Month 12 – Adar: Are you Ready?

Adar is the last month on the Hebrew calendar. Adar marks the end of the year and the following month is the first month of the year, Nisan.  To understand the month of Adar, we must first understand the month of Nisan.

Nisan was originally called “Abib”, a Hebrew word meaning ripe, referring to crops. Nisan is the first month of the year on the Hebrew calendar, but Nisan cannot begin until the barley crop is ripe in Israel.

So in the month of Adar, the barley is inspected to see how far along it is in the growth process.   If the experts find that the barley will not be ripe by Nisan 1, then we add another month to the end of the year.  This is how we get a leap year on the Hebrew calendar.  (There are 7 leap years in every 19-year period.)

Today we have ways of forecasting the moon’s cycle, so that we can project our calendars way into the future.  However, there are still people physically monitoring the moon in Jerusalem, and also inspecting the barley crop, to verify that we are on the correct day on the calendar (Devorah’s Date Tree is one example).

Prepare Your Heart

So what is the relevance of this process for our lives?

Adar is a month of becoming ripe, growing and progressing in maturity in time for the month of Nisan.  What happens in Nisan?  Three of the year’s seven Feasts:  Passover, the Feast of Firstfruits and the Feast of Unleavened Bread.  The month of Adar is a time of preparation for the coming Passover Lamb, a time to listen and obey, to soak in the Spirit and follow his leading, as we wait on him to make us holy and prepare us for our future.

The barley is ripe when the seeds have reached full size and are filling with starch.  When that happens, the barley is ready to eat or to use to make food.  When we’re following this pattern of Yehovah’s calendar spiritually throughout the year, by the end of Adar — the end of the year – the seeds that have been planted earlier in the year are ready to be harvested.  Then, in the month of Nisan, the fruit of those seeds is transformed into food that sustains us and those around us.

So, this month reflect on your year.  What seeds were planted this past year?  Make time this month to wait on the Lord, soak in his Spirit and hear his voice regarding the coming year. Prepare your heart to receive the Passover Lamb by Nisan 1.

For more on this subject, read: Preparing Ourselves for the Spring Feasts

Numbers 10:10

“Also on your days of rejoicing, at your designated times and on Rosh-Hodesh (the head of the month), you are to sound the trumpets over your burnt offerings and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; these will be your reminder before your God. I am Adonai your God.”

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