When You Hear the Trumpet

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Well, this week the Jewish people will celebrate Yom Teruah, the day of blowing of trumpets.

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The description of this day is a little vague, but deep meaning is found in its use of trumpets

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for calling the people to attention and announcing the start of something.

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Traditionally, this day begins a ten-day period of repentance leading up to Yom Kippur, but

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it hints at a day described in 1 Thessalonians when Christ appears at the sound of a trumpet.

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So welcome to this week's Shabbat Shalom devotional when I seek to share a little inspiration

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and bring a little piece to the close of your very busy week.

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We're not talking about our Torah portion this week because we have begun the season

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of the fall holidays.

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And so I'm going to be talking today about the Feast of Yom Teruah.

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If you would like more information on all the Feasts, I will put in today's show notes

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a link to how to sign up for our Word from Jerusalem magazine because we have begun

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printing a series of twelve articles on the various Feasts throughout the coming year.

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So be sure and sign up for the Word from Jerusalem magazine.

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Now we're going to read today from Leviticus 23 verses 24 and 25.

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Speak to the children of Israel saying, in the seventh month on the first day of the month

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you shall have a Sabbath rest, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation.

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You shall do no customary work on it, and you shall offer an offering made by fire to

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the Lord.

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Your verse is in Numbers 29 verse 1.

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And in the seventh month on the first day of the month you shall have a holy convocation.

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You shall do no customary work.

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For you it is a day of blowing the trumpets.

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So Yom Teruah means day of shouting or day of blowing of trumpets.

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The idea is a day of loud noise.

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Of course the trumpets back at the time of these laws were ram's horns or what we call

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a shofar.

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On Yom Teruah Israel was blowing trumpets making a loud noise.

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They were also resting.

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They were assembling as a nation, a holy convocation, and they were making an offering of fire unto

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the Lord.

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Now that's really all we know about this day.

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So God's purpose in establishing it isn't really clear from these verses.

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But the first clue I think is the word Teruah.

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It's a day of Teruah which means alarm or signal or battle cry or shout of joy.

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So a trumpet blast was used to make that loud noise and to announce this new month, this

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first day of the month.

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Trumpets were also used to coronate kings but they were also blown to sound alarms for

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Israel to call the people to assemble to announce a new Jubilee year to prepare for a military

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campaign or in the offerings and sacrifices or even in temple worship and praise the trumpet

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was used.

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So while there is some mystery to the purpose of this day, it's clearly used to gather

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yet the attention of God's people to have them remember Him for a whole day to wake

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up, pay attention, and to begin a season of repentance before His judgment fell.

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So in Jewish tradition this begins a ten day period of repentance leading up to Yom Kippur

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which we're going to talk about next week.

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The two interesting points about Yom Teruah and the blowing of the trumpet.

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As I said it was also associated with the coronation of a king so in Psalm 98.6 it says,

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with trumpets and the sound of a horn shout joyfully before the Lord the king.

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So I want you to hold that thought and then I want to talk about another very interesting

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thing about Yom Teruah.

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I find it fascinating.

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That is that this day was also referred to as the hidden day or the day and hour that

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no man could know.

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Why?

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Because for ancient Israel knowing when the day began was a little tricky.

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Yom Teruah was the first day of the seventh month.

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Now in biblical times the Hebrew months all were either twenty nine or thirty days long

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and that was determined by the moon cycle.

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So as the moon began to wane from the previous month they would watch and wait for the first

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sliver of the new moon to announce the new month and here this feast was on the very

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first day of the new month.

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So therefore it was kind of like they didn't know exactly when it would begin until they

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saw that moon and then it began immediately.

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So it was sort of known as the hidden day or the day that no man knows.

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Of course in the book of Revelation the seven trumpets announce apocalyptic events and in

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first Thessalonians it says a trumpet will announce the return of Jesus and that is on

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a day and an hour that no one knows.

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Isn't that kind of interesting?

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So let me read to you first Thessalonians 4.16 part A.

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For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout with the voice of an archangel

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and with the trumpet of God.

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So this is the ultimate Yom Teruah day of shouting and trumpets and coronation of the

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king of kings who's going to sit on the throne of David and establish the kingdom of God

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on earth.

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That is the day Yom Teruah points to and the day we need to prepare our hearts for.

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And with that I wish you Shabbat Shalom.