Happy New Year!  Wait. Did we catch you off guard? It’s the beginning of April. What are they talking about?!?!

Have you ever wondered why the new year starts in the winter when its it cold, dark, and most of nature is dormant?  When the trees are bare and most of creation is resting and/or hibernating, does it really feel like the start of something new?  With winter comes dropping temperatures, short days, and long nights. While we believe it’s a beautiful season to rest and reflect–we aren’t so sure it is the time to start something new. Haven’t you always wondered why new year’s resolution never seem to work or they don’t last?  We have, and willpower aside, we realized that we are out of step with the rest of creation. Beginning the new year in the middle of the season of rest is simply out of step with the Creator’s design.

See, the YHWH’s (God) timing is different from man’s timing.  The Creator created everything with an order and a purpose. Solomon says in Ecclesiastes 3:1-8:

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.

YHWH put seasons and times in their respective places for a reason. He set the new year to start in the spring when the temperature begins increasing, the days start getting longer, and new life begins.  We see this in multiple places in scripture:

It was on the first day of the first month, in the six hundred and first year, that all the water from the great flood of the earth dried up and Noah opened the covering of the ark (Genesis 8:13). Man and animals saw dry ground again and started a new life that day, that new year.  

In the book of Exodus, the YHWH told Moses that the beginning of the year, the first month of Abib, would be the month of Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The final plague, where the Israelites homes that were covered by the blood of the lamb were passed over and the exodus from Egypt took place during the first month of the new year. This was a new beginning for the children of Israel, having been freed from slavery in Egypt. It was also the beginning of God leading them to the land he promised Abraham more the 400 years before. (Exodus 12-14)

Later, on another first day of the first month, the YHWH had the tabernacle erected where HE would dwell among His people (Exodus 40).  After 40 years in the wilderness, the Israelites crossed through the Jordan river on dry ground into the promised land in the first month of the 41st year after leaving Egypt. Again, the start of a new life in the land Yahuah promised started at the new year. (Joshua 4)

This first month of the year according to Creator’s timing is marked by new life and increasing energy. Before Noah left the ark he sent out a dove and it brought back an olive leave. This olive tree was a sign of new life (Genesis 8:10-13). The word for the first month, Abib (אביב) , is a Hebrew word that means young ear of grain. There is also a feast of first fruits in the first month of the year (Leviticus 23:9-14). At what point in the year do we see fresh young grain or harvest first fruits?

The book of Esther tells us that the Israelites began calling the first month of the year Nisan while in Assyrian captivity (Esther 3:7) .  We also know that historically, the month of Abib or Nisan has fallen in March or April. Our Messiah, Yeshua, was crucified and rose again during the first month.

It it clear that the YHWH never intended our new year to start in the winter, but rather in the spring.  The spring is the time to begin new projects and look forward to what is to come. Most importantly, it is our time as a community to remember our Passover Lamb and His ultimate sacrifice to make deliver us from sin and death.

Let’s start anew this new year…in Him.

The new year starts on the first new moon after the spring equinox.  This year the first day of the first month is around April 5-6. Look up at the moon for a tiny sliver of light and see for yourself.  Let’s celebrate the start of the new year at the time the Creator appointed. Happy New Year!