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FEAST OF TRUMPETS

Leviticus 23:24-25 “Tell the people of Israel, ‘in the seventh month, the first of the month is to be for you a day of complete rest for remembering, a holy convocation announced with blasts on the Shofar. Do not do any kind of ordinary work, and bring an offering made by fire to ADONAI.’” --CJB

The Biblical name for this holiday is Yom Teruah (Day of the Shofar blast), or Feast of Trumpets (modern translations). The name "Rosh Hashanah" means "Head (beginning) of the Year".

The Shofar is a symbol of the LORD’S mercy.

There is custom to sound the Shofar 100 times on Rosh Hashanah (Yom Teruah) and there a couple of reasons for this.

It’s symbolic of the 101 letters contained in the lament of Sisera's mother as she awaited her son's return from the battlefield. Sisera’s story is recorded in the ‘Song of Deborah’ (Judges 4).

To awaken those within hearing, of the sound of the Shofar, to a higher purpose, a new level. (Psalm 47)

When Satan hears that the Shofar is sounded more times than the Torah requires, he becomes confused and is apprehensive that the additional sounds might be that of the Shofar of Mashiach (Jesus Messiah’s return).

SHOFAR SOUNDINGS:

TE'KI'AH: a long blast with one or two notes. Praise/Worship SH’VA'RIM: 3 medium blasts, two tones each. Repent/Broken TE'RU'AH: 9 short, staccato blasts, battle cry. Warfare/Victory TE'KI'AH GE'DO'LAH: long single blast. Represents the great last trumpet sound when the LORD returns as King and when we who are saved receive new bodies. Thankfulness for: God’s Mercy/Goodness/Redemption. Numbers 29:1

Feast of Trumpets: ‘And in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work. For you it is a day of blowing the trumpets. Teruah (Day of the Shofar blast)

Rosh Hashanah is the birthday of the universe, the day God created Adam and Eve, and it’s celebrated as the head (beginning) of the High Holy days on the Jewish calendar. Just like the head controls the body, our actions on Rosh Hashanah have a tremendous impact on the rest of the year (we set the tone). It is a day of prayer, a time to ask the LORD to grant us a year of peace, prosperity and blessing. It is also a joyous day when we proclaim our God as King of the Universe.

APPOINTED TIMES: God says He has appointed certain times (feasts) that He will meet with us. Isaiah 55:6 Seek God when He is to be found, call out to Him when He is near.

Jeremiah 31:34 “For I will forgive their iniquities and remember their sins no more".

Ephesians 5:27 and to present her to himself as a radiant church (the Bride), without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. (it’s customary to wear white garments on Yom Teruah & Yom Kippur)

Figure 1: The Rams Horn - Shofar

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1. TE'KI'AH the ‘Ten Days of Repentance’ (10 days between Yom Teruah &

Yom Kippur) are an opportunity for us to change. We have a free will and we must take responsibility for our actions. Repentance gives us the opportunity to not be bound by our past and to move towards God, a time of refreshing. (Acts 3:19)

2. TE'KI'AH GE'DO'LAH as the Torah (marriage contract) was given to Moses; the sound of the Shofar is described as a sound that "grew louder and louder" (Exodus 19:19). The Shofar reminds us of that “meeting with God” at Mt. Sinai and our covenant with Him as His Bride. (John 3:29)

3. SH’VA'RIM the prophets of old warned people to turn from their wicked ways. The Shofar reminds us of these warnings of the prophets and their calls to repentance. The sound brings us to an understanding that God spoke through prophets and of His desire to love us, not to punish us.

4. TE'KI'AH the ram's horn reminds us of the binding of Isaac on the altar when Abraham demonstrated his faith in Hashem (The Name) by being prepared to sacrifice his son. God demonstrated His love for Abraham by providing a ram caught in the thicket by its horns. (Genesis 22:13)

5. SH’VA'RIM The sound of the Shofar awakens those who hear it; the sound pierces the very heart of man. (Ephesians 5:14)

6. TE'RU'AH the Shofar reminds us of the future Day of Judgment and compels us to pray for the unity of all of mankind to come to the knowledge of the saving grace only found in Jesus Christ. (Luke 24:46-48)

7. TE'KI'AH GE'DO'LAH the sound inspires us to desire the day of in-gathering and our connection to the Holy Land. (Isaiah 60)

There are many Jews who still believe in an annual day of accounting for their actions but, as believers in Christ, we

believe Jesus’ death has atoned for our sins forever. Yet, when we hear the blast of the Shofar at Yom Teruah, it is a

sound that awakens our spirit of the Bridegroom’s return. Maranatha!

“AWAKE, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Messiah will shine on you,” Ephesians 5:14. “For the LORD himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with

the sound of the Shofar (trumpet) of God. And the dead in Messiah (Christ) will rise first.” 1 Thessalonians 4:16

Prophetically, Yom Teruah signals the Day of the LORD or the Day of Judgment. It’s the Day Messiah returns and begins to execute judgment on a wicked and unrepentant world. The prophets refer to it as a “Day of darkness”.

Amos 5:18, “Is not the Day of the Lord darkness, and not light? Is it not VERY dark, with no brightness in it?”

Zephaniah 1:15-16 “The great day of the Lord is near, a day of wrath, a day of darkness AND a day of trumpets.”

Revelation 6:17…the sun became black and the moon red as blood…..for the great day of His wrath has come.

YouTube video by Zola Levitt; Holy Days of our Lord - for further study: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIlpg1w3ges&feature=share

Author: Lora Rozkowski is a licensed minister, teacher & business own

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Figure 2: Bread of Life Fellowship