For those who do not know it, the Hebrew calendar and our modern (Gregorian) calendar do not line up. Our new year starts next week, in the middle of winter, whereas the Hebrew calendar starts in the middle of spring (and the first day fluctuates by several weeks each year because the whole calendar only has 354 days, but then they add a leap month every few years, and I’m not really going to go into the specifics in this writing, but it’s worth researching and learning about because it helps to make sense when Scripture talks about certain dates and events). But, the Bible doesn’t say much about when to start the new year; at least not in Genesis. We know from Genesis 1 that God made the day to be a certain length, established a 7 day week, and set stars in the sky to mark out a year-long cycle. In Genesis 7:11, we know the exact month, day, and year that the flood starts (although we don’t know if that exact day is relative to Noah’s birth, or if there was an arbitrary calendar in place at the time, or if Moses wrote that date using the Hebrew calendar that was in place at the time of its writing). However, once we get to Exodus, God declares when the new year would start:
“The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, “This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you.” (Exodus 12:1)
God, Himself, established when the new year would be. He could have set it up to be any old time, however, He chose that particular time to be the start the year. I wonder why that was. Here’s a theory: Exodus 12 is where God is giving instructions about the Passover event in Egypt. Which means the first new year of the Hebrew calendar started with God freeing His people. And since God commanded that Passover be celebrated every year in the middle of the first month, every year begins by remembering how God has worked for His children’s deliverance.
Even though our two calendars do not match up, I think it is appropriate to begin our year the same way the Hebrews (and Jews) do; by remembering how God has worked for our deliverance. Long ago, He sent His Son to bridge the separation that our sin created. But even now, God is still working in your life, making all things work together for good (Rom 8:28). Hindsight gives us the ability to look back on the years and see how God was at work even when we were sure that He had left us to ourselves.
Next week will be the beginning of months. It will be the first month of the year for you. May you start the year by recognizing how God is still working for your deliverance.