LESSON 5

YOM TERUAH – THE FEAST OF TRUMPETS

The Feast of Trumpets

The very next feast due to be fulfilled.

The shofar is blown at the western wall on the new moon of Tishrei to celebrate Rosh Hashanah, the Feast of Trumpets.

“The Lord said to Moses, ‘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. Do no regular work, but present an offering made to the Lord by fire.” Leviticus 23:23-25.

“In the autumn of the year and on the first day of the Tishrei moon trumpets are blown to announce the Hebrew holiday of Rosh Hashanah. Biblical Christians refer to it as the Feast of Trumpets. It is the 5th of the Seven Feasts of Israel.

“This 5th feast was instituted by Moses at Sinai approximately 3,500 years ago. It marks the first day of the Hebrew (civil) New Year. ‘Rosh Hashanah’ means ‘head of the year’. The Feast of Trumpets is the first of the three, yet to be fulfilled, Fall Feasts of Israel. These Autumn Feasts relate to Kingdom/political issues rather than the High Priestly/religious matters that we saw Messiah address in the spring feasts during His first coming 2,000 years ago. Back then we saw Him ride into Jerusalem on a donkey as the ‘Suffering Servant’. But when Messiah returns this next time He will come as the Conquering King. After Trumpets on Tishrei 1 comes the “Ten days of awe” which lead on to Yom Kippur on Tishrei 10 which is the Day of Atonement.

“This is the most solemn day of the year. On this awesome Day of Reckoning all accounts between YHVH-God and all His covenant people are settled. The Jubilee Year is also announced on this same tenth day of Tishri.”

http://endtimepilgrim.org/trumpets.htm

FEAST OF TRUMPETS

The Feast of Trumpets, (Yom Teruah or Rosh Hashanah), took place on 1st/2nd Tishri, a 48 hour day marking the beginning of the new month. It was called “the day of which no man knows the day or the hour.”  Why? Because the day began when two priests agreed that they had sighted the new moon. The Hebrews operated on a lunar calendar; each month was thirty days long and began and ended with the new moon.

During this 48-hour day, when they agreed that they had sighted the new moon, they would shout to signal to the trumpet blower to announce the arrival of Yom Teruah which would announce that the Feast of Trumpets had begun.

The month before Tishri, called Elul, was the month of preparation for the Feast of Trumpets. Every morning and evening during the month, a trumpet was blown to remind the people that the Feast of Trumpets was coming. During the month of Elul, the people would do three things:

Tephilah – prayer

Teshuvah – repentance

Tsidakah – generosity.

Tephilah

Their concept of prayer came from the first time it is mentioned in the Scriptures – Genesis 4:26. “At that time men began to call on the name of the Lord.” (The law of first mention).

The letters in the word “call” mean turning the head to face the one who can bear the burden, the idea being that I turn away from my concerns to become aware of the one who can carry my burden.  The first concept of prayer was about changing my awareness from myself to God and reattaching myself to God.

Teshuvah

The word means repentance and conveys the idea that I turn away from my thoughts and think the way God thinks. This implies changing from self-consciousness to God-consciousness and will give me a different perspective on the way God sees people.

Tsidaqah

Tephilah and teshuvah must be connected to tsidaqah – generosity. I recognise that God cares about people and desires to meet their needs. I need to view myself and people from a different perspective, that God wants me to use the resources He has given me to take care of needs where I can. Tishivah is my duty because God has been generous to me.

The Month of Elul

Put this into an agricultural setting; this is a season to evaluate the seeds I have been sowing in my life, to recognise that all my choices have consequences and to review my focus to change my mind about the way I do life. Before the Feast of Trumpets comes, I need to know what seeds I am going to sow in the field of my life in the next year. The seeds I sow now will produce the harvest I would like in the future.

Therefore, for a whole month before the Feast of Trumpets, the blowing of the trumpet morning and evening reminds me that I am in a period of grace when I am still able to turn away from myself, to change my mind so that I can line up my thoughts with the way God thinks and adopt His best way to do life so that the harvest I reap will be good.

This period of time represents the time between Messiah’s first and second coming, the period of grace that prepares me for His coming when the time to repent and realign my life with His way is over.

THE FEAST OF TRUMPETS

The feast of trumpets is a rehearsal feast for Messiah’s second coming when He will judge the nations according to Matthew 25 – the parable of the sheep and goats.

The blowing of the trumpet summoned the people to ten days of trial and preparation before Yom Kippur, the day when all sin was judged and atoned for. It was both a warning to repent and a reassurance of God’s mercy for those who repented.