Appointed Times and War
It’s hard to believe that October is almost here. In three weeks, we will be celebrating Rosh Hashanah – the Jewish New Year, and in less than 4 weeks, on October 7, Israel will have been at war for a year. It has been a strange year, but in thinking about it, I have been reminded of the Biblical term for what, in English, are known as the Jewish holidays (or holy days). Did you know that holiday or holy day is not the actual term used in the Bible?
In modern Hebrew, people talk about the holidays (hagim, חגים). However, in Biblical Hebrew, the word used is actually “appointed times” (moadim, מוֹעֲדיִם ) and “feasts” (hagim) in Biblical Hebrew.
Understanding “appointed times”
I like the term “appointed times.” It makes me think of an appointment with God. But isn’t that what these days are supposed to be? Yet not all the appointed times are also called feasts. While all of the Biblical Jewish holidays are appointed times, only three are called a feast: Pesach (Passover), Shavuot (The Feast of Weeks or Pentecost), and Sukkot (The Feast of Booths). Interestingly, all three required making a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
[As an aside, the word we use as a holiday, in Biblical Hebrew, is called a “good day” (yom tov, יוֹם טוֹב ) and refers to Purim (Esther 8:17)—definitely not the same as an appointed time or feast! But that is another topic.]
Biblically, the Jewish year was to begin at Passover and end after the Feast of Booths. This can be confusing when thinking about the Jewish New Year, which is celebrated today just before the Day of Atonement. Jewish New Year (Rosh HaShanah) is actually called the Feast of Trumpets (Yom Teru’ah, יום תרועה)—the only holiday with no precise explanation—only a command for a solemn gathering, the blowing of a trumpet, and sacrifices. I’ve shared about this holiday in several of my posts, including this one called Still Waiting.
All that to say, as I considered the odd times we are living in, despite all that has happened in the past year, God’s appointed times remain unchanged. However, for most of us in Israel, pbservomg them has been particularly difficult this year. For the most part, people’s hearts are not in the celebration but rather overwhelmed with grief, worries, and fear.
As I think about this, I realize that we have forgotten what the appointed times are for.
Appointed times were supposed to be a special meeting with God
Perhaps this past year has uncovered the spiritual poverty of a nation that religiously celebrates the God of Israel but has forgotten what it means to meet with Him. This is the thought that crosses my mind as I think back to October 7, 2024 – a day equivalent to 9/11 in the lives of all Israelis.
For several years now, there have been organized parties in the country, deliberately held during the appointed times that are also feasts, as well as other holidays during the year. These parties are known for the “freedom” celebrated with dance, drugs, sex, meditation, and statues of idols here and there – a so-called innocent good time. That is what the Nova party was. I heard the testimony of one security guard who was injured but escaped alive. “I kept telling everyone to leave, to run, that we were under attack, but no one listened. They were all high on drugs.” That part of his testimony was clipped from the posted video, but I never forgot it.
For centuries now, observing the appointed times has become a religious habit filled with rich tradition and Talmudic lists of dos and don’t for each one. Today, these times are rarely considered as an opportunity to personally meet with our God, to celebrate Him, to feast with Him, and to honor Him. If we had been doing that, then despite our grief and sorrow, we’d be eagerly looking forward to these upcoming appointed times to be with HIM, to seek HIS help, to repent of our sin, and to seek Him anew.
But the teachings of the rabbis and scholars have prevented my people from seeing these appointed times based on our own scriptures. For example, because of the fall of the second temple, the rabbis ruled that prayer and a sincere heart were enough when observing the Day of Atonement. Yet nowhere in scripture is the need for a blood sacrifice mentioned. So, there is fasting and prayer, but few ask, what happened 2,000 years ago to lead to the destruction of the temple? Those who do point to the lack of brotherly unity between the people. While this is true… that lack of unity is not all that happened. Around 40 to 42 AD/CE, Yeshua warned that because the leaders had rejected Him, not one stone of the Temple would be left standing. In 72 AD/CE, the Temple was destroyed. What has caused God to be so angry that He would remove from us the very means of our atonement and fellowship with Him? Could it be that the death and resurrection of Yeshua (Jesus) really did open a new way of access to Him?
But how can my people think about these things if they don’t know?
Will this year be different?
There is one tradition that perhaps could change the mood of things – a tradition that has not changed. In the weeks before the Jewish New Year, people are more introspective. Some of my friends and I have had interesting conversations with Israelis. One woman confessed to a friend of mine, “I think we deserve what has happened. We cannot claim to be righteous.” A couple of people have told me, “God is angry with us.” Many others are asking questions. People are starting to seek real hope, the kind that can’t be conjured up or found in money, power, armies, or politics.
The week between the Feast of Trumpets and the Day of Atonement is used for people to seriously consider their sins and, if possible, ask for forgiveness where appropriate. This is a time when if ever people were seeking and open to answers, it is now. But the world offers so many false answers; will the Word of Truth be drowned out in the noise?
There are some powerful testimonies of Jewish survivors of October 7 who credit their being alive because the God of Israel kept them. If you haven’t heard her share, listen to the testimony of the rescued hostage, Sapir Cohen, who believes the God of Israel saved her. Does she believe in Yeshua? Not yet, but she has made the first important steps.
Her story and the questions that many people are asking give me hope for my people and for my nation. As we approach the appointed times of celebration (Feast of Trumpets), repentance (Day of Atonement), and remembering how God has always taken care of us – despite our sin (Feast of Booths), I am praying that this year the people of Israel will remember to meet with their God, to observe this appointed time and honor it is a special time when God and man at table can symbolically sit down. When that happens, the Light of the World can open blinded eyes, remove the veil, and pour out a spirit of supplication, repentance, and healing.
Could it be, this year? I hope so.
Oh, yes, the war…
There is so much going on with regard to the war that it is hard to know where to start. The minute I think about telling you what is going on, something else happens. As things are now, it was thinking about this war that drew my mind to the appointed times in the Bible. I realized that as it says in Ecclesiastes:
1 There is a time for everything, and a time for every activity under heaven: … 3 a time to kill and a time to heal; … 8 a time to love and a time to hate; a time for war and a time for peace.
—Ecclesiastes 3:1, 3a, 8
I have some very strong opinions about what is happening and grieve over the losses on all sides. Yes, there may be an appointed time for war, but there is no joy in it. Thinking too much about it becomes unbearable. But I am reminded of a precious verse that appears twice in Revelation, one after terrible descriptions of war and again when describing God’s judgment:
“This calls for patient endurance on the part of the saints who obey God’s commandments and remain faithful to Jesus.”
—Revelation 13:10;14:12
I believe those words are for us as believers in Yeshua. They are for every time, not just the end times. These words are there to encourage us when faced with the horrors of war and the result of man’s disobedience to God. God is asking us to be patient, to endure, and to keep obeying Him rather than man, and to remain faithful to Jesus.
Prayer points
In times like this, who are we to demand that God fix things? His ways are so much higher than ours, and His thoughts so much greater than our own.
As we consider the world situation, may our prayer be, “Your will be done, here on earth as it is in heaven; here in each of our lives – in my life – as it is in heaven.”
And whether we are struggling with the fall-out of war, racial hatred, disease, aging, or other stresses in life, let’s make today (or tonight) an appointed time to meet with our wonderful Lord and Savior. He has the whole world in His hands, and that means He has us. We are safe in His hands – forever.
May this song set the tone for your next “appointed time” under His wings. Blessings!
