The Season of Elul!!!!

Song of Solomon 2


We are walking in today: The Season of Elul!!!!

Witness recompense throughout the Bible: H7725 shuwb-- to be returned, be restored, be brought back

Numbers 5:7 Then they shall confess their sin which they have done: and he shall recompense H7725 his trespass with the principal thereof,
and add unto it the fifth part thereof, and give it unto him against whom he hath trespassed.

The Torah ............…
Numbers 5:8 But if the man have no kinsman to recompense H7725 the trespass unto, let the trespass be recompensed H7725 unto the LORD, even to the priest; beside the ram of the atonement, whereby an atonement shall be made for him.

The prophets ..................
2 Samuel 22:21 The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness: according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed H7725 me.

The writings ............
Psalms 18:24 Therefore hath the LORD recompensed H7725 me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight.

Jeremiah 18:20 Shall evil be recompensed for good? for they have digged a pit for my soul. Remember that I stood before thee to speak good for them, and to turn away H7725 thy wrath from them.

Selichot Services
The Hebrew word selichah colloquially means forgiveness through in the Hebrew scriptures it refers exclusively to the Most High's offer of pardon and forgiveness of the repentant sinner. For instance, in Psalm 130:4 we read, ' But with you is forgiveness (selichah), that you may be feared.

The plural form of the word selichah is selichot, a word traditionally used to refer to additional prayers for forgiveness recited before dawn, before the daily shacharit (morning) service. The list of the Thirteen Attributes of the Most High's Mercy (Shelosh Esrei Middot shel Rachamin). In general Selichot services are intended to inspire us to consider the direction of our lives and to under go teshuvah.

In the Sephardic tradition, Selichot services begin at the start of Elul and run until Yom Kippur (similar to the 40 days that Moses spent on Mt. Sinai). Some of the prayer and music for Selichot service are taken from the services of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kipput, providing a transition between the old year and the New Year.

Appealing to the Most High's Compassion
After Israel had commit the grievous sin with the golden calf, Moses despaired of Israel ever being able to find favor in the Most High's eye again. In the tabernacle the Selichot service is built upon a recitation of these thirteen merciful attributes that the Most High revealed in Exodus 34:6-7

The Most High, the Most High, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and upon the children's children's unto the third and forth generation.

According to the various traditional interpretations, these thirteen attributes of the Most High's name may be understood as follows:

1. Adonai--I the Lord am the Compassionate Source of all of the life and Ground of all being; I am the breath of life for all creation. I am the God of all possible worlds and Master of the universe. Everything that exists is an expression of my loving will and kindness. The world is built with chesed Psalm 89:3. Since the relative difference between existence and non existence is infinite, the Most High's creation represents infinite kindness, and since you exist, you likewise are an expression of the Most Highs kindness and love. You do not exist because the Most High needs you but solely because your life is willed by the Most High as an expression of His love.

2. Adonai--Though the Most High created the universe 'very good' He remained the Compassionate Source of life even after mankind sinned and therefore the Name is repeated to refer to His loving relationship with alienated, fallen creation. I the Most High, am also compassionate to one who has sinned and repented (i.e. the Creator gives us free will and the good gift of teshuvah). The Most High created mankind for the sake of teshuvah--that is , our return to Him. The Most High desires atonement with mankind even after sin and therefore continues to give existence to the world. 'He makes the sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends out rain on the just and the unjust." Matthew 5:45 Moreover, as the Saviour and Redeemer of the world through Yeshua, the Most High reveals kindness even to the evil, and even partakes of its presence by means of His sacrificial love at the stake. Since tesuhvah can only exist after the advent of sin, Yeshua is call the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. Rev 13:8, Eph 1:4 and 1 Peter 1:20

In this connection, it should be noted that while the Most High 'wills' evil (in the sense of allowing the actions of the wicked to occur), He does not desire it. The sages note that while the Creator supports the existence of both the wicked and the righteous, and only their actions are desired by Him. Psalm 1:6 The Most High wills the brokenness of the sinner so that the soul can return to Him by experiencing His salvation, love and blessing.

3. El- I the Most High am the Almighty and Omnipotent;

4. Rachum- I the Most High, am merciful

5. Chanun- I the Most High am gracious, I pour out my favor freely to all of creation;

6. Erekh Apayim-I the Most High am slow to anger and patient

7. Rav Chesed- I the Most High am abundant in love to both the righteous and the wicked;

8. Rav Emet- I the Most High am truthful and faithful in carrying out promises;

9. Notzer Chesed la'alafim- I the Most High retain chesed (love) for thousands of generations, taking into account the merit of our worthy ancestors

10. Nosei Avon- I the Most High forgive iniquity, defined in the tradition of wrongful deeds committed with perverse premeditation;

11. Nosei Pesha--I the Most High forgive transgression, defined as wrongful deeds committed in a rebellious spirit;

12. Nosei Chata'ah--I the Most High, forgive sin (chet) defined as those wrongful deeds that were inadvertently committed;

13. Nakkeh--I the Most High will not cancel punishment, but I will clear the guilt for those that genuinely return to Me in teshuvah.

In addition to the Shelosh Esrei Middot, the chanting of a number of Psalms and prayerful poems are recited during the services throughout the month of Elul. the tone of the Selichot service is sent in Psalm 130:


Psalm 130 King James Version (KJV)

1 Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O Lord.

2 Lord, hear my voice: let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.

3 If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?

4 But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.

5 I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope.

6 My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning.

7 Let Israel hope in the Lord: for with the Lord there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption.

8 And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.

For believers in the kingdom of the Most High we affirm that forgiveness is obtained by exercising emunah/faith in the offering of Yeshua as the kapparah for our sins, and by the evidencing wholehearted teshuvah in our daily life.

Sin in Hebrew is chet and means failure in our relationship with the Most High. Our goal should be to continually move closer to the Most High but chet causes us to move away from Him. Teshuvah means return and the period of Selichot is therefore set apart as a means of returning to the Most High!

Micah and the Attributes of Mercy
In reference to the name El, the prophet Micah does not refer to the One “who made heaven and earth, sea and all that is in it” (Exodus 20:11) nor to the One “who counts the number of the stars and calls them all by name (Psalm 147:4), etc., but rather to the One who forgives and who delights to restore what is broken by means of His mercy and love. The work of redemption is greater even than the work of creation.

“Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because He delights in steadfast love” (Micah 7:18)

Like the first redemption of Israel out of Egypt, where The Most High was exalted above all so-called gods, in the future deliverance of Israel. The Most High reveals His grace and compassion, which is the grace of the gospel of Yeshua the Messiah when the remnant of Israel shall be saved at the End of the Age.

The passage from Micah continues: “He will again have compassion on us; He will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. You will show faithfulness to Jacob and steadfast love to Abraham, as you have sworn to our fathers from the days of old” (Micah 7:19-20)

What is Teshuvah?
The theme of the Hebrew High Holy days is Teshuvah, a word often translated as “repentance,” through it’s more accurately understood as turning back (shuv) to The Most High. The root of this verb occurs nearly 1,000 times in the Hebrew Scriptures and first occurs when God told Adam he would “return to the earth” (Gen 3:19). In spiritual terms, shuv may be regarded as both a turning away from evil and a turning towards the good, though Hebrew thinking regards turning to The Most High as the means by which we turn away from evil. This act of turning has the power to redirect a person’s destiny. It effects the whole life of the soul.

The Greek word sometimes translated “repentance” is metanoia, which literally means “changing your thinking”. It is often the word used to translate the Hebrew word nacham, often associated with the emotion of regret.

While it is important that we “regret our thinking” and embrace the authority of The Most High as the first principle in all our reasoning, it is equally important that we exercise our wills by turning to The Most High through acts of repentance.

The Four Steps of Teshuvah
1. Forsake the sin--Prov 28:13 Sincere repentance is demonstrated when the same temptation to sin, under the same conditions, is resolutely resisted.

2. Regret the breach in your relationship with the Most High and others,--Psalm 51

3. Confess the truth and make amends with those we have harmed--Proverbs 28:13, 1 John 1:9, James 5:16, Matthew 5:23-24

4. Accept your forgiveness and move forward with the Most High through faith Philippians 3:13-14, 1 John 1:9. Be comforted by the Presence of the Most High in your life --Isaiah 40:1

Finally, it needs to be said that authentic repentance is a lifestyle, not a one time deal. We must never get past it. Although there is some certainly spiritual progress as we walk in grace, all genuine progress comes through an ongoing teshuvah. We may repent from a certain action at a given point in time, but that does not mean that no longer need to do a teshuvah. Teshuvah is perpetual and timeless, since it corresponds to our spiritual lives rather than our temporal lives. Indeed, a true penitent is called baal teshuvah, a master of returning who is always turning away from self and toward the Most High. We never get beyond the call to repent and believe the gospel, Mark 1:15. That is why this season of teshuvah is always timely. The message of Elul and the High Holy Days is meant to be carried over throughout the rest of the year.

Confession means bringing yourself naked before the Divine Light to agree with the truth about who you are. Indeed, in the modern Hebrew teshuvah means an answer to a shelah or question. The Most High's love for us is the question, and our teshuvah or our turning of the heart toward Him--is the answer. Teshuvah is one of the great gifts that the Most High gives to each of us, the ability to turn back to Him and seek healing in our brokenness.

Shema Selah will we return to the Most High and turn away from the things of this world?? That is the question being asked of you!