When we begin studying Yahuah's appointed times, it is natural to begin looking toward the heavens.
We look for the sun.
We look for the moon.
We look for the signs that help us recognize days, months, seasons, and Appointed Times.
But Barashiyt does something important before it ever directs our attention toward those lights.
It directs our attention toward Yahuah.
“In the beginning Aluah created…”
That is where the order begins.
On the first day, Yahuah speaks and light appears. He separates the light from darkness. He calls the light day and the darkness night.
Evening comes.
Morning comes.
The first date is formed.
Then the second.
Then the third.
Only after this established progression does Yahuah say:
“Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to divide the day from the night. Let these lights be for signs, and for Appointed Times, and for days and years.”
This reveals something easy to overlook.
The sun did not create the day.
Day already existed.
The moon did not create the night.
Night already existed.
The heavenly lights did not originate Yahuah's order.
Yahuah had already established light and darkness, evening and morning, day after day.
Then He gave the heavenly lights their function within that order.
The greater light was appointed to rule the day.
The lesser light was appointed to rule the night.
The lights were appointed for signs, Appointed Times, days, and years.
This does not make the heavenly lights insignificant.
It establishes their proper function.
They matter because Yahuah assigned them to matter.
We look to them not because creation possesses authority of its own, but because the Creator told us what His creation was appointed to do.
That distinction changes the foundation of this entire study.
The sun and moon are neither the Source of Yahuah's order nor irrelevant to understanding it.
They are appointed witnesses within His order.
Yahuah establishes.
Creation receives its assignment.
Creation functions according to that assignment.
And His people learn to recognize what He established by understanding the function He gave His creation.
This is why studying the calendar must begin with Yahuah rather than with calculations.
Before we ask which day to count, we must know Who established the day.
Before we look for the sign, we must know Who appointed the sign.
Before we observe an Appointed Time, we must know Who appointed the time.
Otherwise, we can become so occupied with creation that we lose sight of its Source.
But there is another side to this.
Returning to Yahuah as Source does not mean ignoring the things He assigned to function.
If Yahuah says the lights are for signs, Appointed Times, days, and years, then understanding their function is part of submitting to His order.
We don't worship the sign.
We don't make the sign the authority.
But neither do we disregard what Yahuah appointed the sign to do.
Source establishes function.
And function always points us back to Source.
That is the pattern Barashiyt gives us.
Yahuah speaks.
Yahuah separates.
Yahuah names.
Yahuah establishes.
Then Yahuah assigns.
The creation responds to the authority of its Creator.
And suddenly the question behind this study becomes much bigger than:
“What calendar should I follow?”
The deeper question is:
“What did Yahuah establish, what function did He give His creation within that order, and how do I walk according to what He said?”
That is where understanding His Appointed Times begins.
Not with the sun.
Not with the moon.
Not with a calendar.
Not with us.
With Yahuah.
