Nisan (Abib): The Mystery of the Biblical First Month

Happy New Year and welcome to the first month of the year.. The first month of Hebrews (Israelites) began with the Passover and their deliverance from Egyptian bondage. The Hebrew first month (the 30-day month of Nisan) was not the Egyptian first month. Exodus 12: 2, God said to Israel, “This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you. 

The Biblical patterns for understanding the first month are the first day of creation, the first book and first chapters of the Bible, and the first-month mentions in the Bible.

A. The first month is a first day of creation season. God manifested Himself as light (singular) on the first day of creation to overthrow the prevailing darkness. This means that the first month is a time to usher in the Light of the year. God is Light and there is no darkness in Him (1 John 1:5-6). Light illuminates, reveals, and directs. God is first and the first belongs to Him. The first month belongs to the Giver of months. It is the first-fruit of the months of the year. It should be given to God as an offering of time. It is a time to honor God with time in His presence. It is a season to seek and pursue alignment with God through obedience or repentance. It is a time to acknowledge God as the Giver of the new year and as the Guide through the new year. It is a time to pour out gratitude to the Creator and give special attention to the written Word of God, the Voice of the Holy Spirit, and the spoken word from oracles of God.

B. The first month is a first book and first chapters of the Bible season. The first month is a book of Genesis season. The book of Genesis is a book of beginnings and began with God. The first month is a month of beginnings and should begin with God. It is a time to focus on His word, His work, and His will. The disasters that happened in the book of Genesis were the result of disregarding the word of God and the ways of God. Do not give God second place in the first month. As the first book of the Bible is key to understanding the Bible, the first month of the year sets the course of the year. As with the first book of the Bible and death, the first month of the year is a season to keep death and destruction away through alignment with God.  Without God, the first month of the year is a deadly season.

C. The first month of the year is a Genesis 1 – Deuteronomy 15 season. The first month of the year consists of four full weeks and a remainder of two days into the fifth week. The first five weeks of the year have their patterns in the first five books of the Bible. The first week is a book of Genesis week. The second week is a book of Exodus week. The third week is a book of Leviticus week. The fourth week is a book Numbers week. The fifth week is a book of Deuteronomy week. So, going through the first month of the year is like taking a journey from the first chapter of Genesis to the 10th chapter of Deuteronomy.

This indicates three things about the first month:

(1) the first month is a season of revelations of God, His plans and purposes; as God revealed His person, plans and purposes in the first five books of the Bible.

(2) the first month is a season of alignment with God and recruitment for His purpose in the year. God picked His men in the book of Genesis. He found Abel, Seth, Enoch, Noah, Abraham and the patriarchs of Israel. God recruits men for the year in the first month.

(3) The first month is also a season of preparation for the year. From the book of Exodus to the book of Deuteronomy, God prepared Israel for His purpose and promises. God has a purpose and a promise for each year. It is in the first month that He recruits and prepares a people for His purposes and promises in the year. Do not be left out.

D. Passages mentioning ‘the first month’ in the Bible. ‘The first month’ is mentioned about 29 times in the Bible. The passages where ‘the first month’ is mentioned reveal five things concerning the first month: 1. It is a time to make a fresh start in the new year 2. It is time to repair the house of God. You are the house of God! 3. It is time to receive the word of God.  4. It is time to make decisions. 5. It is time to expect divine visitation.

1. Time to make a fresh start. This is the beginning of the months of the year; and it is for a new beginning. 

a). The Waters of the Flood Dried from the Earth

Genesis 8:13: And it came to pass in the six hundred and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, that the waters were dried up from the earth; and Noah removed the covering of the ark and looked, and indeed the surface of the ground was dry.

b). Egyptian Bondage Ended In the First Month

Exodus 12:2, 51: “This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you. [51] And it came to pass, on that very same day, that the LORD brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt according to their armies.

Numbers 33:3-4: They departed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the day after the Passover the children of Israel went out with boldness in the sight of all the Egyptians. [4] For the Egyptians were burying all their firstborn, whom the LORD had killed among them. Also on their gods the LORD had executed judgments.

(c). The first month is departure season. Ezra Departed Babylon in the First Month.

Ezra 7:9: On the first day of the first month he began his journey from Babylon, and on the first day of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, according to the good hand of his God upon him.

Ezra 8:31: Then we departed from the river of Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month, to go to Jerusalem. And the hand of our God was upon us, and He delivered us from the hand of the enemy and from ambush along the road.

(d). Israel Came Up From Jordan in the First Month as Jordan Dried Up for Them

Joshua 4:19, 23-24: Now the people came up from the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and they camped in Gilgal on the east border of Jericho. [23] for the LORD your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed over, as the LORD your God did to the Red Sea, which He dried up before us until we had crossed over, [24] that all the peoples of the earth may know the hand of the LORD, that it is mighty, that you may fear the LORD your God forever.”

1 Chronicles 12:15: These are the ones who crossed the Jordan in the first month, when it had overflowed all its banks; and they put to flight all those in the valleys, to the east and to the west.

The first is when obstacles are removed. There is no obstacle in the first. Whatever barriers you see in the first month are not real. As darkness cannot stand in the way of light, no barrier should stop you in the first month.

2. Time to Repair and Prepare the Tabernacle of God

(a). The Tabernacle of the Tent of Meeting was Set Up in the First Month

Exodus 40:2, 17: “On the first day of the first month you shall set up the tabernacle of the tent of meeting. [17] And it came to pass in the first month of the second year, on the first day of the month, that the tabernacle was raised up.

(b). Hezekiah Repaired the Temple of the Lord in the First Month. The first month is for repairs. 

2 Chronicles 29:3, 17: In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he opened the doors of the house of the LORD and repaired them. [17] Now they began to sanctify on the first day of the first month, and on the eighth day of the month they came to the vestibule of the LORD. So they sanctified the house of the LORD in eight days, and on the sixteenth day of the first month they finished.

(c). Cleaning Up the Sanctuary

Ezekiel 45:18: Thus says the Lord GOD: “In the first month, on the first day of the month, you shall take a young bull without blemish and cleanse the sanctuary.

You are the temple and sanctuary of God under the New Covenant. The first month is for preparing yourself to be a fitting habitation for God in the year.

(d). THE FIRST MONTH IS A NEW-ACTION SEASON

Ezra 10:17: By the first day of the first month they finished questioning all the men who had taken pagan wives.

3. Time to Receive the Word from The LORD.

(a). God Spoke to Moses at Sinai in the First Month of their Second Year. The first month is the time to receive divine instruction and follow it. Get ready for divine direction.

Numbers 9:1-5: Now the LORD spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai, in the first month of the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying: [2] “Let the children of Israel keep the Passover at its appointed time. [3] On the fourteenth day of this month, at twilight, you shall keep it at its appointed time. According to all its rites and ceremonies you shall keep it.” [4] So Moses told the children of Israel that they should keep the Passover. [5] And they kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month, at twilight, in the Wilderness of Sinai; according to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so the children of Israel did.

(b) Moses Did Not Follow the Voice of GOD in the First Month When they Arrived Kadesh.

Numbers 20:1, 7-8, 12: Then the children of Israel, the whole congregation, came into the Wilderness of Zin in the first month, and the people stayed in Kadesh; and Miriam died there and was buried there. [7] Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, [8] “Take the rod; you and your brother Aaron gather the congregation together. Speak to the rock before their eyes, and it will yield its water; thus you shall bring water for them out of the rock, and give drink to the congregation and their animals.” [12] Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe Me, to hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.”

(c) The Word of the Lord came to Ezekiel in the first month. 

Ezekiel 29:17-20: And it came to pass in the twenty-seventh year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, that the word of the LORD came to me, saying, [18] “Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon caused his army to labor strenuously against Tyre; every head was made bald, and every shoulder rubbed raw; yet neither he nor his army received wages from Tyre, for the labor which they expended on it. [19] Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Surely I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; he shall take away her wealth, carry off her spoil, and remove her pillage; and that will be the wages for his army. [20] I have given him the land of Egypt for his labor, because they worked for Me,’ says the Lord GOD.

Ezekiel 30:20-21: And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first month, on the seventh day of the month, that the word of the LORD came to me, saying, [21] “Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and see, it has not been bandaged for healing, nor a splint put on to bind it, to make it strong enough to hold a sword.

4. Time to make decisions and plans

Esther 3:7, 12: In the first month, which is the month of Nisan, in the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus, they cast Pur (that is, the lot), before Haman to determine the day and the month, until it fell on the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar. [12] Then the king’s scribes were called on the thirteenth day of the first month, and a decree was written according to all that Haman commanded-to the king’s satraps, to the governors who were over each province, to the officials of all people, to every province according to its script, and to every people in their language. In the name of King Ahasuerus it was written, and sealed with the king’s signet ring.

The first month is the time to determine when to do what in the year.

5. Time of Divine Visitation

(a). The First Month is a Time of Visions and Revelations

Daniel 10:4-9: Now on the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was by the side of the great river, that is, the Tigris, [5] I lifted my eyes and looked, and behold, a certain man clothed in linen, whose waist was girded with gold of Uphaz! [6] His body was like beryl, his face like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like torches of fire, his arms and feet like burnished bronze in color, and the sound of his words like the voice of a multitude. [7] And I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, for the men who were with me did not see the vision; but a great terror fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves. [8] Therefore I was left alone when I saw this great vision, and no strength remained in me; for my vigor was turned to frailty in me, and I retained no strength. [9] Yet I heard the sound of his words; and while I heard the sound of his words I was in a deep sleep on my face, with my face to the ground.

(b). The First Month is a Time of Abundant Rain from GOD

Joel 2:22-23: Do not be afraid, you beasts of the field; For the open pastures are springing up, And the tree bears its fruit; The fig tree and the vine yield their strength. [23] Be glad then, you children of Zion, And rejoice in the LORD your God; For He has given you the former rain faithfully, And He will cause the rain to come down for you- The former rain, And the latter rain in the first month.

Rain signifies divine blessings. So, the first month of the year is a time of the rain of blessings from God. Don’t miss it. If God rains His blessings on you in the first month, the year will give you a bountiful harvest from seeds planted. 

PRAYER POINTS

1. Give thanks to the Giver of time. Worship and praise Him. He is first and the first belongs to Him. Pray that He will take over His tabernacle in you.

2. Pray that the ears of your inner man will be attentive to His Voice of instructions and commands in this first month. Pray to be connected to the divine agenda for the year beginning this first month.

3. Ask the Lord to bless you with His presence in this month. Pray for grace to stay in alignment with His plans and purposes. Pray to be delivered from distractions and temptation to give Him second place in this first month.

4. Pray to be delivered from the assault of darkness this first month. Pray that death and destruction will be far from God’s people this first month. Pray for the overthrow of agents and operations darkness.

5. Pray that this month will mark a new beginning in your life and story. Let it be a month of departure from old ways and experiences. Let this be a month of freedom.

6. Ask the Lord for wisdom to take steps that will create what you desire. Present your needs and desires to God and ask Him to guide you.

7. Ask the Lord to equip you and give you grace to represent Him well this opening month of the year. 

8. Pray for Israel – that God will protect His people from their enemies. Pray that God will open their eyes and hearts to acknowledge Jesus Christ as their Savior and Messiah.

9. Thank Him for hearing your prayers.