Offerings of the Seventh Month
29 ‘Now in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall also have a holy convocation; you shall do no laborious work. It will be to you a day for blowing trumpets. 2 You shall offer a burnt offering as a soothing aroma to the Lord: one [a]bull, one ram, and seven male lambs one year old without defect; 3 also their grain offering, fine flour mixed with oil: three-tenths of an [b]ephah for the bull, two-tenths for the ram, 4 and one-tenth for [c]each of the seven lambs. 5 Offer one male goat for a sin offering, to make atonement for you, 6 besides the burnt offering of the new moon and its grain offering, and the continual burnt offering and its grain offering, and their drink offerings, according to their ordinance, for a soothing aroma, an offering by fire to the Lord.
7 ‘Then on the tenth day of this seventh month you shall have a holy convocation, and you shall humble yourselves; you shall not do any work. 8 You shall present a burnt offering to the Lord as a soothing aroma: one bull, one ram, seven male lambs one year old, having them without defect; 9 and their grain offering, fine flour mixed with oil: three-tenths of an [d]ephah for the bull, two-tenths for the one ram,10 a tenth for each of the seven lambs; 11 one male goat for a sin offering, besides the sin offering of atonement and the continual burnt offering and its grain offering, and their drink offerings.
These two special days were an important part of the Jewish year. In fact, the first was considered the Jewish “New Year”, though it happens in September of October usually. As with many people, the New Year celebration is a time to reflect on the past year, and set goals for the next. Goals to do better, be better, etc.
So it was that this day began a 10 day “call to repentance”. Looking back, they would remember things they had done wrong, the times they had broken God’s law. This culminated in the Day of Atonement, where the priest would enter the Most Holy Place to make sacrifices for all the people. Having remembered their wrongs, and repented of them, now they had to make restitution for their short-comings by the sacrifices on this day.
We no longer offer sacrifices, but we are not exempt from sinning against the God we love. But because he loves us so much, we should repent daily, searching our lives for any trace of the sin that so easily entangles us. Seek His face, and ask for His forgiveness and mercy to abound in your life. Do not wait for the new year to come, make every new day be a day to correct our course to chase after God.