PEN ART - REMEMBERING THE LOVE STORY OF RUTH

(Written by Sheila Gail Landgraf)

 Can't you just imagine lovely Ruth gleaning in the fields at the end of the barley harvest?  It is hot, tiring work, but she toils on, not allowing herself to become discouraged in her pitiful circumstances.  She, a widowed, destitute, lady who once reigned as a Moabite Princess, is out trying to find food to sustain her Mother-In-Law and herself.  She doesn't beg, she doesn't resort to breaking the law; she works!  She knows the work she can do will not bring her extra or money for her future security, but she goes out anyway, accepting what is sufficient to get them through a day, and working very hard for this little amount.  There is a sense that she is grateful for everything that The Lord provides.  How refreshing to see someone rising above mediocrity in the midst of troubles.   She has followed her Mother-In-Law to this strange new land with very different ways and customs.  She is a stranger and very much alone.   She meets Boaz, who has instructed his workers to let her gather barley from the leftovers of his field. 

It was the season of harvesting, when Ruth arrived in Bethlehem.  The long wait for the grain to grow was over, and it had grown into a field of plenty.  Boaz's crops were flourishing, much to his delight.  Growing barley, or any crop is never certain.  You never know the results of your farming until the harvest comes.   It is hard to see the growth of a harvest when the seeds are first put into the ground and the roots are just forming beneath the soil.  The whole growing process is unnoticed and unseen, but much is going on all the time; it just isn't visible.  Sometimes you just have to wait.  During this process the fields look empty and barren, even though there is life just waiting to spring forth, unknown and undetected. There are plants wanting to stretch through to the light, but they are unable to do so until the proper time has come.  So it was with the fields and so it was with the life of Ruth. 

It certainly seemed her life had become empty and barren.  She could not see the blessings that lay waiting in her future.  She had forsaken all she knew (the life of a royal princess) for a husband that she loved from another land.  She had left her home and customs and former religious beliefs to go with him, to  be a part of his home and his family, and had made the huge decision to worship his God, whom she previously had not known.   Even though she met Naomi's son in her own land, Ruth would have still been required to convert to the religion of her husband, who was Jewish.  It is this little fact that gives us our first glimpse into Ruth's strong character.   She did not just go through the process of conversion for the sake of the marriage certificate.  Ruth's sister-in-law seemed to be a lot less concerned about the sincerity of her vows, and she quickly left them behind after the death of her husband, but not Ruth.  Ruth was different.  Ruth believed in truth and honesty and loyalty.  Ruth truly converted deep in her heart.  Her love for The God of Israel was sincere and genuine.  She knew she had found something real.  When the hard times came she did not look back, and she never regretted her decision, even when life became very difficult.   She looked faithfully at the example that her Mother-In-Law, Naomi, lived out before her, and she became completely Jewish too. 

Though Ruth had given all, her husband died, leaving her with nothing.    She found herself widowed, childless, poor and destitute.  She left Moab and followed her Mother-in-law, Naomi, back to Bethlehem.  This was the land of Naomi’s birth.  In Bethlehem Ruth met the family Kinsman Redeemer; Boaz. In those days it was the duty of the Kinsman Redeemer to look after the whole family, especially the ones left behind when someone in the family died.  Three men in the family had died, Naomi's husband, Ruth's husband and Naomi's other son.  It was natural for Boaz to show his concern and look after Naomi and Ruth, but in this case, the feelings went deeper than concern.  While Ruth was in the process of gathering in the fields of Boaz, he saw her and fell in love with her.  He tells his workers to be sure to leave plenty of barley for her to gather.  He looked after her needs and protected her from harm.  He had her best interest in mind always, even to the point of considering that she might not even be interested in him as a husband.  Many think he was much older than Ruth.  When Ruth showed her interest in him; he took every action to make sure that her best interests were served, and not his own.

 In that day, it was the proper behavior of a servant to lay at their master’s feet in order to be ready for any command of the master.   So, when Naomi told Ruth to  lie down at Boaz’s feet as he slept on the threshing floor, she was instructing Ruth to go to Boaz in a totally humble, submissive way.  She was instructing Ruth to have the heart of a servant.  We can't  lose sight of the larger picture here, Ruth came to claim a right, the right of a Kinsman Redeemer. By law Boaz was her goel, her kinsman-redeemer, and she had the right to expect him to marry her and raise up a family to perpetuate the name of Elimelech (her former Father-In-Law, since Naomi was beyond the years of bearing a child).  This was customary for the time.  Wise Naomi counseled Ruth not to go to Boaz as a victim demanding her rights, but as a humble servant, trusting in the goodness of her kinsman-redeemer. Her humble attitude and actions said to Boaz, “I respect you, I trust you, and I put my fate in your hands.”

In those days many farmers lost their harvest to groups of thieves roaming the hills and randomly robbing the land.  There were big parties with dancing and festivals around the harvest, so the time was very public and never a secret.  Everyone knew that your fields were being gathered in.   Boaz was sleeping on the threshing floor that night in order to protect the harvest.  He was guarding it from thieves.  As instructed by Naomi, Ruth came softly in and lay down quietly at his feet, in the role of a servant.  He did not hear her approach, and was surprised to find her there upon awakening at midnight.  The words of Ruth as she spoke to him upon being found there were "take your maidservant under your wing, for you are a close relative."  She shows great humility and submission with these words, calling herself a servant.  The words "under your wing" could be interpreted to be a request for Boaz to take her in marriage.  This Hebrew phrase is many times also translated as "spread the corner of your garment over me."   The custom of the spreading of a skirt over a widow as a way of claiming her as a wife is attested many times under the ancient laws.  This practice still exists today in some places of Arabia.  Even in our modern world, when a Jewish man marries a woman, he throws the skirt, or end of his talit, over her and this signifies that he has taken her under his protection.

God used the same phrase in relation to Israel in Ezekiel 16:8:  "I spread my wing over you and covered your nakedness.  Yes, I swore an oath to you and entered into a covenant with you and you became Mine, says the LORD God." 

 So Ruth's words to Boaz were just a culturally relevant way to say "I am a widow, take me as your wife."  The fact that he was a close relative made this not an inappropriate thing for her to do.  It was bold, but not inappropriate.  Ruth understood this as she identified Boaz as her "close relative." 

This is the frightening moment when we find out that even though Boaz was a recognized goel (kinsman redeemer) towards Ruth, there was another goel closer in relation to her deceased father-in-law Elimelech. So, Boaz could not exercise his right as kinsman-redeemer unless this closer kinsman-redeemer relinquished his rights towards Ruth.  Boaz told her of this, being a man of honor who wanted everything done in order and in a proper way.  He did not send her home empty handed.  He gave her six measures of barley to take home while she waited on him to confirm the answer to her request. 

 Jewish traditions say that the six measures of barley given as a gift to Ruth were a sign of six pious men who would descend from her, endowed with six spiritual gifts: David, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, Azariah, and The Messiah.  I very much see this "gift" of six measures of barley from Boaz to Ruth as being symbolic of Jesus sending the Holy Spirit.  It is a lovely picture, but on with our love story........

Remember in the history of the Jewish people, during the days of Joshua, when Israel came into the Promised Land  the land was divided among all the tribes and then among the families. God always intended that the land stay within those same tribes and those same family groups, so the land could never permanently be sold. Every fifty years, the land had to be returned to the original family group (Leviticus 25:8-17.)  But fifty years is a long time. So God made provision for the land that was “sold,” that it might be redeemed back to the family by the kinsman-redeemer, who had the responsibility to protect the people, property, and posterity of the whole family.  This is why it was important for Boaz to contact the closest Kinsman-Redeemer.   

Boaz went to the gates of the city where business was always conducted seeking this closest kinsman to determine if he would want to make this redemption of Naomi's property.  Of course the man wanted to redeem the land, but then he found out it was a package deal.  To redeem the property would mean he must also marry Ruth and bear children to honor her deceased husband's and father-in-law's name.  He was not interested in this, probably because he already had children and was already married.  To take Ruth as his wife would complicate things and mean that he would need to distribute any of his current wealth to her children as well as to his present wife's children.  This did not appeal to him.  It would have weakened his fortune, not increased it.  He would have had more people to look after as well.  Boaz, of course, was elated!  It was the answer he had hoped for.  Right there at the gate, in the witness of many, Boaz redeemed the property and claimed Ruth as his wife.  And all the elders and all the people who were at the gate blessed the marriage.  They said:  "We are witnesses.  The LORD make the woman who is coming to your house like Rachel and Leah, the two who built the house of Israel; and may you prosper in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem.  May your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, because of the offspring which the LORD will give you from this young woman."  This was saying so much more than you may have read into it!  Rachael and Leah had twelve children between them and basically gave birth to the whole nation of Israel! This was quite a blessing declared over their marriage!

Originally, in the eyes of the world, Ruth seemed to be giving up on her best chance of marriage by leaving her native land of Moab and giving her heart and life to the God of Israel. But as Ruth put God first, He brought her to a relationship greater than she could have ever imagined. 

To Boaz and Ruth was born Obed.  To Obed was born Jesse.  To Jesse was born David.

David grew up to be the great King of Israel.  King David has a descendant by the name of Jesus!

How could they have known at the time that Ruth and Naomi returned to Bethlehem, that their journey would have been the act that set in motion the future reason for Joseph and Mary having to go to Bethlehem to register in the census at the birth of Christ.  It was the city of their ancestor, David.   From Ruth and Boaz's story comes the reason why Jesus was born in Bethlehem.   From Jesus being born in Bethlehem, comes the redemption of the Church and The Bride of Christ! 

This beautiful love story tells us in a million different ways  how  God’s plan is perfect and filled with love.  It speaks to us during those times when we can’t figure out what He is doing and everything seems to be so desperate.  The story tells us clearly that He still knows what He is doing. We are once again reminded of that famous scripture passage:  "all things work together for good for those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28.) 

How clearly the story paints the picture of Jesus as our kinsman-redeemer.  We can see this is why He became a man and came to live among us on this earth. God might have sent an angel to save us, but the angel would not have been our kinsman. Jesus, in His eternal glory, without the addition of humanity to His divine nature might have saved us, but He would not have been our kinsman. A great prophet or priest might have been our kinsman, but his own sin would have disqualified him as our redeemer. Only Jesus, the eternal God who added humanity to His eternal deity, can be both the kinsman and the redeemer for mankind! 
 

We clearly see this picture of the nature of our Savior when we look at Boaz.  We can also see a picture of the church when we look at Ruth and Naomi's other daughter-in-law.  Ruth symbolizes the truly converted in the church, the True Bride of Christ.  Think of the fact that she found herself in a foreign country.  We know and are constantly reminded in the church by true men of God that we are all just pilgrims here on earth, just passing through.  This land is not our true home.  But while in a foreign country, Ruth found Boaz.  Just as we, even on this earth have found Jesus Christ, our own faithful Kinsman Redeemer.  He came to us when we were broken, tired, destitute, and He called us to become his followers.  

We, the true Church of Jesus Christ have humbly submitted our lives to Jesus, just as Ruth lay down in the form of a servant at the feet of Boaz.  We have not demanded our rights, but His mercy and goodness have come to us as a free gift.  He has kept our best interest at all times, even to the point of death on a cross.  The true Bride of Christ comes fully converted, out of love and devotion and in submission to the Groom, not just for the marriage certificate that brings its own set of rewards, but for the love of the Groom and nothing else. 

Sadly, the church has been robbed of its own by Satan and his helpers.  They have robbed and plundered the things of God for years, just as those thieves that roamed the land and robbed the threshing floors in Bethlehem.  They have no true ownership, but they come as thieves to kill, rob, steal and destroy.  Jesus, The Good Shepherd is constantly guarding His sheep, protecting his church, and in essence; sleeping on the threshing floor of the harvest. 

If only we would go to him with that same submissive attitude of a servant's heart just as Ruth did, what wonders might we encounter?  Has the church forgotten this lesson?  Do we not realize what a Kinsman Redeemer does for us?  Are we not aware that The Groom is coming in an hour that we do not expect, perhaps the midnight hour, just as the time when Boaz awoke to find Ruth laying at his feet?  Perhaps this is symbolic of Christ returning to rapture the church.  In that time, we will be covered by His cloak and protected from harm, just as Boaz spread his garment over Ruth on the threshing floor.  

To make this totally legal, Jesus had to die on a cross, giving his life as a ransom, buying God's people back from where we foolishly sold our souls away to the slavery of sin and the rule of Satan.  Because of the sin of the first man and woman, we have been born into a world claimed by evil, ruled by Satan.  Only the price of a perfect sacrifice could change that fact for us.  Jesus paid the price to redeem us as His people, just as Boaz paid the price to redeem Ruth.  It was not for want of possessions or ownership that he paid the price.  It was a total act of selfless love and kindness. 

While Ruth was waiting on Boaz to confirm ownership and redeem her, she had the gift of the six measures of barley almost like a promise that he would return.  It kept her and sustained her while he was away attending to business, making sure that all things were in order and kept legal.  We have The Holy Spirit, bestowing spiritual gifts from God on us everyday since Pentecost, since after the time that Jesus ascended into the heavens to go and prepare a place for us.  

Jesus stands at the gates now, making intercession for us, pleading our case before The Father, preparing a place for us to live with Him, just like Boaz bought back the property originally deeded to the husband of Naomi, who would have passed it on to his heirs, one of them being Ruth's husband who had died.  Now Ruth would have a wonderful home where she could bring her mother-in-law and they could live happily ever after.  The same is true of us, as The Church, knowing that Jesus is preparing a wonderful home for us in the place where His Father lives, where we will live forever with our loved ones and true family. 

There is an exciting wedding feast being planned at the Father's House.  It is being announced at the gates, even as I write this down.  Blessings are being spoken over this very sacred marriage that will happen one day in the future.  The vows of the engagement have already been witnessed by a great cloud of witnesses.  The elders and the disciples will all  be there when this wedding happens.  They will bless the marriage and it will prosper.  From the marriage of Christ and His Bride will come the greatest Kingdom ever, it will produce the children of God and Kingdom of God that will bless heaven and earth from a New Jerusalem, coming down from Heaven to a New Earth. 

Only Jesus can make the happiest ending to the greatest love story ever told.  Every now and then I love to stop and remember that from the pages of eternity, God planned to bring Ruth and Boaz together, and thus make Bethlehem His entrance point for the coming of Jesus as our true Kinsman-Redeemer, fully God and fully man.

SEASONS - THE KING IS IN THE FIELD

(Written by Sheila Gail Landgraf)

Oh, how I love the writings of King Solomon in The Song of Songs! In Chapter 6, verse 3, I can read my favorite words from his writings; "I am my Beloved's and my Beloved is mine."  

When written in the original Hebrew language the first letters of each word form an acronym that spell the month of Elul.  This is the Hebrew month that will be coming up in 2016 beginning with the civil calendar date of September 2nd.  

Elul's acronym, "I am my Beloved's and my Beloved is mine", illustrates this concept; its first letter, aleph, stands for "I" (in Hebrew, "ani") – and the second letter, lamed, represents, "my Beloved's" (in Hebrew, "ledodi") - God. The meaning of this verse is that of being “face-to-face” in expressing one's love for another. This is the idea that the heart of the giver is entwined with the heart of the receiver and vice versa. There is a reciprocal relationship of this love. Each one has the other's heart.  One cannot help but think of the soon coming return of Christ and wonder how much longer it will be before He returns for His Bride, the Church.

On this last month of the Hebrew calendar, many of us try to focus on the past year of our lives.  

It is a time to bring before our Beloved our misdeeds, mistakes, and wrong actions so that He can show us how we can make changes for the new year to come.  

I have come to look at this act the same way you would look at preparing for a wedding.   How do these shoes work?  What veil should I wear?  Is my dress ready?  What should I keep?  What should I change?  What about all of this is in keeping with my heart for my beloved?  Have I spoken to the groom about everything?  

 If you are engaged to be married, you need to discuss all the skeletons in your closet before the wedding.  You wouldn’t want your loved one to discover these from someone else, or to be surprised and hurt by them after your marriage.  You need to confess everything that your future spouse might not yet have heard about you, so that you will know for certain that all past mistakes are forgiven and forgotten, and you are safe with the one that you have chosen to live your life with.  You MIGHT just be surprised at what they know that you don't know they know!  You would, of course, promise them never to revisit these things.  With the love between the two of you, it is possible to begin a fresh new page of life.

This is how I have learned to speak to my Beloved, Jesus, during the time of Elul.  He knows I am not perfect.  He loves anyway.   

In The Song of Songs Solomon speaks of the conversation that is held between two lovers.  

They are not afraid of one another.  

They are comfortable enough in their love that they can speak of their faults and mistakes.  

They are humble enough and so much a part of each other that one can come to the other and ask forgiveness for things done wrong because this one knows that anything they have done will have an instant effect on the other.  No sin is a sin all alone.  Every sin we commit hurts our Beloved.  

This is a time for the healing of this pain.  Healing begins with honesty and confession.  

Healing always comes before joy.

Elul is definitely a time to say “I want to change for you and never put you through such pain again.”   The honesty, love, truthfulness of this confession only makes the bond of love stronger.  The stronger the bond between lovers, the less likely it will ever be broken.  

It is a time of the weaker seeking strength from the stronger.  There will be encouragement that comes from the stronger lover that will change the spirit of the weaker lover from sadness to joy, from being ashamed to being confident and sure of their love.  

Together they will be capable of things they could never achieve apart from one another.  

All of the conversations in The Song of Songs seem to be very relational.  This is the state we should be in during Elul, a relational state, totally in tune to the desires of the One we love the most, looking to see what He will show us, listening to hear what He will tell us.  

If we are out of step, He will help us pick back up on the beat of the dance through the rhythms of life.   

It is a time of bearing our soul to the only One who truly understands our souls.  He truly loves us as we are, and accepts us with all our flaws; even enough that he would die for us and all our imperfections;  but He has a loving desire to help us change into the person that He created us to be.  

When we seek His face and ask His forgiveness, He loves us, flaws and all.  He reaches out to us to pull us up and help us to change.  

One secret to knowing how to change is that of dwelling on the words of the scriptures that tell us; "I am my Beloved’s and my Beloved is mine.”  If you divide this sentence down into two parts you begin to see they each represent a different aspect of our relationship with God. 

The first part:  “I am my Beloved’s” alludes to our main thoughts during Elul, to cry out to God, to communicate our love and loyalty to Him.    This is our speaking.  

The second part; “and my Beloved is mine,’ hints to God’s activity toward us in this time, in which it is possible for a divine revelation to descend upon us from above.  This is our listening.  Good communications involve both speaking and listening.

We speak joyfully to our Beloved during this month, not simply because we are about to begin a new sacred year, but because God is shining forth his attributes of mercy toward us.  

We know that we need to use this time to atone and work on our selves, and God empowers us to do so when we approach Him seeking forgiveness.  

This is the time of us expressing our desire for complete atonement.  At the end of the time, when we reach Yom Kippur, that is the time He expresses His complete desire to atone us, so much that He died to redeem us.  He inspires us and arouses our spirits to awaken to His desires.

There is a beautiful Jewish parable that speaks of this very act.   It is printed below for your reading and meditation:

THE PARABLE OF THE KING IN THE FIELD

A King returns to his city following a long absence. The city's inhabitants stream out to the countryside to greet him. When the king enters the field a new phenomenon occurs. The field equalizes everyone who is found there. Now, for the first time, virtually everyone is empowered and permitted to greet the king. All partitions which usually separate him from the populace are nullified. The king, in turn, graciously receives each and every one. This phenomenon does not take place outside the field. For, within the capital, and surely within the palace, only select dignitaries can access the king.

Is this parable not a beautiful portrait of how Jesus loves us? 

He went up to Heaven to send His Holy Spirit so that we could communicate better with Him and The Father.  So many times when we pray, we are looking up to heaven, seeing him on a royal throne, knowing His kingly power is at work constantly redeeming us, but often it seems we are at a distance, further away than we want to be from Him. We tend to see Him like a King of a city who went away.  We know He is still in control. 

We know He still exists and is coming back, but then one day He does come back!  He walks through the fields of the city.  These are the fields where the common workers toil and labor every day.  This is where they have broken the ground, planted the seeds provided by Him, watered them, weeded them, watched the crop grow to be ripe and ready for harvesting.  The citizens are so proud of the harvest that is just ripe for the picking!  They can’t wait to tell the Master about how beautiful and bountiful it is; then they look up and see Him actually walking through the fields!  They are overcome with joy!  It is Him, The One they have been laboring for all along!  He had returned!  They run to greet him.


As the everyday ordinary people run to great their King who has come down to walk in the field, they all seem somehow the same.  

Their differences are not showing.  

No one is more important.  

No one voice is heard above the other.  

All are equal in the field.  

It is not formal here, like it might be in the royal palace.  No one is announced, or proclaimed.  They all just come toward Him, one at a time, each one special and unique, yet everyone sharing the same honor of greeting the King and having the King recognize them and speak to them of their own particular tasks.

 Here all feel free and comfortable to discuss the physical aspects of the harvest with the King.  Who would know more about harvesting than a King who is also A Creator?  Who could possibly know more about preparing for a good harvest?  

They drink in His advice.  

They sit at His feet to listen to His instructions.  

They freely admit their mistakes and short-comings to Him because they can look into His eyes and see how much He loves them.  It is not hard.  They are not afraid.  They all feel safe. 

The King looks happier here, in the field among the people of His city, maybe even happier than He ever looks on His Royal Throne.  He is glad to be here.  Is it not what He has purposed to do all along?  He is smiling and gracious and generous.  He uses the ordinary existence in the field to explain to all the important principles of His Kingdom and here in the field the lowest realms of existence are transformed into a dwelling place for a King.  

Everyone is excited to know that The King is in the field! 

It is the strangest thing to think about, but even when the King is walking through the field, the primary mundane matters of life must still be carried out!   

It is a time for pausing, but not stopping.  

It is a time of reflecting while still working.  

In our daily lives we concern ourselves with many activities that are not in and of themselves holy, but these things are performed “for the sake of the King.”  Now when we see the King walking through the field, He may stop and talk to us of our activities.   We find out that “little things” are very important to Him.  

He has noted everything, every action, every task that we have done during the times of the seasons before the harvest.  They HAVE mattered to Him.  

He has not overlooked us, or forgotten us when we could not see Him or reach out and touch Him.  He has noticed every little thing!   Suddenly we recognize that in seeking His will in all things, we have made a part of our world His dwelling place, a place where He may come down and walk with us, even in our imperfections, even into the day-to-day activities of “the field.”

Hence, to continue looking after the field of The King in the best possible manner, during Elul we chose to put special emphasis on study of the Holy Scriptures and prayer, because even while The King is walking through His field, we recognize that it IS His field and we honor Him by continuing on with our work for Him. 

SEASONS - LIVING IN AWE

(Writing and photography by Sheila Gail Landgraf)

It is my own personal belief that God has given us the blessing of sacred times to help us to remember to make life-giving connections.  We do this through various forms of meaningful ritual and thoughtful personal transformation in our daily lives.  I think it is by sitting in prayer and meditation before our God that we become empowered to shine with His relevance into whatever corner of the world we find ourselves living.  God meets us where we are, but we have to be willing to take the journey.  The 10 Days of Awe are a lot like driving down the road of life and deliberately deciding to slow down, actually look at the scenery and not rush on by.  It is a pause from the typically busy hectic world.  It is a time out as we travel down the road of truth on our journey through the year.

I think of this every year as a Christian believer who observes the Days of Awe that begin on Rosh Hashanah and linger on through Yom Kippur. 

I don’t consider The Days of Awe to be only Jewish holy days.  My bible says God ordained these days forever, and I am a child of God.  I may be adopted into the family, but I am loved the same as those who were born into the family.  For me it is simply 10 days to reflect and pray about whatever transformations I need to make in the coming year to help the life I live better reflect more of the life of my heavenly Father and His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ.   
  

Every year during this sacred time I begin to recall that I’ve made many terrible daily mistakes.  I’ve misspoken about friends and colleagues. At times I’ve been callous and dismissive.  Often I’ve had moments where I’ve projected my love into places where it does not belong, and then turned around and withheld it from places where it does belong.  In so  many life situations, I’ve let my insecurities paralyze me, or lead me into wrong actions.  I’ve devalued others, as well as myself, and often neglected my family, and neglected the world outside of my immediate family as well.  Perhaps it may seem strange that I admit to the crimes of most of the human race.  In short, I am painfully aware of my humanness and my lack of automatic holiness.  Realizing these things I come before God to repent.  I go to the people I know I've wronged and tell them I'm sorry.  I try to correct my actions by "doing" and not just using the words.

 

Some people feel that admittng these things to God and to their fellow human beings is shocking and repulsive.  They are afraid of facing their own imperfections.  Why do we always expect perfection from ourselves?  Am I being too hard on myself for stopping to think of these things and seeking the forgiveness of God during these 10 sacred days of this season?  After all, Jesus has me covered, right?  I know and believe with all my heart that He has forgiven my sins past, present and future, and has removed them as far as the east from the west.  So why would I stop to ponder such things and seek My Father’s Face for mercy and forgiveness during this time; is it really necessary? 

I feel it is very necessary, because it helps me to turn from wrong.  It takes me beyond just “believing” to living in a place of “being.”   God desires that we want to change.  It is not that I do not accept the grace so freely given by a loving Savior, I definitely do.  It is, however, that if I do not stop to engage these questions every year, I will simply continue to run through the days of my life filling myself up with idle distractions — shopping, vacations, career, social events — and will simply avoid the real work that needs to be done to bring about good authentic change.  Most significant of all is the fact that I would be trampling on that precious gift of grace that has been so freely given, taking the most precious thing that ever happened for granted, and making slight of what My Savior has done in giving His precious life for me. Setting aside this time honors God, My Savior Jesus Christ, and it sets me free from my own paths of careless self destruction.    

So, I welcome those awesome rituals of Rosh Hashanah that force me to stop, assess, redress, and recreate my life before God.  I welcome that opportunity each year to reengage, and to emerge from the paralysis of my own spiritual escapism. My encounter with Rosh Hashanah, The Days of Awe and Yom Kippur each year awaken within my soul the realization that it is time to wake up and stop running away and confess my faults to God, so that I may begin the sacred year with resting peacefully on The Rock of Jesus Christ.  

These High Holy Days teach me and help me to recognize that as human beings we are fundamentally different from objects, machines, plants and animals in that we are not rigid and unchangeable.  We have the ability to change if we chose, to turn, to keep trying until we are able to hit the mark that takes us to a higher place, that place that changes our hearts from duty to love, from rote worship to true desire. 

After each season has passed I feel the fresh peaceful place of knowing "Hayom harat olam" — today is the birth of something completely new. 

 I have the common sense to realize that God has given me a gift I never deserved. 

What could be more wonderful than this? 

What could be more refreshing? 

What could be a better way to enter a new sacred year?

What more could I ask from One who has already given His life for me? 

To steal a phrase from another season:  Dayenu! 

Each year the journey gets more and more interesting.  God has taught me to enjoy the challenges of life. As I bend to His will in my days, He helps me find the purposes He has created specifically for me.  Because I set aside this time every year, I know when the end of my journey comes, I can be at peace and enter safely into His joy. 

SEASONS - ELUL 2015 - TIME FOR PREPARING FOR THE FALL HOLY DAYS

(Written by Sheila Gail Landgraf)

God''s Fall Holy Days are coming up! 

We are in the last month of the Hebraic calendar, the month of Elul.  

It is a time to prepare.

 

Do you know about these Holy Days of God that happen every Fall?

The word translated "festival" in Hebrew is "hag" or "moed" and it means "set times", or "appointed times."  These are times of sacred assemblies.  In the Hebrew language the words "sacred assembly" means "rehearsal" or "recital."  During these fall days that is exactly what we are doing; we are rehearsing the things to come and celebrating God's overall plans for mankind.  It is sort of like the time leading up to a wedding when you begin to remember the important things that have happened through your life in the past, but you are also looking forward to something even more special in the future. 

Thirty days before Rosh Hashanah comes Elul, a time which helps us to remember to be prepared and get ready.  It is a time of Teshuvah, or a time to repent, examine your life, restore your relationships both toward God and your fellow man.  You need to use this time to have those long talks with your Bridegroom from Heaven because the future of eternity lies before you.  Why?  Because the Messiah is going to return!  We must be ready for the wedding feast!  He has told us to be watching and waiting and preparing.  Teshuvah, during the days of Elul, is a reminder, almost like one of the "save the date" invitations you get long before a wedding date comes.   The shofar is blown to remind us to awaken to the season and repent and look up with anticipation.  Ezekiel 33:3 warns those who are not ready and are not paying attention. 

And he sees the sword coming upon the land and blows on the trumpet and warns the people, then he who hears the sound of the trumpet and does not take warning, and a sword comes and takes him away, his blood will be on his own head. He heard the sound of the trumpet but did not take warning; his blood will be on himself. But had he taken warning, he would have delivered his life.…(Ezekiel 33:3-5)

We get ready in Elul by listening until we hear the sound of the shofar.  The shofar is a warning signal that reminds us to come before God and repent of our sin.  We are reminded by the shofar sounding again during Rosh Hashanah and the 10 days of Awe.  Everything leads up to Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year, The Day of Atonement. 

Without atonement, there is no hope for God's people.  

It is the most important day of all the sacred days.  

By the atoning blood of Christ our God shows mercy by blotting all of our sins out of His book of remembrance.  If you repent and turn from your sins, the blood of Christ is applied and the sins are blotted out forever.  If you do not, you go into another year of life with sin on your record.  The blood was given and the holy sacrifice was made once for all, past present and future; but every year when God searches His books and lays out His plans for the upcoming year, the atonement must be applied for new sins.  Salvation is forever.  If you are saved you will have God's Holy Spirit living within you and you will always seek forgiveness for sins.  You do this because if you are saved, God's Holy Spirit lives and works within you.  Salvation is a wonderful, perfect gift!  But, it is only the beginning of the Christian life, not the end.  Salvation leads us down the path to holiness.  Holiness opens our hearts to seek the ways of God that are good and true and right.  Salvation brings peace.  Holiness brings joy.

As long as we are living in earthly bodies, even after we receive salvation, we are all still human.  We all keep sinning despite our best efforts, we all fall short.  God knew this would happen.  He provided a way for sinners who sin after the sacrifice of the blood of Jesus has been applied and made them whole and completely clean.  This way is called atonement.  The sacrifice provides salvation, the atonement brings sanctification.  Both are a gift of God through His Son Jesus Christ.

It is comparable to a traveler who has bathed and is walking along a dusty road to attend a special event.  When he arrives he does not need to bath again, for he is clean, but he has picked up the dust of the road along the way, so he must wash his feet again before entering the special event.  

So many struggle with this concept saying "once saved always saved."  I just carry that concept a little further saying, "Once saved, always in need of confession."  In the end we all DO stay saved because we are clean because of the sacrificial blood of Christ, but we must do our part to grow in God.  We must continue to allow God to transform us and we must realize that we are all still sinners in need of God's forgiveness, even after we have become believers and step into the path that leads to The Kingdom.  There is always more transformation going on until we meet God face to face.  This is the process that prepares the Bride for the Groom.  This is the path of the wise virgin who keeps oil in her lamp until she sees the groom coming.  This is how God helps us each year in the Day of Atonement.  He saves us from our humanity and applies His grace that refines us and makes us more like Him.  If someone reaches the state of thinking that they do not need atonement anymore, they are simply living in a sin called "self-righteousness."  

So here we go into the beautiful Fall Holy Days of God:

Leviticus 23:2 says: Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'These are my appointed festivals, the appointed festivals of the LORD, which you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies.


God goes on in this passage to name seven feasts and/or festival days that He desires to be kept.  Four of these special times are in the spring and summer, those four are Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits and Pentecost.  The other three days come in the Fall.  We are now in the month of  Elul and these Fall Days are fast approaching for 2015. 

Here are some of the scriptures that proclaim how we should keep these Fall Feast Days of God:  The times are calculated by the phases of the moon unlike the calendar commonly used today which calculates time by the phases of the sun. They all start at sunset and end at sunset.  Because they are calculated by the phases of the moon they do not always fall on the same calendar day each year.  This year, 2015, the days come in September and October.

ROSH HASHANAH/FEAST OF TRUMPETS: In 2015 this festival lasts from sunset Sunday, September 13th through sunset Tuesday, September 15.

Leviticus 23:24:  "Say to the Israelites: 'On the first day of the seventh month (the first month if your reading the sacred calendar) you are to have a day of Sabbath rest, a sacred assembly commemorated with trumpet blasts.

(God, in these scriptures, was laying out the pattern for celebrating Rosh Hashanah, The Feast of Trumpets.)

YOM KIPPUR/DAY OF ATONEMENT:  observed in 2015 from sunset Tuesday, September 22nd to sunset Wednesday, September 23rd,   This is a fast day, not a feast day:

Leviticus 23:26-28:  The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, "On exactly the tenth day of this seventh month (it is the seventh month of the civil calendar and the first month of the sacred calendar) is the Day of Atonement; it shall be a holy convocation for you, and you shall humble your souls and present an offering by fire to the LORD.  Do not do any work on that day, because it is the Day of Atonement, when atonement is made for you before the LORD your God.

(In these scriptures God has laid out the pattern for observing Yom Kippur - The Day of Atonement.  This day isn't a feast day or a festival, it is actually a fast day that God has commanded to be observed.  It is a day to be spent in fasting before The Lord.  It is a day for Christians to remember the most important sacrifice ever made for mankind, the life of Jesus Christ.  It is the day for repentance and remembering that his blood is offered up as atonement for our sins, a very serious and sacred day, a most holy day to be observed forever by all believers.)

SUKKOT/FEAST OF TABERNACLES: In 2015 this festival is celebrated from sunset Monday, September 28th through sunset Sunday, October 4th, with the Great Last Day ( the eighth day) being on Monday, October 5th.  

Leviticus 23:33-37:  Again the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, "Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, 'On the fifteenth of this seventh month (the seventh civil month and the first sacred month) is the Feast of Booths for seven days to the LORD.  On the first day is a holy convocation; you shall do no laborious work of any kind.  For seven days you shall present an offering by fire to the LORD. On the eighth day you shall have a holy convocation and present an offering by fire to the LORD; it is an assembly. You shall do no laborious work.  For seven days present food offerings to the LORD, and on the eighth day hold a sacred assembly and present a food offering to the LORD. It is the closing special assembly; do no regular work. 

Here God is telling us to celebrate Sukkot - The Feast of Tabernacles, a joyful time of celebrating what the world will be like when Christ reigns as King of Kings and Lord of Lord's forever.   Many Jewish people so not celebrate these days unless they are in Israel because they now have no temple to go to .  Christians know that our bodies are now the dwelling for God's temple.  We can celebrate the feast anywhere, because God is always with us, unlike in ancient times before Christ brought salvation to all.

These awesome days known to many as The Fall Holy Days are a gift from God to His people.  Do you know Him?  Is He your God?  Then you are one of His people.  Are you keeping your Father's traditional days?    You do not have to be born Jewish to keep these days, they are God's days - it is a good thing for you to honor your Father, God, and keep the days He has planned for His family.

Think of your time growing up in the home of your earthly father.  Did he have special times that he would command that the family gather around and celebrate together?  

Do you not have fond memories of these family times that are priceless to you as you become older and look back on them?   

Perhaps your earthly father chose these days to say important things to the family while they were all together, relaxing and celebrating.  Maybe he knew that during these special gatherings you would be listening carefully to his words and paying close attention.  He knew you would be undistracted, because you had set aside this time just to be with him and your other family members. 

It is the same with our Heavenly Father.  

He has mapped out appointed days from the very beginning of time that He wished for His family to keep and observe together.  

He wrote them down for us in His book so we have no excuse for not noticing them or overlooking them.  He spelled it all out, yet many people chose to blindly ignore these sections of their bibles.  Or they blame their nonobservance on the fact that these are "Old Testament" things.  Guess what?  The New Testament did not wipe out the Old Testament, it only fulfilled it.  

The days with their fulfilled meaning are even more precious than the days before they were fulfilled and completed by Jesus Christ.  

Trumpets still represents a coming time that has not yet been fulfilled.  We should be observing and anticipating!  

Yom Kippur, or Atonement represents a time that has been fulfilled by the blood of Jesus, yet also a future time that will come when we will know even more about how wonderful the love (hesed) and kindness and grace of our heavenly Father can be.  It will be a day when we will see Him face to face and stand before him covered with His blood, atoned and holy before Him.  It is something to anticipate and take seriously in the present.   

This will all culminate in a future Feast of Tabernacles and we can read of it in the scriptures where it speaks of a date in the future:

Zechariah 14:16:  Then the survivors from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD Almighty, and to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles.

Our present day celebrations are only a shadow of the things to come.  

These scriptures are our invitation from our heavenly Father to come gather around His table and celebrate that we are His family.  God chooses these times to speak specifically to His family about things that He considers very important.  God has called these times His "appointed" days.  Have you been keeping your appointments with your heavenly Father, or has the world led you aside and kept you busy with other things? 

The scriptures say these are God's days, not the designated days for the Jews or the Christians, or any other group.  They belong to God.  If you love God and serve Him and consider Him your Father, they also belong to you. 

The Israelites were honored and chosen to be the first to live out these patterns that God set for our special family celebrations.  They were also given the honor of being the people whose heritage would produce an offspring from God who would fulfill the meaning of all of the appointed times.  Jesus Christ was born of the tribe of Judah, a perfect man who was also The Son of God.  He fulfilled these days.   God used them as shadows to tell of His coming, His life and His leaving and returning to earth in the future. 

If you are a Christian you know these stories well, but your life can be enriched beyond belief when you know these stories as well as the stories of the Hebrews who so long ago began to celebrate these days with God.  The Jewish people have preserved these days for themselves and us, and the Christian people have proclaimed the end of the story through the preaching of the truth of the gospel and proclaiming the life of Jesus Christ for both themselves and the Jews.  It is true that they are a blessing for everyone and as Jesus so wisely put it "whosoever will may come."

I get excited every Fall as we begin to approach these very holy times!

God always shows me something new, or teaches me something vital to living out life in His Kingdom.  It all begins with the Hebraic month of Elul, that 30 day period of time leading up to these holy days.  The month of Elul is known as a time to be preparing, meditating, praying, pondering the last year of your life and asking forgiveness of God and anyone you have sinned against over the last year.  The whole idea is to use the month of Elul to sort out your sins, confess, repent, try to make amends and prepare to appear before God on Yom Kippur a holy and clean servant before a merciful God.  Elul is all about getting ready.

Are you ready? 

Rosh Hashanah (The Feast of Trumpets) is about realizing that time is short and soon we must all stand before God.  The trumpet blows out the warning signal to awake people from their sins and shouts out a warning to return to God. 

Yom Kippur is about judgment and atonement.  We are all guilty, but if we seek out the love of our merciful God, He will grant us the perfect atonement of the blood of Jesus.

Sukkot, or The Feast of Tabernacles is a time for proclaiming the reign of Christ, for knowing that He will return again and marry His Bride; (those who have The Holy Spirit dwelling inside of them.)  It is a wedding rehearsal every year for The Marriage Supper of The Lamb.  It is a time of joyous celebration for what God has done for his people.  It is a time of cheerful anticipation of the world that is coming because we have been given salvation and atonement that will last throughout eternity when we will ever be with God.

So join with me if you will in this time of  Elul, the beginning of the Fall Holy Day Season, in a time of careful consideration, faithful preparation and also anticipation of the day that we are fully clean and we will see The Face of God and live.    We are there right now, living in the days of Elul on our calendars.  What will you do about it? 

How will you speak to God of your own life?  What things do you need to consider and restore?

Right now - today - is your opportunity to do so.