In the Bible, God commands us to come together and celebrate on certain days of the year. These biblical feast days are broken down into three seasons. There are the first three feasts (Passover, Unleavened Bread and First Fruits) which occur in March/April. Then there is Shavuot (Pentecost) which happens in May/June. Then there are the fall feasts of Yom Teruah (Feast of Trumpets), Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) and Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles). (For more details, see Leviticus 23).
Yom Teruah is a day to reflect on our special relationship with the God of the universe and recommit to walking in our created purpose--that is, sanctifying the name of God in this world and bringing Him glory. Yom Teruah, along with the rest of God's feasts, is called an appointed time (moed). It is a special time that God told us to remember and celebrate every year.
Yom Teruah marks the beginning of the fall feasts. The name Yom Teruah means day of shouting or making noise. This day has later become known as Rosh Hashanah, which means head of the year. It is the beginning of the civil year on the Jewish calendar.
According to Jewish tradition, Yom Teruah is the anniversary commemorating the creation of Adam and Chavah (Eve). Adam and Eve’s first day on earth corresponds to the first day of the year.
Many scholars believe the command to blow a shofar represents man’s way to re-create the day God created Adam. The idea is this: on the sixth day of creation, God breathed His breath into Adam. When God created Adam, God was lending His breath to man. Adam destroyed the perfect life when he sinned in the garden. Every year, man is commanded to blow the shofar during Yom Teruah. By blowing on the shofar, man is blowing his breath (and thus his life) back to God; man is giving back his spirit to God. God then decides if He wants to give the person another year of life on this earth.
This concept of God giving us life is supported in Scripture by the following verses:
Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. (Genesis 2:7)
The Spirit of God has made me,
And the breath of the Almighty gives me life. (Job 33:4)
The concept of us giving back our spirit to God is supported by the following verses:
Into Your hand I commit my spirit;
You have ransomed me, O Lord, God of truth. (Psalm 31:5)
It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour, 45 because the sun was obscured; and the veil of the temple was torn in two. 46 And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.” Having said this, He breathed His last. (Luke 23:44-46)
These verses emphasis it is God who we commit ourselves to. It is God who decides what will happen to our life on this earth. If He chooses to give us more life, we will continue to live. If He chooses that we die, we die.
Every year on Yom Teruah, the Israelites petition God to be written in the Book of Life for another year of life. Our lives are only a loan from God. On Yom Teruah, the people give their lives back to God and ask Him for another year of life of this earth.
In keeping with the idea that our lives are a loan from God, this is the reason the Israelites strictly forbid self harm (i.e., cutting oneself or self mutilation. Suicide also strictly forbidden because our bodies are not own our, but God’s.) “Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 17 If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are.” (1 Corinthians 3:16-17)
Blowing the shofar (trumpet horn made from an animal)
In Leviticus 23:24, we are told that Yom Teruah is a memorial proclaimed with a blast of trumpets. The Hebrew word for trumpet is shofar, which is an ancient musical instrument made of a ram's horn. The shofar can be made from any clean animal—goat, antelope, ram, etc. The most popular animal used is an antelope because it has a HUGE horn.
Horns from cows, ox or calves are not used. Although these are clean animals and are in abundant supply, the ox was the animal the Israelites used to make the golden idol when they came out of Egypt. The Israelites do not want to remind God of this sin by blowing an animal’s horn which caused Israel to commit a great sin against God.
(As an aside, when the high priest entered the Holies of Holies on Yom Kippur, his garment is plain white linen. He does not wear the fancy high priestly garments which include lots of gold. Again, it is believed one of the reasons God commanded the high priest to wear plain white garments is to not remind God of Israel’s grave sin while the high priest is making the atonement offerings for himself, his family and the nation of Israel.
Continuing in this tradition, most who attend Yom Kippur services will not wear gold jewelry and will wear white garments. Many believe the scene in Revelation 19 with the armies of heaven following after Jesus are clothed in white linen because this event takes place on Yom Kippur.
11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. 12 His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. 13 He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. 15 From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. 16 And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.” (Revelation 19:11-15))
The Binding of Isaac (Genesis 22)
Every year on Yom Teruah, the story about Abraham binding Isaac is read. There are many lessons in this story which point to Jesus and also to Yom Teruah. (Read Genesis 22)
Verse 2: One of the first things God tells Abraham is that he is to go to the land of Moriah. Moriah is a mountain ridge. When Abraham is sent to Moriah, it is to the same place as the future home of the temple mount.
Then Solomon began to build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the Lord had appeared to his father David, at the place that David had prepared on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. (1 Chronicles 3:1)
Moriah means the land of teaching or the land of Torah. What a fitting name because this is where God’s word went forth into all the land and will continue to go forth into all the land in the future.
Now it will come about that
In the last days
The mountain of the house of the Lord
Will be established as the chief of the mountains,
And will be raised above the hills;
And all the nations will stream to it.
And many peoples will come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
To the house of the God of Jacob;
That He may teach us concerning His ways
And that we may walk in His paths.”
For the law will go forth from Zion
And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. (Isaiah 2:2-3)
Verse 4: Abraham arrives on the third day and goes with Isaac to the place of sacrifice. An interesting parallel: it is on the third day Jesus rises from the dead and is delivered from death. It is also on the third day Isaac will be delivered from death.
Verse 5: Abraham says he and the young man are going to go “worship” and “we will come back to you.” Abraham was already given the command to sacrifice Isaac. Abraham knew this was an exercise of his faith. He knew if God was going to allow Abraham to kill Isaac, God would have to resurrect Isaac.
God had told Abraham he would receive a blessing and many nations would come through him.
Now when Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him,
“I am God Almighty;
Walk before Me, and be blameless.
2 “I will establish My covenant between Me and you,
And I will multiply you exceedingly.”
3 Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying,
4 “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you,
And you will be the father of a multitude of nations.
5 “No longer shall your name be called Abram,
But your name shall be Abraham;
For I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.
6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings will come forth from you. 7 I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your [f]descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your [g]descendants after you. 8 I will give to you and to your [h]descendants after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.” (Genesis 17:1-8)
God had already given Abraham a promise of a son. With that promise, God told Abraham many nations would come through Isaac and his descendants. The covenant would be made with Isaac. God also made it very clear Ishmael was not the one through whom the covenant would be made.
Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. 16 I will bless her, and indeed I will give you a son by her. Then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her.” 17 Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, “Will a child be born to a man one hundred years old? And will Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” 18 And Abraham said to God, “Oh that Ishmael might live before You!” 19 But God said, “No, but Sarah your wife will bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; and I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. 20 As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I will bless him, and will make him fruitful and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall become the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. 21 But My covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this season next year.” (Genesis 17:15-21)
The binding of Isaac on Mount Moriah was a test of Abraham’s faith. Abraham knew this. He has already been promised a son in his old age. God had been faithful and true to lead Abraham out of the land of the Chaldees and into the land of Canaan. Over and over again, God’s word had been proven true to Abraham. God was giving Abraham a major final exam. Now that all His promises had been fulfilled, would Abraham be willing to trust God enough to know that if he killed his son, his only son, God would intervene? From all the words given to us in this Scripture, Abraham seemed not to have a doubt that God was faithful and true to His word.
Verses 6 and 7: Isaac takes the wood to burn the sacrifice. Abraham takes the fire. Issac asks where is the sacrificial lamb.
Verse 8: Abraham replies, God will provide the lamb.
The wording in English is very poorly translated in our Bibles. The Hebrew says, “God will provide Himself as the lamb for the burnt offering.” This completely changes the meaning of the text. Abraham does not mean God will produce a lamb so they can have a sacrifice. Rather, Abraham says God Himself will be the sacrificial lamb. Again, this points to Abraham’s incredible faith the God will deliver Isaac from this test of faith.
Verse 9: It says Abraham binds up his son Isaac. Most Bible illustrations show Isaac to be a small child. This is completely false. In chapter 23, we read Sarah dies being 127 years old. Sarah was 90 years old at Isaac’s birth. That means Isaac was 37 years old when Sarah dies. We can assume the binding of Isaac took place shortly before Sarah’s death. We can speculate Isaac was in his 30’s. (Again this draws some very close parallels with Jesus’ death on the cross. Most believe He was in his 30’s when placed on the execution stake.)
Remember, Abraham was 100 years old when Isaac was born. If Isaac was in his 30’s, Abraham would have been in his 130’s. Isaac would have been in the prime of his life. He could have easily overcome Abraham. Isaac, too, must have had a tremendous amount of faith to comply with his father’s wishes to be tied up and bound to the altar. Isaac knew the next act would be for him to be slain. If Isaac did not trust in his father and in God, he could have fled from the scene.
Verse 11 and 12: The Angel of the LORD calls to Abraham and tells him not to sacrifice Isaac.
Verse 13: Abraham sees a ram caught in the thickets by its horn. Abraham offers the ram up as a sacrifice. The ram being caught in the thicket by its horns is one of the reasons a ram’s horn is used for the blowing of the shofar. This is a reminder that of how Isaac should have been slain on the altar, but God provided a substitute.
Verses 16-18: God tells Abraham because he was obedient, he will receive a blessing.
Verse 19: Abraham returns to his men, and they return home to Beersheba. Scripture is eerily silent about Isaac. It is very odd that the text only says Abraham returns to his men, and they (Abraham and his men) return to Beersheba. Where is Isaac? Why is he not mentioned. The next time Isaac is mentioned in the text is when Abraham’s servant fetched Rebecca to by Isaac’s bride. Isaac is out in the field at evening praying when Rebecca arrives.
Now Isaac had come from going to Beer-lahai-roi; for he was living in the Negev. 63 Isaac went out to meditate in the field toward evening; and he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, camels were coming. 64 Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac she dismounted from the camel. 65 She said to the servant, “Who is that man walking in the field to meet us?” And the servant said, “He is my master.” Then she took her veil and covered herself. 66 The servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. 67 Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent, and he took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved her; thus Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death. (Genesis 24:62-67)
An interesting side note: In Genesis 21, Abraham and Sarah are living together. In verse 31, Abraham names the place where he is Beersheba. In Genesis 22:19. Abraham and his men go back to Beersheba. In Genesis 23, we read Sarah dies at the age of 127 in Hebron. Hebron is 26 miles from Beersheba. When did Sarah move? Also, it appears from the text, Abraham was not living in Hebron with Sarah when Sarah died. “…and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah…” (Genesis 23:2).
Abraham would not have had to go anywhere if he was living with her in Hebron. It appears something happened between Genesis 21 and 23 which caused Sarah to abandon Abraham in Beersheba and move 26 miles north to Hebron.
Many scholars believe Sarah was outraged Abraham attempted to sacrifice Isaac on the altar in Mount Moriah. It is just speculation, but something happened which caused the two to split and live separately. It is also speculated, the binding of Isaac incident caused Sarah so much stress, it killed her. Again, it is just speculation, but Sarah’s death comes immediately after the story of the binding of Isaac.
Conclusion
Yom Teruah is a great time to shout and make noise to give glory and honor to our Creator. He gave us breathe and has numbered all our days. May we all be written in the Book of Life for the year to come. Shana Tova!
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