Feast of Trumpets

"Speak to the people of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall observe a day of solemn rest, a memorial proclaimed with blast of trumpets, a holy convocation.” -Leviticus 23:24

Tonight begins the Feast of Trumpets, or Yom Teruah which literally means Day of the Shofar Sound. While Scripture does not reveal much about the Feast of Trumpets, it is a day for blowing trumpets as a remembrance between God and His people. In Jewish observances of this Feast today, rams horn shofars are blown over one hundred times. As the trumpet sound resounds, each blast of the trumpet calls out to God saying, “We remember you, God, please remember us.”

Numbers 10:9 - Sound an alarm with the trumpets, that you may be remembered before the Lord your God, and you shall be saved from your enemies.

This day marks the beginning of ten days of repentance in preparation for the Day of Atonement, the holiest day of the year. It is the time to get right with God, repent of your sin, apologize to anyone you may have wronged, repay or return anything you have borrowed or taken, etc. The point is to get yourself in a condition acceptable to God before the Day of Atonement, when God’s verdict would be rendered regarding His people.

The Feast of Trumpets is the only Feast on the Biblical Calendar that begins on the first day of the month, the day of the new moon. Without modern calendars with months that are set in advance, people had to wait to declare the beginning of the new month until they saw in the shadows the slightest sliver of a crescent of the new moon. Waiting in expectation, their eyes were fixed on the sky until the new moon appeared and the new month had actually and truly begun.

The word shofar first appears in the Bible in the Book of Exodus when the Israelites were consecrated and called to Mount Sinai on the third day to hear the Ten Commandments from God. This first shofar blast in the Bible was the supernatural shofar of God resounding with a sound that grew louder and louder as God descended in a cloud to meet His people.

Exodus 19:16-19 16 On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled. 17 Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain. 18 Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the LORD had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly. 19 And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder.

Shofars were also regularly used in the Temple as an instrument of praise.

Psalm 98:6 - 6 With trumpets and the sound of the horn make a joyful noise before the King, the LORD!

Psalm 150:3 - 3 Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp!

Other references to shofars in the Bible include using trumpets to sound alarms for the people of God to assemble for battle, convene leaders, announce the new moon/month, and proclaim the year of Jubilee. Blowing the shofar was God’s military strategy for giving victory to Joshua over Jericho, to Gideon over the Midianites, and shofars were blown before many military battles by the priests and Levites to prepare the way for the Lord’s victory. The blast of the shofar declares that the God of Israel is King over all the earth. He is ultimately victorious!

Psalm 47:5 - God has gone up with a shout, the LORD with the sound of a trumpet.

Watchmen were also supposed to blow the shofar as a warning to God’s people to repent of their sins in preparation for the day of the Lord.

Ezekiel 33:2-6 - 2 "Son of man, speak to your people and say to them, If I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from among them, and make him their watchman, 3 and if he sees the sword coming upon the land and blows the trumpet and warns the people, 4 then if anyone who hears the sound of the trumpet does not take warning, and the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. 5 He heard the sound of the trumpet and did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But if he had taken warning, he would have saved his life. 6 But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, so that the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any one of them, that person is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at the watchman's hand.

It is traditional for the Jewish people to read Genesis Chapter 22 on this day. This is the story of Abraham bringing Isaac to the Mountain to offer him as a sacrifice unto the Lord, but the Lord instead supplied a ram whose horn was caught in the thicket. On this day, Abraham prophetically saw the day of the Lord and declared Yahweh Jireh “on the mount of the Lord, it will be provided.” Significantly and not accidentally, this is the same mountain where the Temple was later built and where Jesus, the Lamb of God, was crucified.

As followers of Jesus, let us also remember that there are trumpets that are still yet to come. In the Book of Revelation, a series of seven trumpets are blown bringing hail, fire, bitter water, darkness, tormenting locusts, and death. At the sound of the last trumpet, the great trumpet, the Lord descends on the clouds with a shout of victory and angels are sent to gather the elect from all the earth, and the Kingdom of the world will become the Kingdom of the Lord!

1 Corinthians 15:51-55 ESV - 51 Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. 54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory." 55 "O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?"

1 Thessalonians 4:16 ESV - 16 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 trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.

Matthew 24:31 - 31 And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Revelation 11:15-18 - 15 Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever." 16 And the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God, 17 saying, "We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, who is and who was, for you have taken your great power and begun to reign. 18 The nations raged, but your wrath came, and the time for the dead to be judged, and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints, and those who fear your name, both small and great, and for destroying the destroyers of the earth."

After this, the outpouring of the bowls of God’s wrath will consume and destroy all those who have not repented of their sins and turned to God through faith in Jesus. The dead will rise to eternal life or eternal condemnation. Leviathan, the ancient serpent, will be destroyed. Death will be swallowed up in victory. God will rule in the earth and we will reign with Him. Hallelujah!

However, just like the new moon/month was not on a scheduled day but had to be looked for and watched for with great anticipation to see the sign in the sky, so it will be with the days of trumpets to come and the return of the Lord. No one knows the exact day or hour, not even Jesus.

Therefore, today as you observe the Feast of Trumpets as a shadow of the days of trumpets that are yet to come, blow a shofar or cry out to God with your voice. Repent of your sin and get right with God. The ultimate day of judgement is coming. On the mount of the Lord, God provided a ram in the thicket: Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Reconsecrate yourself to Him as you wait expectantly for His return.   

Day of Atonement - Yom Kippur

Now on the tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. It shall be for you a time of holy convocation, and you shall afflict yourselves and present a food offering to the LORD. -Leviticus 23:27

Tonight at sunset through tomorrow at sunset is the Day of Atonement, the holiest day of the Biblical Calendar. Ten days ago the trumpets were blasted to call God’s people to attention, repentance, and readiness for this day when God’s verdict regarding His people would be rendered for the year. No ordinary work is allowed. People are required to afflict themselves through fasting and humble themselves before God with a contrite heart. Anyone who refuses to humble themselves before God on this day is cut off from His people and destroyed.

According to the Law, this is the only day of the year that the High Priest was allowed to enter behind the veil into the Most Holy Place in the Temple, where the presence of God dwelt. Even then, the High Priest was required to bathe before dressing for service and wore more simple garments than his normal priestly attire. On this day, he would wear only the linen garments, sash, and turban, but not the priestly tunic, robe, ephod, decorative belt, or breast piece. If the High Priest were to attempt to go behind the veil on any other day, or in any other way, he would die instantly.

The High Priest would first have to offer a sacrifice for Himself to purify Himself for service. Then, two goats were brought to him from the congregation. One goat would be a sin offering for the Lord and the other goat would be the scapegoat who would carry the sins of the people far away from the community. He would cast lots for the goats (like tossing a coin) to see which goat would serve in each required role.

Leviticus 16:7-10 - 7 Then he shall take the two goats and set them before the LORD at the entrance of the tent of meeting. 8 And Aaron shall cast lots over the two goats, one lot for the LORD and the other lot for Azazel. 9 And Aaron shall present the goat on which the lot fell for the LORD and use it as a sin offering, 10 but the goat on which the lot fell for Azazel shall be presented alive before the LORD to make atonement over it, that it may be sent away into the wilderness to Azazel.

Next, Aaron would present the first goat as a sin offering for the Lord. He, alone, would enter into the tabernacle and take the blood of this goat behind the veil inside the tabernacle into the Most Holy Place to make atonement for the people. Through this, the uncleanness, transgressions, and sins of the people were covered, purged, and cleansed so that they could be reconciled to God and remain in good standing with Him.

Leviticus 16:15-16 - 15 "Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering that is for the people and bring its blood inside the veil and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull, sprinkling it over the mercy seat and in front of the mercy seat. 16 Thus he shall make atonement for the Holy Place, because of the uncleannesses of the people of Israel and because of their transgressions, all their sins. And so he shall do for the tent of meeting, which dwells with them in the midst of their uncleannesses.

If the High Priest did not come out of the tabernacle, it was proof that he had died in the presence of God. This meant that his offering for the sins of the people had not been accepted by God and the people were doomed, cursed, and condemned. If he emerged successfully from the Tabernacle, he would proceed to the second goat.

Next, the High Priest would take the second goat as the scapegoat. He would lay his hands on the head of the goat while confessing all the sins of the people to transfer them to the scapegoat. Then, the goat would be led far away from the community into the wilderness and released to wander.

Leviticus 16:20-22 - 20 "And when he has made an end of atoning for the Holy Place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall present the live goat. 21 And Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions, all their sins. And he shall put them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is in readiness. 22 The goat shall bear all their iniquities on itself to a remote area, and he shall let the goat go free in the wilderness.

The word Azazel, often translated as scapegoat, means either ruler of the goat demons or refers to the place he resides in the barren, waterless wilderness. This scapegoat, carrying all the iniquities, transgressions, and sins of the people, was not going to a pleasant place. He was banished from God's presence to wander in a wasteland forever.

In the New Covenant, Jesus is our High Priest in the order of Melchizedek. Jesus is also the fulfillment of these Feasts of the Lord and serves as our eternal sin offering and scapegoat. His blood was shed so that we could enter into the presence of God, and He took upon Himself the punishment for sin that we deserve.

But how did He fulfill the requirements of the Day of Atonement?

As our High Priest, Jesus did not need to offer a sacrifice for Himself because He had no sin. Moreover, He was baptized or mikvehed, which is what a ritual cleansing is called in Hebrew, by John the Baptist to cleanse Him for service. He wore no kingly or priestly garments to make a spectacle but rather, dressed as a humble, common, and holy man.

Hebrews 7:26-27 - 26 For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. 27 He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself.

As our sin offering, Jesus is the Son of God. He was without sin and therefore, is able to be an unblemished sin offering unto the Lord. On the cross, Jesus shed His blood to purify us from our sin. He entered into the Heavenly Temple and secured our eternal redemption.

Hebrews 9:11-14 - 11 But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) 12 he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. 13 For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

Hebrews 9:24-26 - 24 For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. 25 Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, 26 for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.

Hebrews 10:12-14 - 12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. 14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

As our scapegoat, Jesus took on flesh and blood as a son of Adam. It was the way He most commonly referred to Himself – Son of Man. On the cross, all the sins of mankind were laid upon Jesus. He took the blame and punishment that we deserve. When Jesus committed His spirit into the hands of God, His body was taken down and put into the grave while His soul descended into the waterless wasteland of Hell.

Hebrews 2:14-17 - 14 Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. 16 For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. 17 Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.

If Jesus did not emerge from the grave, it meant that His offering for the sins of the world had not been accepted by God and all of mankind was doomed to condemnation and eternal destruction.

But on the third day, God raised Jesus from the dead. His offering for sin was accepted by God! His spotless life and sacrifice was accepted as the propitiation (or atonement) for our sins! Hallelujah!!

Romans 3:23-25 - 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.

1 John 2:2 - 2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

1 John 4:10 - 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

Now resurrected to eternal life, Jesus is our compassionate and merciful High Priest forever! He lives eternally to make intercession on behalf of transgressors.

Hebrews 7:15-16 - 15 This becomes even more evident when another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek, 16 who has become a priest, not on the basis of a legal requirement concerning bodily descent, but by the power of an indestructible life.

The Day of Atonement also points us to another day which is still yet to come. On the final day of judgment, we will all stand before the Lord Jesus Christ to be judged by Him according to what we have done. The books will be opened and those whose names are not written in the Lamb’s book of life will be cast into the lake of fire. All people will be judged by what they have done and the secret intents of their hearts. Believers, though not condemned to hell, will be judged by what we have done to determine our rewards and placement in the world to come. Are you ready? Is the work of your hands bringing glory to God? Is your work complete?

The Day of Atonement is a day for deep reflection, repentance, and afflicting ourselves before God in humility and unworthiness. For us as New Covenant believers, it is also a day for us to be thankful for the atonement provided for us in Christ Jesus. Please, do not trample on the blood of the Son of God that was shed for you. Take some time to reflect with the Lord, to confess your sins to Him, to ask afresh for His mercy, and to walk in new gratitude for all that our savior and eternal scapegoat has done for us.

Day of Atonement Scriptures

Traditional Reading: Leviticus Chapter 16; the Book of Jonah

New Testament Work of Our High Priest, The Messiah: Hebrews 7:1-10:31

Feast of Tabernacles - Sukkot

You will dwell in booths for seven days. All native Israelites will dwell in booths, that your generations may know that I made the people of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God. -Leviticus 23:42-43

Today is the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles, which is also known as the Feast of Ingathering, or Sukkot. This is one of the three feasts of the year where the Law requires that all Jewish men appear before the Lord at the place He chooses for His name to be honored, and bring offerings.

For seven days during the Feast of Tabernacles, Israelites are instructed to live in tents or booths, called sukkot, similar to the ones their ancestors lived in during their forty years in the wilderness. This reminds God’s people of how the Lord had delivered their ancestors out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with miraculous signs and wonders, and how He defeated their enemies in the heart of the sea.

It also brings to remembrance how the Lord had given them His Laws at Sinai and trained them in His ways, as a Father disciplines His son. In the wilderness, God had humbled them, tested their hearts, fed the entire community with miraculous manna for forty years, supplied all their needs, and led them by a pillar of fire by night and cloud by day. And after all that, God faithfully kept every promise He made to their ancestors. God delivered His people out of the wilderness and into the Promised Land, a land flowing with milk and honey, for their very own possession.

This Feast takes place at the time of the ingathering of the harvest and extravagant daily offerings are to be brought to the Lord. No ordinary work is permitted on the first day or the last day of the Feast, in addition to any regular Sabbaths. It is a time of great rejoicing before the Lord for the promises He keeps and the harvest He gives so bountifully in the Promised Land. Consider the comparison between wilderness manna and a bountiful harvest in the Promised Land. This is cause for great rejoicing!

Traditionally, though not practiced everywhere, Jews read the Book of Ecclesiastes on the Shabbat of the Feast of Tabernacles. The other portion read is Ezekiel 38-39, about the war of Gog & Magog. These scriptures spur reflection and remembrance that this world is nothing but vanity and our purpose and duty is to fear God and keep His commandments, even through the final battle between good and evil, until Messiah comes to establish the Kingdom of God on the earth.

As an obedient Jewish male and Son of God, Jesus celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles. Around this time, a great controversy surrounded His ministry and so at first, He went in secret. But later, in the middle of the Feast, Jesus went up to the Temple and began to teach. He claimed that His teaching came directly from God/heaven and that God’s own people were not keeping the Laws of God or discerning correctly because they were worldly and judging by the ways of this world. For this, they accused Him, the One full of the Holy Spirit, of having demons.

John 7:14-24 - 14 About the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and began teaching. 15 The Jews therefore marveled, saying, "How is it that this man has learning, when he has never studied?" 16 So Jesus answered them, "My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me. 17 If anyone's will is to do God's will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority. 18 The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood. 19 Has not Moses given you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. Why do you seek to kill me?" 20 The crowd answered, "You have a demon! Who is seeking to kill you?" 21 Jesus answered them, "I did one work, and you all marvel at it. 22 Moses gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. 23 If on the Sabbath a man receives circumcision, so that the law of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with me because on the Sabbath I made a man's whole body well? 24 Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment."

The religious authorities wanted to arrest and kill Jesus, but the people considered that Jesus might just be the Messiah that they had been waiting for. He said that He would not be with them for much longer because He was going away to a place they could not go with Him. The religious leaders considered with bewilderment that this might mean He going to spread His teaching to the diaspora (Jews among the nations) and also to share it with the Gentiles. They wanted all the more to kill Him to put an end to people following Him.

On the last day of the Feast, Jesus began to teach in the Temple and loudly proclaimed that coming to Him is the source of eternal life. The people were divided and could not agree about whether Jesus was the promised Messiah of Israel, a criminal imposter, or a lunatic.

John 7:37-43 - 37 On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'" 39 Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. 40 When they heard these words, some of the people said, "This really is the Prophet." 41 Others said, "This is the Christ." But some said, "Is the Christ to come from Galilee? 42 Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the offspring of David, and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David was?" 43 So there was a division among the people over him.

Jesus is referencing Isaiah 12, which speaks of wells of salvation. By His statement, He is claiming to be the well of salvation.

Isaiah 12:1-3 ESV - 1 You will say in that day: "I will give thanks to you, O LORD, for though you were angry with me, your anger turned away, that you might comfort me. 2 "Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation." 3 With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.

Those who are enmeshed with this world or who are seeking to maintain their position or prestige in it, will find it challenging to follow a humble savior who calls for people to simply come to Him.

But Jesus is the Word of God, who humbled Himself to become flesh. He “tabernacled” among us, taking on a “tent” of flesh like ours and living in this world as we do. As a citizen of heaven and the Son of God, He sojourned in this world until this world put Him to death on a cross. But God raised Him from the dead and gave Him a new “tent,” an eternal, imperishable, resurrection body. In that body, Jesus is now seated at the right hand of God awaiting the time that all His enemies are made a footstool under His feet in the great and final conflict between God and all who rebel against His authority. Though all nations will gather together against the Lord and His people, He will be victorious and will share the spoils with the faithful.

At that time, the righteous will drink from eternal springs of salvation in the world to come, but the wicked will be excluded forever, burning in the lake of fire.

Revelation 21:6-8 ESV - 6 And he said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. 7 The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. 8 But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death."

At that time, there will be another Feast of Tabernacles. Many more, actually. In the world to come, we will gather from all nations year after year to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. With great rejoicing, we will remember how God delivered us out of slavery to this world and conquered the evil one, burying our sins in the depths of the sea. As we celebrate this Feast, we will reminded of the “wilderness” of dwelling here in this world, receiving God’s faithful provision for our every need, being disciplined in His ways as His children, and being led by the fire of His Spirit dwelling within us.

For now, we still live on earth in these “tents” of flesh until we receive our resurrection bodies for eternal life the world to come. We still await a city whose builder and maker is God. Until then, we are sojourners and exiles here in this world, as we await the Kingdom of God as citizens of heaven.

Let us keep our eyes on Jesus who is the ultimate promise. For the joy set before us, which is eternal life with Him, let us not be divided or double-minded, but regard this world as nothing compared to the worth of knowing Him.

Scriptures for Tabernacles Reflection

 Traditional Reading: The Book of Ecclesiastes & Ezekiel 38-39 (Gog & Magog)