Change

 “Rosh Hashanah isn’t just about being new, it’s about a change.”  (Max Levis)

In the Jewish calendar year, there are seven festivals the dictate the life of a Jew. There are four spring feasts that point to the first coming of Jesus.  The three fall feasts point to the second coming of Jesus. The first in the line of fall feasts is the Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah).

“The Festival of Trumpets shall be celebrated on the fifteenth day of September each year; there shall be a solemn assembly of all the people on that day, and no hard work may be done.” (Numbers 29:1, TLB)

1.   This feast is a wake-up call for repentance.

“Blow the shofar in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain; let all the inhabitants of the earth tremble for the day of the Lord  comes, for it is near at hand. “ (Joel 2:1, JUB)

A shofar is a ram's horn blown as a wind instrument. It was sounded in Biblical times for three reasons: to gather God’s people for an assembly; to sound an alarm alerting people of danger, and to announce the coronation of a new king.

2.   This feast begins with the Days of Awe (Repentance).  This is the ten days leading up to the Day of Atonement.

“This is how I want you to conduct yourself in these matters. If you enter your place of worship and, about to make an offering, you suddenly remember a grudge a friend has against you, abandon your offering, leave immediately, go to this friend and make things right. Then and only then, come back and work things out with God.”  (Matthew 5:23-24, MSG)

“Jewish tradition teaches us that for the next ten days, the Book of Life is open. As millions of Jews ask God to inscribe their names in that book, we recognize how much lies beyond our control, yet during these Days of Awe. We recognize our tremendous power to make a difference in our lives and in our world.” (Former President Barack Obama)

3.   This feast points us to a future event when God will call His children to Heaven with the sound of a trumpet, and they will be caught up (raptured) to meet Him in the sky. We all need to be ready for this day.

·        “He will use a loud trumpet to send his angels all around the earth, and they will gather his chosen people from every part of the world.”  (Matthew 24:31, NCV)

·         “Take heed: no one knows the day or hour when the end is coming. The messengers in Heaven don’t know, nor does the Son. Only the Father knows.” (Mark 13:31-, VOICE)

·        “You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.” (Luke 12:40, NRSVCE)

·        “Live each day like Jesus is coming back. Because, one day He will.”  (www.lizchrismusic.com)

“During Rosh Hashanah, Jewish people ask God for forgiveness for the things we’ve done wrong during the past year. We also remind ourselves not to repeat these mistakes in the coming year. In this way, Rosh Hashanah is an opportunity to improve ourselves. It’s a holiday that helps us to become better people.” (Tori Avey)[i]

 

shofar horn

 

 

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[i] Inspired by the sermon “Fantastic Feasts: Our Trumpeted King” (Installment one, part two) Sunday, September 10, 2017 Pastor Dave Jansen CenterPoint Gahanna Church Gahanna, OH. Source used: “Shofar” from Dictionary.com