Autumn on the Calendar

One look outside will tell us our world is changing. We have proceeded from the lush green world of spring through the productive days of summer into a time of drying out. Fall with its cooler temperatures, pumpkin harvest and leaf coloration is getting close.

Pumpkin Days are almost here

Days are getting noticeably shorter with the sun rising later and later each morning. Older people are asking when the time change occurs [and are suddenly interested in yard work … although they have only rarely performed a horticultural task during the course of their 85-90 years of life]. The procession of the autumn equinox, which is when the Sun crosses the Equator, occurs Thursday.

Man has for thousands of years taken note of the seasons out of interest and necessity. In the year when Cain planted his first crop it became necessary to know when spring would occur. For those with tomato plants it is important to know the timing of the first and final frosts. In the prehistoric times man first began to count days, and in time he wrote the counting of days down on a calendar.

The Gezer Calendar

The world’s oldest calendar is found at Gezer in Israel. It counts the days in this way: “Two months of harvest, Two months of sowing, Two months of late planting, One month of hoeing flax, One month of barley harvest, One month of harvest and measuring, two months of vine pruning, One month of summer.” The calendar is important so the farmer gets his timing correct.

Gezer Calendar Explained

The calendar of the Bible is based on agriculture, just as the calendar of Gezer. The Biblical calendar is a twelve month lunar calendar, adjusted with a leap month by the Mesopotamian astronomers to maintain a proper planting season. The months are named “Aviv” for spring, “Iyar” for blossom, “Sivan” for season, “Elul” for harvest, “Tishri” for beginning, “Ethanim” and “Bul” meaning brooks and rain. The Hebrew calendar looks to God as the provider.

The major events of the Hebrew people are agricultural. Passover is celebrated at the time of the first spring harvest. Shavuot or Pentecost is when the first fruits of the summer crop are given to God. The festivals of the seventh month are connected to the autumn ingathering. Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur involve cultivation and care for the soul. Sukkoth (Feast of Tabernacles) thanks God at the time the final harvest. Simchat Torah represents the beginning of a new cycle.

Calendar Comparison

Our current calendar when placed alongside the Biblical calendar will show some glaring, unthought-of differences. Under our current calendar and culture our holidays are civil and not agricultural. We think of people and not God. The names of the months (and even the days) honor Roman gods who’s sole ambition in life was to serve themselves, often at the expense of others.

In any study of the Bible it is important rise above our cultural biases in order to learn about the people of the book and the desires of the Lord God, the creator of all things.

Jesus' Delay

“When the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles was near, Jesus' brothers said to him, "You ought to leave here and go to Judea.” John 7:2-3  During Jesus’ time the Sukkoth was  "a feast very much observed among us."  (Ant. 15.3.3)

Autumn had arrived, and with it the major festival of the Jews called Sukkoth.  The Feast of Tabernacles is one of the three great harvest festivals when the Jewish people go to Jerusalem to celebrate.  In this passage Jesus delays his trip.  This made me think about the delays which have been part of Sukkoth.

It would have been great if the Messiah could come to his temple, or if “every pot in Jerusalem and Judah will be holy to the LORD Almighty.” (Zech 14:16-21), but the time had not yet come.

During Sukkoth the Jews build houses out of branches and leaves (the ceiling must be open enough to see the stars) to remember the forty years they wandered in the wilderness before they could enter the Promised Land.  (Lev 23:39-43) During that time the entire generation which made a golden calf died out. (Psalm 95:10)

When the Jews arrived in the Promised Land they built homes and developed farms, but the “House of God,” their place of worship remained in a temporary structure called The Tabernacle.  For a time this was located at Shiloh.  After David conquered Jerusalem he brought the contents of the Tabernacle to his new capital at Jerusalem.  (2 Sam. 6)

During the Feast of Tabernacles the Temple, the “permanent” place of worship was dedicated by King Solomon (1 Kings 8:2ff).  During this dedication we could say that worship was moved from the Tabernacle constructed by Moses in the wilderness into a building constructed by human hands.  The dedication was blessed as could be seen by the cloud which filled the Temple. (2 Chron 5:13-14)

The Jews worshipped in the Temple of Solomon for 410 years (Seder Olam), which was destroyed by the Babylonians.  After an order by Cyrus, during the Feast of Tabernacles, the Jews held their first worship service in Jerusalem (Ezra 3), and then laid the foundation for the new Temple.  But there was delay in building because of conflict with the locals and the need for people to build their own homes.

Why did Jesus delay his coming to Jerusalem?  It could have been because of sin (which is why the Jews wandered in the desert).  It could have been because of unfinished business (the Jews did not take the strongholds in the land when they first arrived).  Or it could have been because the people were too focused on themselves and their needs.  All of these reasons existed.

But John tells us "The right time for me has not yet come; for you any time is right.  The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that what it does is evil. You go to the Feast. I am not yet going up to this Feast, because for me the right time has not yet come." (John 7:6-8)