Fall, oh the beautiful colors that Heavenly Father has given us as His sign that we are moving into another season of the year. When we examine Genesis 1:14 we find that Yahuah our Elohim created the sun, the moon, and the stars as a pattern for marking time. He gave us the days, weeks, months, and years and declared some days that are to be special above others. These special times are called Moedim. Properly stated, Moedim is an appointment, that is, a fixed time or season; specifically, a festival; conventionally a year; by implication, an assembly as convened for a definite purpose (Strong’s Bible Concordance).
Yahuah has declared 7 Feasts. The first 3 occur in the spring and are Pesach/Passover. Yahuah our Elohim passed over His children who applied the blood of the lamb, sparing them from the death angel hours before leaving Egypt. The New Testament also pictures Pesach as the death of Yahusha, the perfect sacrifice who died on Passover. The 2nd, Unleavened Bread/Hag Ha’Matzot, which follows the day after Pesach reminds us to remove the leaven, which equates to sin from our homes both physically and spiritually. It pictures the sinless Yahusha, the Bread of Life sent to us from His Father, Yahuah. FirstFruits/Reishit, the 3rd Feasts is when we offer our best of the spring harvest. Firstfruits is an important time marker as it begins the fifty-day count (Omer) which marks the next, 4th Feast, Pentecost/Shavuot. Pentecost/Shavuot foretold the coming of the Holy Spirit/Ruach haQodesh. Pentecost is celebrated in the summer.
The next 3 feasts occur in the fall of the year. These are Feasts of Trumpets/Yom Ha’Teruah, Teruah means to shout. This shouting is for the purpose of telling Believers to prepare as it signals the return of the bridegroom. The blast of the trumpet or shofar is blown in conjunction with the shouting. Yom He’Teruah leads up to Day of Atonement/Yom Kippur, a day of fasting, introspection, and humility. It is a time of reordering our thoughts as we take inventory of our lives throughout the year to see where we have fallen short, then we repent and ask for forgiveness of our transgressions and unrighteousness. Lastly, there is Tabernacles/Sukkot/Feast of Booths. This is in remembrance of when Israel dwelt in booths during their sojourn in the wilderness where they were provided for by Yahuah. The three main lessons of the seven feasts are 1) Yah’s Protection, 2) Yah’s Provision, and 3) Yah’s Promises. Each of these has great significance.
For those who are bound by sin and hopelessness, Yom Teruah is the time to reflect on your painful patterns. As you seek mending from the only one who can mend Yah will help you discover who you are in Him. Yom Kippur asks us to fast and pray. In doing so we reach deeply to be in a relationship with Him. Sukkot follows which reminds us of Yah’s provision. Sukkot takes place at the end of the fall harvest and reminds us of His blessed promises if we follow His commandments. Sukkot means to tabernacle and Yahusha tells us that if we abide in Him and His words abide in us that He will come and tabernacle with us, meaning He will live in us. This is a mighty promise and a great promise filled with hope for the brokenhearted. We read in Isaiah 61:1 and Luke 4:18-19 “The Spirit of the Yahusha is on me because He has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of Yahuah our Elohim.” This is Yahusha’s purpose; to heal on all levels the consequences that living in sin creates.
The fall Moedim, a season of feasts begins with the sound of the trumpets to bring our attention to the realness of Yahusha’s purpose through His Father Yahuah. He’s going to return as our Messiah and until He does, He has given us His Ruach haQodesh to be our Guide and Comforter.
The Ruach keeps us and teaches us the way we should walk. When we listen and obey this Spirit of Elohim the Word of Yahuah becomes a living testimony, “To give light to them that sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” (Luke 1:79). The Spirit of Elohim, the Ruach Holy Ruach is that light which guides us into peace as the shackles of spiritual bondages are broken. A time has been set aside, called The Atonement where we take note of our lives, and repent and forgive in those areas in need. This is a powerful 24-hour period where we should reflect deeply on whose we are, children of the Most High who wishes us no hurt, harm, or danger. He wants us to live our lives in health and wellness. The yearly Moedim ends with Sukkot. If we abide (meaning to remain, to continue, to stay) in Yahusha and His word abide in you then we will bear good fruit (John 15-4-6). The good fruit is peace, joy, understanding, and healing. Sukkot is a time of harvest; it is a time of joy when the fruits of our labor are celebrated itself. It is also a time to honor the One who provides. We can go into our homes with joy and satisfaction that we have done all we can do to turn our lives back over to the Creator and Maker and Sustainer of all things.
Anyone who is discontent with their present life is sad or depressed to one degree or another. Yahuah is the sustainer of life. By His grace, and peace, contentment is a reachable reality. As we move into the fall feast remember the deeper things of who we are in Him. 2 Peter 2:1-7 reads: Yahuah our Elohim has given us everything we need for knowledge and virtue. This power was given to us through knowledge of the one who called us by His glory and goodness. In this way, He has given us the very great and precious gifts He promised. Through these promises, you will share in the divine nature because you have escaped the corruption that sinful desires cause in the world. Because of this, make every effort to add integrity to your faith; and to integrity add knowledge; to knowledge add self-control; to self-control add endurance; to endurance add godliness; to godliness add loving affection, and to loving affection add love. For if these things are in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Yahusha Ha’Mashiach.
May the love of our Messiah abound in you mightily as we move through the Fall Feast. – Shalom Sister Diane