elul stands at the crossroads of ending and beginning: the closing of one cycle and the preparation for the new.
This devotional is the first in a multi-part series on the significance of Elul — its connection to repentance, the preparation of the Bride, and the mercy of God. In the weeks ahead, we’ll take a deeper dive into each of these themes.
Even the very name Elul carries this meaning. In Hebrew, it is spelled Aleph-Lamed-Vav-Lamed (אלול), which the rabbis saw as an acronym for “Ani L’dodi v’dodi li” — “I am my Beloved’s, and my Beloved is mine” (Song of Songs 6:3). Elul, then, is not only a season of repentance, but of covenant intimacy — a month where the Bride turns her heart toward the Bridegroom.
Historically, Elul is also tied to Moses’ second 40 days on Mount Sinai after Israel’s sin with the golden calf (Exodus 34). During that time, God revealed His mercy and renewed the covenant. That season of intercession and forgiveness has marked Elul ever since as a time of second chances and restored relationship with God.
So as we begin this biblical month, let us heed the sound of the shofar blast. It is a call to awaken from slumber, to return to the Lord, and to prepare our hearts for the days to come. The Bridegroom is preparing us to be spotless and without wrinkle. Let us enter this season with hearts set on intimacy with God, ready for His appearing, and asking for a fresh anointing to draw us ever closer as we seek His face.
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]An aging king woke up one day to the realization that should he drop dead, there would be no male in the royal family to take his place. He was the last male in the royal family in a culture where only a male could succeed to the throne – and he was aging. He decided that if he could not give birth to a male, he would adopt a son who then could take his place but he insisted that such an adopted son must be extraordinary in every sense of the word. So he launched a competition in his kingdom, open to all boys, no matter what their background. Ten boys made it to the very top.
For centuries in Ethiopia, there have lived a people we now know as the Falashas. They kept all sorts of Biblical traditions and call themselves Beta Yisrael (House of Israel). As experts began to study the matter, it became clear that these were descendants of the Jewish people who came to Africa in ancient times and intermarried. Unbeknownst to many, a percentage of them became believers in Jesus over the years. Jesus (or Yeshua, as they called Him) became a part of their identity as Jewish people. Many Falashan Jews worshipped Jesus as their Messiah and continued to practice Jewish tradition.
Why is it that some believers seem to go much deeper in their walk with God than others? I believe it has to do with a desire to pursue God and not to stop until they feel His very presence in their lives. These believers decide not to settle for anything less than a growing, vibrant relationship with God, and God honors that desire for those who seek it.
This pivotal passage of scripture, Isaiah 52 and continuing into Isaiah 53, profiles a suffering servant whom the nation of Israel would not recognize. The spiritual leaders of Yeshua’s (Jesus) day were blinded to the messianic passages which pointed to the messiah’s role as a humble servant and bearer of sins.
A recent study by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania and University of California Los Angeles wanted to find out, “if you had to choose between more time and more money, what would it be?” While they found most respondents answered, “more money”, they also found that those who preferred “more time” were generally happier! When I read this article, it reminded me of a story, that I’d like to share.
The Apostle Paul’s admonition in 1 Corinthians 10:6 against desiring evil as they did, would seem to point to the obvious sins – lying, stealing, adultery, fornication, etc. – and following their deliverance from slavery, many of the children of Israel were certainly guilty of some of these. But this passage in Numbers describes a type of sin we don’t normally consider: it was simply their desire for the foods they ate in Egypt.
The Apostle Paul continues his warning to the Corinthians against idolatry by referring to Israel’s celebration/worship of the golden calf. Aaron’s proclamation, “These are your gods (plural) O Israel” could be one of the earliest declarations mixing the worship of the true and living God, YHVH, with idols. This is called “syncretism”. Dictionary.com defines it: ” the attempted reconciliation or union of different or opposing principles, practices, or parties, as in philosophy or religion.”