We come now to the first of the fall feasts of Israel, and the fifth of the seven feasts, the Feast of Trumpets. The instructions for this feast are fairly straight forward. (READ TEXT)
In Numbers 29:1-6, we’re told the sacrifices to be made on this day. A special burnt offering was offered consisting of a young bull, a ram, and seven lambs. A goat was also to be sacrificed as a sin offering.
This feast took place on the first day of Tishri, which was the seventh month on the religious calendar; but the first month on the civil calendar. Tishri would include the latter part of September and the first part of October on our calendar. This feast has come to be known in modern times as Rosh Hashanah, which means “Head of the year.”
1. The practical significance of this feast for Israel.
A. The timing of this feast - This feast is the only one that occurs on the first day of the month, at the new Moon, when the moon is dark and the shape is that of a thin crescent. All the other Jewish holidays occur later in their respective months when the moon is shining brightly.
Just as the seventh day was holy (Exodus 20:8-10) and the seventh year was holy (Leviticus 25:4), so too, was the seventh month. This feast fell on the first day of the seventh month during which all three fall feasts occurred. The Feast of Trumpets was on Tishri 1, while the Day of Atonement was on Tishri 10 and the Feast of Tabernacles began on Tishri 15. The new moon was announced by a trumpet blast on this day and the beginning of this holy month was announced, as well.
B. The trumpet of this feast - Most English Bibles don’t distinguish between the two types of trumpets used by the Jewish people.
1) The Hatzotzerah - It was a straight trumpet that was flared at the end. God commanded that two silver trumpets be fashioned “of hammered work” (Numbers 10:1-12). The priests sounded them over the sacrifices as a memorial to the Lord (Numbers 10:10). By Solomon’s day, the number had grown to 120 (2 Chronicles 5:12).
2) The Shofar - It was a curved trumpet made from a ram’s horn. A cow’s horn wasn’t accepted for it was a reminder of Israel’s idolatry in the desert when they worshiped a golden calf (Exodus 32). The ram’s horn was a reminder of God’s provision of a ram for Abraham in place of having to sacrifice his son, Isaac (Genesis 22).
While Scripture doesn’t indicate the trumpet to be used for this feast, it does specify that the Shofar be used in announcing the year of Jubilee (Leviticus 25:9), which occurred every 50 years. During that year, all slaves were freed, all property was returned to the original owners, and the land was also allowed to rest and wasn’t worked.
The Shofar was to be sounded on the Day of Atonement, the 10th of Tishri. Therefore, the historical observance and rabbinic tradition of the Jews has been to use the Shofar as the primary instrument in the Feast of Trumpets.
When peace offerings and burnt offerings were presented in the Temple, the silver trumpets were sounded, and this was true on the day of the this feast. But also, an additional priest sounded a Shofar. The Shofar sounded a long, sustained blast while the silver trumpets sounded short blasts over the sacrifices of the day. And the Levitical choir would sing Psalm 81, which was the Feast of Trumpets Psalm:
“Sing for joy to God our strength; shout aloud to the God of Jacob! Begin the music, strike the timbrel, play the melodious harp and lyre. Sound the ram’s horn at the New Moon, and when the moon is full, on the day of our festival; this is a decree for Israel, an ordinance of the God of Jacob.” - Psalm 81:1-4a (NIV)
2. The prophetic significance of this feast for Christians.
A. It pointed to the dark day that brought our deliverance.
Remember that the timing of this feast fell on at the new Moon, when the moon is but a sliver in the sky and darkness is prevalent and, as previously mentioned regarding the Shofar, this trumpet reminded the Jews of how God delivered Isaac from death by providing a ram as a substitute. Both of these things point forward to a dark day that brought our deliverance, when our Savior bore our sins at Calvary.
“From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?’ (which means ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’).” - Matthew 27:45-46 (NIV)
“In all the physical, emotional and mental torment of His betrayal by Judas, six illegal trials, false witnesses, mockings, cursings, spitting, sluggings, beatings, and scourgings that Jesus had suffered at the hands of man He was silent (Isaiah 53:7). Then when He hung on the cross in extreme pain with many around Him mocking His
humiliation - He still did not cry out in pain. No, not once - not until midday when the sun was overhead and suddenly darkness fell.
Then in that darkness something happened that made Jesus scream. What could be so much more terrible that made Him scream? In a moment your sins, my sins, and the sins of the whole world were put on Him and God the Father and God the Holy Spirit turned their backs on Him. He suffered the punishment we deserved and which justice demanded. In 3 hours of darkness He suffered the equivalent of eternal hell. This is the horror that caused Him to scream the words: ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ (Psalm 22:1).” - Derek Walker
B. It points to the deliverance to be brought out of a dark day.
The prophets repeatedly warned of a dark day that would come upon the earth, that they referred to as “the Day of the Lord.”
“Will not the day of the LORD be darkness, not light - pitch-dark, without a ray of brightness? ” - Amos 5:20 (NIV)
“The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD.” - Joel 2:31 (NIV)
Jesus spoke of this time of trouble as preceding His return:
“For there will be greater anguish than at any time since the world began. And it will never be so great again. ‘Immediately after the anguish of those days, the sun will be darkened, the moon will give no light, the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken’ (Jesus took the words of the prophets and applied them to Himself - See Isa 13:10; 34:4; Joel 2:10 ). And then at last, the sign that the Son of Man is coming will appear in the heavens, and there will be deep mourning among all the peoples of the earth. And they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with the mighty blast of a trumpet, and they will gather his chosen ones from all over the world - from the farthest ends of
the earth and heaven.” - Matthew 24:21; 29-31 (NLT)
“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 leftwill be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words.” - 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 (NIV)
“Between the two comings of Jesus, believers experience what is often called the tension between the already and the not yet. Jesus’ followers can look back and see that D-day, the decisive strike, has already occurred and now guarantees thorough defeat of the enemy. Nevertheless, the time after the first coming and before the second coming involves ongoing warfare with the spiritual forces of darkness and their terrestrial supporters. V-day has not yet arrived. Still, the decisive strike at the first coming of Jesus guarantees ultimate victory at the second, and Jesus’ followers fight the good fight with assurance that God who has begun a good work at the first coming
of Jesus will bring it to completion at the second.” - Dean Ulrich
When Jesus came the 1st time, He came as a lowly infant.
When Jesus comes the 2nd time, He’ll come as our exalted King.
When Jesus came the 1st time, He wore a crown of thorns.
When Jesus comes the 2nd time, He’ll wear a crown of glory.
When Jesus came the 1st time, He died for all mankind.
When Jesus comes the 2nd time, He’ll judge all mankind.
When Jesus came the 1st time, He came riding on a donkey.
When Jesus comes the 2nd time, He’s coming on the clouds.
When Jesus came the 1st time, men refused to acknowledge Him.
When Jesus comes the 2nd time, men will acknowledge Him as Lord.
When Jesus came the 1st time, He came to an old, sinful world.
When Jesus comes the 2nd time, He’s coming to make the world new.
3. The personal significance of this feast for me.
The same Jesus who came to pay the price for our sin will return one day to make all things new. He will do so by removing from this world, Satan, Satan’s influence and Satan’s people. And He will reign over all creation, and His redeemed people with Him. Are you ready? First, make sure you’ve given your life to Him. Second, if you’ve given your life to Him, commit to living your life for Him. A good place to start is where the ancient Hebrews did when celebrating the Feast of Trumpets. They worshiped God. So should we.
“And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice - the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.” - Romans 12:2 (NLT)
“We’re here to be worshippers first and workers only second. The work done by a worshiper will have eternity in it.” - A.W. Tozer
