NEW MOONS

QUESTION:

ANSWER:

The Almighty did specifically command His people to rest on the weekly and annual Sabbaths; but nowhere did He command Israel to keep the day of the new moon as a Sabbath.

The following Old Testament texts mention the new moon. Let us have a close look at them all to see if there is any indication that Yahweh the Almighty God of Israel commanded His people to rest every new moon.

• 1 Samuel 20:5
  "And David said unto Jonathan, Behold, to morrow is the new moon, and I should not fail to sit with the king at meat: but let me go, that I may hide myself in the field unto the third day at even."
• 1 Samuel 20:18
  "Then Jonathan said to David, To morrow is the new moon: and thou shalt be missed, because thy seat will be empty ...
  24: So David hid himself in the field: and when the new moon was come, the king sat him ( Saul ) down to eat meat."
• 2 Kings 4:23
  "And he said, Wherefore wilt thou go to him to day? it is neither new moon, nor sabbath. And she said, It shall be well."
• 1 Chronicles 23:31
  "And to offer all burnt sacrifices unto the LORD in the sabbaths, in the new moons, and on the set feasts, by number, according to the order commanded unto them, continually before the LORD:"
• 2 Chronicles 2:4
  "Behold, I build an house to the name of the LORD my God, to dedicate it to him, and to burn before him sweet incense, and for the continual shewbread, and for the burnt offerings morning and evening, on the sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the solemn feasts of the LORD our God. This is an ordinance for ever to Israel."
• 2 Chronicles 8:13
  "Even after a certain rate every day, offering according to the commandment of Moses, on the sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the solemn feasts, three times in the year, even in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles."
• 2 Chronicles 31:3
  "He appointed also the king's portion of his substance for the burnt offerings, to wit, for the morning and evening burnt offerings, and the burnt offerings for the sabbaths, and for the new moons, and for the set feasts, as it is written in the law of the LORD."
• Ezra 3:5
  "And afterward offered the continual burnt offering, both of the new moons, and of all the set feasts of the LORD that were consecrated, and of every one that willingly offered a freewill offering unto the LORD."
• Nehemiah 10:33
  "For the shewbread, and for the continual meat offering, and for the continual burnt offering, of the sabbaths, of the new moons, for the set feasts, and for the holy things, and for the sin offerings to make an atonement for Israel, and for all the work of the house of our God."
• Psalm 81:3
  "Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed, on our solemn feast day."   Feast of Trumpets
• Isaiah 1:13
  "Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting."
• Isaiah 1:14
  "Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them."
• Isaiah 66:23
  "And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD."
• Ezekiel 45:17
  "And it shall be the prince's part to give burnt offerings, and meat offerings, and drink offerings, in the feasts, and in the new moons, and in the sabbaths, in all solemnities of the house of Israel: he shall prepare the sin offering, and the meat offering, and the burnt offering, and the peace offerings, to make reconciliation for the house of Israel."
• Ezekiel 46:1
  "Thus saith the Lord GOD; The gate of the inner court that looketh toward the east shall be shut the six working days; but on the sabbath it shall be opened, and in the day of the new moon it shall be opened."
• Ezekiel 46:3
  "Likewise the people of the land shall worship at the door of this gate before the LORD in the sabbaths and in the new moons."
• Ezekiel 46:6
  "And in the day of the new moon it shall be a young bullock without blemish, and six lambs, and a ram: they shall be without blemish."
• Hosea 2:11
  "I will also cause all her mirth to cease, her feast days, her new moons, and her sabbaths, and all her solemn feasts."
• Amos 8:5
  "Saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit?"

If we study these texts in their settings we will see that the new moon, though a very important day for sacrifice and praise, is not a Sabbath day. Obviously those who follow the SACRED CALENDAR will offer up special prayer and thanksgiving  for Yahweh's blessing as each cycle day, week, month or year begins; and they may also have a special meal on the days of the new moon or the new year. But these acts in themselves ( sacrifice, thanksgiving, prayer and feasting ) do not make a day a Sabbath. To turn an ordinary day into a Sabbath, the Almighty has to bless that day, set it apart and especially command that it be observed as a day of rest - a Sabbath. Only then can a day be considered a holy day of rest. Sacrifice, visits to the Temple, feasting and songs of praise etc. are all praise worthy but in themselves they do not turn an ordinary day into a Sabbath day of rest! Bear this important fact in mind.

I repeat, there is NO command in the Scriptures that requires believers to rest on the day of every new moon. The only new moon day that meets the sabbatical requirement is Rosh Hashanah the Feast of Trumpets . On that day, the first day of the seventh month in the sacred calendar, we are especially commanded to rest. In other words it is a Sabbath day. 

Leviticus 23: 24 - 25
Speak unto the children of Israel saying, in the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation. Ye shall do no servile work there in: but ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD.

This specific command to rest on the Feast of Trumpets , to keep it as a Sabbath, would have been unnecessary if the day of every new moon was already a commanded Sabbath. Why command the people to rest at the seventh new moon if every new moon was already a Sabbath day?

THE NEW TESTAMENT ...
In addition to the above, there is no evidence in the New Testament that Yeshua the Messiah ( Jesus Christ, ) His disciples kept the day of the new moon as a Sabbath. There are, however, many references that they kept the weekly and annual Sabbaths.

PURIM ...
As we have already seen, there is no Old Testament reference to the new moon being kept a Sabbath except for The Feast of Trumpets. Indeed more celebrations occurred at Purim, a day which the Jews have kept since the time of Queen Esther. But again neither is Purim a commanded Sabbath, even though most Jews still celebrate the day. ( See Esther 9:17-18 and 27-32 )

THE JEWS ...
Another fact to remember is that the Jews DO NOT observe every new moon as a Sabbath. If every new moon was a Sabbath they would be resting each month just as they do on each weekly Sabbath!

EXTRA SABBATHS ...
Were we, in the face of such evidence, to call for believers to keep every new moon a Sabbath, we would be adding another 11 Sabbaths each year to the list. The job implications for most workers in requesting time off from work would be horrendous, not to mention the loss of credibility we Christian leaders would risk when presenting the truth about the seventh day Sabbath along with the seven annual Sabbaths. Being unable to prove the new moon argument we would risk loosing the weekly and annual Sabbath arguments. We as ministers dare not risk that.

PERSONAL CHOICE ...
Believers who wish to celebrate the day of the new moon by taking time off from work may, of course, do so. That is their personal choice. But their resting on that day does not make the day a Sabbath anymore than resting on Sunday makes the first day of the week a Sabbath.

• I repeat there is NO command in Scripture which specifies that the day of every new moon is a Sabbath except for the Feast of Trumpets
• Sabbath days are commanded days of rest. We dare not add or take away from those already listed in Leviticus chapter 23.
• All we can do is to obey or to disobey the commandments of the Most High.
• Neither the Saviour, his disciples nor the Jews celebrated every new moon as a Sabbath.
• The only new moon day that is a commanded Sabbath is the Feast of Trumpets , the first day of the seventh month.
• New moons may be times for special thanks-giving, sacrifice, praise and re-dedication: but they are NOT all Sabbath days.
• On the new earth all mankind will obey Yahweh's commands to keep holy the weekly and annual Sabbaths.
• In addition to this, all mankind will use the sacred calendar.
• This means that the beginnings of each month will be proclaimed from Jerusalem to the inhabitants of the new earth: and multitudes of believers will visit Jerusalem each week and each month.
• Of course, not every believer will congregate in Jerusalem every week and every new moon: but every one will keep the weekly Sabbath wherever they happen to be.
• That is what Isaiah 66:23 is saying.
• It is saying that YAHWEH'S SABBATHS ARE ETERNAL AS IS HIS CALENDAR !
• It is NOT saying that every new moon is a Sabbath day.