Tree Of Life Ministries Association
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Rosh Hashanah In CHRIST
Leviticus 23:24
Pastor Eric Aschendorf 9/27/2003
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Shalom,
Since today is Sept 27, 2003. For a Jew this is Rosh Hashanah. I felt this was simply a Word In Due Season. If you would like to know more about this Jewish Holy day or any of the others visit our WebSite at http://www.treeoflifeinc.org and then click into the Discussion Forums. There is an entire section devoted just to Jewish Holy days. You will also find and entire section devoted to correspondence between you and prisoners looking for PenPals as well as many other interesting discussions.
The Discussion Forums are located at http://www.treeoflifeinc.org/cgi-bin/blah/Blah.pl? .
Leviticus 23:24
Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. In scripture this day is called the "day of blowing trumpets". We call the trumpets Shofar. It is necessary to blow the Shofar to produce particular sounds. These sounds represent the desperate cry of a sinner that realizes the depth of his fall. They are the sounds of repentance! There is the long (tki’a), changing (shvarim) and with interruptions (tru’a).
The sound of the Shofar is much like the sound of John in the wilderness calling people to repentance!
Each day, during the week prior to Rosh Hashanah it is the duty of every Jew to say "slihot" or to ask GOD for forgivness and to make proper all his relationships with his neighbors. These days and the days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are called "Yamim Nora’im" or Terrible Days, because the righteous Judge of All will judge everyone according to his deeds.
In Leviticus 23:24 we read;
Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation.
The sound of the trumpet is a memorial or a remembrance, but of what?
In Numbers 10, the LORD commands Moses to make two silver trumpets, to use them for the calling of the assembly, and for the journeying of the camps into the desert, the Wilderness of Sin! When they blew the trumpet, they were to take their journey following the LORD. Today, when we hear this sound, we remember that the LORD is with us, and HE also goes before us and leads us similar to the way HE lead our fathers in the desert. HE cares for us and shows us the way to walk and makes us to rest in HIS place of rest. The sound of the trumpet, the sounds of repentance calls us to follow the LORD!
Turn to Numbers 10:9-10
And if ye go to war in your land against the enemy that oppresseth you, then ye shall blow an alarm with the trumpets; and ye shall be remembered before the LORD your GOD, and ye shall be saved from your enemies.
So here the trumpet calls to the LORD your salvation! It is symbolic of the voice of one calling out in the wilderness! GOD is our SAVIOR! HE is our defense and the wall of protection around us! HE is our victory over all our enemies! The sound of the Shofar reminds us of the perfect victory we have in HIM!
Vs 10 gives us further instruction into the use of the Shofar. We are to blow the trumpet, "Also in the day of your gladness, and in your solemn days, and in the beginings of your months, ye shall blow with the trumpets over your burnt offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; that they may be to you for a memorial before your GOD; I am the LORD your GOD."
We have a reason to rejoice in the day of our joy as well as in the day of our sorrow; the LORD remembers us! HE promised in Heb 13:5, "...I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." Thus the sound of the trumpet or Shofar brings us into remembrance before the LORD!
Remember I said earlier that the days before Rosh Hashanah every Jew was to say "slihot". They were to ask GOD for forgivness and to make proper all his relationships with his neighbors. During this time before Rosh Hashanah and between it and Yom Kippur the righteous Judge of All was to judge everyone according to his deeds. At Rosh Hashanah the High Priest reveals whose names are written in the "Book of Life"; whose have been blotted out and who is provisional status, (the intermediates).
Basically, the wholly righteous are written into the Book of Life; the wholly wicked are blotted out and written into the Book of Death and the intermediates are held suspended from Rosh Hashanah until Yom Kippur. Then according to the finding of the Priest they are inscribed into the proper book.
Thus a common greeting at this time is, "May your name be inscribed in the Book of Life!"
In order to insure that your name would be inscribed into the Book of Life the Jews developed a "works theology". They created three ways to prevent being blotted out.
One is called Teshuvah. It is translated "repentance", however a literal translation would render it more accurately, "return". You don’t, through Teshuvah become a new person, but rather you return to the "goodness" that is supposed to be inherent within all of us.
The second way is called Tevillah. Normally this is translated as "prayer". In this they are referring to attaching oneself to GOD. Basically man is to "strengthen" his attachment to GOD.
The third way is called Tzedakah. It comes from the Hebrew word meaning "justice" and is translated "charity". Justice then demands that man give to others.
If you look at all three of these you can see the needed works;
a) Return to your inherent goodness
b) Pray
c) Give
Traditional teachings have it that when the Temple stood the altar brought atonement. Now a person’s table brings atonement. In other words, without the Temple sacrifice for our sins, we can only rely on acts of charity to be entered into the Book of Life.
As with all works theology, these only mask the problem and take you away from GOD by giving you a false security into your place before GOD. They give you something to "look" at and say see I’m not so bad, when the reality is that you have never truly confronted your sin!
Exodus 32:30-32
30) And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses said unto the people, Ye have sinned a great sin: and now I will go up unto the LORD; preadventure I shall make an atonement for your sin.
31) And Moses returned unto the LORD, and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold.
32) Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin--; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written.
Moses understood who was the keeper of the Book of Life and he took the sins directly before GOD!
GOD’s response to Moses’ plea for the children of Israel was, "whoever has sinned against ME, I will blot him out of MY book" (Ex 32:33).
But everyone has sinned against GOD? Does this men that accordingly everyone will be blotted out? GOD is merciful, so no! In HIS mercy, HE will always provide a way of atonement.
In Deuteronomy 30:19 we read, " I call heaven and earth to record this day against you that, I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:"
Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement is first mentioned in Leviticus. It is a day of fasting and prayer to GOD for forgiveness. When the Temple still existed, the High Priest was the mediator for the people before GOD. On this one day of the year he would take a live goat, lay hands upon its head and confess all the sins of Israel onto it. By this he transferred the sins of the people onto the animal. Then he would enter into the Holy of Holies to make the sacrifice to GOD placing the blood of the animal upon the altar. This then became known as the "scapegoat". In accepting this substitutionary sacrifice, GOD could inscribe HIS people into the Book of Life.
When the Temple was destroyed, the priesthood disbanded and the sacrifices discontinued the rabbis rationalized themselves into works theology. The problem is that this is non-scriptural. The Bible teaches that there is no forgiveness without an intercessor and a shedding of blood.
On Mt. Horeb, Moses fulfilled this role between the people and GOD. The High Priest would fulfill this role during the Temple days.
When JESUS’ earthly ministry started John The Baptist proclaimed, "the lamb of GOD that taketh away the sin of the world."
In Genesis 22 we read the story of Abraham and Isaac. As they are going to make a sacrifice unto the LORD Isaac says, "Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?" (vs 7)
Abraham then answers in verse 8, "My son, GOD will provide HIMSELF a lamb...." That HE did many years later once and for all times in the form of HIS SON, JESUS the CHRIST! Is it any wonder that after this sacrifice of HIS SON that GOD tore the vale in the Temple in two from top to bottom and that all sacrifices stopped?
When the High Priest would enter the Holy of Holies he had gold bells and dried pomegranates tied to his clothing. This was done in order that that outside they would know that he was purified before GOD and acceptable. If he had not been he would die and the noise created by the bells and pomegranates would cease.
When JESUS entered the Holy of Holies for us there was "a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind...." (Acts 2:2)
Another time that they blew the trumpets was at the enthroning of the king in Israel! When Solomon was anointed as the king, they blew the trumpet, exclaiming, "Long live king Solomon!" (1 Kings 1:34) the people heard the trumpet call and rejoiced in the LORD, because HE kept HIS promise to David and established his seed as the king over Israel.
The trumpet call proclaims that the new King has been enthroned!
Now turn to 1 Corinthians 15:52.
In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incoruptable, and we shall be changed.
At the final trumpets sounding the new King shall eternally be enthroned. The work of the truly High Priest will be completed and, "He who overcomes shall thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before my FATHER, and before HIS angels." (Rev 3:5)
And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from GOD, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband... and nothing unclean and no one who practices abomination and lying shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life. (Rev 21: 1, 2, 27)
During this season of the New Year and atonement what will you do? Will you go the way of the modern Jew and depend on your goodness, on your works to get you there? Or will you let GOD provide himself for the lamb? Will you try to go into the Holy of Holies unprepared; without an intercessor and without a sacrifice? Or will you be prepared and let JESUS become your sacrifice and High Priest? In which book will we find your name?
...I set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life.... (Deut 30:19)
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Always HIS servant,
Pastor Eric Aschendorf
119 N. Walnut
Fairmount, IN 46928-1758
