The Joyful Sound
By Pastor Jim May
Sound plays a large part in life of every man. There are some who, through either accidental causes, or because of birth defects, are unable to hear. I can’t imagine what it must be like to be able to hear anything – to live in a world of silence. You never hear a chirping bird. The sound of a loved one saying, “I love you” is something that a deaf person never hears. Warning sounds, like train whistles, car horns or ringing bells are useless to them. It must be very hard, even with all the new advances in technology, to live in a world of silence.
There’s a young man in our church who is unable to hear. It is my prayer that God would send us someone who is called to the ministry of signing. Week after week he comes, and I believe he gets something out of the service. He can’t hear the sermon. He can’t hear the announcements. But perhaps he can feel the vibrations of the music. In any case, I know that he loves Jesus because he is always signing to me that he is good with God and going to Heaven.
There’s another lady that I know that lives alone in another state. She has a small puppy that acts as her ears. She can’t hear the ringing of the phone or the doorbell, so when there is a call, strobe lights flash to get her attention and the little puppy runs to her and warns her. He does the same if the doorbell rings or if anything happens that she can’t hear.
One of the greatest technological advances for deaf people has been the use of TTY equipment and computer email. They have the ability to communicate over distances through the use of these items. I was privileged to get her internet connection repaired on our last trip through, and she was so grateful. Her email is her lifeline to everyone she knows.
The telephone is connected through a TTY operator so if a call comes in she answers by typing in her responses, sending them to a operator who can hear, who then relays the message to the other caller. Then the answer is relayed back though the operator typing it in again. It’s slow but it gives her another means of communicating with the outside world.
Anything is better than sitting alone in silence with no means of communication. It was a hard thing, more than most of us could understand, for the mother of the young man to cope with a deaf child and send him off to school for such a long time. But the price was worth the reward for now sign language is their means of communication.
It’s a beautiful thing to watch the signing in action as we worship the Lord, but it’s more than beautiful to those who can’t hear. It’s their connection to real life.
We who are blessed with hearing take so much for granted, especially the use of our 5 senses. Tasting ice cream, feeling the warm of the sun, watching our kids play on a bright sunny day, smelling the aroma of fresh baked bread and hearing the laughter of family and friends; these are all things that we take for granted, until we no longer can enjoy them.
Sounds are an important part of life. In the days of Old Testament Israel, sounds were as much a part of life as they are now. So many times in the Bible we read about the sounds of trumpets.
Israel blew a trumpet as a call to prayer. There was a certain sound of a trumpet to call an assembly. There were special sounds and types of trumpets for many occasions whether it was the coronation of the king, the beginning of a great feast, or as a sound of alarm for an approaching enemy. As an Israelite you had to memorize and recognize those sounds so that you could quickly distinguish whether to grab your sword and shield, or pick up an extra plate and fork. It was all done by the sounds of trumpets blown throughout the camps.
There was one sound of a trumpet though, that every Isrealite was always waiting for. They didn’t get to hear it very often, only once in a lifetime, or if they were of the right age, maybe twice.
Tonight I want to take quick look a this special sounding of a great trumpet. It carried a lot of meaning for the Israelites, and it still rings loudly for those who hear it today.
Let’s begin by reading the law that God gave to Moses on Mt. Sinai that established the meaning of this wonderful trumpet sound.
Leviticus 25:8-10, "And thou shalt number seven sabbaths of years unto thee, seven times seven years; and the space of the seven sabbaths of years shall be unto thee forty and nine years. Then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubile to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month, in the day of atonement shall ye make the trumpet sound throughout all your land. And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubile unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family."
What a time of rejoicing it would be for Israel to hear the sound of this great trumpet. On that day, all possessions that were sold or mortgaged to another reverted back to their original owners and all servants were released from their servitude unless they were bonded for a special reason. These laws were meant to protect those who were born free but had become bound because of life’s circumstances. It was called the Year of Jubilee.
Of course not everyone gained from this Jubilee and newfound liberty. Those who had purchased the land of another suddenly lost their investment, so investments had to be made wisely to pay off. Servants could be free, but many returned to their servanthood simply because they could not survive any other way. But for many this was a great time of rejoicing.
The Year of Jubilee was a joyful sound in that it proclaimed liberty throughout the land. Another effect of this Jubilee was that the economy had a chance to restart. The wealth of the rich was redistributed somewhat by reverting of the property, and the poor had a second chance to make something of themselves and learn from the lessons of the past.
All in all, this was a joyous occasion for Israel. It was a time of liberty and freedom, and many of those who were bound to serve legally, or who had lost their land in somewhat shady deals, were given it all back with a new lease on life.
What joyful sound it must have been to hear the Trumpet sound that marked the Year, the day, the hour and the moment of Jubilee.
I am reminded that have a jubilee coming too. One day soon another trumpet is going to sound and when it does, liberty will be proclaimed throughout the land once more. Paul spoke of that joyful sound in 1 Corinthians 15:52-57, "In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."
You and I were sold into bondage through sin and there are times when this old world is a hard taskmaster. The inheritance that we had as freeborn men and women of God was lost at the Garden of Eden and we became slaves to sin.
But thank God the price of Redemption has been paid by the blood of Jesus Christ. And though we are still held captive, held as servants if you will, to this present world – THERE IS A DAY OF JUBILEE COMING LIKE THIS WORLD HAS NEVER SEEN BEFORE.
If you think Israel shouted for joy – just hold on to your ears. There’s a shout coming! A shout so loud that it’s going to wake up the dead. The Lord will shout, “Come away, and off we will go into the wild blue yonder, flying high above the sky, higher than any Screaming Eagle of the U. S. Air Force, past the International Space Station, right by Jupiter and Mars, and we will instantly be on that other shore called Heaven. What a day of rejoicing that is going to be!
David had a little glimse of what they Day of Jubilee is going to be like.
Psalms 89:15-18, "Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O LORD, in the light of thy countenance. In thy name shall they rejoice all the day: and in thy righteousness shall they be exalted. For thou art the glory of their strength: and in thy favour our horn shall be exalted. For the LORD is our defence; and the Holy One of Israel is our king."
Blessed are those who hear the wonderful sound of that great trumpet on Resurrection Day, when the church and all the saints of God are gathered home to rejoice in liberty forever more.
We are going to rejoice all the day – and its going to be one long eternal day with no night. In the righteousness of the blood of Jesus, we are going to be exalted above the angels and stand as heirs and joint heirs with Christ.
Jesus is the reason. The ‘horns” simply mean that we will live by the power of the Spirit for Jesus Christ the Lord is our defense. He is forever our King, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
Blessed are the people who are listening, who are waiting, who are watching and who hear that “Joyful Sound”. What a day that will be when my Jesus I shall see. I’m getting ready for that Great Day of Jubilee.
I read the other day that this year, on April 30, 2008, Israel celebrated its 50th year as a nation. It was reestablished in 1948. This year isn’t over yet. I’m not putting any time or date on the coming of the Lord but wouldn’t it be amazing if the trumpet would sound this year, proclaiming the Year of Jubilee once again, not only for Israel but for all of God’s people. The Jewish calendar is different from our own and God has his own time frame. But this one thing is for sure – One Day Soon, We Will Hear that JOYFUL SOUND one more time.
Are you ready to hear that trumpet sound? It’s time for liberty to be proclaimed throughout the land one more time.
