feast of trumpets

(Posted at a little perspective in September 2007).

The Feast of Trumpets, the first feast day of the fall holiday season, is due this week. In Scripture, we are commanded to celebrate a day of blowing of trumpets on the 1st day of the 7th month. The first day of biblical months is always the day the new moon is sighted in Israel. Tradition sets that day this year on September 13th, although the actual new moon probably won't be sighted until that evening. I have to remind myself that biblical days run from sundown to sundown, so if the new moon is sighted the evening of the 13th, the Feast of Trumpets will be from the evening of the 13th to the evening of the 14th.

This is our first year celebrating Trumpets, and I am learning so many fascinating things about it. It is a sabbath day of rest; although food may be prepared (I am going to try to prepare as much as I can in advance, however, since it is to be a rest day). Ussher believes that the 1st day of Creation, in which God said, "Let there be light!" was the 1st day of the 7th month. An interesting bit of trivia: if this is true, then that explains why God had to command Moses to change the 1st month for Israel to the Passover month in the spring, since they were used to celebrating the1st day of the 1st month (the day on which all time began) in the fall. It is at the Exodus, then, that the 7th month became the 7th month instead of the 1st month.

Trumpets were blown in the history of Israel always as a call to summon the congregation of Israel (into which we have been grafted), the ekklesia, for different purposes:

1) to set out together on a journey;
2) to assemble to worship the Lord on feast days, new moons, and Sabbaths;
3) to assemble to defend against an attack, or to attack an adversary;
4) to announce the coming of the Lord;
5) to announce the coronation of a new king (see also 2 Kings 11:13-14).

These purposes have very interesting applications for the second coming of Jesus the Messiah, this time as King of kings! And it is His coming that our family will be celebrating this Thursday! (Read more about the prophetic significance of the Feast of Trumpets.)