The month of Elul is a beautiful month in the Hebrew calendar as it carries much importance being the month preceding the Jewish civil New Year, Rosh Hashanah. Elul provides 29 days of preparation for Rosh Hashanah and then the most Holy Day of Yom Kippur. This month allows intense soul searching and repentance, giving time to review the actions of the past year. It is literally a time of “accounting for the soul.” It is a time to freely approach God, as the Jews engage in the metaphor of “the King is in the field” where God has made Himself accessible to anyone who will approach Him with an honest and open heart. The Jews feel that during the month of Elul and while “the king is in the field”, it is easier to connect with God than any other time of the year and to experience His mercy and grace.
The Hebrew letters for Elul form the acronym for “Ani l’dodi v’dodi li” which says “I am my beloved and my beloved is mine.” This is to emphasize the close relationship they have with God. The Jews also read Psalm 27 daily which allows them to express their trust in and love for God.
Do we understand that this Jewish celebration provides us with a beautiful picture or foreshadowing of all that Jesus has done for us. The final chapter of this story has been completed, because as believers, Jesus has reconnected heaven and earth and we do not have to wait for that one month or those 29 days of the year to be close to God. His Spirit lives within us and we can approach Him with boldness, as the scriptures tell us (Hebrews 4:16; Hebrews 10:19-22)
Elul draws a beautiful picture of how God wants to invest in our success. To the Jews, He comes from His throne into the fields to interact with his workers and draw close to them. To believers in Christ, Jesus has made it possible that the fullness of all that God is dwells within us through Christ. (Col. 2:9). Because of our love for Jesus, He and the Father come and make their abode with us, never to leave us again. (John 14:23).
Too often we inherit a fear-based religion where God is untouchable and waiting to punish or condemn us for all the mishaps in our life. But as we study the picture God gave His people, we see a God who wants to be accessible and interact with His people. We see a God who says let me help you become that person you need to be. We have a Father who is much like the prodigal Father who is waiting for His son to “come to himself” and return to the Father’s house. The returning repentant son does not receive condemnation, chastisement, or rejection. He receives a father that runs to him and gives him a robe of restored dignity and family identity. He receives a ring of restored authority. And we see a public declaration by the father of putting shoes on his son’s feet, because only slaves went without shoes. This is the Father we serve.
Western Christianity often paints a different picture. It presents a repentance that requires penance and works in order to appease the Father’s wrath and anger. It presents a salvation that requires that we grovel on our face to approach the Father. Do we understand that Jesus took that wrath and Jesus appeased the Father’s anger against us. Do we understand that the Father so loves us that He paid our redemption price with His own son?
Just as with the Jews during the month of Elul and the celebration of “the king in the field”, God is open to any who will come to Him with an honest, repentant, and open heart. The freedom we have in Christ does not allow for evil manipulation or selfish indulgence with God. But rather, it is our heart shouting “I am my beloved and my beloved is mine!” God will never turn away a humble and repentant heart. What joy it must bring to the Father’s heart to hear us say, “The one thing I ask of the Lord—the thing I seek most—is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life..” (Psalm 27:4). Woven within the Hebrew months, feasts, Holy days, and rituals, God tells His story of His love for His people. He reveals the importance of a people fully dedicated to Him and of His plan that was so clearly fulfilled by Christ.
Another truth is found in the fact that Elul is also the sixth month of the Hebrew ecclesiastical year. The Hebrew alphabet for the number 6 is the “vav”. Vav is represented symbolically by the tent peg, or that which connects heaven and earth. For the Jews, Elul is a month of connecting God’s divine plan into the life of His faithful people. In this one month, the Jews are looking back into the previous year and yet looking ahead into the future New Year that is coming. It was a time of repenting and repositioning to bring their lives into agreement with God’s will while fully convinced that they could wait expectantly on the Lord to reward their faith. (Psalm 27:14)
But for us, that alignment begins by first accepting His spotless lamb for our sins. Jesus begins everything for us. He introduces us to the New Life as we let go of the old man and the old creation and move forward into a life where dignity, identity, and authority are restored. It is our father putting shoes on our feet, declaring that we are His children and no longer slaves. (John 1:12) It is God providing everything we need for life and Godliness. (2 Peter 1:3). It is God making every promise a possibility in Christ. (2 Cor. 1:20). It is God Himself making the investment in our lives for our future.
Thank God that our King is available to us 24/7 and 365 days a year. All that has been revealed in the beautiful stories of the feasts, rituals, Holy Days, and observances have been fulfilled by Christ for us to enjoy every minute of every day. We must avail ourselves of all that has been provided for us. The King is no longer in the field for just 29 days each year. He is in our hearts forever.
