Lori Perz, St. Paul, MN
"Know the importance of the season you're in and a wise son you will be..." (Proverbs 10:5)
We have now entered into the Hebrew month of Elul, from September 1-29. During this month we go from a narrow place to a BROAD place. It's a time of change. It's also a special time for INTIMACY with God! "I am my Beloved's and my Beloved is mine..." (Song of Solomon 6:3).
It is believed that the word "Elul" may also come from the root of the verb "search" in Aramaic. It is also tied to harvest, a time of searching our hearts. Therefore, Elul is also a month of TESHUVAH or repentance as we move into the Hebrew new year, the 10 Days of Awe, and Yom Kippur. Teshuvah means to return—it's a time of returning wholeheartedly to the Lord; a returning to our first love!
Acts 3:19, "And now you must repent and turn back to God so that your sins will be removed, and so that times of refreshing will stream from the Lord's presence."
Note that "times of refreshing" can also be translated "cooling breeze." The Passion Translation states that this hints of the time when God walked with Adam in the cooling breeze of the day.
Ascending the Mountain
In this time of Elul through Yom Kippur, (September 1 through October 9), marks a window of time for Teshuvah and for drawing close to the Lord. Please consider how you can set yourself apart to the Lord afresh in these days! (Photo via Unsplash)
According to Jewish tradition, after the first set of the Ten Commandments was broken, Moses ASCENDED the mountain a second time on Rosh Chodesh Elul in order to receive the second set, and returned forty days later on Yom Kippur.
What does this mean for you? Elul is an invitation for each of you to ascend and COME UP HIGHER—to receive from the Lord. Also, just as God wrote on the stone tablets, He is going to write on the tablet of your heart TODAY.
Elul became a month where the Lord worked with His leaders to repair the original intention of His covenant. We are definitely in this season today!
This is exemplified by Nehemiah who completed the restoration of the walls of Jerusalem during this time. Nehemiah began his restoration of Jerusalem's gates and walls on the 4th of AV (August 5). 50 days from this is Elul 25 (September 25). God is speaking about the RESTORATION of our GATES and WALLS in our families, cities and nations!
Elul, Tribe of Gad: Enlarging Domain
The Hebrew tribe associated with this month is the tribe of Gad. Moses released this blessing over Gad: "...Blessed is he who enlarges Gad's domain! Gad lives there like a lion, tearing at arm or head. He chose the best land for himself; the leader's portion was kept for him. When the heads of the people assembled, he carried out the LORD's righteous will, and his judgments concerning Israel" (Deuteronomy 33:20-21).
The tribe of Gad gave their best in obedience to God in contending for the Promised Land, and through Joshua, God gave them the best of the land. (Photo via Unsplash)
As we draw near to the heart of God in Elul, our hearts will long to give Him our best in obedience and out of our love for Him. Father God longs to give us His best too.
"He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things?" (Romans 8:32)
The Gadites not only fought to secure their own land east of the Jordan, but they came alongside the other tribes and declared, "We will not return to our homes until every Israelite has received his inheritance" (Numbers 32:18). They displayed maturity and selflessness.
We need to exemplify the same qualities if we want to be chosen and empowered to build God's Kingdom in this hour!
Elul: "The King Is in the Field"
A phrase for ELUL is "The King is in the field." This was a time when the king of Israel would set up a tent in a field and come out of the palace to visit with his people. Our King Jesus lives IN us and is always WITH us, but this is a special time of closeness with our King.
Of course, the reason the king met with his people in the field was because his people were in the field! They were harvesting and preparing the ground for the future.
What I find very interesting about this is that every year an organization hosts a World Ploughing Competition where farmers come from all over the world to show off their skills in their ability to plow fields. The mantra for the World Ploughing Organization is "Pax Arva Colat," which stands for "Let peace cultivate the land."Â
So maybe it is not a coincidence that the World Plowing Competition was held around this time in Lake of the Woods, Minnesota! It's been 30 years since this contest was in America, and more than 30,000 people from all over the world came to harvest the fields!
The Hebrew word "Elul" is actually thought to originally come from an Akkadian word meaning "harvest"! And maybe it's not a coincidence that Chuck Pierce released a word at the beginning of 2019 about this being a "Year to Plow." (You can't make this stuff up!)
In this month of Elul, I believe the King is in the fields of Minnesota (where I live) and our nation in a new way. Minnesota has long been called "The Threshing Floor and Altar of the Nation." He sovereignly appointed Minnesota the "Threshing Floor and Altar of the Nation" to bring the NATIONS here for harvest! And this state carries an OX ANOINTING—the apostolic, plowing, warring, governmental anointing to BREAK OPEN THE WAY as forerunners for the harvest!
September 17—Netanyahu Elections and Constitution Day!
September 17 is Constitution Day in the United States. Amazingly, September 17 also marks the date of Israel's elections. There were elections in the spring but Prime Minister Netanyahu was not able to form a coalition; this is "Round 2." We must cover this time in prayer!
The U.S. Constitution is our FOUNDATIONAL document. Israel is having elections that will form a new FOUNDATION for their government. We are two COVENANT nations, and God is speaking about the foundations of these two covenant nations being established and converging.
September 29—New Hebrew Year 5780!
We are shifting from 5779 to 5780 on the evening of September 29. This is the Feast of Trumpets or Rosh Hashanah. We're moving from "9 to 10." The letter Yod is the 10th letter in the Hebrew alphabet and carries the numerical value of "10" which is linked to law and order, including divine order, and symbolizes completion. The number "10" also relates to the full manifestation or fullness of time, so God is speaking about a season of fullness. The fullness of Jesus within His sons and daughters is being released in the fullness of time! (Photo via Wikimedia Commons)
The 70s to 80s: From Seeing to Saying!
This Feast of Trumpets also marks a new Hebraic decade. We are going from 70s to 80s! This time marks not only a shift to a new decade, but a NEW ERA.
The current Hebraic decade of the 70s is the Hebrew letter Ayin, which means "to SEE." We have been in a key decade for SEEING. The foundation that has been laid in our lives and in the midst of the Body of Christ has been incredible. Now God is building upon this foundation.
The Hebraic decade of the 80s is connected to Hebrew letter Pey, which means: MOUTH, SPEAK, WORD, BREATH, EXPRESSION. It is tied to our mouths. This shift into a new decade is about a shift from seeing, understanding and insight, into actually expressing it and speaking it out loud. We will see, and we will say!
The EYE is a gate to see the reality/heavenly perspective and the MOUTH is the gate to bring it into reality. We are made in God's image so our words have CREATIVE POWER; they create our world!
We are moving from SEEING to SAYING. There is a major shift into declaring and decreeing prophetically and into kingly, governmental intercession and worship. It's time to open up our MOUTHS and CREATE! (Photo via Flickr)
Psalm 126:1-3 provides a good template for what the Lord desires to do in this coming decade:
"When the Lord brought back the captivity of Zion, we were like those who dream. Then our mouth [PEY] was filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing. Then they said among the nations, 'The Lord has done great things for them.' The Lord has done great things for us, and we are glad!" (emphasis mine)
Ayin was the decade where we came out of captivity and now we ascend Mt. Zion! We dream again and our mouths (Pey) are filled with laughter and our tongues with singing! Watch at what God does in your life as it brings such gladness. You will be in shock and awe!
A Moses Decade and a Freedom Movement
Now for a final point—we'll close out with this. It's important to note that 80 is the age that Moses attained when when he led the Israelites out of Egypt. We are entering a Moses decade...for a freedom movement!
The number 80 is also the same value found in the word "yesod" meaning "foundation" and "gevurah" meaning "strength." God is saying that this is a decade to STRENGTHEN your FOUNDATIONS.
"With him (Moses) I speak MOUTH TO MOUTH, even openly, and not in dark sayings, and he beholds the form of the Lord. Why then were you not afraid to speak against My servant, against Moses?" (Numbers 12:8 emphasis mine) (To Subscribe to the Elijah List subscribe here.)
Lori Perz
Email: Lori.Perz@josiahcenter.org
Lori Perz and her husband Jason, along with their three amazing children, are Kingdom revolutionaries and reformers with a creative edge and vision for harvest. Lori has a fiery love for Yeshua and is a prophetic trumpet and scribe with an Issachar mantle in the Ekklesia. She has a heart for Israel and the Jewish people and a passion for the Hebraic roots of the Christian faith. She is the director of prophetic ministry at Josiah Center, a forerunning apostolic center in St. Paul, MN that's flowing in over 500 nights of revival. Lori is also joyfully honored to be a part of the Gideon Group, a special ops intercessory team for Jon and Jolene Hamill of Lamplighter ministries.
To receive more words like this in YOUR inbox, subscribe FREE to the Elijah List at this link https://elijahlist.com/subscribe.
