Birthday Celebrations Should We Be Partaking In Them????
The first accounting of a birthday celebration is found in Genesis. Pharaoh, the Egyptian king, a self serving-godless man celebrated his birthday by executing his chief baker (Gen. 40:1-23). YAHUAH gave Joseph special understanding of a dream by Pharaoh’s butler and baker, that the baker would lose his life three days after Joseph interpreted the dream. Joseph understood that Pharaoh would use this occasion—his own birthday party—to put his baker to death. As the dream had foretold, the baker was hung at the party.
In the second account, the New Testament figure Herod reluctantly ordered the beheading of John the Baptist (Matt. 14:3-11). Notice verse six: “But when Herod’s birthday was kept…” During the dancing and merry-making at his birthday party, Herod got carried away & eventually made a promise that he did not want to keep. As a result, a great servant of YAHUAH lost his life.
The final account is found in the book of Job. The Scripture says that Job’s seven sons “went and feasted in their houses, every one his day; and sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them” (Job 1:4). These parties were obviously not centered around any kind of celebration related to YAHUAH, or Job would not have worried that his children may have sinned during these celebration feasts. He was not exactly sure what was going on in their minds, but the very celebration of their birthdays triggered great concern in him (1:5). Apparently, during the birthday party of Job’s oldest son, YAHUAH allowed Satan to kill all 10 of Job’s children through what appears to be a tornado (vs. 6-13, 18-19).
Further proof that these birthday celebrations displeased YAHUAH is found in Job 3. Take time to read the entire chapter carefully. Job spends much time cursing every aspect of the day of his birth. The loss of all of his children, due to a birthday celebration, stunned and sobered him. His words make plain that there is nothing good about the day of a man’s birth. He openly cursed the day he was born. This will be shown to have greater meaning later in this article.
Some who are familiar with these accounts attempt to explain them away by saying that there is no statement contained within them that directly prohibits birthday celebrations. They also ignore Job’s comments described in the previous paragraph. It is true that the above scriptures do not contain a direct condemnation of birthdays starting with the phrase “Thou shalt not…” or something similar. But consider for a moment the central lesson of each of these accounts. They represent the only three birthday parties described in the entire Scripture. Absolute disaster occurred on each occasion! If YAH felt birthday celebrations were something positive and good, why wouldn’t He have recorded one other account where something either good or positive happened? Yet, there is no such account. What About the Birthdays of Well-known Scriptural Figures?
Surely the Scripture records the birth dates of its most important figures. Does YAH not want those who serve Him to recognize these most important birthdays? Let’s search for the birth dates of some of YAH’s greatest servants.
YAHUAH does not even record the exact day His Son was born. And nowhere in the Scriptures can you find examples of Messiah’s disciples or the New Testament Assembly celebrating His birthday. However, YAH does tell us the exact month and day when His Son died (Ex. 12; Lev. 23:4-5; Num. 9:1-5; Matt. 26:1-2;John 18:28; I Cor. 5:7). He expects all true Believers to observe that day annually, in the same month, on the same date (I Cor. 5:7-8).
Think for a moment! Every year, millions of professing Christians celebrate the supposed birthday of their Messiah. Yet they do not properly observe the day that He died, which YAHUAH clearly identifies and records in great detail in His Word. He commands His followers to observe this memorial annually. Messiah warned about such misguided professing Believers, saying, “This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. Howbeit in vain do they worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandment of YAHUAH, you hold the tradition of men” (Mark 7:6-8). Each year, during the Christmas and Easter seasons, Messiah’s warning is proven right!
How YAHUAH Views Your Birthday
We have now established that the Scripture records negative examples of birthday celebrations, while it is silent on celebrating, or even identifying, the birthdays of all of Yah’s faithful servants—including YAHUSHA.
But what does the Scripture specifically say about your day of birth?
Most people think that the day of one’s birth is special. Celebrating it certainly does seem and feel like the right thing to do. Yet, Solomon was inspired to write, “A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one’s birth” (Ecc. 7:1).
Like Job, Jeremiah also cursed the day of his own birth: “Cursed be the day wherein I was born: let not the day wherein my mother bare me be blessed…Wherefore came I forth out of the womb to see labor and sorrow, that my days should be consumed with shame?” (Jer. 20:14, 18).
If the day of our death is better than the day of our birth, and some of YAH’s greatest servants said that their birth date was far from being a special day, then how special can this day be? According to Scripture, it is not a time to express joy, sing and expect gifts, simply because one is born into the world on a specific date.
Abraham is referred to three times in the Scriptures as YAHUAH Elohim’s “friend” (II Chron. 20:7; Isa. 41:8; Jms. 2:23). He is also called “the father of us all” (Rom. 4:16). Many verses demonstrate that he will play a very important role when the kingdom of YAH is established on Earth at YAHUSHA’s Second Coming. However, the Scripture does not record the birth date of this truly great servant of YAH.
Moses was referred to as the meekest man on the face of the earth (Num. 12:3). Many verses describe this Scriptural figure and virtually everyone is familiar with him. The Scripture does not tell us when he was born either.
The famous King David is called “a man after My [YAH’s] own heart” (Acts 13:21-22). Much of the Scripture describes the life of this man. YAHUAH used him to record a great many of the Psalms. When the kingdom of YAH is established on Earth, prophecy records that he will rule the tribes of Israel (Ezek. 34:23-31), called there the house of Israel. Surely the Scripture records the date that this towering figure was born. It does not!
There is not one verse of Scripture describing anyone celebrating the births of these righteous men. In fact, the Scripture is silent on the exact dates of the births of all YAH’s faithful servants—Jacob, Sarah, Noah, Abel, Samuel, Job, Esther, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Peter, Paul, James, & the rest of the apostles. Even the birth date of our Messiah was NOT told in the Scripture.
Origin of Birthdays
Then where did birthday celebrations come from? The astonishing answer is from the pagan practice of astrology! Thousands of years ago, when men looked up into the night sky and charted the stars, they invented calendars and calculated the birth dates, to the very hour, of kings, rulers and their successors. These ancient pagan astrologers meticulously examined horoscopes and birthday omens because they believed that the fate of the rich and powerful might affect an entire society. Even to this day, men have been putting their trust in horoscopes instead of YAHUAH.
In ancient Egypt, the pharaohs ordered businesses to close on their birthdays and gave enormous feasts for hundreds of servants. In ancient Greece, wealthy males joined birthday clubs composed exclusively of men who shared their birth date. Once a month, the club celebrated with a feast. When a member died, he left money to help pay for future parties. In Persia, noblemen observed their birthdays by barbecuing an ox, a camel and a donkey and serving hundreds of small cakes to the celebrants.
In ancient Rome, the emperor gave huge parties in honor of his own birthday, which included parades, circuses, and gladiatorial combat. The celebration of days was so important to the average Roman citizen that the Roman calendar designated a majority of days for some form of celebration—including many birthdays of gods and famous men.
The Roman calendar, with its emphasis on continual celebration, has had great influence on modern society. Consider the following quote about the origin of the Roman calendar:
“Our [Roman] calendar is not Scriptural in origin. It descends directly from the Egyptians, who originated the 12 month year, 365 day system. A pagan Egyptian scientist, Sosigenes, suggested this plan to the pagan Emperor Julius Caesar, who directed that it go into effect throughout the Roman Empire in 45 B.C. As adopted it indicated its pagan origin by the names of the months—called after Janus, Maia, Juno, etc. The days were not named but numbered on a complicated system involving Ides, Nones, and Calends. It was not until 321 A.D. that the seven-day week feature was added, when the Emperor Constantine (supposedly) adopted Christianity. Oddly enough for his weekdays he chose pagan names which are still used” (Journal of Calendar Reform, Sept. 1953, p. 128).
Modern birthday parties and celebrations by children take their form mainly from Germany, where the birthday child received gifts, chose a menu, and received a candle-ringed butter or jam cake. The book, The Lore of Birthdays, by Ralph and Adelin Linton, gives a brief look at the history of birthday celebrations: “The Greeks believed that everyone had a protective spirit or daemon who attended his birth and watched over him in life. This spirit had a mystic relation with the god on whose birthday the individual was born.”
The book continues: “The Romans also subscribed to this idea…This notion was carried down in human belief and is reflected in the guardian angel, the fairy godmother and the patron saint…The custom of lighted candles on the cakes started with the Greeks…honey cakes round as the moon and lit with tapers were placed on the temple altars of [the god Artemis]…Birthday candles, in folk belief, are endowed with special magic for granting wishes…Lighted tapers and sacrificial fires have had a special mystic significance ever since man first set up altars to his gods. The birthday candles are thus an honor and tribute to the birthday child and bring good fortune.”
Saying “happy birthday” to friends and loved ones was society’s superstitious way of protecting them from evil spirits. Birthday thumps, bumps, pinches, etc., were said to bring luck and send away evil spirits. Party snappers, horns and other noisemakers were also intended to scare off bad-luck spirits.
It should now be clear that birthdays are not only Unscriptural but also they are PAGAN!
Why It Matters to YAHUAH
Why does YAHUAH care whether or not you celebrate birthdays? After all, it is a chance for you to give presents to someone and make him or her feel good. What could be wrong with this?
Here is what YAHUAH commands: “Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven, for the heathen are dismayed by them. For the customs of the people are vain” (Jer. 10:2, 3).
After YAHUAH freed Israel from slavery, He clearly instructed them, “After the doings of the land of Egypt, wherein you dwelt, shall you not do: and after the doings of the land of Canaan, where I bring you, shall you not do: neither shall you walk in their ordinances” (Lev. 18:3). YAHUAH commanded that they not defile themselves with the practices and customs of the surrounding nations (vs. 24-29). “Therefore shall you keep My ordinance, that you commit not any one of these abominable customs, which were committed before you, and that you defile not yourselves therein: I am YAHUAH your EL” (vs. 30).
This is an emphatic command from YAHUAH. He does not want His servants dabbling in the customs of this world.
But what about those who reach age 80, 90 or 100 years old—should we ignore altogether the many years of life experiences they have gained? No. In our current society, where senior citizens are routinely ignored and considered to be a burden, it is certainly permissible to acknowledge someone who has reached a considerable number of years. Someone who has lived through two world wars, the Great Depression, the Atomic Age, the creation of the modern nation of Israel, the Cold War, men walking on the moon, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Kennedy assassination, civil rights marches, race riots, the rise and collapse of the Berlin wall, and the worldwide growth of the Internet, has reached an age where special honor should naturally be conferred upon them.
Proverbs 16:31 states, “The hoary [white or gray] head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness.” People who have lived to great age, sometimes reflected by pure white hair, often have great wisdom and experience to share with younger generations. Simple acknowledgment that they have reached age 70, 80, 90 or 100 shows them honor and appreciation. It is not wrong to acknowledge that one has reached a milestone in a long life.
What we have described above is far different than celebrating birthdays with all of the usual pagan traditions! Celebrating the day of one’s birth, as though it were a special occasion, is wrong. It violates YAHUAH’s command. It keeps people selfishly focused on their temporary, physical lives, when YAHUAH’s purpose is to give mankind eternal life in His Family. True Followers of YAHUSHA The Messiah should be focused on how their lives are preparing them for ruler ship on this Earth at the Return of Messiah.
Realize that YAHUAH hates all pagan customs and traditions—birthday celebrations are not an exception!
I just happened to stumble across this- I never knew this particular info before-the fact that satanists {pagans} consider ones birthday to be a high holy day to them is disturbing to me.
If we continue to partake in these traditions we are doing the same thing christians do by partaking in easter – Christmas etc. by saying “that’s not what it means to me”.
You do whatever you want your not going to answer to me for it I’m just passing along some info to consider.
When are we going to remove all the spots & wrinkles on our wedding gown???
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