Repentance is one of the most treasured gifts given to us by God. To have our sins wiped away and remembered no more is almost too wonderful to believe. Isaiah 1:18 says, Come now, let us reason together,” says the Lord, “though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. This beautiful concept of repentance and total forgiveness is an essential element infused within the biblical month of Elul.

Elul falls in August and/or September on the Gregorian calendar, depending on the year. It is the 6^th month on the biblical calendar and ushers in the High Holy Days known as Rosh Hashanah (Feast of Trumpets) and Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement). This year, Elul began at sundown on August 8, 2021 and will last for 29 days. When the last day has finished, the Feast of Trumpets will arrive with the loud awakening blasts of the shofar (biblical trumpet). This holiday is also called Rosh Hashanah which means “head of the year,” (also known as New Year’s Day). The Jewish people welcome the new year in the Fall season, rather than in the winter. This year, the Feast of Trumpets will begin at sundown on September 6 (also known as Tishri 1 on the biblical calendar).

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Prior to the arrival of the Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah), it is traditional for the Jewish people to look back on their lives and take a deep dive into the past year. The month of Elul is a time for reflection, repentance and renewal. The 40 days that pass from the first of Elul to Yom Kippur are called “the season of teshuvah,” which means the time to turn toward God. It’s a time to search for sin and re-evaluate how it has affected our lives. In essence, Elul can be likened to a “fall cleaning” of our hearts and minds.  Of course, as Christians, we repent on a daily basis, so it may seem unnecessary to go through this process. But, think of the month of Elul as a time to deal with the hidden dirt we didn’t have time to clean in the past–it’s those “dust bunnies under the bed” we are after.

During the 29 days of Elul, prayers for mercy are common, which ties back to the story of Abraham and Isaac. God was merciful by providing a ram as the sacrifice in place of Isaac. Of course, the ram’s horn or shofar is a key element of the High Holy Days. In the synagogue, the shofar (trumpet) will be sounded each day of Elul, except on the Sabbath. The sound is known as an awakening blast and its high-pitched sound is supposed to awaken the spirit of all who hear it. The sound resembles a broken, sorrowful cry that moves our hearts to seek God’s forgiveness and urges us to rededicate our lives to following Him.

Believers in Jesus perceive this piercing sound as a reminder to listen to the “wind” of the Holy Spirit. As the air (wind) moves through the shofar (trumpet) a sound is created. Like the sound that radiates from the shofar, we must listen to the sound of Jesus’ voice, echoed through the Holy Spirit.  For Orthodox Jews, Elul is about identifying the sins of the past, confessing them and asking God for forgiveness. When they hear the shofar, it invigorates their spirit to press in closer to the Creator and follow His lead in obedience.

To the Christian (which includes Messianic Jews) Elul is about taking an inventory of our lives to see where we’ve missed the mark in our behaviors or interactions. Perhaps it’s rededicating ourselves to the tasks Jesus has assigned to us. We can also reflect on the good things in our lives such as fruit that was produced for the Kingdom, and the blessings we’ve received.

Additionally, it can be a time to throw off all the burdens that have held us down for so long. In fact, one tradition that many Jewish believers participate in after Elul concludes is called Tashlich. They will proceed to a body of water (preferably one that contains fish) and cast stones or pieces of bread into the river, lake, stream, or even the ocean. This symbolizes they are casting off their sins and giving them to God. Messianic Believers (Jews who know Jesus as their Lord and Savior) see this ritual as symbolic of casting their sins and burdens onto Jesus. Often Micah 7:19 is recited which says, You will again have compassion on us; You will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea. Another verse recited is, Cast your worries and cares to God, for He cares about you. (1 Peter 5:7)

It is a traditional belief in Judaism that God is in the field during the month of Elul, waiting for us to reach out to Him. As we run to meet Him in the field, He has His arms open wide, ready to receive us.

A few years ago, I was listening to the radio and a song came on called Burn the Ships, by For King and Country. It just happened to be a few days before Elul began, so the words of the song seemed so well-timed. Here are some of the lyrics.

Burn the ships, cut the ties,
Send a flare into the night,
Say a prayer, turn the tide,
Dry your tears and wave goodbye.

Step into a new day.
We can rise up from the dust and walk away.
We can dance upon the heartache, yeah,
So light a match, leave the past, burn the ships,
And don’t you look back.

What struck me about the song is that it mentions cutting ties, turning the tide and waving goodbye. I thought of Elul because it’s a time to get rid of the old burdens and involves cutting ties with the things in our life that cause harm, or weigh us down. Essentially, we say goodbye to the past so we can move forward. The next line of the song says to step into a new day and walk away from the hurt.  Then it mentions burning up the past, moving into the future and leaving our failures behind. Elul is about moving into the new day by leaving the old day behind.

Back in the early years of exploration the phrase, “burn the ships” meant something drastic and extreme. It meant to burn the ships you had been sailing on. When a ship’s captain set sail with his men to a new land, he had every intention of finding a whole new world full of riches and promise. Oftentimes a captain and his men would’ve been at sea for months–perhaps years. When the time came to disembark the ship, it wasn’t uncommon for fear to creep into the minds of the weary sailors. The dreams of colonizing new land turned into sudden nightmares about what might await them in this unknown place. These once brave soldiers suddenly found themselves wanting to stay on the dingy, cramped quarters of the ship, where they were probably suffering from scurvy, eating hardtack, relieving themselves in buckets and sleeping in rat-infested quarters. Even though it could be a dreadful life, it was familiar to them. Stepping off the boat into the unknown was more daunting than staying on a ship that was uncomfortable, but at least predictable.

So, what’s a captain to do when his men just won’t get off the boat?  There’s only one thing to do–the captain set fire to the ship! Now, the men had no choice but to leave it all behind. They had to go forward. They couldn’t reclaim the past days of living on that boat. With no means of travel, they had no hopes of returning to the country they’d left.  It was only the new that awaited.

Elul is a lot like burning the ships. This is the time of year when we get off the ship that carried the rats, rotten food and weary sailors. Then we move on to the new place Jesus wants us to go. We cut the ties to the past and follow the path laid before us by our loving Savior.

A few years ago, during the month of Elul, my friend and I decided to do write down all the things in our lives that had burdened us in the past year. Next, we went to the beach and collected shells. We decided that each shell would represent one burden that we needed to give to Jesus. Then, we walked out to where the waves were breaking. Slowly, we threw each shell into the ocean, saying silent prayers about what each one represented. That particular day there was some sort of mucky residue in the water. It reminded us that we were throwing all these mucky things out of our lives and into God’s hands.

I think I’ll do the same thing this year. Believe me, I’ve got plenty of ships to burn and shells to throw. Truthfully, the King of Kings is always in the field waiting for us to give our worries to Him. But perhaps this is a great season to spend some extra time in His Presence as the trumpet sounds. As the lyrics of Burn the Ships reminds us, let’s step into the new day and walk away from the sins and troubles of our past.

Do you have any ships you need to burn? What new paths and places is God taking you to?

Angela Rodriguez is an author, blogger and homeschooling Mom who studies the historical and biblical connections between Israel and the United States. You can visit her blogs at 67owls.com and 100trumpets.com. Her latest book, Psalm 91: Under the Wings of Jesus, was just released in June. (Photo Credit: Eleonora/Unsplash).