Biblical Significance of the Month of Sivan (5786)

The Lord is bringing the Body of Christ back to an understanding of the Biblical times and seasons laid out in the Word of God. In 1 Chronicles 12:32, the Bible speaks about the Sons of Issachar:

“...of the sons of Issachar who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do.”

Oh, how we need this in the time we are living in! We need to be a people who align themselves with the Lord’s times and seasons. When we do, a divine understanding is opened to us, and we experience a special grace and favour throughout the year.

The Journey That Leads to Sivan

According to the Hebrew Calendar, we have just come through the month of Iyar, the second month. In the Biblical narrative, the Children of Israel had just come out of the Red Sea and were in the wilderness. They had seen the Lord open the Red Sea, crossed through on dry land, and witnessed the Lord’s mighty deliverance from the Egyptian army.

As they continued their journey, the Lord provided for them: He cleansed the bitter waters of Mara, brought them to Elim - the place of provision, with 12 wells of water and 70 palm trees (Exodus 15:27) - and brought water from the Rock of Horeb. God was meeting them in supernatural ways as they journeyed to the place of Encounter: Mount Sinai.

Today, He wants to do the same for you. He is the Lord who does not forget your needs, and He will be your Provider on this journey. A key principle for this season: do not complain, but rise up in trust to the Lord who cares for you.

The Counting of the Omer

The 49 days between Passover and the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai are known as the Counting of the Omer - a season of anticipation and desire for the Lord’s word. On Passover, Israel was freed from slavery. On Shavuot, which falls in the month of Sivan, they received the Torah and became a nation committed to serving God.

It is at this same season, some 2,000 years later, that Yeshua was crucified, died, and raised from the dead. On the 50th day - Pentecost - the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles and followers of Jesus Christ while they were in Jerusalem celebrating the Feast of Weeks.

Just as in the Old Testament, so in the New: during these 50 days the Lord revealed Himself to His people. At the Tomb He met Mary. On the Road to Emmaus He met two travellers. He encountered the Disciples multiple times. Right now we are in a season of Encounter, and the Lord wants to encounter each of us.

Sivan: The Month of Covenant

As we enter the month of Sivan, we enter the month when God established His covenant with His people on Mount Sinai - the place of encounter and the place of covenant. In Scripture, the Lord speaks in covenant marriage language with Israel:

Isaiah 54:5

“For your Maker is your husband, the Lord of hosts is His name; and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel; He is called the God of the whole earth.”

Jeremiah 31:32

“...My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them,” says the Lord.

The Lord wooed the people of Israel, showing Himself stronger than the gods of Egypt. He judged all the gods of Egypt through the Passover, brought the people through the Red Sea, met them in the wilderness, turned the waters of Mara from bitter to sweet, provided at Elim, and brought water from the Rock of Horeb (1 Corinthians 10:4). He was courting His people, preparing them for covenant.

A Marriage Covenant at the Mountain

Mount Sinai was the place where Moses first encountered the Lord at the Burning Bush - holy ground. It was also where God descended in fire, and the whole mountain quaked:

“Then it came to pass... in the morning, that there were thunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain... Now Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire. Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly.” (Exodus 19:16, 18)

At this mountain, the Lord proposed a covenant to Moses and the people:

“You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” (Exodus 19:4-6)

Even before hearing the fullness of the covenant requirements, the people responded with one voice:

“All that the Lord has spoken we will do.” (Exodus 19:8)

In Chapters 20 to 23, God gave Moses the Ten Commandments and His Law - the full covenant document. Then Moses called Aaron, his sons, and the 70 elders up the mountain, and something extraordinary happened:

“Then Moses went up, also Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and they saw the God of Israel. And there was under His feet as it were a paved work of sapphire stone, and it was like the very heavens in its clarity. But on the nobles of the children of Israel He did not lay His hand. So they saw God, and they ate and drank.” (Exodus 24:9-11)

What a beautiful picture! The Lord Himself invited them to the feast at the wedding table to seal the marriage covenant - a foreshadow of the Marriage Supper of the Lamb in Revelation 19.

Now, why 70 elders? This is where something deeply significant is woven into the text. Many biblical scholars and theologians have long noted that the number 70 is not incidental here. In Genesis 10, what is often called the “Table of the Nations” lists exactly 70 descendants of Noah - and these 70 are understood in Jewish and Christian tradition alike to represent the totality of the nations of the world.  

We believe it is not by accident that when God seals His covenant at the mountain, it is 70 elders who ascend with Moses. The number seems to echo the Table of the Nations intentionally. It is as if, in the very moment of this covenant meal, every nation of the earth has a representative standing at the wedding table of God. Israel is there as the covenant people - but through the symbolism of 70, all the families of the earth are, in some sense, present.

This connects beautifully to the promise given to Abraham in Genesis 12:3:

“...and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

From the very beginning, God’s covenant with Israel was never meant to be exclusive - it was the channel through which blessing would flow to every nation. That this meal on the mountain was attended by 70 elders is, we believe, a sign embedded in the text: the covenant is made with Israel, but the table is set with the nations in view. And one day, at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, that will be fully and finally complete.

The Calling of Sivan: A Kingdom of Priests

All 12 tribes of Israel stood at the foot of the mountain and with one voice agreed to the covenant - to be a people set apart unto Him, a kingdom of priests. A priest is one who stands as mediator between God and man: bringing God to the people, and bringing the people before God.

This is the calling of Sivan for us. The Lord is calling us to be a kingdom of priests - ones who are set apart for Him, who come up to the mountain to meet with Him.

It is time to prepare ourselves to encounter God face to face, to reconfirm our covenant with Him personally and corporately, and to bring our land and our people into covenant with the Lord. When you hear what the Lord is calling you into, boldly respond: “All that the Lord has spoken, I will do.” The Bridegroom is coming for the Bride who has made herself ready.