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 23:23-25
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| Stop what you are doing! Rest - Reflect - Repent - Rejoice |
This day is known as the Feast of the Trumpets. It is the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, literally meaning the head of the New Year. There are four “New Year” celebrations in the Jewish calendar. This one marks the actual beginning of the year. It may have commemorated the creation of the world and focuses on God and worship in the Synagogue. God created man and is the ultimate judge of man, so as this festival begins the Jews use this time to look inward and consider all the actions that occurred in the last year for which they need to repent. This year Rosh Hashanah occurs on September 21-22. The holy day actually begins at sunset on Wednesday, September 20th. It is celebrated on two days because in ancient times people in remote villages couldn’t determine the actual day of the new moon, which began the New Year of years, so they celebrated two days. The custom just continued and goes on with a two day celebration today everywhere. It is one of the holiest days of the Jewish year.
The sounding of the trumpet was associated
with war throughout the Old Testament history. In the prophetic book of Ezekiel
God gives a message to the people of Israel.
Son of man, speak to the sons of your people
and say to them, 'If I bring a sword upon a land, and the people of the land
take one man from among them and make him their watchman, and he sees the sword
coming upon the land and blows on the trumpet and warns the people, then he who
hears the sound of the trumpet and does not take warning, and a sword comes and
takes him away, his blood will be on his own head.’ Ezekiel 33:2-4 NASB
Paul uses an interesting phrase about the last
trumpet in his first letter to the church at Corinth.
What I am saying, dear brothers and sisters,
is that our physical bodies cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. These dying
bodies cannot inherit what will last forever. But let me reveal to you a
wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! 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. For our dying bodies
must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be
transformed into immortal bodies. 1 Corinthians 15:50-53
In synagogues during the Feast of Trumpets the
trumpet, or shofar, is sounded 100 times, using three different patterns of
sounds. Is that last trumpet sound of
any significance to us today? Search your Bible yourself for the times and
reasons for the sounding of the trumpet.
How will you celebrate this Jewish New Year
in a couple of weeks?
Prayer ~ Lord, give us wisdom to understand Your feasts and holidays. Show us how we can honor You in celebrating those holy days.
Daily Bible Reading: Ezekiel 40-42
Happy
Anniversary, Lisa & Kim.
©
2017 Text and photos by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.
All
scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless otherwise noted.
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