Delta Dawn When That Light Comes On

Ah! September!!  It is just like Father to start a new year with a bountiful harvest and a time of rest and rejoicing.  As a youngster, I loved September. Haying was finished.  Stacks were set aside for winter feeding and the baled hay was ready for sale.  Snow fences were shored up for winter snows.  Cattle were brought home from summer pasture.  Bulls were penned, older cows culled and steers separated for October shipping.  A choice steer was selected for butchering. 

I would be off into Dick & Jane watching Spot run or other intriguing ideas such as long division at a country school.  There were new friends, a new teacher and a new, old routine: Pledge of Allegiance to the flag, the Lord’s prayer and singing patriotic songs.  I delighted in learning and adventure filled me with excitement.

Unknowingly I was on God’s time clock.  September is, usually, when the Jewish new year. Rosh Hashanah, occurs. “Head of the Year” is September 26 this year.  Jewish holidays start the evening before, so September 25 will be New Year’s Eve. As in the Western world, it is a time of rejoicing, feasting and anticipation.

Ten Days of Awe begin counting to Yom Kippur when all sins are forgiven.  For Jews, these Ten Days look back to God’s deliverance of His people from the bondage of Egypt, reflecting in self-examination and formulating resolutions for better days when last year’s sins disappear at Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement).  For Jews eagerly attending this feast, Yom Kippur’s forgiveness is Love personified.

Because of the Blood of Jesus, Christians have a more delightful experience.  Sin  has been wiped out, expunged from history, thrown into the sea of forgetfulness, no longer ours, FOREVER!   We are redeemed!  New creatures! 2 Corinthians 5:21

Sukkot (living in tents or tabernacles) for 7 days recalls the years Israel wandered in the desert, eating manna, winning wars and taking territory for God as they pressed toward the Promised Land. The eighth day calls everyone into a Great Assembly to rejoice in God’s great goodness toward Israel—and all mankind.

A leap year adds one extra day in February, every four years.  Every Shemitah (seven years) adds two months of Adar to the Jewish calendar.  A Shemitah year ordains debts be cancelled, slaves be freed, belongings be returned to rightful owners and land be returned to the proper family. Land belongs to God.  Leviticus 25 clarifies distinct details of this seventh year (Shemitah) release.

September 26 begins “5783: YEAR OF RESTITUTION”.  Expect hidden details to be unearthed and laid bare.  Major upheaval will occur, but, as Psalm 91 reports, “Only with your eyes shall you look, as in a theatre, and see the reward of the wicked.”  God has spoken, declaring order from chaos and He does not change.  Be confident, God’s Word will stand and His Hand is stretched out still. “Ke tov! Ke lailam hostdo!” “God is good! His mercy endures forever!”  

Next Week: Agar-Agar