5782– Shmita Year: Threshold of Grace

We stand at a threshold moment—a time where we are to be carried in the arms of intimate grace.

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Rosh Hashanah, the Hebrew New Year, was September 7. September is the ninth month of the year on the Gregorian calendar and the first month of the year on the Hebrew calendar. It is interesting to note that when you put the two together you have both an end and a beginning.

Nine is a number of completion or an end (biblically): Jesus died in the ninth hour of the day. His earthly life and mission to redeem mankind from sin and death was finished and the door of salvation and forgiveness by grace was opened to all.

The number one is symbolic of God: there is one God in heaven and on earth. Jesus’s final prayer before going to the cross is found in John 17:21-23 where he prays that we would be one, even as he and the Father are one. One is also a new beginning, or a threshold, from one season or year to another— a new year.

The Hebrew year that we are entering is 5782. This is a Shmita Year— or a seventh year. The seventh-year is a commanded year of rest.

In Deuteronomy 15 we learn that during the Sabbath year debts would be canceled and slaves set free. We are crying out to the Lord to “forgive us our debts” as nations and as people. We have been laboring under the weight of our sins—our debts—as people and as nations that have turned away from God. But there is a remnant throughout the earth that has stood in the gap to humble themselves and pray. The Word of God says that debt makes you a slave to the debt holder, therefore it is interesting that in the Sabbath year debts are canceled and slaves set free.

Many years ago, the Holy Spirit spoke clearly to me about “crossing thresholds” in the spirit. He showed me how there is great opposition whenever God’s people are about to cross into a new land of inheritance and promise. I saw a picture of a bride not being able to enter the doorway into her bridal suite because many violent enemies were standing in her way. Just then I saw the Lord dressed as a bridegroom and he towered over these enemies. He stopped at the threshold to pick up the bride and carry her into the room. As he did this she was lifted above all opposition. She was carried by grace, and face-to-face intimacy, into the fullness of being joined as one with him.

We must understand that the enemy fears the “oneness” that Jesus prayed for in John 17 more than any other thing. Bridal intimacy represents spiritual oneness. Just as the “two become one flesh”, we are brought into oneness with Christ and Jesus intercedes for oneness in the body of Christ to be established.

We stand at a threshold moment—a time where we are to be carried in the arms of intimate grace. You cannot cross this threshold on your own and you were not meant to. This is a time to surrender your strength, your might, and your power to the Lord. It is a “be still and know” season that we are entering, and it is “by his Spirit” that victories will be won and his glory revealed to a world that needs answers and salvation.

We enter the Hebrew year 5782 this week, and in less than three months we will enter the year 2022. The 22nd letter of the Hebrew alphabet is Tav. All the letters in the Hebrew alphabet have numeric values, and the value of Tav is 400. As we know, 400 is a significant threshold number in the Bible that marks ends and beginnings:

• It was after 400 years that the children of Israel were released from being slaves in Egypt.
• There was a 400-year “time of silence” from the last of the Old Testament prophets until the birth of Jesus.

It is interesting to see how this Sabbath year aligns with a “400” where debts are paid, slaves are set free, his voice is heard, and God’s people are set apart.

Additionally, the letter Tav symbolizes two things: to mark or sign something; and truth.

We are in a time of being “marked.” This is not a demonic marking but a “set apart” marking that says, “This one is Mine!” Just as the children of Israel, living as captives in Egypt, put the blood of the lamb on the doorposts of their homes to mark them as belonging to Yahweh, so that the death angel had to pass by, so there is a marking of the blood of Jesus that identifies you as a son or daughter of Yahweh. Salvation is coming to your household!

We have been marked with the truth that has set us free. I believe this year will mark many people with truth of salvation’s message through the blood of Jesus. Those who have already been saved by Grace are entering a greater surrendering of our strength and a submission to his strength and power to save. We will be marked by his power and authority as sons and daughters.

The delineation between those marked by the blood and those who demand law and works will become clearer and clearer. Peace, rest, and fruitfulness will be found by those who have “ceased striving” and allowed the arms of the Bridegroom to carry them into his house of blessing and oneness.

This will be a year of crossing out of debt, slavery, striving, and the strength of men. It will be a year of entering into a new rest, freedom, and a “lighter load” (Matthew 11:28-30) as you have been marked by the blood.

Blessings will be poured out upon believer’s homes, houses of worship, and prayer gatherings. The manifest blessing of Psalm 91 will be made known to those who have made the Lord their refuge. Plagues and death will pass by.

Let the first three months of this Jewish New Year set your course for the nine months following as you rest in his strength and his grace. The Lord will renew the soil of your life causing it to be full of health for the planting that is coming.

“Shanah Tovah”

 

 

This is an updated post originally published on Inscribe Ministries

Featured Image by Ri Butov from Pixabay

 

 

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About the Author

Jeffrey and Kathi Pelton understand our culture’s need for encouragement and hope. Through writing and speaking, they escort individuals into awareness of God’s profound compassion and mercy that heals brokenness, and they have a unique ability to help anyone seeking pathways into His kind embrace. For several years, the couple led a house of prayer located in Kelowna, British Columbia.