Today marks the beginning of the Jewish Feast of Trumpets.
As per its name, this Biblical feast has one central focus – the sounding of the shofar – or ram’s horn.
When God instructed Israel to sound the trumpet on this day in Lev 23:21, He did not give any reason for sounding the trumpet.
The Psalmist describes the blessedness of those who know ‘its joyful sound’ (Ps 89:15 – literally means sounding of trumpet in Hebrew). Why would we be blessed by knowing the loud blast of the Trumpet? I think the answer is that we will be blessed as we know and understand its true meaning and use.
In Ps 47:5 David describes the Lord triumphing over His enemies and rising up with ‘a shout’ (lit. blowing of trumpet) and the ‘sound of the trumpet’. So here we see the sounding of the trumpet connected with God’s victory.
We see this linkage further amplified in the story of the walls of Jericho. As the shofars sounded and as the people gave a loud shout (Jos. 6:20), the impenetrable walls of Jericho fell down flat before God’s people. Interestingly, in this verse the word describing the shout of the people literally means a ‘war cry’ or ‘the sounding of the trumpet’. In other words – they are one and the same, and the sounding of the shofar is a war cry that declares God’s victory over a situation.
Ultimately, the day of the Lord – that final great day when He will return – is called a ‘day of sounding the trumpet’ (Zep 1:16, 1 Cor 15:52). The Lord’s return at the sound of the Trumpet will be His final and dramatic victory over Satan and all his host.
We look forward to that day – but for now, we are blessed as we hear and understand the message of the trumpet sound- declaring God’s victory and reminding Satan of the day when he will finally be completely defeated.
Enoch Lavender was born in Australia, raised in Norway, spent time living in China and is now based in Melbourne, Australia. He has been studying Hebrew and the Jewish roots of our faith for the past decade, and has a keen interest in the Middle East from a Bible prophecy perspective.
