Feast of Trumpets- A Time To Remember and Forget
The Jewish feasts are all about remembering.
In Leviticus 23, we’re admonished to remember God’s appointed times, remember who he is and what he has done for us. Remembering these things is essential if we want to remain committed to God and continue to serve him. Remembering renews our faith and leads us back to the God of our joy.
But, with all the remembering, there are some things we simply just need to forget…
The last few years have been rough for many people. First, the pandemic, then the lockdowns, then the economy, the school shootings that have rocked communities, the unrest, the feelings of hopelessness and despair that have plagued so many.
My family also has experienced several difficulties over the past few years.
My husband’s contract job came to an end right about the time the cost of everything went up. A few months later, we were preparing to move for a new job when my daughter lost a sweet friend and co-worker to suicide that shocked us all. When we recovered from that and finally made the cross-country move, we drove 800 miles with our dog and kids to find squatters in the rental home we had reserved.
“Oy, Yoi, Yoi!” my grandmother would say if she were here, touching her hand to her cheek. “Oy Gevalt!” my grandfather would reply with dismay, raising his hands in the air.
And that’s only scratching the surface, since all of these things brought loads of stress onto our relationships at times. When life brings trouble and turmoil, those troubles can bring out the worst and the best in us. And oftentimes, stress can get us stuck in a rut, repeating the same negative patterns over and over.
How about you? Maybe you’ve had similar experiences recently. Maybe it’s been a health crises, disappointments or betrayal. The stuff that takes a toll on your soul.
Well, here’s some good news. God is still in the business of making all things new!
But, in order to experience the new, we have to get rid of the old. This is where the forgetting comes in…
We need to forget the record of wrongs we’ve been holding onto in our hearts, the wounds inflicted from others or maybe our self. We need to forget the lies the enemy has tried to sell us-that things will never change, that our mistakes are too big to overcome or that that things will only get worse.
We need to forget the old way of doing things so we can embrace a new and better way.
Isaiah 43:18 says, “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?”
In order to perceive the new thing God is doing, we have to ask him what it is, how he wants us to cooperate with it and seek to follow it through.
The Jewish blessing of Ephraim and Manasseh pronounced every Shabbat by parents over their children comes from the meaning of Ephraim and Manasseh’s names. Manasseh, Joseph’s firstborn, represented all the troubles in Joseph’s past that he overcame. Ephraim, the youngest son, represented Joseph’s fruitful future when he was placed in the position of pharaoh’s right-hand man.
As we enter into the 10 days of awe when we take time to remember who God is and who we are as his people, let’s be sure to forget a few things too. After all, God chooses to forget.
Psalm 103:12 says, “He has removed our sins as far from us as the East is from the West.”
Isaiah 43:25 says, “I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.”
If God can do it, so should we.
This year, may you be like Ephraim and Manasseh, forgetting the troubles of your past and having a fruitful future!
Shanah Tova! Happy New Year!
