This is the First Fruit Blessing Prayer for Cheshvan
October 16, 2023 – 1 Cheshvan, 5784
November 2, 2024 – 1 Cheshvan, 5785
October 25, 2023 – 1 Cheshvan, 5786
The month of Cheshvan doesn’t have the feasts and festivals happening as other months and I guess following all the feasts associated with Tishrei you may need some time to relax into the month and enjoy the quietness of it.
I would say think of it as a time of soaking and reflection.
A notable event in the month of Cheshvan is that this is the month when Noah entered the ark, and the flood began. It is also the same month when Noah exited the ark one year later.
Genesis 6:17-21
17 “Look! I am about to cover the earth with a flood that will destroy every living thing that breathes. Everything on earth will die. 18 But I will confirm my covenant with you. So enter the boat—you and your wife and your sons and their wives. 19 Bring a pair of every kind of animal—a male and a female—into the boat with you to keep them alive during the flood. 20 Pairs of every kind of bird, and every kind of animal, and every kind of small animal that scurries along the ground, will come to you to be kept alive. 21 And be sure to take on board enough food for your family and for all the animals.”
So God had Noah make preparations and then led him to a place of safety, the Ark, for an entire year.
Something about this story I believe requires our reflection at this time. I can’t tell you where you are in this process so ask God to reveal to you how prepared you are for what is to come.
The clarion call went out to everyone, they had to have seen him building the ark because it was so large; however, they still never believed there would be a flood because they hadn’t experienced anything like this before. The only way you can prepare for something you’ve never experienced before is that God has to tell you how to do it.
Genesis 7:16
16 A male and female of each kind entered, just as God had commanded Noah. Then the Lord closed the door behind them.
Once the adequate preparations are made and the instructions are followed God will seal you in. You see we are not the ones who get to decide who makes it on the ark and who doesn’t, it is God. He is the one who closes the door after He has sent out enough warning for repentance.
You know, at this point Noah can feel absolutely no guilt for what is about to come because he did everything he could to warn them, and they wouldn’t listen. He also wasn’t the One who closed the door so I would say he also wasn’t even able to open it.
This is why it is so important for you to share Jesus with everyone you meet and pray for everyone. This way you will feel no guilt about what comes next because you did your part.
Tribe for the month of Cheshvan
Manasseh is the tribe for the month and the name means “God has made me to forget the troubles of my father’s house” (Genesis 41:51)
You all know the story of Joseph, how he was sold by his brothers into slavery, ended up in Egypt, then was accused of rape by Potiphar’s wife and this false accusation sent him to prison. He received a dream, a promise, from the Lord when he was 17 that prophesied he would receive this great blessing of being the leader; however, all the happened to him from that point was trouble and more trouble.
Has God spoken something beautiful over your life and ever since that day all you’ve had was attacks, problems, lack and persecution? Well, you’re in good company. Joseph’s life was exactly like this and so was king David’s. This doesn’t mean that you’ve done something wrong, it could mean that you are doing everything right and the enemy is trying to throw everything at you so that you never see, enjoy or tasted this promise.
When Joseph got out of prison, was made prime minister/governor over Egypt, he got married and his first-born son was Manasseh. He realized after all that he had gone through, God still fulfilled his promises. Manasseh was a symbol of Joseph’s ability to forgive his brothers. He forgave them. And the blessing he received from the Lord was so much bigger than he anticipated. I want you to know that he forgave them even though, they never changed! When they came to get food during the famine their actions showed that they never changed. You see forgiveness is not something you extend to people that have repented. No, it doesn’t require the person’s repentance. It only requires you releasing them from the consequences of their mistakes and allowing God to deal with them how He sees fit.
They never changed.
But Joseph on the other hand received all the blessings God had for him because he released them in his heart. God caused him to forget all that was done to him and move past it. And, if you think about it, this was necessary for the posterity of the tribes.
If Joseph held a grudge, there wouldn’t be the 12 tribes because he would’ve wanted to exact his revenge and the tribes would’ve perished in the famine. He would let them starve. Selah.
I do not believe God would’ve given this role and abundant blessing to Joseph if Joseph was not a forgiving person. You see, it turns out that Joseph was the only brother who could’ve received the position of Prime Minister. If God had given it to any of the others, the story would be written completely different. Why? Because they never changed. You can read the story of the brothers in Genesis 42-44.
Are you prepared to move forward in your life and be the Prime Minister of what God has called you to do regardless of what others do? Think about that.
Forgive, but keep your distance.
I need you to keep in mind that when Joseph’s brothers arrived, they were told to settle in Goshen in the city of Rameses. Joseph told them to stay there because it was a distance away because the Egyptians didn’t like shepherds. This means that his brothers were not moved into the palace with him. There was distance between them. One of the most misunderstood concepts of forgiveness is that there must be reconciliation and closeness with the person you forgave and that is just not true. For some people you can do that, for others this is not a wise decision, and you could be setting yourself up to be hurt again. There was still physical distance between Joseph and his brothers. When you read the story of how he meets his brothers in Genesis 44, you see that it was Joseph who was in tears and showing that he forgave them. Those brothers never asked for forgiveness and they never apologized for doing what they did to him. Because they never changed.
Another sign of this is that after their father died, they all assumed that Joseph would now come after them with revenge. Imagine this, Jacob lived in Egypt for 17 years before he died. So for 17 years those brother never went to Joseph and said, “hey bro, we’re sorry for what we did to you”. Instead, you read that it was their own father who told them to go ask for forgiveness. Is that genuine repentance? No! If someone else has to tell you to do it after having 17 years of opportunity to do it when they were picking up their food rations then this is not genuine. They did it because they were scared. They did it because they knew if the shoes were on the other foot they would’ve sought revenge the minute their father had died. On top of that, they didn’t even go themselves to ask for forgiveness they sent a message! How disingenuous is that?? Then in Genesis 50 verse 18, you see that they finally showed up, I guess after they received no message in return…
15 But now that their father was dead, Joseph’s brothers became fearful. “Now Joseph will show his anger and pay us back for all the wrong we did to him,” they said.
16 So they sent this message to Joseph: “Before your father died, he instructed us 17 to say to you: ‘Please forgive your brothers for the great wrong they did to you—for their sin in treating you so cruelly.’ So we, the servants of the God of your father, beg you to forgive our sin.” When Joseph received the message, he broke down and wept. 18 Then his brothers came and threw themselves down before Joseph. “Look, we are your slaves!” they said.
19 But Joseph replied, “Don’t be afraid of me. Am I God, that I can punish you? 20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people. 21 No, don’t be afraid. I will continue to take care of you and your children.” So he reassured them by speaking kindly to them.
Some people will never change so you need to learn how to forgive them, keep your distance and move on! Don’t let them be the reason you can’t receive all that God has for you.
Here is the blessing prayed over Manasseh by Jacob Genesis 48:15-16
15 Then he blessed Joseph and said,
“May the God before whom my grandfather Abraham
and my father, Isaac, walked—
the God who has been my shepherd
all my life, to this very day,
16 the Angel who has redeemed me from all harm—
may he bless these boys.
May they preserve my name
and the names of Abraham and Isaac.
And may their descendants multiply greatly
throughout the earth.”
When Jacob blessed Manasseh he didn’t bless him as the first-born son but actually blessed him second and gave the blessing of the first born to his brother Ephraim.
20 So Jacob blessed the boys that day with this blessing: “The people of Israel will use your names when they give a blessing. They will say, ‘May God make you as prosperous as Ephraim and Manasseh.’”
The tribe is known for prosperity and blessings. And as we know, they were not even supposed to get a portion of the promised land because they were born in Egypt to an Egyptian mother. But God grafted them back in and gave them a double portion. It was not only the first-born son, Manasseh, who was made the leader of the tribe but also the second son, Ephraim. A double blessing. Repayment for the damage that was done to their father in prior seasons of his life. You see the Righteous Judge always makes sure that there is recompense when damage was done. Always.
In the distribution of the land, Manasseh received a double portion. They got the biggest allotment of land and they received land on both sides of the Jordan.
They had the least amount of men in their tribe 32, 200 and they received double the land. Isn’t that something else. Forgiveness pays dividends.
Here is the blessing spoken over Manasseh by Moses:
Deuteronomy 33:13-17
13 Moses said this about the tribes of Joseph:
“May their land be blessed by the Lord
with the precious gift of dew from the heavens
and water from beneath the earth;
14 with the rich fruit that grows in the sun,
and the rich harvest produced each month;
15 with the finest crops of the ancient mountains,
and the abundance from the everlasting hills;
16 with the best gifts of the earth and its bounty,
and the favor of the one who appeared in the burning bush.
May these blessings rest on Joseph’s head,
crowning the brow of the prince among his brothers.
17 Joseph has the majesty of a young bull;
he has the horns of a wild ox.
He will gore distant nations,
even to the ends of the earth.
This is my blessing for the multitudes of Ephraim
and the thousands of Manasseh.”
This land that Manasseh received was blessed and if you look at the map they received the best of everything. They got the ocean, the plains, the river and the mountains. They got everything which means they could grow everything and have the water ways so that trading would be easy for them. It is the abundance of the promised land. Praise God.
First Fruit Blessing Prayer for Cheshvan
Abba Father, I pray that this month You would speak to my heart on the preparations I need to make for myself and my family for the coming seasons. Hide us in the ark of Your love and protection, provide for us during the storms and famines of life. Cause me and my family to be blessed in spite of what is happening around us. Holy Spirit work through me to release and forgive those whom I need to forgive so that the blessings You have in store for me can be released according to Your will. Work on my heart to release those who have wronged me from the consequences and leave them to You. Because You are the One who said “Vengeance is mine and I will repay”. I trust You to pass Your righteous judgement over the season of my life that have been painful. Grant me to be supernaturally healed from the trauma of these season and more importantly cause me to forget so that I can move forward free and experience the lightness of Your yoke. Lord bless me abundantly, grant me a double portion for all my troubles and bless the land that You have given me in all aspects of my life. Plant a tree in my life like it says in the Revelation 22:2 that will bear fruit for each month of the year, through every season, that will continually produce fruit and never wither. May the leaves from the tree of my life bring healing to the nations, in Jesus name, Amen.
Blessings
“Are you prepared to move forward in your life and be the Prime Minister of what God has called you to do regardless of what others do?”
Powerful statement and overall word! God, help me to execute with excellence, all that you have called me to do! I want to receive all of the blessings you have for me in this season and beyond!
Thank you oh Lord for this powerful word!
Praise the Lord! Amen.
This word re Noah is so on point.
Earlier today I was sent a prophecy re South Africa and when he gave the reference he received from God Almighty one of the verses was re Noah and I then found myself sitting upright. I then sent the message to a friend and asked her whether she knows this gentleman giving the prophecy. I then go to my Mac and open your word for the for month and its Noah. I am busy with an annual Bible reading and today one of the portions is Genesis 6-7. Still I looked at this and made dinner first before going to do the pray you give at the end of the message. Then voila another friend sends me a message ” as in the days of Noah violence abounds despite all we hope in Yeshua” God Most High is Faithful and True.
Thank you for this timely word. I am going through a process of forgiveness and the word “Forgive, but keep your distance” was a confirmation of what to do. Lately, it has been getting worse with the false accusations, the other party sees nothing wrong with their actions and sees no need to ask for forgiveness. I really do feel like I’m in Joseph’s shoes. There is a song based on Psalm 42 that I have been playing on the piano for some time now. It is quite an encouragement, especially for those who are downcast and need a lifting.
Shaloam to missionaries of prayer I thank you an your faithfulness … we must like Joseph think the best even when our thinking gets off track our gracious lord pulls us back in an helps us as we seek forgiveness , some painful experiences only the grace of our lord can correct an help us endure an rise higher it’s all our lords grace
Praise the Lord!
Thanks be to God. Indeed God still speaks