My hopes were to send this out prior to midnight on April 16, 2020.
April 16, 2020 was the 22nd of Nissan according to the Hebrew calendar.
I love the precision of God's calendar and activity and how it continues to speak to us today as it is living and active. It reaffirms that His ways are not like ours, and it reveals to us that how God moves can never be likened to how man moves.
Let's look at three biblical events that occurred on the 22nd of Nissan that still speak prophetically to us today.
Prophetic Event 1: Final Evening of Passover or the Feast of Unleavened Bread
This evening was the last evening of the Passover (April 8 - 16) which commemorates the Israelites' freedom from Egyptian slavery. God delivered His people from the bondage of Egypt. Thereafter, He would begin the process of taking the Egypt out of the Israelites.
Nissan is the first month of the Jewish year. By Moses, Nissan was called "Abib." According to Aish, it is "the month that moves us out of being enslaved to our egos."
"On this day in early spring, in the month of Abib, you have been set free" (Exodus 13:4).
Prophetic Event 2: Circumcision of Isaac
Centuries prior to the Exodus, Abraham observed Passover during this same timing. I do not consider it coincidental that it was this very day that Isaac was circumcised on the 8th day after his birth at 8 days old (Genesis 21:4). This act was a physical removal of the foreskin which to us also represents a spiritual removal of any and every thing that would represent the flesh and defile God's people.
Circumcision was the first commandment given by God to Abraham.
It was during this time centuries ago that Abraham made the choice to eliminate that which inflated his very own ego and caused him to be puffed up.
"Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness" (Genesis 15:6; Psalm 106:31; Romans 4:3; Romans 4:9; Romans 4:22; Galatians 3:6; James 2:3).
While we are set apart, and perhaps even set up during this time, it is the perfect time to self-reflect and self-examine.
There is a very present circumcision taking place.
Jeremiah 4:4 "Circumcise yourselves to the Lord; remove the foreskin of your hearts"
Deuteronomy 10:16 "Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn."
Deuteronomy 30:6 "And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live."
Philippians 3:3 "For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh."
Colossians 2:11-12 "In Him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised with Him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised Him from the dead."
Our ears also must be circumcised that we may hear and listen; especially during these times when it seems that all that is circulating are unfavorable reports.
Jeremiah 6:10 "To whom shall I speak and give warning, that they may hear? Behold, their ears are uncircumcised, they cannot listen; behold, the word of the Lord is to them an object of scorn; they take no pleasure in it."
The wise sages say that the covenant of circumcision carries three rewards - Imagine these rewards as the rewards of our spiritual circumcision (the removal of every weight and sin that so easily besets us):
*Manifestation of God's presence - Ezekiel 44:28 "It shall be, in regard to their inheritance, that I am their inheritance"
*Eternal ownership of the land of Israel - Psalm 24:3 "Who will ascend into the hill of the Lord?"
*Preservation of the Royal House of David - 1 Peter 2:9 "But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;"
Prophetic Event 3: Encircling of Jericho
The 22nd of Nissan was also the day that the Israelites set out to encircle Jericho as they would begin their march around the city walls following Joshua's instruction. On the 7th day following, the 28th of Nissan, the walls would collapse.
The encircling of Jericho, the circumcision of Isaac, and the freedom of the Israelites from Egyptian bondage are all very prophetic events that testify to the season we are in.
Don't miss the opportunity to ask God questions today, tonight of how this prophetic season is significant to your own life. What can we choose to eliminate from our lives and what does God want to deliver us out of and into during this season?
Let that be the start of your dialogue with the Lord today.
Shalom - Peace to you,
Janice