Sivan 5785

Sivan 5785: The Eagle and the Raven

Sivan, the new month of the Biblical calendar is upon us and the blueprint of God for this time and season is here. It is is a month of contrasts both good and bad which depend on how we decide to live this time out, a month of idolatry in the past and present, betrayal, the orphan spirit, but also old eyes renewed, the priesthood restored, a time for the eagles to arise and the unexpected provision of ravens to launch us into the next season. We are being called higher this Sivan but also called into greater humility. To stoop lower brings us higher, but perhaps not how we think. To be an eagle of the kingdom is not a solo job, but is a process and in partnership with the Holy Spirit and the body of Yeshua in our midst. Get ready for an incredible month, but be ready to put in the work as well.

Theomim (The Twins)

The tribe of Sivan is Zebulun, and just as Zebulun relied on Issachar to understand the times and seasons, Issachar would have known by looking at the stars that the constellation this month is Theomim (The Twins). The constellation of the twins reminds us of many things that have happened before, and will also happen to a greater extent in the times we are living in now. One such thing is a reminder of the two tablets on which YHWH wrote the ten commandments, which will be celebrated starting the night of June 12th, Shavuot, along with the 120 receiving the Holy Spirit in the Upper Room in Jerusalem. While the first tablet had instructions regarding honoring God and our parents, the other tablet was in regards to what not to do to the people around us. Two different sets of instructions, but they only work when they are together just like the oneness of the 120 men and women in the upper room, the first time in Scripture when men and women are counted together (Acts 1:15-26). Two people from one flesh with different gifts and talents that share a common bond like Zebulun and Issachar are far stronger together than apart. This is true of every believer.

Many people, one body, one Bride knit together by one Holy Spirit. We are all unique and wonderfully made, yet all saved and unified by the same blood of Yeshua and the gift of the Holy Spirit. It is the picture of a husband and wife, two becoming one flesh. It is the story of Ruth and Boaz, a Jew, and a gentile who became grafted in. It is Joshua and Caleb who gave the good report, David and Jonathan, Paul and Silas, the two witnesses, always two by two. It is the perfect picture of the Malachi 4:5-6 generation, the fathers and sons working together as one. For where two or three are gathered in My name [meeting together as My followers], “I am there among them” (Matthew 18:20). Why don’t we go walk in twos and threes as the Holy Spirit leads with the King of kings and behold the divine appointments Elohim conceives? That’s what Yeshua told them to do, so doesn’t that mean it applies to us too? May the great King bring you both closer to Himself this month, but also bring others that adore Him closer to you and you to them as well.

The Eagle

As we asked the Lord about His blueprint for this Sivan, He gave us the image of an eagle and a Raven, an odd vision at first glance, but the Holy Spirit gave the interpretation quickly. As this is the month of Shavuot (Pentecost), the vision of the eagle seemed very aligned, as if the to say “come up here”, see from the the throne room perspective away from the noise and the cacophony of what is happening below in our everyday, away from the distractions keeping us from seeing what the Father is doing and hearing what He is saying. That is clear for the month of Sivan, come up here like the eagle on the winds of the Holy Spirit. While we have the mindset of a warrior of the kingdom which screams at us to go and fight the enemy at every turn, oftentimes we forget to wait upon the Lord, the place in which our strength is renewed, our faith strengthened and our hope restored

“He gives strength to the weary, and to him who has no might He increases power. Even youths grow weary and tired, and vigorous young men stumble badly, but those who wait for the Lord [who expect, look for, and hope in Him] will gain new strength and renew their power; They will lift up their wings [and rise up close to God] like eagles [rising toward the sun]; They will run and not become weary, they will walk and not grow tired.”

It is not by might nor by power that we succeed in the things God is calling us to, but by His Spirit. The launching forth begins in the waiting in His presence which is the beginning of battle preparation for His kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven. We are often battle excited but not battle ready. May this Sivan be the time in which you wait upon Adonai for the power from on High just as the 120 did in the upper room in Jerusalem.

The Raven

In the vision God gave for this month, the Raven next to the majestic eagle seemed to be of great contrast. But as the Holy Spirit revealed more, he gave us 1 Kings 17:2-6. Upon announcing the drought over Israel to king Ahab, Adonai instructed Elijah to go and hide at Kerith Ravine east of the Jordan, and there He instructed ravens to bring Elijah meat and bread in the morning and at night. Elijah was helpless without the provision of God supernaturally brought by these ravens day and night, like the Israelites in the wilderness after Egypt. He was hidden from his enemies in a place with water, and despite the sparseness of the ravine, meat and bread as well. Elijah was obedient in releasing the Word of the Lord to King Ahab regarding the beginning of the drought like an obedient soldier knowing that his life was on the line, but he did not know what would come next.

Elijah was battle ready and eager, and was obedient in his call, but what God called him to next was to rest in a hidden place totally reliant upon Him. The battlefield of Sivan is varied, and we must be on guard and readily obedient no matter what that fight looks like. It can be a battle of faith and trust in Adonai, of action and movement, of service and giving, of loving our neighbor as ourselves and many other instances. Like Elijah God is giving orders and commands to the ravens for you this month of Sivan, asking us to wait upon Him and trust in His love for us in the hidden place. We pray that Yeshua will give you ears to hear clearly the voice of the Lord like Elijah this month and obedient feet that will follow His instructions.

From Helpless to Harvester

1 Kings 17:7-24 after Elijah’s time in the Ravine is God’s call to us this Sivan and in direct parallel to Acts 2 after the 120 received the Holy Spirit. In 1 Kings 17:7-24, God sent Elijah from the Ravine of Kerith to Zarapeth in the region of Sidon where he was to meet a woman who would feed him and house him, but when he arrived the woman was about to have her last meal with her son and ready to die soon after. It was Elijah’s turn to return the favor of the Lord in power and love just as Adonai had done for him in the ravine. The flour and oil which was to be her and her sons’ last, never ran out while Elijah stayed with them, and what Elijah had learned in his waiting in the secret place became life and a major blessing to this woman and her son. Elijah went from helpless to harvester of souls at the behest of Almighty God. As we approach Shavuot on June 12th, marking the feast of first fruits in Israel when the first fruits of the harvest were brought before God (Exodus 23:16, Numbers 28:26, Exodus 34:22, Leviticus 23:16), we are being called like Elijah to go from the hidden place where God provides, to now allow God in us to do so for others as He leads. No matter your circumstance or situation at this moment, it is a time of preparation, trusting in Him, as well as being enabled to give by grace the blessings He has and is giving to you to others by grace as well.

From Desperation to Boldness and Joy

After the death of Yeshua which took place in the month of Iyar, His disciples were confounded, depressed, and scared of the persecution to come. But upon His resurrection and when He showed Himself to them in person many times, their desperation and sadness turned into great expectation and joy for what was to come. In a matter of forty days after His resurrection, Yeshua revealed to them the mysteries of Scripture, but also asked them to wait in Jerusalem to receive the Holy Spirit after He ascended to the right hand of the Father. The once cowering disciples after Yeshua’s death, were now like mighty warriors unafraid after seeing Yeshua ascend to heaven in Bethany (Luke 24:50) given orders to wait in Jerusalem for the
Holy Spirit and went back to Jerusalem unashamed and unafraid so much so that from then until Shavuot, “they worshiped Him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy [fully understanding that He lives and that He is the Son of God]; and they were continually in the temple blessing and praising God.” (Luke 24:52-53).

And then after waiting in the upper room in Jerusalem on Shavuot the tongues of fire came and they began to speak in many languages in loud voices after being filled with the Holy Spirit and more than 3,000 people were added to the kingdom of heaven (Acts 2:41-47). From mourners in the secret place, to encounter with the Son of God, to revelation, receiving, and then giving by grace as it was given to them. May the power, love and joy of the Lord go before you, may your boldness in His promises be restored and magnified, and may your time in the secret place with Adonai not be neglected on the road to giving the most precious gift of salvation this month of Sivan.

Conclusion

The time and the season is clear now, while the world spews toxic rhetoric and agendas as always, we are called into the here and now according to God’s calendar. As eagles of the kingdom we are called to the throne room on the winds of the Holy Spirit to know what God is doing and saying to bind and loose on earth what He has already bound and loosed in heaven. In the hidden and secret place like Elijah in the Ravine of Kerith we are being provided for in supernatural ways by the ravens God is sending to know and remember He is and always is our provider. With the now indwelling of the Holy Spirit we have great confidence and assurance in God of our ability to go from helpless to harvester for the kingdom of God, from sorrow to joy, from fear to boldness and courage in the perfect love and power of God giving by grace which was given by grace to each of us. May this Sivan be unforgettable as you walk it out unhindered by the chains of past failures and sins and launched into this month by the fuel and fire of the Holy Spirit completely renewed, encased in the armor of God, and laced up in the boots of the Gospel of peace embedded with the love and power of God for all to receive. Adonai bless you and keep you!