FYI - for those celebrating Pesach (Passover) in April this year as our house is: Below are the estimated dates for the Moedim as per the expected sighting of the New Moon in Jerusalem @ sundown on 6 April, 2019.
This year again is again a rather mixed bag of tricks and challenges as it seems entirely possible that the 14 Abib (day of preparation for the Pesach Seder will fall on the weekly Shabbat) and that is a rather rare event, however we cannot sidestep such situations as we are to “guard and keep” YHWH’s Moedim to the very best of our abilities as this is the time that He sets aside to visit with us in our homes - it is all about HIM and not us. (Dev. (Deut.) 6:4-7 arw John 14:15).
Before I go on to sharing the proposed dates I need to address a matter lying heavy on my spirit and to assist me in this endeavour allow me to present the following:
Yesterday I was listening to a fascinating teaching about the way that the Ancients of the Near-East, which included the Hebrews, viewed life and spirituality; I will not go into this teaching except to say that to the ancients the physical and the spiritual (metaphysical) worlds were totally interwoven with no separation or even a concept of a difference between what we call the secular and the religious today.
Additionally and in tandem with this concept of absolute unity of the physical and the spiritual that they had there was something else the ancients New East, again including the Hebrews, viewed entirely differently to us today - Simply because they had no concept of there not being a G/god and because their G/god, whoever they may had thought it to be, was directly involved in everything in and around their entire existence they had different ways of viewing this/these gods.
These views were either Polytheist (numerous and diverse gods); Henotheism (choosing to worship one particular god but not denying that there are many other gods) & Monotheism, this being the idea of just ONE ELOHIM.
Notwithstanding the fact that YHWH Elohim has been and will be from eternity to eternity this concept of Monotheism was a newer addition to their core beliefs and values thus for most of the times of the Ancients a completely alien concept; their reasoning being, and still I see this same reasoning today, how could you have just ONE Elohim when there was drought and good rains, flooding and destruction, blessings and curses, wars, devastation, life and death (there the similarity with today largely ends) especially when you as a community, society, family, person were/was completely dependent on the land, natural cycles and event for your very existence and you/family were doing everything you could to appease gods both known and unknown to you? They lived in perpetual fear of the gods! Although I in no way way advocate such a lifestyle or religious adherence to YHWH, we today have no fear of YHWH at all (Ecc. 12:13-14). Maybe He is allowing to happen now what He knows has to happen to bring us back to a reverent and Biblical fear/awe of Who He is and how much we need HIM!
So there was just a glimpse of the ancients and who they were.
Unfortunately in light of where we are today as a society and as a Body of believers, and if we are to be truthful, we today, because of our western self-centred, secular, hegemonic, consumer addicted, soft and pampered western culture, lifestyles and mindset are completely diametric to the agronomic mindset, thoughts and life style of the Ancients of Israel and in many instances not able to fully understand or apply the Scriptures as they would have.
Something else which I believe has set us apart from The Ancients is the fact that because of our secular slide down the path of post-modern humanism we have made of ourselves gods who truly believe that we are right in our “doctrinal relativism” and therefore deserve whatever we may think we deserve, whereas the Ancients were under no such illusion and were more than familiar with their absolute dependency on “something” larger than themselves, and it certainly was not human rights (where does that put the aborted babies and children living in “gender-fluid homes?), Affirmative Action, Race or Gender Empowerment, they instead had each day to try and appease their plethora of gods to just survive let alone flourish!
We today in most respects do the least and expect YHWH to keep us happy and blessed ….. or am I incorrect?
Now to the dates for this Moed:
The new moon should be easily visible in Jerusalem tomorrow evening at sundown Abba willing (at Shabbat end of 6 April), this will herald in Abib 1 (Shem (Ex.) 12:2) on 7 April, however if the moon is not sighted in Israel on 6 April then by default 7 April sundown will begin Abib 1 and the all the dates below will move forward by one day except of course Shavuot.
· First Day of Biblical Year (Day 1 of Month 1): April 6th @ sundown (Shem. (Ex.) 12:2)
· Passover/Pesach Seder (Day 14 of Month 1): April 19th @ sundown (this year on weekly Shabbat) and this bumps straight into….
· First Day of Feast of Unleavened Bread/Chag HaMatzot* (Day 15 of Month 1): April 19th sundown till 2oth sundown.
· First Fruits (Day after the Shabbat - Vay. (Lev.) 23:11) till sundown 21st April
· Begin Counting the Omer (Weeks) (7 complete weeks starting with Wave Sheaf Day - Vay. (Lev.) 23:15-16): April 21th - until June 8th @ sundown
· Last Day of Feast of Unleavened Bread/Chag HaMatzot (Day 21 of Month 1 - Vay. (Lev.) 23:8): April 26th @ sundown (on weekly Shabbat).
· Feast of Pentecost/Shavuot * (50th Day starting with Wave Sheaf Day): June 8th @ sundown.
NB: Remember to remove all leaven from your homes before evening of 14 Abib (sundown April 19th)!
Please check this through with Scripture and prayer and any comments let me know.
Shabbat shalom
Bo’az.
