The Feast of Trumpets - Leviticus 23 - 10/2/16
L’Shanah Tovah Tik-e-tay-voo! That is a Jewish greeting that is especially significant for us today. To find out why, I’d invite you to turn to the book of Leviticus, chapter 23. That greeting - L’Shanah Tovah Tik-e-tay-voo - means “May your name be inscribed for a good year”. It is a greeting the Jews use on Rosh Hashanah. TODAY is Rosh Hashanah, which literally means “the head of the year.” It is like saying “Happy New Year” on January 1st for us. The Jews celebrate with apples dipped in honey and with Challah bread to celebrate the sweetness of a new year.
But today isn’t January 1st - so why celebrate a new year now? Let’s remember that there are several “starts” to the year. We celebrate the civil year on January 1st - but we celebrate the Academic year when school starts in the beginning of September or end of August. In fact, if you go to Staples, you can buy an academic calendar where the first month on the calendar is September. And then there are financial years - when you file your taxes, you will notice on the 1040 form there is the option of when you start your fiscal year - because many companies run from July 1 to June 30 for tax reasons.
So in the Jewish calendar, the religious year actually starts with Passover. In Exodus 12:2 God tells Moses, This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year. But the civil year started with the first day of the seventh month.
You might say, Why focus on all this “Jewish stuff”? And the answer is because the BIBLE is written about “Jewish stuff” - Jesus was a Jew, Moses was a Jew, Abraham was a Jew, Paul was a Jew. And as we learn about the Jews, we learn lessons for how WE - white, anglo-saxon Protestants that we are - should worship.
Now in the Bible we never find Rosh Hashanah mentioned - but it is in the bible under another name. And that’s what we find here in Leviticus 23. Look down in verse 24: “Say to the Israelites: ‘On the first day of the seventh month you are to have a day of rest, a sacred assembly commemorated with trumpet blasts. So this is our Rosh Hashanah, the head of the year. It’s also mentioned in Numbers 29:1 - On the first day of the seventh month hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work. It is a day for you to sound the trumpets. We often call it the Feast of Trumpets. And it is one of the seven feasts of Israel.
Today, think for a moment - what do you know about ANY of the feasts of Israel? Probably not nearly enough. So let’s learn a little bit together this morning. And as we do, let’s ask God’s help in teaching us. Let’s PRAY!
The Jewish feasts are broken down into four Spring feasts and three Fall feasts. The first is the
Feast of Passover - to commemorate the death angel “passing over” the homes of the Jews during the Exodus account. Every home where the blood was applied was safe. We understand from studying the NT - 1 Corinthians 5:7 - For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Christ died as our perfect sacrifice, the only one who could take away our sin. For thousands of years Jews sacrificed bulls and goats to atone for their sins - but Hebrews 10 tells us, But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins, because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. The sacrifices never took away the people’s sin - it merely covered them until Jesus could come and die as the perfect sacrifice, the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
The next feast - the Feast of Unleavened Bread - celebrates the bread eaten at Passover - it was made without yeast. And we celebrate Jesus who lived without sin. He was tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was without sin.
The third feast, the Feast of Firstfruits, celebrated the Jews offering the first fruit in hope of a coming harvest. When Jesus is raised from the dead on the third day, He rises in fulfillment of the wave offering in the OT. On the day after the sabbath of Passover, Sunday, the priest would wave a sheaf of grain up in the air, as the firstfruit offering. 1 Corinthians 15 tells us, Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. Christ is the firstfruit - in the OT, the Jews would bring an offering to God of the first fruit that came on the trees. This was an offering that showed their faith. They were saying, God, I thank you that you are providing fruit, so I give the first fruit to you in the hope and confidence that you will continue to provide MORE fruit. On Sunday, early in the morning the first day of the week, Christ is raised as a firstfruit offering - because HE rose from the dead, we have a confident assurance that WE ALSO will rise one day too! And so we rely on the power of God to bring us through every difficulty we might face.
Then the fourth spring feast is the Feast of Pentecost - 50 days after Passover. It celebrates the wheat harvest. And we see in Pentecost the beginning of the harvest of souls saved through the preaching of the gospel. We see in Acts 2 Peter stands up and preaches the gospel of salvation through Christ, and thousands of souls are saved.
So we see in Colossians 2, Paul writes, Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. All of these OT feasts had significance for the Jews, but they all have a special significance for us as believers in Christ.
So that brings us to the fall feasts - three more to go. The pictures of the first four were all fulfilled in Christ’s earthly ministry, but the pictures of the last three are all yet to come, waiting to be fulfilled. The next thing waiting to be fulfilled on God’s timetable is this Feast of Trumpets, then the Day of Atonement and then finally the Feast of Tabernacles or Booths.
So, as we’ve said, Numbers 29 calls this, a day for you to sound the trumpets. The KJV says it is “a day of blowing the trumpets.” But the trumpets mentioned aren’t the shiny brass instruments in a pep band, but rather the long curled ram’s horn, also called a shofar. On this day in the Jewish synagogues the shofar is blown over 100 times. Why blow the trumpet? In the OT it was a way for calling together an assembly, to warn of danger, or to signal the arrival of the king. So if these feasts are fulfilled in Christ, WHERE do we see a trumpet being blown in the future?
Let me give you one idea. The rapture! What is the rapture? The word is not in the bible, but it means “caught up” - rapturo - and that comes from 1 Thessalonians 4 where it says in verse 14, We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord for ever. Therefore encourage each other with these words.
What is the next feast to be fulfilled? The feast of Trumpets.
What is the next thing coming in biblical prophecy? The rapture! We will be caught up to be with the Lord when we hear the trumpet blow. 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 also mentions this: Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed-- in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. In the end of that passage, in verse 57, Paul says, But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
This is not something to be afraid of, or something to worry about, but something that should encourage us as believers, that our God will come for us!
Now let me jump back to Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish celebration of the Feast of Trumpets, and how the celebrate it today. The celebration comes 10 days before the Day of Atonement - that also comes from Leviticus 23 - but the Jews look at the Day of Atonement as the time that God opens the book of life and determines who will be “safe” for another year. You see, the Jews believe that God has 3 books - one for those really righteous - they are definitely safe - one for those really wicked - they are definitely in trouble - but a third for those somewhere inbetween. And so during these 10 days between the trumpets and atonement the Jews try to “do their best” and hope that it is “good enough” to have God consider them “safe” for another year. That’s why they give the greeting - L’Shanah Tovah Tik-e-tay-voo - which means “May your name be inscribed for a good year”. They are hoping that the will be “good enough.”
But here’s the problem: NO ONE is EVER good enough! Romans 3 - There is no-one righteous, not even one; there is no-one who understands, no-one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no-one who does good, not even one. . . for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
So we need TRUTH, not tradition to give us hope. Because for any Jew or Gentile who is honest, we have to admit - just trying to be “good enough” will never give you any hope. Because if you are honest, you have to admit that you will NEVER be good enough.
Now the TRUTH of scripture is that there IS a book of life. Turn over to Revelation 20. In Daniel 7 we see God seated in heaven for judgment, and the books are opened. In Revelation 20, we see another picture of God sitting in judgment. In verse 11 the account begins, Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
So here is a scene of judgment. Everyone who stands before the great white throne ends up condemned. Because each is judged by his or her works. And no works are EVER good enough to spare the judment of God. Because sin ALWAYS has to be paid for. And Good Works NEVER pay for sin. So how IS sin paid for? Only by the grace and mercy of Christ.
You see, God doesn’t grade on a curve - you’re better than so and so - rather He grades on the CROSS! The determining factor of our eternal destiny is not how good we live during the 10 days from Rosh Hashanah to the Day of Atonement. The question of our eternal destiny is settled by answering the question “What will you do with Jesus?”
Many believe Jesus was a good man, a good teacher, a good example. Many even believe that Jesus was God, come to live among us and show us how we should live. But the problem is that we need to go from the head to the heart - instead of just giving mental assent to the fact that Jesus lived, we need to transfer that to a heart belief that Jesus died for me. Many people go to church every week, but they go out of habit, out of ritual, out of a desire to impress God with their good works. And they are lost and will one day stand before God at that great white throne and be cast into hell forever.
I would hate to think that anyone here would ever be there. Because God tells us, I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation. Our eternal destiny is determined by what we do TODAY. Jesus died on the cross as the lamb of God - the perfect sacrifice for the sins of every man. But that forgiveness is ONLY applied to those who will receive it. John 1:11 - He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. The Pharisees heard Jesus constantly - yet good as they tried to live, Jesus condemned them. Yet the thief on the cross - sinful though He was - asked for forgiveness, and Jesus offered it to him. Jesus told him, I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise. So that is the question before you today: Will you receive the forgiveness offered to you through Jesus Christ?
I like to use the example of a train. I might believe a train will take me to Chicago. I might look at the train every day. I might even go to the station and take a picture of the train. But until I make the decision to get on the train, I’ll never get to Chicago.
Today, it doesn’t matter how often you go to church or how many good things you do. Because your good is never good enough. What matters is whether you will get on the train - will you pray and ask Christ for His forgiveness for your sin?! Romans 10:13 tells us, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Today, I am offering you the chance right now to settle the question - not whether you will be safe for another year - but whether you will be safe for all eternity. The invitation is open right now - and if you admit your need to place your faith in Christ and ask for His forgiveness, I would invite you to stand up right now, and come down front here to meet me, and we will pray together. Yes, that means others will see you - but Jesus says, If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. Don’t let Satan keep you from settling the matter of your eternal destiny.
Rosh Hashanah, the beginning of the year - what a better time to truly start living. Scripture says, Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! Put your sinful life behind you, and come confess your sin and ask God for His forgiveness and let Him give you a new life. If there is anyone here today who needs salvation, come and meet me here at the front and let’s pray together.
The Feast of Trumpets - a reminder that one day soon we will hear the trumpet call of God and go to live with Him forevermore. As it says in the end of the passage in Thessalonians - And so we will be with the Lord for ever. Therefore encourage each other with these words. Live every day as though this may be your last day on the earth. And let your prayer be that of John in the book of Revelation: Even so, come, Lord Jesus. Live in expectation of the trumpet call of God. Let’s pray.
