A Call to Action
- Guy Cohen
- 5 days ago
- 2 min read
Harvest of Asher
Akko, Israel
As I write, we are in the Biblical month of “Elul,” leading up to the Feast of Trumpets and the Day of Atonement. It’s a season of repentance, self-examination, and spiritual renewal. It’s a time when our hearts are stirred to return to the Lord.
In the Torah and throughout much of the Tanakh, the months are counted by number rather than by name: the first month, the second month, the third month, and so on. This numbering reminds Israel that time itself belongs to the Lord, beginning from the redemption from Egypt in the month of Nisan, “the first of months.” It was only after the return from the Babylonian exile that the Jewish people began using the Babylonian names for the months, such as Tammuz, Av, and Elul...
In the book of Nehemiah, we read: “So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of Elul, in fifty-two days” (Nehemiah 6:15). Thus, when Nehemiah mentions “the twenty-fifth of Elul,” he uses the post-exilic name that became part of Jewish life. The rebuilding of the wall around Jerusalem was completed in Elul. For us today, this wall is a symbol of protection, restoration, and returning to the right path.
According to Jewish tradition, the sages taught that Elul is a month of repentance and preparation for Rosh Hashanah/Feast of Trumpets and Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement). Elul is the time when the King is near, welcoming us with love and mercy. It reminds me of the famous verse from Song of Songs 6:3, “I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine” and the deep intimacy between God and His people.
For those of us who have put our trust in Yeshua the Messiah, Elul carries an even deeper meaning; that of the Light of Messiah. Yeshua proclaimed: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17). In the original Hebrew, repentance (t’shuva) literally means changing our direction, turning around, returning to God. Our repentance is not by our own strength, but through the atonement of Messiah’s blood. He is our true wall, our shield, our refuge, and our living hope.
Return to Me, and I will return to you
The prophet Malachi proclaimed God’s call to action: “Return to Me, and I will return to you” (Malachi 3:7).
This promise is fulfilled completely in Yeshua. He draws us near to the Father, gives us eternal life, and confirms God’s eternal promise as written by the Prophet Jeremiah: “For I know theplans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11).
This is God’s heart for every human, and also for all Israel - to be restored, redeemed, and brought into His everlasting hope. This season is a call to action, an invitation:
To examine our hearts and seek forgiveness.
To return to God – in awe and in the assurance of His grace through Yeshua.
To renew our faith and build a wall of trust around our hearts.
Amen! May these days be for us a time of deep reflection, renewed faith, and overflowing hope in Yeshua, our Redeemer and King.
