THE YEAR BEGINS NOW -- Monday:
"And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, this month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you." (Exodus 12:1-2)
Before God led Israel out of Egyptian bondage, He adjusted their calendar. We do not know precisely what method of tracking time was used by Israel while they were in Egypt. Jewish tradition says their year formerly started with the month Tisri, which answers to our month September. That tradition was formed because they felt the creation was at that time, when the fulness of vegetation first appeared. Be that as it may, God adjusted things so that the month of Abib (Ex 13:4; 23:15; 34:18; Deut 16:1-3) became "the first month of the year" to them.
After the Babylonian captivity, this month was called "Nisan" (Neh 2:1; Esth 3:7). It corresponds to our March-April period, or springtime, when new plant life begins. The word Abib is part of the descriptive phrase "the month of young ears of grain." It denoted a new beginning, fresh life, and the springing up of hope.
On the tenth day of this month, the Israelites began making preparations for the first Passover and coming out of Egypt (12:3-11). They actually came out of Egypt on the fifteenth day of this month, marching out of Rameses "in full view of all the Egyptians, who were burying all their firstborn, whom the LORD had struck down among them" (Num 33:4, NIV). Thus, in the midst of Egyptian wailing and the burying of their dead, Israel marched out of Egypt "with a high hand" (Ex 14:8).
From that time onward, Israel was to use that month as their first month – the beginning of their year. The Lord gave this commandment while Israel was still "in the land of Egypt" – before they were delivered. The command was given to Moses and Aaron before Israel observed the Passover, and before the firstborn of all Egypt died! It was a word for faith – a sort of Divine pledge that would cause hope to grow in the hearts of the oppressed Israelites.
Up until this time, the people of God had been serving the Egyptians "with rigor." Their lives had been "made bitter with hard bondage," and their cries had been heard into heaven. It is written, "So God heard their groaning; and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And God saw the sons of Israel, and God took notice of them" (Ex 2:24-25, NKJV).
Four hundred and thirty years they had been in the land, and the last were worst than the first! But a new beginning was on the way! In a single night, their entire situation would change. The oppression would end instantly. All of the misery would be transferred to the Egyptians, as all of Egypt was changed into a doleful funeral sight, with the Egyptian dead being buried in every quarter.
Because Israel came out in the middle of the month (the 15th day), Abib marked the conclusion of one year as well as the beginning of a new one. Old ways ended! Old bondage concluded! Harsh treatment was abruptly terminated. It was the beginning of a new year!
There are some wonderful lessons to be learned here. Those in Christ Jesus have experienced an even greater deliverance than the nation of Israel. They also have a greater beginning. What we have been delivered from was more formidable than Egyptian oppression! We have been delivered from death in trespasses and sins, and the prince of the power of the air, who worked in us at will (Eph 2:1-3).
Our beginnings in Christ are more noble and enduring than the month of Abib! For us, old things have "passed away," and "all things have become new" (2 Cor 5:17). We have been reconciled to God (Col 1:21), have peace with God (Rom 5:1), and are the sons of God (1 John 3:1-2). We are no longer condemned (Rom 8:1), our names have been written in heaven (Heb 12:23), and we are heirs or God and joint heirs with Christ (Rom 8:17).
What a beginning God has given us in Christ Jesus! We started our new life dead to sin and alive to God (Rom 6:11). We were raised up together with Christ and made to sit with Him in the heavenly places (Eph 2:6). We were given the Holy Spirit, good hope, and everlasting consolation (1 John 3:24; 2 Thess 2:16). The holy angels have even assigned as our ministers (Heb 1:13-14), and God is working everything together for our ultimate good (Rom 8:28).
In view of these marvelous things, how ought we to reckon time? What should be our perspective of life? Let us view our lives as really beginning when we came into Christ Jesus. Let our baptism into Christ, and our resurrection to walk in the newness of life, be our reference point. When you assess your life, start with your deliverance from sin and your addition to the body of Christ. In establishing memories of priority, associate being delivered from the power of darkness and translated into the kingdom of God's Son with the real start of life. Everything before that was only bondage.
PRAYER POINT: Father, in the name of Jesus, I thank You for a new and effective beginning.