RUSSELL SANDERS
9-27-2022
THE FEAST OF TRUMPETS
ROSH HASHANAH
There were three biblical fall feasts commanded by God for Israel. The first was the Feast of Trumpets which is now called Rosh Hashanah by Jews. It marks the beginning of the civil New Year in the month of Tishri. This falls in our Gregorian Calendar in September or October depending on the emergence of the new moon. In this year of 2022, it was yesterday, September 26 and began at sundown September 25 (our Sunday evening, but the Jewish day Monday).
It is the first month of their civil calendar, but it is the seventh month of their religious God-given calendar. All the Jewish months, both religious and civil, begin with the new moon. Since the initial sighting of a new moon does not necessarily occur at the same hour worldwide, there was an accommodation given for that with Rosh HaShanah. In the city of Jerusalem, it was a single day, but in further outlying towns, villages, or the countryside, it could also be celebrated a second day, making it a two-day event.
The blowing of the trumpets, or shofar (ram’s horn) announced the day at the Tabernacle or Temple. There was a sequence of one hundred consecutive blasts of the trumpet.
The day was a holy convocation, a sabbath, where the people would congregate for the reading of the Torah, the Law of Moses, which we call the Pentateuch. This consisted of the first five books of the Old Testament. Burnt offerings and cereal (grain) offerings were also made. While being a joyous occasion, it was also a very solemn event which began a ten-day period of introspection from Rosh HaShanah on 1 Tishri through the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, on 10 Tishri. The eight days in between are called the “days of awe” which we shall write about tomorrow.
While we, the church, do not need to commemorate these feasts, it is nevertheless important that we understand them. They have a prophetic significance, some of which have been fulfilled but also some of which are yet to be fulfilled in the future. The future fulfillment we still look for up ahead of our present day.
Today is the first day of the eight days of awe which we shall next discuss.
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