Week Six | The Feast of Trumpets

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7 Feasts Online Biblical Study
Reading Assignment – Week Six (Pg. 182-213)
Listen to the Audio version | Reading Time: 4 minutes

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Have you ever heard the blast of a shofar? After today, everyone will be able to say, “yes!” 

A few years after returning from Israel with a genuine ram’s horn, my family discovered my daughter, Carol Anne, is really good at playing this unique instrument. We’ve celebrated Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, for the past several years and enjoy her melodic talents on those days. (Listen to her skilled trumpet blast, here.)

My family appreciates the delicious feast that brings together Rosh Hashanah and the Feast of Trumpets, Yom Teruah. In order to wish others “Shana Tovah u’metukah” (a sweet new year), bitter foods are kept from dinner plates. Honey, apples, and pomegranate are enjoyed during the feasts. Sweet versions of challah (braided bread), molded into a circle, represent the crown with which the Lord is coronated for the year. 

For two days—each day defined as sundown to sundown—no creative work occurs (except at night to prepare food for the following day). In addition, the shofar is blown in the morning and throughout the day.  Jewish people attend synagogue for Torah readings, and on the second day perform Tashlich, symbolically casting sin into living water.

While the modern version of this feast is fun and tasty, we learn in the 7 Feasts study, the deeper meaning of this appointed time. The author Erin Davis points out the symbolism of the trumpet: representing the power, presence, and triumph of the Lord, and signals the worship of God. Together, this informs us of the reality of God’s promised future—eternity in His divine presence. 

Power, Presence, Triumph

Leviticus 23:23-25, NLT says,

The LORD said to Moses, “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. On the first day of the appointed month in early autumn, you are to observe a day of complete rest. It will be an official day for holy assembly, a day commemorated with loud blasts of a trumpet. You must do no ordinary work on that day. Instead, you are to present special gifts to the LORD”.
Leviticus 23:25-26, NLT

I’m not sure when this turned from one day of shofar blasting emphasizing the importance of rest into a two-day feast. But let’s take a closer look at symbolic events showing this in biblical history. 

The story of the Israelites crossing the parted waters of the Jordan, heading towards their first victory over Jericho, is a great place to start!  The reality of the trumpet blast and its significance heighten our senses at this moment in Scripture. Instead of being given a set of crafty battle instructions, they were to encircle the city and blow trumpets for seven days, and then to shout on the last day to tumble those walls down. The power and presence of the Lord were fully on display when they finished with a long blast and shout signaling triumph. 

I love what Erin Davis said about this unusual battle plan, on page 195:

“As long as the trumpets were blaring, their eardrums were reverberating with reminders that God was with them.”

erin davis, Pg. 195 of “7 feasts”

The power and presence of God through glorious sound resonated triumph over their enemy—not in the Israelite’s power, but in God’s! My heart’s desire is to see this in my own life as well: the power, presence, and triumph of Jesus displayed in my life through glorifying Him. 

Can you relate to this desire in your own heart?

A Worship Signal

The trumpet also acts as a signal for God’s people to worship. When considering the truth of this, and  Jesus’ return, Erin points us to 1 Corinthians 15:52, NLT:

“It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed”.
1 Corinthians 15:52, NLT

The trumpet blast of this feast signals us to worship today and in the future in the presence of King Jesus during His triumphant return. As Erin shares in her video teaching, Jesus took part in most of the Levitical festivals during His earthly ministry, but not this one. While the New Testament mentions trumpet sounds, this festival is absent from its pages. How exciting is it that we have a future Feast of Trumpets to look forward to, celebrated with Jesus Himself! Hallelujah!

Turning up worship, may it be on the radio or of the Scripture-saturated music from VBS, overwhelms my heart with peace.

As Rodrigo Galizia (the instructor of my Jewish Background of the New Testament course) said recently of this Feast, “it was the first music between God and His people”. I adore this thought and am grateful for the ability to be reminded to worship the Living God through music. 

I wonder what song will blast out Christian radio the day of Jesus’ return?

TODAY WE LEARNED:
1. Sweet treats are enjoyed during this feast, to usher in a sweet new year, Shana Tovah u’metukah.
2. Trumpet blasts represent the power, presence, and prevailing triumph of God.
3. The sound of the trumpet signals worship.

ANSWER THIS IN THE COMMENTS BELOW:
What is your favorite type of music or instrument that excites you to worship God? What song do you think will be on the radio when Jesus returns? Check out my vote HERE.