By Beth Auman and JoBeth Kested
The Month of Tammuz is the 4th month on the Hebrew Calendar, with 29 days beginning at sunset on July 3rd and ends at sunset on August 2, 2019 – 5779.
This is a controversial month to many because Tammuz is actually the name of a Babylonian god, “the shepherd god”; originally king of Erech confined forever in the afterworld as a substitute for his consort Inanna or Ishtar. His mother, Semiramis, declared he was a miraculous conception by the rays of the sun when she became pregnant after her husband, Nimrod, died and was declared to be the sun god. Tammuz represents deception and idol worship.
How do we protect ourselves from deception and false idols in our lives this month?
Clue – The light of truth and allowing Adonai to help us see from His perspective.
The Hebrew letter for the month of Tammuz is CHET which means light radiating from your eyes. On the 4th Day – Elohim created the sun, moon and stars, which provided light for us to see. If our world view is blurred by troubles, doubts, fear and grief; or skewed by our pride then we are not able to see things clearly. When we receive the light of truth from Adonai’s perspective, our hearts and eyes are enlightened to see clearly His overcoming path for us. It will be important in the month of Tammuz to guard our hearts and eyes.
“See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess. “But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live.” Deuteronomy 30:15-18a,19 (NIV)
What is our ripe fruit from the Tree of Life that Adonai has provided for us in the month of Tammuz?
Clue – Worship!
Worship is the key to our breakthroughs and ability to overcome the weaknesses of our flesh and deceptions in this month of Tammuz. It is critically important this month to worship God as Who He says He is or we’ll tend to fall back into old patterns and to build our own “golden calves” for how we want to worship God.
“I will praise You with my whole heart; Before the gods I will sing praises to You. I will worship toward Your holy temple, And praise Your name for Your lovingkindness and Your truth; for You have magnified Your word above all Your name.” Psalms 138:1-2
The Tribe of Reuben is associated with the month of Tammuz and means “Behold a son!” Reuben was Jacob’s first born son to his wife Leah. Sadly, we learn in Genesis 35:22 of Reuben’s moral failure when he slept with his mother’s maid, Jacob’s concubine. This cost him his inheritance as the first born that was then bestowed upon Joseph the first born son of Rachel, Jacob’s favorite wife. However, we can see in the rest of Scriptures concerning Reuben that he seemed to demonstrate repentance instead of bitterness by trying to protect Joseph from being killed by his brothers. He also acted honorably towards his father and continued to demonstrate leadership as the first born the rest of his life even though he had lost the position of inheritance.
“I bless the Lord who counsels me; even in the night my heart exhorts me. I set the Lord ever before me; with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed. You are my inheritance oh Lord, my inheritance, oh Lord” Psalm 16:7-8
The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholds him with his hand.” Psalm 37:23, 24 
How can we guard against our weaknesses and moral failure?
Clue – Jesus, The LORD of the Breakthrough!
“The one who breaks open will come up before them; They will break out, pass through the gate, and go out by it; Their king will pass before them, with the LORD at their head.”” Micah 2:13
The Constellation of Cancer (the crab) is also aligned with the month of Tammuz. We must call upon Jesus, the LORD of the Breakthrough, and declare that every hindering shell around us will be broken! We will then become vulnerable to the Lord and dependent solely upon his power and strength to guide and protect us. It is important for us to break free of our self defensive shells this month to keep us from the moral failures that can rob us of our inheritance and personal Promised Land.
“But You, O LORD, are a shield for me, my glory and the One who lifts up my head. I cried to the LORD with my voice, and He heard me from His holy hill. Salvation belongs to the LORD. Your blessing is upon Your people. Selah” Psalms 3:3-4,8
This is also the month that Moses sent spies to scout the Promised Land. After seeing the giants in the land they came back with a negative report based on their unbelief and lack of trust in the power and strength of the Lord. Their unbelief lead to 40 years of wandering and death in the wilderness for all but two of that generation who believed. It will be important for us this month to keep our focus on the power and strength of the Lord as we worship Him in spirit and truth. We must not yield to our doubts and fears. Fixing our gaze on God Almighty, we will overcome the giants before us that will try to keep us from inhabiting our Promised Land.
We are faced with a serious choice this month. We are cautioned that we will either focus on our “Tammuz” – the idols of pride, fear and failures in our lives to build our own false idols and yield to unbelief when Adonai allows us to see our “promised land;” or we will focus on the LORD and allow Him to renew, revive, rebuild and restore us to the path of life that He ordained for us from the beginning. The choice is ours.
Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed ; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. Isaiah 41:10
The month of Tammuz is an opportunity to take a look at the “filmstrip” of our Overcoming Journey thus far. We can review our progress and make the adjustments to avoid the mistake of falling back into old habits of our past or building new idols of deception. This is a time to refocus and renew our vision! Look and see what you see and then look again!
Covenant alignments are very important that can represent power and strength or counterfeits of deception. Take notice and be cautious of all your “handshakes” this month and be careful regarding any alignments or covenant commitments you are making which could be a hindrance and distraction; resulting in detours or destruction.
You will show me the pa
th of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Psalm 16:11
Tammuz is a Summer month and it’s a season of heat and growth in most areas of the earth during this time. Are you feeling the extreme pressure of great heat in your current circumstances? Jewels are produced in the earth under extreme heat. The extreme pressure that you may be under right now is either going to pressure you to make a “golden calf” – false idol, or you’ll allow the LORD to fashion you into a beautiful jewel that reflects His glory through the brokenness of your life. We can all become jewels of the LORD on this journey of the Overcomers that shine brightly and display His glory! May the heat of your circumstances help you to grow in the beauty of the LORD.
“Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people; but the LORD will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you. The Gentiles shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising. “Lift up your eyes all around, and see: They all gather together, they come to you; Your sons shall come from afar, and your daughters shall be nursed at your side. Then you shall see and become radiant, and your heart shall swell with joy;” Isaiah 60:1-5a
Today, ask Jesus to arise over you so that the light of His glory may be seen upon you. If we allow Him to, The LORD will help us identify any areas of weakness and the hidden sins in our hearts that would lead us into temptation or deception this month. His loving kindness leads us to the opportunity of repentance. Asking forgiveness and receiving the finished work of the Cross through the blood of Jesus is the only way of deliverance to freedom in our Journey of the Overcomes!
Then those walking in darkness will come to your light and kings to the brightness of your arising. We must all lift up our eyes and allow Adonai to clean and clear the lens of our eyes to radiate the light of His glory in us! As we learn to worship Him in all our circumstances, in the heat and through the hard times, we will see more and understand more from his perspective; overcoming the giants in our path and able to inhabit our Promised Land!
How do we overcome the spirit of deception in the month Tammuz?
Clue – Jesus, The Way, The Truth and The Life!
“Jesus said to him, “I am The Way, The Truth and The Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 14:6
Only in Jesus can we find The Way, The Truth and The Life in His gift of salvation. Jesus extends to us the gift of the Holy Spirit that will keep us on the right path of the Overcomers by His wisdom, revelation, knowledge and understanding!
Scripture Prayer for Spiritual Wisdom, Revelation, Knowledge and Understanding:
“In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.
Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for a
ll the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.
And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.” Ephesians 1:13-23
Tammuz is a month to “taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him!” Psalm 34:8
Closing thoughts from Beth:
Yes, there are giants in the land. If we can’t see the enemy at our gate then how can we take him out? We are to face the giants in our path. Adonai always provides a way for us to escape and overcome our enemies. However, we must see His path clearly and can’t focus on our fear of the giants. We must rejoice in everything and allow Adonai to transform us into the image of Jesus by the power of His might! As we worship through our difficult circumstance we will see His overcoming path for victory clearly. Yield unto Adonai. Look again and see His light arising upon you so that you can be His light in the darkness of the world.
A helpful exercise is to sit quietly and ask the LORD to reveal what you are focusing on. Where have you placed your trust? On the Creator or the creation? On your own strength? Write down what comes up in your heart. Submit each thing to the Lord. Repent for any idol worship that you have partaken in. Ask Adonai to arise brightly over you and make you shine for His Glory in the manner that He created you to be.
You may want to continue this process through the month of Tammuz. Keep on asking. Keep on receiving. Read what He leads you to read in the BIBLE – His TORAH. Read what He leads you to out loud. Declare His Word over your life. Worship Him with His Word. Worship is not just singing. Worship is giving Him your focus. Walking through life including Him in everything that you do through the day; being thankful for all that HE is.
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and depart from evil.” Proverbs 3:5-7
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All scriptures from the New King James Version of the Bible unless otherwise noted.
Reference credit: “A Time to Advance” by Chuck Pierce with Robert and Linda Heidler © 2011
(Photography purchased or taken by Beth Auman and JoBeth Kested. Photo Art by Beth Auman)
© Beth Auman and JoBeth Kested 2019
An Invitation to Join the Quest of the Overcomers by Beth Auman and JoBeth Kested