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The Sixth Month - Ellul

To understand how God has created and orchestrates time we must understand how He measures time.  The Bible gives insight into how God works in time. He established the Hebrew Calendar in Exodus 12:2. “This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you.” 

This calendar is on a different time cycle than the calendar of the western world, the Gregorian calendar.  The Hebrew Calendar is both a religious and a civil calendar. The Religious year begins at Passover in Nissan (March/April) and the civil year begins at Rosh Ha Shana in Tishri (September/October).  The Bible refers to Elul as the “sixth” month. Historically the following things took place during Elul:
  • God begins to work through Haggai the prophet –Haggai 1:1.
  • Ezekiel is given a vision from God, sees several abominations being committed by God’s people in the eighth chapter of Ezekiel.
  • The Spirit stirs up the spirit of Zerubabel to do the work of the building of God’s house.
  • The Rebuilding of the wall of Jerusalem is finished in Nehemiah 6:15-16.

                    It was on the first day of the month of Elul that Moses ascended Mount Sinai the second time to receive the tablets containing the law.  Forty days later he returned on the tenth day of Tishri, which is Yom Kippur or the Day of Atonement.  

Elul follows the month Av, which is known as the time of “dire straits.”  The ninth of Av is known as one of the most tragic days in the history of the Jewish people. This month has come to be known as the month to pass through the narrow place.  

Elul is known as the month when the “King is in the field.”  What is meant by the term, “the King is in the field?”  During this time the King comes out of the palace and is accessible to the average citizen in the kingdom.  When you enter the month of Elul you are leaving the narrow place and meeting the king in the field.  

This is a time to prepare for the high holy days of the fall season.  It is to be a time of repentance and reflection on the deeds of the past year.  It is also a time to prepare spiritually for the coming new civil year.  This is a time to gain access and ask God to help you draw closer to Him in the coming season.  

During this month the King leaves the comfort of his palace and pitches his tent in the field.  The royal protocol of the palace is set aside so that all who wanted to see him were welcomed.  This is the time during the year that the Lord comes into your field and makes Himself accessible. 

Elul is a beautiful picture of the earthly ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. John 1:14 tells us that “The Word became flesh and tabernacled among us.”  In Jesus, the Sovereign King of the universe left His heavenly palace and came to tabernacle among us.”[1]

In some Jewish thought the month of Elul is linked to the tribe of Gad. Gad was the seventh son of Jacob. His mother was Zilpah, who was Leah's maid. His name means, “a troop or food fortune.”  This is a month to begin to break into what God has for your future.  

Let me encourage you to make this a month to meet with the “King in the field.”  Take some time in prayer to prepare yourself to enter into your assignment for the coming new season of God.

[1] Pierce, Chuck, “A Time to Advance, Glory of Zion International, Inc., Denton, TX,



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