And it came to pass in the four hundredth and eightieth year after the children of Israel had come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the Lord. (I Kings 6:1 NKJV)
We have now entered the biblical month of Iyar ( ryya in Hebrew), which is the second month of the biblical calendar, in the year of Ayin Dalet. In the bible the month of Iyar is called the month of Zif, which means radiance. This month is a vital point in the year that represents a time of connection, the month of healing and the time that mysteries are revealed. This month is very pivotal every year because it connects Passover (mercy) to Pentecost (grace, God’s enabling power). We are in such an amazing time in history as God is restoring His glory in the earth.
The month of Iyar is the second month of the spring season, which is comprised of the three months of Nissan, Iyar and Sivan. The three tribes corresponding to the months of spring are Judah, Issachar and Zebulon; who in the desert encampment around the tabernacle were situated to the East. Their joint camp was known as the camp of Judah, whose name means “praise”. Every year during the spring season we have an opportunity to spring forth into a new cycle of blessing and watch as God shows himself strong by delivering us from the hands of our enemies. This season begins with Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which celebrates the Lamb of God who took away the sins of the world. We also continue Counting the Omer (counting our blessings) this month which leads us into the Feast of Pentecost, where we receive fresh provision and power as Holy Spirit activates His fruits within us.
Iyar is also linked with the Tribe of Issachar, who was Jacob’s fifth son born to Leah. When Issachar was born Leah said, “God has given me my wages because I gave my servant to my husband”, as such his name means “there is recompense”. The root words for his name, nasa and sakar, mean to lift up or to bear and wages of one hired. When Jacob blessed Issachar he said, “Issachar is a strong donkey, crouching between the sheepfolds. He saw that a resting place was good, and that the land was pleasant, so he bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant at forced labor”. When Moses blessed Issachar he said, “Rejoice, Zebulun, in your going out, and Issachar, in your tents. They shall call peoples to their mountain; there they offer right sacrifices; for they draw from the abundance of the seas and the hidden treasures of the sand”. This is the only time we see Moses release a blessing that links two tribes. This reveals to us the importance of alignment.
Historically this month has been the turning point of many notable historical events. It was in the month of Iyar that the flood began and that the waters receded and the earth was dry as seen in Genesis 7:11 and Genesis 8:14. The Lord instructed Moses to count the children of Israel on the first of Iyar as seen in Numbers 1:1. King Solomon began the construction of the first temple during this month and years later those who had come out of Babylonian captivity started the rebuilding process during this second month. In more recent years the State of Israel was established on the 5th of Iyar in 1948, when its Declaration of Independence was signed by its founders. On this day the land promised by God to the Jewish people was restored to Jewish sovereignty for the first time in nearly two thousand years. Nineteen years later on the 28th of Iyar ancient Jerusalem was liberated in the Six Day war of 1967 and also restored to Jewish sovereignty. Historically this month has been filled with momentous occasions and I am expecting nothing less this year.
The Month of Connection
For He is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; Having abolished in His flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in Himself of twain one new man, so making peace; And that He might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby. (Ephesians 2:14-16)
When writing the letter to the Ephesians the apostle Paul makes mention of the great mystery that was concealed until the coming of Christ; both Jew and Gentile are reconciled to God. This statement may seem rather trivial but it is the fulfillment of all things through Christ. There has been much effort given since the coming of Christ to bring a divide between Christianity and Judaism. Today much of American Christianity holds a replacement theology which states that Christians replaced Israel as God’s chosen people. This may seem like good theology but it is unbiblical and contradictory to the viewpoint of the one who wrote the majority of the New Testament; the apostle Paul.
There are a number of places where we see the apostle Paul exhorting both Jews and Gentiles to live together in unity. To the Romans he said of the Jews, “For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead? For if the Firstfruit be holy, the lump is holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches”(Romans 11:15-16). Something we must consider during this time and be reminded of is that our salvation comes from a root that is Jewish. Those of you who are like myself, a Gentile believer, have been grafted into the promise of Abraham by the cross and given the right to become a child of God through the blood of Jesus; the Jewish Messiah. It is through our Jewish root that we as the Gentile church come into the fullness of what God has for us.
As we move towards our Kings second coming we will continue to see a shift in the hearts and minds of Gentile believers towards Messianic Jews and Messianic Jews towards Gentiles. This will be the process of becoming one new man in Christ. We are being fitly joined together and built on the foundation of apostle and prophet as we read in Ephesians 2. Prophetically, I believe the times of Gentiles are being fulfilled (see Luke 21:24) and we are shifting into the season where the kingdoms of this world become the Kingdoms of our Christ as the one new man army is formed in the earth. This statement leads into my viewpoint on eschatology, of which I do not have time to expound on. I will say that in my view this shift will most likely take multiple generations to fully form.
As individuals this month we should begin to see God’s redemptive plan for our lives accelerate as new relationships develop and new connections are made. We should expect an accelerated restoration of anything lost and new doors to be revealed as His Glory opens the door this year. As we pursue the Lord during this time we should begin to connect the dots and see the picture of who God has created us to be. In doing so we should also expect revelation to come that will allow us to see how the serpent has come into our camp so that we can drive him out. This is a very important aspect of this month because as we drive out the serpent we are connected to our new streams of provision.
The Month of Healing
Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy reward. (Isaiah 58:8 NKJV)
The month of Iyar, called Zif in the Bible, which means radiance, is also known traditionally as a month of physical healing. We see this connection in Isaiah 58:8 which tells of a time as the breaking of the morning or a time of radiance that will cause health to spring forth quickly. If you need healing in your body this is the opportune time to believe that He is our God that heals us and watch your health come very quickly.
I believe this is also significant to the timing of when Solomon chose to start building the dwelling place of God as seen in 1 Kings 6:1. Up to this point the arc of the covenant was placed in a tabernacle, which was a temporary dwelling. When Solomon began to build the temple 480 years after of the Exodus it was a sign to Israel that there future had been secured because there would always be a place His glory could be found. This was also a sign that the reproach of Egypt had been fully healed; a concept that is very significant this year.
In Hebrew the number 400 is the last letter of the alphabet, which symbolizes a seal or more specifically the seal of creation. The number 80 in Hebrew is the letter Mem, which in ancient times pictured an underground river and represented God’s wisdom. In the book of Revelation we see a picture of the Heavenly Temple and read of the healing river that flows from the throne room carrying the leaves sent to heal the nations. Wholeness biblically relates not only to our spirit but our body, soul and spirit. During this spring season the winter torrent is flowing ready to remove any debris so that life flourishes in days ahead. God is ready to heal your body, which is His temple, and He is sealing up the past so that you can be established as His dwelling place so that your future is fully secured.
God is also healing Israel and taking away the reproach placed on them when they rejected Jesus as their Messiah as seen in Mathew 13. When Jesus is asked why He spoke in parables He answers by quoting Isaiah 6:10, “And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive; For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them”.(Mathew 13:14-15) I believe we will see the eyes of Israel opened to see Jesus as Messiah and Jews by the thousands turn to Him and be healed as this reproach is taken away. It’s time to pray for the Shalom of Israel and cry out RESTORE (see Isaiah 42:22)!
It’s Time to See What Has Been Concealed
The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this teaching. (Deuteronomy 29:29 ESV)
Like the apostle Paul the revelation of God joining Jew with Gentile on a foundation of apostle and prophet is a great mystery to me. It is also a great mystery to me as to how God releases the gift of healing and creates new body parts as we agree with Him in prayer. There are many mysteries or secrets that are revealed through Christ that we have yet to gain access to. The Hebrew word for secret is cathar, which means to hide or to conceal. Proverbs 25:2 says, “It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out”. It is the glory of God to conceal things but this month our glory is found as we search for God’s presence.
Another word used in the bible for secret relates to the occult; lat, which means to conceal by secrecy or enchantment. This word is used in Exodus 7:11 which says, “Then Pharaoh summoned the wise men and the sorcerers, and they, the magicians of Egypt, also did the same by their secret arts”. This is highly significant this year as we are overcoming the power of superstition to flourish in the market place. Superstition is one way the occult can gain a stronghold in a group of individuals. Most people are unaware of occult forces because they are designed to be concealed and empowered by secrets and enchantments. However in the presence of God nothing is hidden.
Pharoah’s sorcerers found the limitations of their powers once God began to bring His judgment upon the gods whom they trusted in. We do have an adversary and he does have miracle working power but neither he nor his power has ever been a threat to God. Many would like to frame Satan as God’s arch enemy as if he was God’s equal but this is a laughable viewpoint. God could destroy Satan in an instant if He chose to but He has chosen us, the ones created in His image to deal with these powers of darkness. Our adversary is merely a pawn on the chessboard of life God is using to bring us into victory.
As we go to war this month we as believers have access to revelation the devil does not. The devil is an adversary but the weapons of our warfare are mighty through Christ to pull down his strongholds. As he is revealed we will overcome him in a moment of faith and a simple decree. God’s dunamis, His miracle working power, empowers us to be more than conquerors who have the ability to supplant the devil and establish God’s Kingdom order in our lives and families. 2 Corinthians 3:16 says, “But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed”. When we turn to the Lord this month any veil the enemy has placed in our path to conceal his devices is removed and we see the glory of the Lord! We are then transformed into the image of His glory as Holy Spirit transforms us!
See what you have not seen! Allow the eyes of your understanding to be opened! If you have walked away from the Lord in any way turn to Him and let His healing power overtake every part you! Be filled with a new level of His Glory! Be sealed by Holy Spirit so that your future is secured in Jesus name!