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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[a] 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 the beginning of the most sacred month in the Jewish calendar, a month filled with solemn expectation and preparation.

The seventh month, in fact, was the first month of the civil Jewish year. It contained three feasts, unlike any other month. Just as the seventh day was holy, and the seventh year was one of sabbath rest, so too the seventh month was set apart—a sabbath month. The sound of the shofar pierced the air as a call to remembrance, a reminder of covenant, and a foretaste of what was to come.

The Feast of Trumpets literally means “the feast of a joyful noise.” Nehemiah 8 narrates the first occasion when this feast was celebrated by the post-exilic community in Jerusalem. As the people listened to the Law being read, they wept, realizing just how much their nation had offended God. But Ezra and Nehemiah comforted them and sent them away with the words: “This day is holy unto the Lord your God; mourn not, nor weep… go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to them for whom nothing is prepared… for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” It was a celebration, not of perfection, but of grace. It was the joy that the Lord had accepted them and restored them, despite their sins, to his holy place.

The shofar was blown when God descended on Mount Sinai to give the Law. It sounded at the fall of Jericho. Gideon and his 300 men blew them when they attacked the Midianites. It called them to war and signaled a ceasefire. It announced new kings and new beginnings. It was used for praise, repentance, and even as a declaration of national sin. The shofar was heaven’s alarm clock to awaken the people to what God was doing.

In Psalm 81, we hear the command: “Blow the trumpet at the time of the New Moon, at the full moon, on our solemn feast day.” And in Psalm 98:6: “With trumpets and the sound of a horn, shout joyfully before the Lord, the King.”

Each trumpet blast carried a sacred message, a language of longing, worship, and warning. It reminded the people that they belonged to a holy God who was drawing them into His purposes.

In the New Testament, we see a profound shift. The first four feasts were fulfilled in Christ’s first coming. He became our Passover Lamb, he is our Unleavened Bread, the , Firstfruits of resurrection, and the cause for whose sake the Spirit was poured out on men at Pentecost.

But like the gap between the spring and autumn feasts, we live now in the interim period between Christ’s first coming and His second. The next great event, according to God’s prophetic calendar, is the Feast of Trumpets, when our Lord will come again.

Over and over in Scripture, the Lord’s coming in power is associated with the sound of the trumpet. It signals homecoming for the saints, and the resurrection of the dead. Matthew 24 says: “He will send out His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect from the four winds.”

1 Corinthians 15 echoes this: “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet… the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.”

And in 1 Thessalonians 4:16: “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.”

Just as the shofar announced freedom in the Year of Jubilee, the final trumpet will declare our ultimate release—from sin, sorrow, death, and every oppression.

Just like the Israelites who toiled in their fields between feasts, we are called to work and watch. The Lord spoke in parables about servants waiting for the master’s return, about wise virgins who kept their lamps burning, and about servants faithfully handling the master’s wealth until he returned.

In Matthew 24, Jesus gives this urgent charge: “Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming… Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”

How eagerly the slaves and debtors in ancient Israel waited for the sound of the ram’s horn during the Year of Jubilee! That sound meant freedom, restoration, and rest. The land itself rejoiced in its release. We too wait and long to hear that trumpet sound from Heaven.

But as we wait, let us do his business. Let us keep a good conscience. Let us do what we are called to do, sowing to the Spirit. Let us sow the gospel as we have opportunity. Let us bear a good testimony to the power and goodness of God. For we wait for the trumpet which says, “Wake up. The King is coming. Be ready.”

So how should we live? Let us live as people with ears tuned to Heaven. Let us stay alert against sin and the burdens that so easily entangle us. Let us walk in the light. Let us not slip into immorality and sin, the sleep that so easily mimics death. Let us forgive freely, love sincerely, and serve faithfully. Let us listen for His voice. Let our lamps be burning and our hearts cleansed.

Because on that day, all of us—and all of creation—will rejoice at the blast of that final trumpet. The King will return. The fields will rest. The battle will be over. And we’ll be going home. God bless.