In a world of alarm clocks, smart watches, and Big Ben, it’s hard to imagine a world where you didn’t know the exact time at any random time of the day. We take for granted that we can just ask Siri (or Alexa, if you’re into that) for the time, and it’ll tell us. And that’s assuming you don’t see it on your microwave, first.
For ancient peoples, their entire life revolved around the sun and the moon. They knew when a day started because they saw the sun; likewise, they knew when it ended because it disappeared.
And while nobody can (or should) stare into the sun to discern the shape, people obviously began to notice that the moon looked a little different every single day. Sometimes it looked like a circle. Other times, it looked like a thumbnail. Regardless, they noticed that the moon morphed with remarkable regularity and began to set their lives by it.
“New Moons” are not unique to Israel; ancient Babylon and Greece kept time by them, also. And despite their mentions in Scripture, they’re not talked about in any kind of distinct religious context. They’re to offer sacrifices on those days (Numbers 28:11-15), but there is no significance attached to the day itself.
The only mention of their importance is found in Numbers 10:10. There, God instructs them to blow the trumpet at the New Moon (Psalm 81:3) to sound the beginning of a new month. While the sacrifices were offered, the people remembered their blessings from God.
That’s it. It’s as loose of a holy day as one could ask for from the Bible.
Since the day also signaled the beginning of a new month, the New Moon began to act as a sort of reset to everyone’s religious clock. Like the Sabbath, it seemed that all work stopped on the New Moon for people to focus on God, their family, and their community (2 Kings 4:23; Amos 8:5).
It’s unfortunate that the later chapters in the Old Testament talk about the hypocrisy involved in the New Moon days, because it had the potential to be a powerful reminder of God’s covenant. Instead, God grew to “hate them” (Isaiah 1:14) because of the superficial lip service His people offered instead.
I pray that God never says that about anything I offer to Him.