Seeing Jesus in Rosh Hashanah
The Feast of Trumpets (also known as Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year) starts on September 15 this year. In the Old Testament (Leviticus 23:25), it was in preparation for the Feast of Atonement and announced the voice of God and His might in warfare, gatherings, and coronations. When the feast was eaten, the people knew that were eating victory, that nothing was impossible with God, and that they could be free from anything.
During this time in history, the ram’s horn was very important, serving as a representation of Jesus’s victory in our lives. Every feast began with the blowing of the shofar (a trumpet made from the ram’s horn), then the people would feast on who God was, giving them a revelation of their true Messiah. The first time we see the horn of a ram mentioned in Scripture was when Abraham was about to offer Isaac as a sacrifice to the Lord, but God provided a ram instead, sparing Isaac’s life (see Genesis 22:13).
Several hundred years later, the Israelites blew the trumpets as they conquered Jericho. They marched once around the city for seven days, then on the seventh day they marched seven times—each time they marched around, the priests blew their trumpets. This blowing of the trumpets gave the people confidence that they were going to win because God would make them victorious.
Seen throughout the Bible close to 20 times, the blowing of the trumpets had several different meanings and announcements to the people:
- Trumpets were blown before going into battle, claiming victory (Numbers 10:9).
- In the year of Jubilee, the trumpets were blown to kick off the celebration (Leviticus 25).
- The trumpets were blown for a calling to repentance, and repentance led to victory (Leviticus 23).
- Trumpets were blown when someone became king (2 Samuel 15:10; 2 Kings 9:13; 11:14, 2 Chronicles 23:13).
- Isaiah 27:12-13 reveals the prophecy of the coming of Jesus through the blowing of trumpets. This meant that Jesus would raise the believers from the dead and take them to heaven to be with Him eternally.
- The harvest resurrection will start with the sound of a trumpet (1 Corinthians 15:51-52).
The greatest Feast of Trumpets will be when Jesus comes back, and we are all caught up to be with Him in heaven. Just as the trumpets were blown for the coronation of a king, the trumpets will again sound when the King of Kings comes to reign victoriously forever!
To see more about the Jewish Feasts, click here.
