Cheshvan / Bul

Cheshvan / Bul

Although this month has no feasts or fasts like the other 11 months, as we delve deeper into Cheshvan’s prophetic meaning according the living Word, the mystery and revelation only deepens instead of lessens in comparison with Tishrei. This month is a month of the completion and finishing of purposes, new beginnings, either positive or negative, and returning to Adonai’s original blueprint for our lives. It is the eighth month, known today as Cheshvan, but in the Scripture as Bul, meaning to yield or produce, and is also the beginning of the rainy season in Israel.

It is believed to be the same month that the great flood of Noah began (Genesis 7:11) and when Noah, his family, and all of the animals exited the ark onto dry ground (Genesis 8:14-15). On one hand it was once the beginning of the great judgement upon mankind and all the earth, but is also the month of the new beginning of completion, when King Solomon completed the construction of the Temple (1 Kings 6:38). It is both bitter and sweet, a time of great wrath as well as a time of covenant between YHWH, man, and all living creatures that will forever be remembered by Adonai through the rainbow in the clouds. So what does that mean for us today? Why should we care, and what should we expect? Let’s find out.

Completion or Desolation?

Two very consequential events happened in Scripture during this month that paved the way for both completion and desolation. When King Jeroboam became the King over the ten tribes of Israel after Solomon’s death and the split of the kingdom, on the 15th of Cheshvan he created his own feast which he devised in his heart for all of the ten tribes to worship the two golden calves in Bethel and Dan instead of the God of Israel (1 Kings 12:32-33). This was the beginning of what brought about what is known today as the ten lost tribes. Roughly 200 years later after a succession of kings doing similar and worse things against Adonai, Assyria invaded and took all ten tribes captive. In Israel Cheshvan is synonymous with sorrow, not only because of this part of Israel’s history, but also due to more recent events. It was on Cheshvan 15 (Nov. 9th, 1938) that the German Nazis launched a campaign of terror against the Jewish people called Die Kristallnacht (The Night of Broken Glass) which initiated the Holocaust, but is also believed to be when the 3rd Temple will be built. We get to choose this month if we will devise and plan according to our own hearts or the heart of the Father, to choose which new beginning we will have, and whether or not this is a month of sorrow or Joy in Yeshua.

No matter what life you have lived, Yeshua has a new name for you. Yeshua’s very name means salvation, and He has bought our salvation with His blood. What was once your sorrow, Yeshua paid for it to become joy, victory, and triumph. This month we have a choice to make in this new beginning, to live in completion and the victory of Yeshua or in desolation, to speak into others lives messages of sorrow or victory. We have a choice, to worship the golden calf, or the God of our salvation. As for me and my house, we shall serve Adonai!

Manasseh

The tribe associated with Bul, is Manasseh, a tribe that is not particularly famed in Scripture, but is of great importance in understanding the heart of the Father, and gives us further insight into how the Great I Am sees us and wants us to be in constant remembrance of in regards to His love for us. The name Manasseh literally means to forget, which brings us into the delivery room in the courts of Egypt’s capital just before the 7 golden years of Egypt. “Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh (causing to forget), for he said, “Adonai has made me forget all my trouble and hardship and all [the sorrow of the loss of] my father’s household” (Genesis 41:51). This month is truly about remembering the new beginning we have been freely given through the blood of Yeshua. The Father’s love for us is so perfect that He not only forgives our sins, but also forgets them completely (Hebrews 8:12). So why, if Adonai Himself forgives and forgets our sins, why do we so often dwell on our past, letting it define us instead of refine us?

This month, is a time to start fresh, to collect all the baggage from past sins, regrets, shame, guilt, un-forgiveness, lies and trauma’s, to take them on a ship into the middle of the ocean, and let them sink to the bottom of the sea (Micah 7:18-19). This is what YHWH has already done for us, so let’s come into agreement with Him and begin anew. Just like Manasseh who had a literal change of identity from an Egyptian to an Israelite, it is a perfect parallel to our transition from living in the past to living according to how the Father sees us, according to His heavenly blueprint. As the rains begin to fall this month, let them be a reminder that you have been washed clean by the blood of Yeshua, those things of the past, the old you who is dead and gone away, flowing into the rivers and into the sea never to be remembered again by the One Who matters, Adonai. Then look up at the rainbow that forms as the sun begins to shine and remember the New Covenant Yeshua has made with you, a reminder that you have been born again as a new creation in Him. Satan loves to bring things up from our past again and again, but as we learn more and more about our new and true identity in Yeshua, the more laughable and ridiculous His false accusations become. We often mistake sin habits from our past life as our identity, but that is no longer who we are. Habits can be changed, and do change once we get in the Word and agree with who Adonai tells us we are, and we begin to be molded and shaped according to His will and destiny, shrugging off the old heavy yoke. Who are you going to believe about yourself, YHWH who knew you before He knit you together in your mothers womb, or satan the lier and accuser of the brethren? Manasseh (forget) the past just as Yeshua has, and step into Him, the only way to the Father.

Constellation Scorpio

Many people when they see or hear the word constellation immediately think of horoscope and astrology, which are the enemy’s ways of perverting Adonai’s creation. People think of occult, forbidden and dangerous, but the Bible says nothing of the sort. It is clear that we are not to worship the sun moon or stars, but only the One True God, and that the heavenly bodies are actually there to tell us the times and seasons (Genesis 1:14-15). With that in mind let’s see what the heavens reveal to us about this specific month.

The constellation of Bul is Scorpio or Akrab in Hebrew which means both “scorpion” as well as “conflict or war”. So should we be expecting doom and judgement this month? Although this could be a sign of war in the natural and Spirit, what does Scripture tell us in regards to scorpions? Upon the return of the 70 whom Yeshua had sent two by two to cast out demons and heal the sick in His name, He told them, “Listen carefully: I have given you authority [that you now possess] to tread on serpents and scorpions, and [the ability to exercise authority] over all the power of the enemy (Satan); and nothing will [in any way] harm you. Nevertheless do not rejoice at this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven” (Luke 10:19-20). That is you and me! So while the world may go through tribulation, and the birth pangs of the end times increase, we are meant to walk in the authority given to us in the name of Yeshua, not to bost in that authority, but to glorify Adonai and bring people into the kingdom of heaven and salvation. “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity or cowardice or fear, but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of sound judgment and personal discipline [abilities that result in a calm, well-balanced mind and self-control]” (2 Timothy 1:7). Let us fan the flames of the Holy Spirit in us no matter the circumstances or situations this month.

“And when this perishable puts on the imperishable, and this mortal puts on immortality, then the Scripture will be fulfilled that says, “Death is swallowed up in victory (vanquished forever). O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” (1 Corinthians 15-54-55). The larger picture in the night sky as we string together the constellations is the scorpion trying to sting the heel of a man who struggles with a serpent in his arms. So we have Satan’s attack and battle against Yeshua and we His body, who, as the Seed of the woman, is to bruise Satan’s head while Satan bruises Christ’s heel, which was done on the cross. What we see this month in the night sky should not give us concern, but lead us to rejoicing as the victory has been won. Just as David wrote by eloquently divine direction, what we are seeing is, “The heavens telling of the glory of God; and the expanse [of heaven] is declaring the work of His hands. Day after day pours forth speech, and night after night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there [spoken] words [from the stars]; Their voice is not heard. Yet their voice [in quiet evidence] has gone out through all the earth, their words to the end of the world.” Hallelujah! No more being afraid of the defeated enemy or scared of ominous signs, but now walking in the authority and power that Elohim has freely given us to glorify His Name above all names and to bring the good news of the Gospel of peace unashamedly to the ends of the earth and back to Jerusalem!

8

The number 8 Always connotes a new beginning in the Bible. The Feast of Tabernacles culminated on the eighth day during Tishrei, a final day of intimacy with Adonai in the secret place. Now we are in the eighth month, a new beginning after the High Holy Days to be still, to recount the blessings, revelations, miracles, and the goodness of Adonai thus far this year. Like sitting in the quiet of the forest with no noise, no cars, no cell phone or computers, just reflecting and giving thanks away from the noise and distractions. Cheshvan is the only month of the year without a feast day, and many people see it as anti-climactic after the joyous and spiritual High Holy Days, but it is far from it. Like a child who just unwrapped all of their presents, Tishrei was a month of excitement and celebration.

Now, during Cheshvan it is time to take stock of all of the gifts we have been given, to give thanks, and to ask the Father to reveal to us what He wants us to do with these gifts He has so graciously given. Let’s be still and wait upon Him this month. He knows our thoughts, our questions, and our hearts, and when we are with Him alone in the secret place, from the overflow of His presence, answers flow seamlessly and worries fade away with certainty taking their place. He has done many miracles over the past seven months in all of our lives, and He has promised us many things that we might have quickly brushed over or forgotten. Now is the time to remember them, give thanks, come into agreement with God for those promises, and cash them in at the bank of heaven.

King Solomon was very aware of the commands and promises of Adonai when he finished building the Temple during this month of Bul (1 Kings6:38). After 7 years of building, the temple sat idle until the next year, the eighth year, the new beginning after the Shmita (Sabbatical) Year. Just as in the 8th month so it goes in years according to the timetable of Adonai, and it is yet another reminder of the importance of the times and seasons of YHWH as even certain years carry great promises of Elohim like this current Shmita year we are in now. Read more about the Shmita Year here.

Conclusion

It turns out Cheshvan/ Bul is not so anti-climactic and boring after all. It is important that we learn the lessons of the past, from King Jeroboam not to create things and devise plans which are not in the heart of the Father, and to check whether our motives, plans, and actions are aligned with His heart for us in this season. It is the launching point, the foundational month as we enter a new season altogether and have the privilege and honor to be still before Adonai, giving thanks and remembering all the miracles and promises He has given us both individually and as the Body of Messiah just like YHWH did with Noah and the rainbow, with Jacob becoming Israel, from Ben-oni to Benjamin, and now through Yeshua in us. We see how even the stars remind us of our identity in Christ as having been given the authority to stomp on the heads of snakes and scorpions, and [the ability to exercise authority] over all the power of the enemy (satan).

This eighth month is truly a new beginning that we would be remiss not to take advantage of in the fulness of Adonai’s original plan for it. This month we choose completion over desolation, even in the midst of chaos, standing firmly in our identity as children of the Most High seated in the heavenly places with Yeshua at the right hand of the Father, witnesses of Adonai in the perfect love and power of the Holy Spirit, walking in justice and righteousness wherever we go bringing His kingdom come and will be done on earth as it is in heaven, paving the way for the return of the King of glory. Don’t let the world define this month, but let’s agree, align with and implement the Father’s instead. Adonai bless you and keep you!