126_The Feast of Trumpets Lev 23:23-25 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 24 “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. 25 You shall not do any ordinary work, and you shall present a food offering to the Lord.” Num 29:1-6 “On the first day of the seventh month you shall have a holy convocation. You shall not do any ordinary work. It is a day for you to blow the trumpets, 2 and you shall offer a burnt offering, for a pleasing aroma to the Lord: one bull from the herd, one ram, seven male lambs a year old without blemish; 3 also their grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil, three tenths of an ephah for the bull, two tenths for the ram, 4 and one tenth for each of the seven lambs; 5 with one male goat for a sin offering, to make atonement for you; 6 besides the burnt offering of the new moon, and its grain offering, and the regular burnt offering and its grain offering, and their drink offering, according to the rule for them, for a pleasing aroma, a food offering to the Lord. There’s an old story about a soldier stationed overseas who had been away from his family for years. His wife and children wrote letters to him frequently, and he treasured each one. He was waiting for the bugle to sound, for it meant the war was over and the soldiers could look forward to going home at last. Each new day he rose combat-ready, endured hardships, and stayed prepared, waiting to hear the bugle blast that meant one thing: “It’s time. You’re going home.” That longing—rooted in hope and endurance—captures the spirit of the Feast of Trumpets. In Leviticus 23:23–25, the Lord gives Moses this instruction: “On the first day of the seventh month you are to have a day of sabbath rest, a sacred assembly commemorated with trumpet blasts. Do no regular work, but present a food offering to the Lord.” The Jewish year had its own sacred rhythm. The first four feasts—Passover, Unleavened Bread, Firstfruits, and Pentecost—occurred in the spring and concluded with the feast of weeks, or Shavuot, marking the end of the wheat harvest. After that, there was a long pause—four months of waiting, of labor in the fields—before the second cluster of feasts in the seventh month: the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the Feast of Booths. These were the autumn feasts, marking the end of the agricultural year. and symbolically representing the grand finale of God's redemptive plan. The Feast of Trumpets, or Yom Teruah, was unique. It began on the first day of the seventh month, thus falling on the new moon sabbath. It was marked by the blowing of the ram’s horn trumpet or shofar. It was a day of rest, of sacred assembly, and of holy joy. But especially, it was a day of awakening. It marked