The Feast of Trumpets - Numbers 29:1-8

The Feast of Trumpets

Numbers 29:1-8

Num 29:1-8 "On the first day of the seventh month you shall have a holy convocation. You shall not do any ordinary work. It is a day for you to blow the trumpets,  2  and you shall offer a burnt offering, for a pleasing aroma to the LORD: one bull from the herd, one ram, seven male lambs a year old without blemish;  3  also their grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil, three tenths of an ephah for the bull, two tenths for the ram,  4  and one tenth for each of the seven lambs;  5  with one male goat for a sin offering, to make atonement for you;  6  besides the burnt offering of the new moon, and its grain offering, and the regular burnt offering and its grain offering, and their drink offering, according to the rule for them, for a pleasing aroma, a food offering to the LORD.  7 "On the tenth day of this seventh month you shall have a holy convocation and afflict yourselves. You shall do no work,  8  but you shall offer a burnt offering to the LORD, a pleasing aroma: one bull from the herd, one ram, seven male lambs a year old: see that they are without blemish.”

I.       A Special Sabbath

1.      The Feast of Trumpets was declared as a special Sabbath, in which everyone was to rest from their normal activities.

2.      Again in verse 25 it is emphasized that it is to be a day of rest in which no laborious work is to be performed.

3.      The significance of this is that on this occasion God wants us to rid our minds of the normal daily duties, of all outside distractions in order that we may focus our attention on Him and Him alone.

II.    A Memorial

1.      The feast of Trumpets was also to be a day of reminder by the blowing of the trumpets.

2.      At the sound of the trumpets Israel would remember past events in which God acted in their behalf.

a.      The sound of the trumpet summoned the minds of the Israelites to remember back to the giving of the Law on Mt. Sinai, at which time the nation of Israel was born.

Exo 20:18 ESV  “Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off”

b.      The trumpet also was sounded to announce coming judgment or destruction. Therefore, Jewish tradition states that upon this day the judgment of all men will occur.

3.      The trumpet was also used to summon the people together for worship.

4.      In the New Testament teachings; the sound of the trumpet has an eschatological significance, in that it will be used at the Lord’s return to summon the church unto Him to ever be with Him.

III. Institution of the Feast of Trumpets

1.         The feast was to be celebrated in the seventh month (Tishri), on the first day of the month, which is described as a memorial proclaimed with blast of trumpets, a holy convocation.

2.         The Feast of Trumpets is also the first of the autumn feast days and also marks the Jewish New Year.

3.         Trumpets were used throughout the OT in two distinct ways.

a.)      Used to announce to the Jewish people the coming of judgment on the people of Israel. Jewish tradition states that upon this day the judgment of all men will occur.

b.)      Secondly the blowing of trumpets was used to summon the people together for worship.

4.        Today it is referred to by the Jews as Rosh Hashanah, which will be celebrated on Sep. 10-11, 2018.

5.         The feast was to be a day of spiritual renewal, which the sacrifices symbolize, in that the person offering is presenting himself whole-heartedly to God.

6.         It was a day when one’s life was to be analyzed in its relationship and obedience to God’s commands.

7.         It was a day of preparation, as was the following week, for the coming observance of the Day of Atonement.

8.         The feast also marked the beginning of the Year of Jubilee, which was celebrated every fifty years.

B.     History of the Feast

1.         It is not mentioned again until the time of Ezra (Ezra 3:6).

2.         Apparently the feast was not considered a major feast by the Jews, but this day evolved into the second most holy day on the modern Jewish religious calendar. It begins the "ten days of awe" before the Day of Atonement.

3.         Rabbi Saadiah declared the God commanded us to sound the cornet on New Year's Day for ten reasons.

a.)      First, because this day is the beginning of the creation, when God began to rule over the world, and as it is customary to sound the trumpets at the coronation of a king, we should, in like manner proclaim by the sound of the cornet that the Creator is our King. As David said, "With trumpets and the sound of the cornet, shout ye before the Lord."

b.)      Secondly, as the New Year's Day is the first of the ten penitential days, we sound the cornet as a proclamation to admonish all to return to God and repent. If they do not so, they at least have been informed, and cannot plead ignorance. Thus we find that earthly kings publish their decrees with such commitment, that none may say, "We heard not of this."

c.)      Thirdly, to remind us of the law given on Mount Sinai, where it is said (Ex. 19:16), "The voice of the cornet was exceeding loud." To remind us also that we should bind ourselves anew to the performance of its precepts, as did our ancestors, when they said, "All that the Lord hath said will we do and obey."

d.)      Fourthly, to remind us of the prophets, who were compared to watchmen blowing the trumpet of alarm, as we find in Ezekiel 33:4, "Whosoever hears the sound of the cornet and takes not warning, and the sword cometh and takes him away, his blood shall be upon his own head; but he that taken warning shall save his life."

e.)      Fifthly, to remind us of the destruction of the temple and the fearsome sound of the battle cry of our enemies, "Because thou hast heard, oh my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war" (Jer. 4:19). Therefore, when we hear the sound of the cornet we should implore God to rebuild the temple.

f.)       Sixthly, to remind us of the binding of Isaac, who willingly offered himself for immolation, in order to sanctify the Holy Name.

g.)      Seventh, that when we hear the terrifying sound, we may, through dread, humble ourselves before the Supreme Being, for it is the nature of these material instruments to produce a sensation of terror, as the prophet Amos observes, "Shall a trumpet be blown in a city, and the people not be terrified?"

h.)     Eighthly, to remind us of the great and terrible Day of Judgment, on which the trumpet is to be sounded, as we find in Zephaniah (1:14-16), "The great day of the Lord is near, and hastens much, a day of the trumpet and shouting."

i.)        Ninthly, to remind us to pray for the time when the outcasts of Israel are to be gathered together as promised in Isaiah (27:13), "And it shall come to pass in that day, the great trumpet shall be sounded, and those shall come who were perishing in the land of Assyria.

j.)        Tenthly, to remind us of the resurrection of the dead, and our firm belief therein. "Yea, all ye that inhabit the world, and that dwell on the earth, when the standard is lifted upon the mountain, behold, and when the trumpet is sounded, hear!" says the prophet Isaiah.

            Therefore should we set our hearts to these seasons, and fulfill the precept                  that the Bible commands us, as it is written, "And the Lord commanded us to               do all the statutes . . . That it might be well with us at all times." (Deut. 11:32)

C.     Messianic Significance

1.         In I Thessalonians 4:16 trumpets will sound the second coming of Christ.

2.         The Feast of Trumpets prophesies of the resurrection of the dead at the second coming of Christ (1 Cor. 15:52). It has been called in Jewish circles, "the Day of the Awakening Blast."

Eze_45:20 and Neh_8:1-12. (Neh_8:9). Eze_40:1 Lev_25:9 Lev_23:23-25 and Num_29:1-6