When Does Yahwey’s Scriptural New Year Begin?

Written Jan 1, 2013

It seems to me that many things that Yahwey has commanded, man has un-done or changed.  Sometimes these changes have been by people long ago such as  Constantine the Great but likewise, some of the things that Yahwey commanded has been changed by  humanity just because man wants to serve themselves.

The longest time that mankind has ever served Yahwey according to what He requires was during the time of Joshua.  Joshua lived to be one hundred and ten.  The children of the God of Israel served Yahwey through the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him, who had themselves experienced all that Yahwey had shown in in His children,  Israel. Man has never been satisfied to live according to Yah’s ways for much of any length of time with this one exception.

Joshua 24:31 And Israel served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that overlived Joshua, and which had known all the works of the LORD, that he had done for Israel.

We have been warned by Daniel that a man would think to change times and laws and would wear out the saints of the MOST HIGH.

Daniel 7:25 And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.

Although we have not yet seen this specific prophecy occur here in our lifetime, many of Yahwey’s chosen times and seasons have been changed and these changes have been passed down and held as tradition and mankind has held on tight to these traditions.

Nevertheless, we know that Yahushua asked the scribes and Pharisees, “Why do ye also transgress the commandment of Yahwey by your tradition?”

Not only did they reject Him but they also sent officers to arrest Yahushua so they could murder Him, even though this particular day that I mentioned, the officers did not arrest Yahushua.

The month that we call January,  is not the proper time to start a new year according to the scriptures.  It never ceases to amaze me that on any given day,  I can pick up my Bible and learn something else that Yahwey has said to guard and protect;  has been changed for some reason or another.  Here we are in the dead of winter with a cold north wind sweeping the snow covered ground and I find out through the scriptures that even this day is not observed as Yahwey intended. It just doesn’t seem like Him to begin anything new in the dead of Winter does it?

When Yahwey created the heavens and the earth, He also created the sun and the moon that divided the day from the night and these were to be as signs and for seasons, and for days and years.  ~ Genesis 1:14

Psalm 104:19 ¶ He appointed the moon for seasons: the sun knoweth his going down.

We are certainly not to worship the moon but we are to use the moon to count time so we know when the Feasts of the Yahwey are.  Many people misunderstand and think that the Feast’s such as Passover, Unleavened Bread, Feast of Weeks, Feast of Tabernacle’s and such are Jewish feasts but they are not.  These holy days were set aside by Yahwey Almighty and He declares them to be His feasts.

Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, Concerning the feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my feasts. ~ Leviticus 23:2

So when did Yahwey say to begin a New Year?

Exodus 12:1-3 ¶ And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, this month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you.  Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house:

c. 840 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Here we find a clue.  The month that holds the season of Passover is the month that begins the New Year. Even more specifically, Yahweh said to us through Moses: This month [Abib] shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you. (Exodus 12:2)

Why did I insert the word Abib? Because later on in the book of Deuteronomy, we see Yahwey speaking again to Moses, ¶ And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, “Observe the month of Abib, and keep the Passover unto the LORD thy God: for in the month of Abib the LORD thy God brought thee forth out of Egypt by night.” ~ Deuteronomy 16:1

Abib indicates a stage in the development of the barley crops.  Even though we do not read that the ancient Hebrews had any particular names for their months, we do see this month being called Abib by Yahwey, when He spoke to Moses and Aaron while they were still in the land of Egypt.

So not only do we see Yahwey telling Moses specifically that the new year is in the month of Abib,  but we also see Yahwey telling Moses to observe it. The root word for observe in the Hebrew is shamar pronounced shaw-mar’ which means to protect and to guard.  We also see a similar word used in Hebrew when Yahwey said to remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

Exodus 13:4 This day came ye out in the month Abib. 

Abib is the true beginning of the New Year with its new growth. It is in the spring when the earth comes back to life in the northern hemispheres after the spring rains have ceased.

Exodus 23:15 Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread: (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt: and none shall appear before me empty:

Exodus 34:18 ¶ The feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep. Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, as I commanded thee, in the time of the month Abib: for in the month Abib thou camest out from Egypt.

The warming of the sun causes the green grass to grow again and the fragrance of the flowers and budding trees begin to fill the air. The birds come out again for the summer and the earth is bursting forth with renewal. The sun is at, or very near, the equator, and plants  are beginning to bud.  A new cycle has begun.

This noun abib, refers to barley that is already ripe, but still soft, the grains of which are eaten either rubbed or roasted. This makes perfect sense because the ripened barley will be waved before Yahweh as a “wave sheaf offering” during the Feast of Unleavened Bread, right after Passover, the night to be much remembered.  But make no mistake about it,  He said this is the month Abib.  Why it was ever changed to Nisan is beyond me. All I know is that by the time the book of Esther was written, it was called Nisan.  Perhaps it was the translators,  who really knows.

Likewise, the Passover is a renewal of the Covenant that we have made with Yahweh when we accept His Son as our Passover. When our hearts and minds have been opened to the truth of Yahweh’s word, we understand that we are called and set apart for a special purpose.

We then begin to have an inner desire to be immersed into the saving Name of Yahushua. Through baptism, we confess that we are sorry for our sin and want to be forgiven. As our past sins are washed away, the slate has been wiped clean and we begin all over.  Some folks refer to this as being born again.

We can stand before Yahweh justified, just as if we had never sinned and begin to walk upright in obedience to His commandments and not man’s commandments.  It is Yahwey’s commandments that sanctifies us and cleanses our garments for righteousness through the blood of The Lamb of Elohim; His Son, Yahushua.

So when is the real New Year for us according to the scriptures?

The Biblical New Year’s day begins in the year 2014 on  Monday, March 31st, in the evening. This is not a day of rest, but only the 1st day of the 1st  moon, in Spring of the new year.

“This moon is the beginning of moons for you, it is the first moon of the year  for you.”  Exodus 12:2

Why do I say the evening?  Because every new day begins in the evening and not the morning like many people think. How do I know this to be true?  We can easily look at the days of creation beginning with the first day.

And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.  Genesis 1:5

It is amazing what we learn when we really dig into what the scriptures tell us.  And what is it that our Abba is telling us?  “Observe/watch the New Moon of Ripened Barley and keep the Passover to Yahweh, for I am Your Elohim.”  Passover must be really important to Him.

It is the glory of Yahwy to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter.

Just as a side note, we also find another month given a name in the book of Esther.  One is called Adar. It is in this scripture we understand that the first month is called Nisan,  when the barley would be abib; OR –  the barley is ripe.  The reason Abib is called Nisan here is because Esther lived in Babylon and Abib was called Nisan, after the Captivity (Neh. 2:1).

 Esther 3:7 ¶ In the first month, that is, the month Nisan, in the twelfth year of king Ahasuerus, they cast Pur, that is, the lot, before Haman from day to day, and from month to month, to the twelfth month, that is, the month Adar.

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