The season is changing in Israel…in more ways than one! But the truth is, God ordains seasons of all kinds in Israel and they serve as a timepiece. For a few days, we’ll focus on those changing seasons.

In Israel, the summer heat begins to subside in September and, eventually gives way to the colors of fall. From the beginning, God ordained seasons and their change:

¹⁴ Then God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years; ¹⁵ and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so.

~Genesis 1:14-15

It was God who put the sun, moon and stars in place, and those mark the days and seasons of time. Perfectly ordained, God created days and seasons. But, interestingly, there are no celestial markers for weeks! So how did they come about?

The answer lies in God’s ordination of Shabbat…a Sabbath day of rest. It originates in creation:

2 Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. ² And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. ³ Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.

~Genesis 2:1-3

Indeed, Creator God rested on the seventh day, not because He was tired or couldn’t handle the workload of creation, but because His creative work was done and He ordained a day of rest for OUR benefit! In fact, a day of rest on the seventh day was so important to God that it became one of the Ten Commandments. (Exodus 20:8-11, Deuteronomy 5:12-14)

The reason we measure weeks in seven day increments is because God ordained it through the Sabbath! The entire earth functions on this Sabbath principle, whether or not they recognize the One who ordained it. Interestingly, when Jesus our Messiah was resurrected, it was a Sunday, the first day of the week! God, through the obedience of His Son, considered that day as the “head of the week,” which is known as Sabbath, a day of rest!

Establishment of weeks is much different than the establishment of days and seasons. As one rabbi once commented: “Dogs don’t know it’s Thursday! But they do know the difference between day and night, winter and summer.” As those created in God’s image, human beings function on a timetable ordained by our Creator, and only humans know and understand weeks!

As you consider God’s power to ordain days and seasons, consider what He has done for believers. We belong to Him, and His power over things of this earth will ultimately lead to our redemption prior to the season of tribulation. Praise God for His overwhelming grace and mercy!

Hang out with us over the next few days as we consider the changing seasons in Israel.