Troublesome Topic: WHAT WAS THE PURPOSE OF THE NEW MOONS?

The word moon was used to also mean month. They only had one word for moon and month because their calendar was a lunar calendar so one month always equaled one cycle of the moon.

We are not told specifically what the purpose of the New Moon ceremonies was but we can deduce the following from looking at all the times the New Moon is mentioned.

One: It served to remind the children of Israel of all that God had done for them. As instructed, the tabernacle was set up on the first day of the first month of the second year (Ex 40:17). From then on, the new moon ceremonies were reminders of God’s covenant relationship with them and everything that relationship entailed.

The key point to remember was that God had initiated His covenant with them on the first day of the first month, and they knew it as the beginning of the month because of the new moon. Their calendar was a lunar calendar, so, to know what part of the month it was they only had to look at the sky at night.

Remembering where we have come from, what God has brought us through, and the kind of God He is, are all very important and we should do them regularly. God required that the children of Israel pause to remember on a daily, weekly, monthly and yearly basis. By contrast, many people in modern times are so busy and rushed that they never pause and seldom recall the important lessons from the past.

Two: It was a way to commit the next month into God’s hands. In so doing, they were also commending themselves into God’s hands and committing themselves to follow and obey his expressed will. They could do no work on the day after New Moon was seen in the sky. This required a commitment to obey God and trust in Him.

Three: It was also a way to “remind God” of the covenant He had made with Israel. In Numbers chapter 10, God ordered them to make two silver trumpets, which would have a different sound than the shofars they were accustomed to. Only the priests could blow these trumpets, whereas others were allowed to use the shofar. These silver trumpets were used to communicate various things, and the people were expected to learn how to distinguish the signals send by them.

Whenever they were being oppressed in their own land and these trumpets were played by the priests, God said He would remember them, and rescue them from their enemies (10:9). This implied a spiritual or religious connection to their calling, meaning that they were repentant and trusting only in God.

In this way the people of Israel could appeal to their God when they were in danger. However, they also needed to regularly remind themselves of what God had done and be committed to obeying Him. This relationship was a two-way street. That is why, after allowing them to “remind” Him of His part of the covenant relationship, He reminded them who it was that was telling them to celebrate the New Moon. All this went together to provide great assurance that God would indeed fulfill His parts of the covenant, and to provide powerful motivation for the people of Israel to take their part seriously as well.