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The Biblical New Year
CGG Weekly by Richard T. RitenbaughGod established Abib as the first month of the year in Exodus 12:2, a plain definition verse: "This month shall be your beginning of months." Its name appears in Exodus 13:4. The Hebrew '&257;bîb refers to young, tender barley, the green ear of early spring, so the first month coincides with the start of spring. After the Babylonian exile the month was called Nisan, a Chaldean name that appears only in texts written after the return. Early on, Israel likely determined the month by observing the new moon together with the barley crop. If the grain would reach the green ear stage by the next new moon, that moon began Abib; if not, the month was postponed by one. Later the Levites, who kept the calendar, calculated the new moons precisely from long-collected astronomical data, and sightings verified the calculations. The high priest then sanctified the new moon. Passages that seem to indicate a Tishri 1 New Year can be answered. Ezekiel 40:1 does not name the month, and Ezekiel uses the Babylonian spring-New-Year reckoning, so "head of the year" points to the tenth of Abib. The Feast of Tabernacles falls at the end of the agricultural year, not a calendar year. Spring is rightly the "return of the year." Abib 1 is therefore the true New Year, which shows January 1 to be wholly erroneous.
Faith and the Calendar (Part Five): Summary
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughGod assigned the tribe of Judah to be the caretakers of the oracles. The real issue in this controversy is faith in God's sovereignty and His faithfulness.
Faith and the Calendar (Part One)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughThe issue is not mathematical or astronomical, but instead a matter of trust in God's faithfulness, authority, sovereignty, oversight, or ability to govern.
Rehearsing God's Plan
CGG Weekly by Richard T. RitenbaughGod's holy days are a carefully crafted series of memorials that tell the story of God's magnificent plan of salvation, told in a set of parable-like vignettes.
A Calendar Summary
Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by John W. RitenbaughGod gave us a calendar, assigning the responsibility for its maintenance to the nation of Israel, not to the church or private individuals.
When Is the Year of Release (Shemitah)?
Sermon by David C. GrabbeThe anchor point of both the Shemitah and Jubilee is the Day of Atonement. Deuteronomy should be read at the Feast just after the year of release begins.
Passover (Part Nine)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughThe context of Deuteronomy 16:1-3 indicates the focus of these verses is on the Night to be Observed and the Days of Unleavened Bread rather than the Passover.
Why Is Atonement a Fall Festival?
Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughThough Passover and Atonement both deal with Christ's sacrifice, several reasons emerge to make Atonement a better fit for the fall holy days.
Deuteronomy 16:1-8
Sermonette by John W. RitenbaughDeuteronomy 16:1-8 refers to Unleavened Bread rather than Passover (a scribal error, perhaps referring to the season). Ten clues clear up this misconception.
Esther (Part Three)
Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughHaman was the treacherous offspring of King Agag, and Mordecai was the godly descendant of King Saul. Their pairing in Esther provides a sequel to I Samuel 15.
Is New Year's Eve Pagan?
Sermonette by Mike FordNew Year's celebrations often involve drunkenness, debauchery, and adultery. God commands us to separate ourselves from these customs and traditions of the world.