Topical Studies
What the Bible says about
Shofars
(From Forerunner Commentary)
|
Leviticus 23:23-25
To adherents of Judaism, the Feast of Trumpets is essentially a mystery. They can see that the first day of the seventh month is a holy day, and a noisy one at that. The Jews have their traditions, but they have little idea what to make of this annual holy day. Their confusion is both ironic and telling because God has made the clues readily available. However, putting the pieces together would require accepting something they are not ready to accept, at least not yet. In Hebrew, the Feast of Trumpets is called Yom Teruah, based on the sparse instructions in Leviticus 23:23-25 and Numbers 29:1-6. Yom (Strong's #3117) is the Hebrew word for “day,” while translators commonly render teruah (Strong's #8643) in those places as “a trumpet blast,” “a blowing of trumpets,” or even “loud blasts on the ram's horn.” But in the instructions, God does not specify why. He only indicates that it is to be a day of great noise, a day of alarm, joy, rejoicing, and shouting, which is what teruah literally means. The root of teruah is ruwa (Strong's #7321), and its figurative meaning is “to split the ears (with sound).” The sound can signify alarm or rejoicing. It can be destructive or joyful. Regardless of the occasion, ruwa is piercing, thunderous, or otherwise deafening. The emphasis in teruah lies in earsplitting noise rather than its source. It does not directly mean “trumpets,” “ram's horn,” or “shofar,” but instead points to an arresting noise like the sound those instruments make. But it also describes the sound a throng of people makes when shouting with a full-throated roar, and particularly in shouting to God (Psalm 47:1; 66:1; 81:2; 100:1). In God's church, our observance tends to be subdued compared to how Scripture uses teruah and its root, but we at least have a song service during which we can lift our voices—“make a joyful noise”—as commanded.
David C. Grabbe
The Shout of a King
|
|
Leviticus 23:24-25
God does not command us to do things just to show off His power. His commands are always filled with true logic and common sense; when He commands us to do something, it is always for a very good reason. He tells us to keep His Feast of Trumpets because He wants us to take a break from the mundane tasks of our daily lives. Like God's other holy days, the Feast of Trumpets is like a 24-hour stop sign. God wants us to stop! On the Feast of Trumpets, God wants us to stop, to put aside our relatively unimportant daily affairs, and to concentrate for a mere 24 hours on what is really important, not on the physical things that are not lasting or eternal (II Corinthians 4:18). Even the rocks and mountains of this earth eventually will wear away to sand and dust (Psalm 102:25-27; see Hebrews 1:10-12). On this feast, God wants us to stop in order to concentrate on the truly eternal things: the return of Jesus Christ, the resurrection of the dead, the end of the age of man, and the establishment of the Kingdom of God on earth. That is why we keep the Feast of Trumpets! There are a few specific instructions here on how God wants us to observe His Feast of Trumpets: 1. It should be kept as a day of rest, similar to a weekly Sabbath. 2. It is a memorial of blowing of trumpets. Most church of God congregations do not own trumpets or rams' horn shofars, or have accomplished trumpeters. However, we often play some appropriate, recorded trumpet music as the holy day offering is being taken up. Such music gives us a good, aural reminder of the unique significance of this day. 3. A "holy convocation" should be held. A convocation is an assembly of people, and a holy convocation is a sacred assembly of people or a church service. Although many of God's scattered people find it necessary to keep the Sabbath alone or in tiny groups, it is good and worthwhile, if at all possible, to make the extra effort to keep the holy days with a larger group. 4. No "customary work" should be done. Customary work (or "servile work" as phrased in the King James Version) is work that we would normally do on a regular day, usually for pay. To the delight of our young people, this is properly extended to prohibit household chores, school work, and school homework. God does, however, allow a small amount of work to be done for the final preparation of food for the Feast, although as much of this labor as possible should be done on the previous day, termed in the Bible "the day of preparation" (see Exodus 12:16; 16:23; Matthew 27:62; Mark 15:42; Luke 23:54; John 19:14, 42). 5. Christians are not required to sacrifice animals by fire for their holy day offerings. Rather, they are to give monetary offerings—over and above their regular tithes—that may be used for the needs of the church and for the ongoing work of preaching God's Word.
Staff
What Is the Feast of Trumpets, Anyway?
|
|
Numbers 23:21
In Hebrew, the Feast of Trumpets is called Yom Teruah, based on the sparse instructions in Leviticus 23:23-25 and Numbers 29:1-6. Yom (Strong's #3117) is the Hebrew word for “day,” while translators commonly render teruah (Strong's #8643) in those places as “a trumpet blast,” “a blowing of trumpets,” or even “loud blasts on the ram's horn.” But in the instructions, God does not specify why. He only indicates that it is to be a day of great noise, a day of alarm, joy, rejoicing, and shouting, which is what teruah literally means. The root of teruah is ruwa (Strong's #7321), and its figurative meaning is “to split the ears (with sound).” The sound can signify alarm or rejoicing. It can be destructive or joyful. Regardless of the occasion, ruwa is piercing, thunderous, or otherwise deafening. The emphasis in teruah lies in earsplitting noise rather than its source. It does not directly mean “trumpets,” “ram's horn,” or “shofar,” but instead points to an arresting noise like the sound those instruments make. But it also describes the sound a throng of people makes when shouting with a full-throated roar, and particularly in shouting to God (Psalm 47:1; 66:1; 81:2; 100:1). In God's church, our observance tends to be subdued compared to how Scripture uses teruah and its root, but we at least have a song service during which we can lift our voices—“make a joyful noise”—as commanded. A survey of the three dozen places teruah appears uncovers a few common themes, such as war, alarm, rejoicing, warning, and victory. However, another theme of teruah, often overlooked, is found in a Messianic prophecy given through the soothsayer or priest-diviner, Balaam, in Numbers 23:21. Balak, king of Moab, had hired him to curse Israel, but God ensured he could only bless the nation. Through Balaam, God explains why He could not curse Israel as Balak desired. He essentially says that He had chosen to overlook the sins of Israel because of what He was working out. We can readily see an example of His sparing them in the Exodus Passover, where God “passed over” the sinful nation to fulfill His promises to Abraham. God is not saying Israel was without iniquity, only that He had chosen not to focus on it. He would not curse Israel just because Balaam or Balak asked Him to. Teruah appears in the last half of the verse: “The LORD his God is with him, and the shout of a King is among them” (emphasis ours). This couplet contains an example of parallelism, in which the two phrases express the same idea. The word “shout” shows a common usage that can help us appreciate this holy day: Teruah—which is shouting, the blowing of trumpets, or the splitting of the air with an arresting noise—draws attention to the presence of God. Of course, we understand that He is always present, but the deafening noise, from whatever source, draws attention to the reality of His presence. In this prophetic utterance, God says He is with Israel, and His shout—the noise that cannot be ignored—rings among His people. Thus, on Yom Teruah, this Day of Trumpets or Day of Shouting, we remember His presence because the sounds of this day should capture our attention and redirect it to what the King is doing. It is a highly effective way to begin the fall holy day season, focusing God's people on the right things because it is nearly impossible to ignore a noise like teruah describes. Remember, in the prophecy, God is explaining why He is defending Israel, even though His people were really not any better than their neighbors. In many ways, they were worse because they were accountable for much more. God defended them simply because of His faithfulness to Abraham. On that basis, the shout of rejoicing went up because the Creator God was their King and in their midst, favoring them.
David C. Grabbe
The Shout of a King
|
|
 |
The Berean: Daily Verse and Comment
Sign up for the Berean: Daily Verse and Comment, and have Biblical truth delivered to your inbox. This daily newsletter provides a starting point for personal study, and gives valuable insight into the verses that make up the Word of God. See what over 150,000 subscribers are already receiving each day.
Email Address:
|
We respect your privacy. Your email address will not be sold, distributed, rented, or in any way given out to a third party. We have nothing to sell. You may easily unsubscribe at any time. |
|
|
