032 The Sixth Month of Elul - Sunset 8/17/23

In this episode, The Watchman discusses the sixth month of Elul,  its importance to the end times believer, and the preparations being made to meet with "the king in the fields". This month is a particularly beautiful season in God's time that you do not want to miss! 

The Old Watchman Website
The Old Watchman - Facebook
The Watchman Speaks - Facebook
The Old Watchman - Twitter

Transcript

032 The Sixth Month of Elul

Welcome to The Watchman Speaks. I’m your host, Lonnie Richardson

Today, I am going to briefly discuss the sixth month of Elul. The month of Elul is a particularly beautiful season in God’s time, and I’ll get into that momentarily. Before I do, let’s quickly review the months of the year we have already been through

The first month of Abib or Nisan is the month of Passover and the Feast of First Fruits. Israel was brought out of Egypt and our Lord and Savior Jesus died on Nisan 14, on a full moon. It is a time to remember the death of Jesus and celebrate in reverence. The church, by and large, does not celebrate Passover. It celebrates Easter, or the resurrection. This was a mandate handed down by Constantine, the emperor of Rome at the Council of Nicea. Nisan is a time when we re-confirm our covenant with Christ. Christ has made a covenant with us and, yes, we are to be in covenant with Him. Some may reaffirm this as a re-dedication of one’s life.

In the second month of Iyar we align ourselves with the Covenant names of God found in Exodus 15, 16, and 17. Yhwh Raphe (God is my Healer), Yhwh Y’reh (God who provides, and Yhwh Nissi (God is my victory).

Having re-affirmed our covenant with Christ in Nisan, and positioned ourselves under the Covenant names of God in Iyar we are amply prepared for a fresh outpouring of Holy Spirit in the month of Sivan during Pentecost and the Feast of Weeks. 

The fourth month of Tammuz is foreboding as demonic forces swarm the earth, Gay pride month is an example. It was a time when Israel turned their back on God and did what was right in their own eyes. It was the following fifth month of Av that both temples were destroyed in judgement. These two months are dark and historically evil times in which we must let our worship and praise be elevated

Then we come to the current sixth month of Elul. Elul is mentioned by name once in the Bible. In Nehemiah 6:15 in regard to the restoration of the city walls of Jerusalem after the Babylonian Exile. 
“So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul in fifty two days.”

The sixth month is also mentioned in Ezekiel 8:1, Haggai 1:1 and 1:15, and in Luke 1:26. And, believe it or not, Joel 2:12-17 outlines a period in regard to this month. I’ll come back to that shortly and explain.

But first, let me tell you that the name Elul is a Hebrew Acronym. In the Book Song of Solomon 6:3 we read, “I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine, He pastures his flock among the lilies.”

If you take the first letter of the Hebrew words “I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine,” put those letters together, that is Elul. 

First two questions of the day, 1. Do you truly belong to the beloved? Is the beloved truly yours? Remember those two questions as we progress. Think about them. As I feed you additional information, by the time we finish you won’t have to wonder about the truthful answers. You’ll know. 

Elul is a month of turning back to God. It is a month of retrospect, self-evaluation, and repentance. In the first Chapter of the Book of Joel we find a land devastated by the gnawing locusts, the swarming locusts, the creeping locusts, and the stripping locusts. Starvation and drought have come over the land and its people. Even the livestock and beasts of the fields are facing dire circumstances. Chapter one goes on to speak about a great army that will march upon Judah and Jerusalem. But let’s look at chapter 2 verses 12-14.

“Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “Return to Me with all your heart, and with fasting, weeping and mourning; and rend your heart and not your garments,” Now return to the Lord your God, For he is gracious and compassionate, Slow to anger, abounding in mercy and relenting of evil. Who knows whether He will not turn and relent and leave a blessing behind Him, Even a grain offering and a drink offering. 

That is a call for a nation to turn back to God with a sincere heart. It is a time of retrospect, to see the error of the ways of a nation that has brought God’s judgment upon itself. In those days the locusts had destroyed the crops and pastures. There was no food. Because of drought there was little water. Is there anything like that happening today? Food may not be scarce,  but the costs have definitely gone up. Lake Mead has been drying up for years now. Locusts are not swarming the nation that we live in but evil is. The LGBTQIA+++ is being promoted and supported from our nation’s capitol, drag queens are seeking audiences of our children, our borders are wide open and cartel drugs have a wide open highway into the land. There are works in progress to convince the states to adopt lenient abortion laws. And those are just some of the beginnings of the problems our country faces. America is progressively turning her back on God. Even the church, to some extent, is caving into inclusivity.

Alas, the Lord gives us hope through Joel. Chapter 2 verses 15-17 give us some instructions. 

Blow a trumpet in Zion, Consecrate a fast, proclaim a solemn assembly, gather the people, sanctify the congregation, Assemble the elders, Gather the children and the nursing infants, Let the bridegroom come out of his room and the bride out of her bridal chamber. Let the priests, the Lord’s ministers, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, “Spare Your people, O Lord, and do not make You inheritance a reproach, and a byword among the nations. Why should they among the people say, “Where is their God?”

There is a word in the Hebrew language that is used to describe this time in Joel 2:12-17. It’s called teshuva. Let’s look at those instructions again.

What is the first instruction given? Blow a trumpet! Why blow a trumpet? Well, the first thing is because God said to blow a trumpet. That’s obedience. The second thing is that the sounding of the trumpet is a call to action. It’s saying, “Wake up! Pay Attention! Return to ME!” Jeremiah 6:17 states, “I have set watchmen over you saying, “Listen to the sound of the trumpet!” And they said, “we will not listen”. 

What’s the second instruction? Consecrate a fast. Fasting or depriving oneself will bring you closer to God quicker than anything because you are relying upon Him to sustain you. Third instruction is to proclaim a solemn assembly. What’s that? It’s a holy gathering. The fourth and fifth instruction is to gather the people to the solemn assembly that they may be sanctified. What does that mean? It means that they may be set apart from the rest. It means that there should be an obvious distinction between the church and the rest of the world. So much for the church that peddles inclusivity. The sixth instruction is to assemble the elders.  Why wait until halfway down the list of instructions to assemble the elders? Well, if the elders are truly the wise and seasoned believers that they are supposed to be, they will serve as an example for the rest of the congregation. However, in a lot of instances, in a lot of churches, the elders are not so wise or seasoned. They are “yes” people appointed by the pastor to advance his vision instead of God’s purpose to equip the saints. The seventh and eighth instructions are to gather the children and nursing infants. Why do you think that is? So that they can see the adults sounding trumpets, fasting, gathering in a holy assembly, and being set apart. Children need to see and hear that so that they will remember and not repeat the mistakes of the older generations. 

You see any of that going on now days?  Nope, me neither.

The ninth and tenth instructions are for the groom and the bride to come out. What could that possibly mean? Well, it means a couple of things. If there is a wedding in progress, stop the wedding. As important as the wedding is between a man and a woman, the wedding of God to His people is more important. If God is wedded to His people, including the bride and groom, their marriage begins on a more solid foundation. Another thing is that the groom and the bride are to follow these instructions to solidify their union. One more thing, it is indicative of a groom that is coming to claim His bride, when Jesus returns to claim the church. 

The eleventh instruction is for the priests to weep between the porch and the altar. Seen any pastors, elders, or deacons doing that lately? No? Me either.

But look at the instructions regarding what the priests are to be saying. “O Lord, and do not make You inheritance a reproach, and a byword among the nations. Why should they among the people say, “Where is their God?”

The inheritance that is being spoken of is the land possessed by the people of Israel. I’m not speaking of the country Israel. I’m speaking about the descendants of Jacob whom God named Israel. It was in reproach among all the nations. And just like Israel was in that day when Babylon marched into Judah and Jerusalem and destroyed the temple taking the inhabitants into captivity, when Israel was the laughing stock of the middle east, These United States are the laughing stock of the world currently. “O where is their God?”

Thank God that an inheritance in His kingdom is coming that will never be in reproach. A kingdom where God will be manifested in all His glory.

Now of those instructions that I’ve outlined for you, tell me, is anyone anywhere doing ANY of that? No, I didn’t think so. Worse yet they will not be doing it at the time in Elul during teshuva.

Teshuva begins the first day of Elul. As I have said it is a time of retrospect. How has your year been going? What were the victories that were won? What were the most difficult times that you experienced? Were you as obedient of God’s Word and as faithful as you could have been or did you give in to the desires of the flesh. WHERE ARE YOU IN YOUR SPIRITUAL WALK WITH GOD?

But all is not lost if things have not gone well for you. Teshuva is a time to hear the trumpet sound, to wake up, and to pay attention. You may think that I’m off my rocker. But I’ll be sounding the trumpet every day from the first day of Elul through the 10th day of Tishri in the seventh month. Why? Because God said blow the trumpet. I’ll sound the trumpet throughout Elul. I’ll sound the trumpet the first day of Tishri, the seventh month since that is Yom Teruah, the day of the great shout. The Jews refer to it as Rosh Hoshana which is a two day event that opens the Feast of Trumpets. After the Feast of Trumpets comes Yom Kippor, the day of Atonement. I’ll be sounding the trumpet for forty days, repenting, raising a great shout, and remembering that Jesus went into the Holy of Holies not built by the hands of man ONE TIME to offer His blood to atone for my sins. 

What happens when we do this, in accordance to Joel Chapter 2:12-17? Wait, we’ve pretty much established that no one is adhering to the instructions in Joel 2:12-17. 

Well, that’s a sad thing. Look at the promise when we do adhere to those instructions. 

Joel 2:18–32 (NASB95) 

Deliverance Promised

  18            Then the Lord will be zealous for His land And will have pity on His people. 

  19            The Lord will answer and say to His people, “Behold, I am going to send you grain, new wine and oil, And you will be satisfied in full with them; And I will never again make you a reproach among the nations. 

  20            “But I will remove the northern army far from you, And I will drive it into a parched and desolate land, And its vanguard into the eastern sea, And its rear guard into the western sea. And its stench will arise and its foul smell will come up, For it has done great things.” 

  21            Do not fear, O land, rejoice and be glad, For the Lord has done great things. 

  22            Do not fear, beasts of the field, For the pastures of the wilderness have turned green, For the tree has borne its fruit, The fig tree and the vine have yielded in full. 

  23            So rejoice, O sons of Zion, And be glad in the Lord your God; For He has given you the early rain for your vindication. And He has poured down for you the rain, The early and latter rain as before. 

  24            The threshing floors will be full of grain, And the vats will overflow with the new wine and oil. 

  25            “Then I will make up to you for the years That the swarming locust has eaten, 

The creeping locust, the stripping locust and the gnawing locust, My great army which I sent among you. 

  26            “You will have plenty to eat and be satisfied And praise the name of the Lord your God, Who has dealt wondrously with you; Then My people will never be put to shame. 

  27            “Thus you will know that I am in the midst of Israel, And that I am the Lord your God, 

And there is no other; And My people will never be put to shame. 

The Promise of the Spirit

  28            “It will come about after this That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and daughters will prophesy, Your old men will dream dreams, Your young men will see visions. 

  29            “Even on the male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. 

The Day of the Lord

  30            “I will display wonders in the sky and on the earth, Blood, fire and columns of smoke. 

  31            “The sun will be turned into darkness And the moon into blood Before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. 

  32            “And it will come about that whoever calls on the name of the Lord Will be delivered; For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem There will be those who escape, As the Lord has said, Even among the survivors whom the Lord calls. 

Now you may say, “Lonnie, all that stuff has already come to pass.” Well, you would be correct. It has come to pass. Not once but twice. You see, I’m not talking about just the nation of Israel. I’m talking about God’s people. Am I not God’s people? Am I not grafted in? are the atrocities of that day not re-occurring today? I’m just saying.

But it’s a promise for God’s people. Return to ME! I’m gonna turn this whole thing around. Know what? God might just do that and He might not. He may dispatch the Son to come set up His kingdom on this earth. I’m okay with that. I figure I’d rather have that promise.

But no one is following instructions. Well, if the church won’t follow those instructions, I’m going to follow those instructions within my own household. Maybe I’m nuts. Maybe I’m not. 

One more thing. The time of teshuva, during the month of Elul, is when the king would come down out of the palace into the fields to meet with the common folk. At any other time one had to make an appointment to see the king. You had to dress a certain way to enter into the king’s court. You had to act a certain way. You had to be very careful of what you said and how you said it. But during Elul the King would come down out of the palace where the common working man could approach him without all that pomp and circumstance. The king was accessable to the commoner and his decisions would determine how the commoner’s year would go. That’s part of Elul and teshuva.

When Jesus died on the cross and the Temple veil was torn, we were granted access to the king on an individual, personal level. Oh we can approach the cross with our petitions and prayers any time. But the throne? Yes, we can even approach the throne, but stop and think about what I’m saying. During this time, during this season, God Himself steps down from the throne to be among us. Are we there to meet Him. To keep His appointments? Believe me, when God makes appointments, He keeps them. Will you be there to make the appointment? Or, will you be too busy doing other things?

Again, I ask the question, “Are you truly your beloved’s?” and more importantly, “Is the beloved truly yours?”

This is Elul! This is Teshuva! The King is in the field! The king has come to you! Will you be there to meet the king? Repent! For the Kingdom of God is at hand! Hear the trumpet! Return to God with ALL your heart! The rewards for doing so are greater than you can imagine. The failure to do so could be worse than you dared to dream.

I am THE OLD WATCHMAN, Ezekiel. You have been warned.

The Old Watchman Website
The Old Watchman - Facebook
The Watchman Speaks - Facebook
The Old Watchman - Twitter