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Rosh Hashanah In Christ
Contributed by Eric Aschendorf on Sep 27, 2003 (message contributor)
Summary: Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. In scripture this day is called the "day of blowing trumpets". We call the trumpets Shofar. It is necessary to blow the Shofar to produce particular sounds. These sounds represent the desperate cry of a sinner that real
Tree Of Life Ministries Association
http://www.treeoflifeinc.org
Rosh Hashanah In CHRIST
Pastor Eric Aschendorf 9/27/2003
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Shalom,
Since today is Sept 27, 2003. For a Jew this is Rosh Hashanah. I felt this was simply a Word In Due Season. If you would like to know more about this Jewish Holy day or any of the others visit our WebSite at http://www.treeoflifeinc.org and then click into the Discussion Forums. There is an entire section devoted just to Jewish Holy days. You will also find and entire section devoted to correspondence between you and prisoners looking for PenPals as well as many other interesting discussions.
The Discussion Forums are located at http://www.treeoflifeinc.org/cgi-bin/blah/Blah.pl? .
Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. In scripture this day is called the "day of blowing trumpets". We call the trumpets Shofar. It is necessary to blow the Shofar to produce particular sounds. These sounds represent the desperate cry of a sinner that realizes the depth of his fall. They are the sounds of repentance! There is the long (tki’a), changing (shvarim) and with interruptions (tru’a).
The sound of the Shofar is much like the sound of John in the wilderness calling people to repentance!
Each day, during the week prior to Rosh Hashanah it is the duty of every Jew to say "slihot" or to ask GOD for forgivness and to make proper all his relationships with his neighbors. These days and the days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are called "Yamim Nora’im" or Terrible Days, because the righteous Judge of All will judge everyone according to his deeds.
In Leviticus 23:24 we read;
Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation.
The sound of the trumpet is a memorial or a remembrance, but of what?
In Numbers 10, the LORD commands Moses to make two silver trumpets, to use them for the calling of the assembly, and for the journeying of the camps into the desert, the Wilderness of Sin! When they blew the trumpet, they were to take their journey following the LORD. Today, when we hear this sound, we remember that the LORD is with us, and HE also goes before us and leads us similar to the way HE lead our fathers in the desert. HE cares for us and shows us the way to walk and makes us to rest in HIS place of rest. The sound of the trumpet, the sounds of repentance calls us to follow the LORD!
Turn to Numbers 10:9-10
And if ye go to war in your land against the enemy that oppresseth you, then ye shall blow an alarm with the trumpets; and ye shall be remembered before the LORD your GOD, and ye shall be saved from your enemies.
So here the trumpet calls to the LORD your salvation! It is symbolic of the voice of one calling out in the wilderness! GOD is our SAVIOR! HE is our defense and the wall of protection around us! HE is our victory over all our enemies! The sound of the Shofar reminds us of the perfect victory we have in HIM!
Vs 10 gives us further instruction into the use of the Shofar. We are to blow the trumpet, "Also in the day of your gladness, and in your solemn days, and in the beginings of your months, ye shall blow with the trumpets over your burnt offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; that they may be to you for a memorial before your GOD; I am the LORD your GOD."
We have a reason to rejoice in the day of our joy as well as in the day of our sorrow; the LORD remembers us! HE promised in Heb 13:5, "...I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." Thus the sound of the trumpet or Shofar brings us into remembrance before the LORD!
Remember I said earlier that the days before Rosh Hashanah every Jew was to say "slihot". They were to ask GOD for forgivness and to make proper all his relationships with his neighbors. During this time before Rosh Hashanah and between it and Yom Kippur the righteous Judge of All was to judge everyone according to his deeds. At Rosh Hashanah the High Priest reveals whose names are written in the "Book of Life"; whose have been blotted out and who is provisional status, (the intermediates).
Basically, the wholly righteous are written into the Book of Life; the wholly wicked are blotted out and written into the Book of Death and the intermediates are held suspended from Rosh Hashanah until Yom Kippur. Then according to the finding of the Priest they are inscribed into the proper book.
