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The season of Teshuvah begins on Elul 1 on the Hebrew calendar. The month of Elul corresponds with August/September on the Gregorian calendar. Teshuvah lasts 40 days from the first day of the month of Elul until Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement or Feast of Atonement).
The word Teshuvah in Hebrew means “return” which refers to returning to God, returning to oneself, and returning to a path of righteousness after straying. This is a season of honest and deep self-examination while prayerfully asking the Holy Spirit to reveal sin, unforgiveness, offense, failures in our love walk, missing the mark, and falling short of godliness. This is a period of time to get our spiritual house in order.
The first step of Teshuvah is Recognition of Wrongdoing. In order to recognize what is wrong in our lives, we must know what is right. There is no substitute for reading, knowing, and following the Bible. We must know and understand what purity is to recognize the impurity in our lives.
Many times, people may feel like the season preceding Elul (the month of Av) is a time of trial and testing or a time “in the fire” where all the impurities in us seem to bubble up to the surface. We need to pay attention when these impurities arise in us. God didn’t send the test to show Himself what is in us. God knows what is in us already. God sends the tests to show US what is in us so we can teshuvah, repent, and return.
Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified.
2 Corinthians 13:5
The second step of Teshuvah is Regret. We must come to a place of regret, remorse, and hatred of the sin. More time spent with God (time in the Word of God, time in prayer, time in fellowship, time in praise & worship) helps with this step. The closer a person gets to God, the less a person is able to tolerate sin. To say it another way: The more sensitive a person becomes to the Holy Spirit, the more aware that person becomes to iniquities within themselves, and the need to change or “return”.
The third step of Teshuvah is Confession. Confession is simply telling God in prayer where we fell short. It is acknowledging our weakness and sin. Confession doesn’t have to be to another person, but a strong accountability partner can be a huge blessing. Let’s not forget that James tells us to confess to one another.
Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.
James 5:16
The fourth step of Teshuvah is Resolve to Change. If you try to do this in your own strength, you will likely fail. Resolving to change works best when we allow God to scrape out the impurities that bubbled up when we were in the fire. Resolving to change works best when it looks like surrender and sacrifice… a laying down of our lives over and over again until there is nothing left of us. We must humbly come before God and admit that if we could change it, it would have already been changed. We need God to make the change in us, and we need to get out of His way to allow Him to do just that.
The fifth step of Teshuvah is Restitution. Whenever possible, appropriate amends must be made to anyone who was wronged. This may look like an apology or restitution to repair harm done. This is holding yourself responsible. The flesh hates this. This can actually be quite helpful in the resolve to change. If you know that you will force yourself to apologize or give restitution later, you might find it easier to avoid that behavior in the future.
TRADITION
Tradition says that a shofar (ram’s horn) or silver trumpet is blown each day on Teshuvah. They are blown in a specific pattern of Tekiah, Shevarim, Teruah, and Tekiah Gedolah. Each of these sounds are highly symbolic.
The first sound is the Tekiah because it calls man’s heart to pay attention to the message of the shofar. The Shevarim is the cry of the heart of mankind to repentance and a godly sorrow for the sins of our past. The Shevarim is followed by the Teruah whose staccato nature sounds like a stop or a breaking off the sound and reminds us to stop or break off all sin or behavior that will separate us from God. The broken sound is to remind us to break off fleshly desires and evil inclinations. Tekiah Gedolah means a final appeal to sincere repentance and atonement.
HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE
The 40 days of Teshuvah corresponds to the 40 days that Moses spent on Mount Sinai after the sin of the Golden Calf. Moses went up onto Mount Sinai after a season of interceding on behalf of the Israelites seeking God’s mercy. On Mount Sinai, Moses received the tablets of the law for the second time. (Exodus 34)
In the same way that Moses interceded on behalf of the Israelites, we should also intercede for those around us. In the same way that Moses spent 40 days in the presence of God, we too should spend these 40 days seeking God’s presence and deepening our fellowship with God.
The number 40 is significant in the Bible representing a period of time for testing, purification, or a generation of change. We can see this in the 40 days and nights of rain during Noah’s flood along with the 40 years that the Israelites wandered in the wilderness.
Elul is the sixth month. Six is the number of man. Elul has long been thought to be an acronym for “Ani l’dodi V’dodi Li” which translates as “I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine.”
I am my beloved’s,
Song of Solomon 6:3
And my beloved is mine.
He feeds his flock among the lilies.
“The King is in the Field” (Hamalech B’Sadeh) is a metaphor describing God’s accessibility during the Jewish month of Elul. The belief is that God is usually in a distant palace but becomes approachable and familiar in the field during Elul which allows people to connect, reflect, and engage in the process of teshuvah.
I do not believe that God is usually in a distant palace since we have the Holy Spirit indwelling within us. However, the power that can be had from the Christian church and the Jewish people coming together to Teshuvah simultaneously cannot be ignored. Do not miss the opportunity to experience the corporate worldwide season of “return” and seeking one true God.
The King, in fact, is in the field. That is where He wants us to meet with Him. He wants us to meet Him in the Harvest Field which is ripe and ready for the final harvest. Of course, we know that harvest is a metaphor for preaching the Gospel message and bringing people to Christ.
Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!
John 4:35
The King is in the field! He is calling you to Teshuvah, but He is also calling you to bring others into Teshuvah. This call is not limited to the season of Teshuvah, but don’t miss the blessing from corporate worldwide agreement and united focus.
if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
2 Chronicles 7:14
