The Sound of Your Trumpet
The Sound of Your Trumpet
The first words of the Bible are “In the beginning.” Rasheet means ‘beginning’ and is taken from the root word ‘rosh,’ which means ‘head.’ With this in mind, Rosh Hashanah literally means “head of the year.” Rosh Hashanah, or Tishrei 1 on the Hebrew Calendar, is the beginning of the Biblical civil New Year. This was the time that the kings of Israel were coronated regardless of the time of year they assumed office. Whereas Nisan 1 heads the religious year, setting the months and holidays for the remainder of the year, Tishrei 1 marks the beginning of a new administration of leadership in Israel and the doorway into the prophetic feast days of the fall.
Yom Teruah, which means ‘the blowing’ of trumpets, is the original Hebrew term for Rosh Hashanah and it means just that. We are to blow the trumpets and sound the alarm that Judgment Day is near—and starts on this day. Although the final Judgment Day is not until Yom Kippur, this day is also called Judgment Day because it begins the spiritual audit of our lives. It’s the day of accounting.
This is the day that we renew our contract with our King. This is the day when the King is no longer in the fields, but we have been invited directly into the palace for a private meeting. All “ledgers” are opened and renewed. This is the day that we ask our King to inscribe us for another year into the Book of Life and to remember us when He returns. This is the day for New Covenant when the dead in Christ will rise first at the sound of the Trumpet, and our glorious King will return for His Bride. It is a day filled with reverent fear as well as a great celebration. We fall on our knees in honor of our King in the heavenlies, yet our hearts are jubilant that we have been redeemed and are allowed to serve such a great and mighty King. We know that although He is strict with the nations; He is benevolent and merciful to His children.
According to Hebrew calculations, it is traditionally understood that Tishrei is the month in which Adam and Eve were created. It is also the month in which the Patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were born and when Sarah and Rachel’s wombs were opened. It is also believed that this is the month when Joseph came out of prison.
THE GREAT SHOFAR
Ultimately, the entire holiday revolves around a shofar—the horn of the ram that was caught in the thicket as a substitution for Isaac. That ‘trumpet’ sound saved Isaac’s life. It saves our lives today, as well, through Yeshua substituting His life for ours when we deserved certain death.
The shofar is interesting and prophetic in the way that it is made. The horn is narrow on the end where you place your mouth and wide on the other end that emits sound. This is related to Judaism to the beautiful concept of “from the most narrow of spaces comes the purest of cries.” All of us, at one time or another during the last year, have found ourselves in tight spaces, situations where nothing but a pure cry to our King could save us. It is from those tight spaces that the loudest, heaven-penetrating sound is made. It is from those times of great hurt, pain, and frustration that our hearts’ cries are most easily heard in the heavenly courts of our King. Today is the day those cries are heard, and the petitions in our prayers are considered and answered. From this understanding comes the traditional statement said before the shofar is blown: “From my narrow place, from my depths and constraints, I call to You, and You respond to me from Your expansive place.”
Today, not only do we blow a shofar in ancient memory of our ancestors and out of obedience to the Scriptures, we do so as a prophetic awakening of that time in the future when we will all hear the great Trumpet of God calling His Bride to “Come up here!”—The penetrating sound that awakens the soul to all that awaits the true Believer.
In the meantime, each of us is the real shofar of this world. From the tight and constrained places within us, we each make a sound in the earth realm. We each take the wind within us and form a frequency that goes into the nations. The question is whether or not that “wind” is the Ruach Hakodesh, the Holy Spirit, or our own destructive wind that blows to and fro causing devastation everywhere it goes.
We as children of the Most High and servants of King Yeshua are called to be pure shofars who only allow the pure wind of Yahweh to flow through our vessels. A new shofar is filled with flesh and smells terrible until the flesh is completely cleaned out. In the same way, the Father removes our flesh so we can be a fresh new sound that will awaken people to His glorious message instead of repelling them. The frequency of the trumpet is everything, my friends. And that frequency is love. Without love, we are clanging symbols—a deafening trumpet sound that forces everyone around us to cover their ears.
It is not unusual for there to be spiritual attacks and an increase in stress, frustration, and the like leading up to the feast days. The enemy knows how powerful these holy days are and he understands that this is the time for the renewing of contracts and the time when promotions are handed out to those who qualify during these days. It is said that how one handles oneself during this time period is his destiny for the whole next year.
This should be a sober reminder for us to remain loving, regardless of the situations we find ourselves in—to make certain our trumpets sound pure and clear. The enemy sets many traps this time of year in hopes of stealing the blessings the King of Heaven desires to give out during this time of year. The enemy makes a last-ditch effort to disqualify the qualified. Beware of these traps. Don’t take his bait. Forgive those who have hurt you and stay in the center of love. Care about others and reverse the curse of the forbidden fruit that has plagued this land for almost 6000 years.
The traditional dish of apples and honey represents reversing the curse from the Garden. The honey represents the sweetness of eternality. The apples with honey represent reversing of the curse by eating the fruit of God that brings eternal life. The true fruit of Yahweh brings forth the fruit of the Spirit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Bring your offering before the Lord this day. Be light and a pure sound for your loved ones, your neighbor and the nations to hear. Let your new year’s resolutions be sincere and let this next coming year be sweet. May your name be inscribed for another year in the Book of Life and may you be set free from the “tight spaces” that are constricting your growth.
Shalom and Chag Sameach (Happy Festival)!!
Jim Staley