The deep connection between the month of Shevat and the four horns

On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, the month of Shevat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berekiah, the son of Iddo. Zech 1:7

Then I looked up, and there before me were four horns. I asked the angel who was speaking to me, "What are these?" He answered me, "These are the horns that scattered Judah, Israel and Jerusalem." Then the LORD showed me four artisans. I asked, "What are these coming to do?" He answered, "These are the horns that scattered Judah so that no one could raise their head, but these men have come to terrify them and throw down these horns of the nations who lifted up their horn against the land of Judah to scatter its people."

(Zech 2:1-4 Numbering according to the TANAKH)

Today is the 24th of the month of Shevat, a tremendously auspicious day.

To understand this, first a bit of background on the Hebrew Calendar: The Hebrew Calendar works on a divine cycle. Within this cycle days and months have specific character and energy attached to it. Take for instance the 9th of Av. This is the day on which the spies in the desert gave bad report causing the People of Israel to cry and fear the land and its then inhabitants. Due to this G-d said that this day will become a day of mourning for the People of Israel (for a long duration during history). It is therefore on this very date that both temples burned down and many terrible atrocities happened to the Jewish People in the 2,000 year exile. But just as we have the more sensitive times, we also have times which gives strength and joy to Israel and in effect also grants protection. Think about that, G-d’s appointed times act as protection layers over Israel. And the even better news is that G-d promises in Zechariah 8 that the days of fasting (in the month of the forth, fifth, seventh and tenth) will ultimately also turn into feasts. As we approach these specific days, I will write more on that.

Let’s get back to today, the 24th of the month of Shevat. Both Zechariah 1 and 2 speaks of G-d graciously returning to this land and the People of Israel. He also takes on the nations, who doubled their attacks on Israel when it was never G-d’s intention.

“and I am very angry with the nations that feel secure. I was only a little angry, but they went too far with the punishment”

(Zech 1: 15 – just a heads-up to our Christian friends: I’m quoting from the TANAKH, the Hebrew Bible of which the numbering of the chapters differs from the Christian scriptures especially in these two chapters. Happy hunting!)

The verses also speak of G-d being jealous for Jerusalem, Zion, and of His comfort, return and indwelling.

Now for the good stuff

It is not by accident that the horns of the nations that pushed and threw down Israel will be thrown down and weakened in the month of Shevat. Let’s see why. In a small gathering of friends and great souls last night in Zion, some tremendous treasures were shared. Rabbi Baruch Simcha (Stern), said that the key to unlock the deeper understanding of this matter lies in the verse in Numbers 24:17:

A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel.

The word for sceptre (shevet) is spelled exactly the same way as Shevat, the Hebrew month.

The month of Shevat will initiate the iron shevet (sceptre) that will strike the nations, casting down the horns. Out of Israel this sceptre, the power of Mashiah will rise. G-d will use this sceptre to strike the wicked. How? Psalm 2:9 sheds some light on that:

“You will break them with a sceptre of iron; You will shatter them like pottery”

Both Rabbi Simcha and Eliana deBaron, a lady with tremendous insights into the prophetic world, agreed that this has to do with the time that we are currently in, corresponding with the statue of Daniel (Daniel chapter 2). The time of the feet of iron and clay. “And though the prophets amongst the nations are expecting a new world power to rise, the Bible makes it clear that this cannot happen again”, Eliana pointed out.

We have crossed over the 70-year threshold, where Israel will continually gain strength. We have entered a period of what I call the restoration of the primordial order. It will culminate in the time when the People of Israel in the Land of Israel will fully take up their call as a Light unto the Nations, the way that G-d has intended it from the beginning. According to the Jewish sages, the process of Redemption is a gradual one, like the dawn. Israel as a nation is already reaching out to countries that suffered from natural disasters, almost always being the first on the ground to assist. Israel’s high-tech innovations are shaping the future. The process of redemption and Israel rising to take its rightful place will become more and more evident.

Eliana adds that during this time the nations have entered into as a time of correction. And in a world, where Israel passed the 70-mark, the nations who pushed Israel, will receive due measure. To put it differently, now that Israel passed the 70-mark, the month of Shevat and specifically the 24th, works as a catalyst to propel this time of correction forward.

Now look at Psalm 2: 9 again. An iron sceptre shattering pottery. Iron and clay. Rabbi Simcha explains that the initiation of the iron shevet (sceptre) happens in the month of Shevat. G-d will use mida k’neged mida (measure for measure). The month of Shevat is the month that due to its character initiates the weakening of the powers that opposes Israel.

Shaul Kullock, a kohen (form the priestly line) and our master mathematician, and Biblical astronomy expert, agreed that even the “most driest” of factual calculations confirms that Israel is now moving into the fullness of 70, and according to the planetary alignment (and we’re talking astronomy, not astrology) we have entered a phase where the People of Israel will freely blossom without limitations. There is a long explanation to this, and I hope to sit down with Shaul in the months to come, to really break this treasure open for you all.

It is important to mention again, that we are in the gradual process of Redemption. All the problems and challenges in and around Israel are not going to suddenly vanish. It is an act of G-d’s rachamim (mercy), to take things slowly for all parties involved, in order that we all can make the necessary changes in our lives. But there will be a definite and significant change in dynamics in the times coming. And this change that has been initiated during the 24th of Shevat will gain extra momentum due to the addition of the extra month of Adar this year. So be warned: there is a acceleration ahead.

After a lengthy and riveting discussion and prayer, we casted down a horn in Zion, in a symbolic act. May the Almighty move mightily on behalf of Israel. May He raise up and strengthen the craftsman to bring confusion and panic amongst the nations that pushed Judah, Israel and Jerusalem. I believe that in the days following the 24th of Shevat, this year, we will see significant changes. As they happen, I will keep on updating you.

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