Tooting God’s Horn and Not Your Own

Drash for Yom Teruah 2009

MMin Kevin “Oriyan” Phipps

"Tell the people of Isra'el, 'In the seventh month, the first of the month is to be for you a day of complete rest for remembering, a holy convocation announced with blasts on the shofar. Do not do any kind of ordinary work, and bring an offering made by fire to Adonai.' " [Vayikra/Leviticus 23:24-25]

" 'In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you are to have a holy convocation; do not do any kind of ordinary work; it is a day of blowing the shofar for you. Prepare a burnt offering to make a fragrant aroma for Adonai — one young bull, one ram and seven male lambs in their first year and without defect —with their grain offering, consisting of fine flour mixed with olive oil — six quarts for the bull, four quarts for the ram, and two quarts for each of the seven lambs — also one male goat as a sin offering to make atonement for you. This is to be in addition to the burnt offering for Rosh-Hodesh with its grain offering, the regular burnt offering with its grain offering, and their drink offerings, according to the rule for them; this will be a fragrant aroma, an offering made by fire to Adonai. [B’midbar/Numbers 29:1-6]

                Today we are celebrating four holidays. Rosh Hashana, Rosh Chodesh, Yom Teruah, and the weekly Sabbath. Rosh Hashana, though not commanded in the Bible, is considered the New Year for the civil calendar. In Jewish tradition, it is the believed to be the day mankind was created, thus beginning human history. As valuable as traditions can be for teaching God’s ways, reminding what God has done, and joining us to a heritage that goes back the Avraham, we are not saved by tradition, but by our Messiah. Our focus is on following Him and obeying His Word. In the verses above, we see instructions for the day of blowing the shofar, or Yom Teruah. This is the holiday we focus on. Last night we also opened the Shabbat and recognized Rosh Chodesh, as these are also commanded in Scripture.

            There is not a lot described for Yom Teruah, besides blowing the shofar and making sacrifices and offerings at the tabernacle (if there is one). So are we to just spend the day blowing the shofar and that’s all there is to it? I enjoy blowing the shofar, but after about five minutes or so the novelty dissipates. My lips go numb, and if I’m really blowing it hard I get dizzy. What more is there to the holiday than this?

Yom Teruah begins a ten day reflection of our lives which culminates at Yom Kippur. Though we have been redeemed by Yeshua, as none of us is perfect, it is still a valuable time to pray with David, “Search my heart, as see if there by any wicked way within me.” We say in our blessings that we are sanctified by God’s commands. This is true. We are justified by Messiah Yeshua, but we still need to study His Torah and continually learn to understand and apply it to our lives to gradually become the person and the people God has created us to be for His glory.

How does this relate to shofar blowing?

All the people experienced the thunder, the lightning, the sound of the shofar, and the mountain smoking. When the people saw it, they trembled. Standing at a distance, they said to Moshe, "You, speak with us; and we will listen. But don't let God speak with us, or we will die." [Sh’mot/Exodus 20:18-19 (15-16)]

This is a very fearful event described here. The people think they are going to die. This also comes just after the Ten Commandments are given. This even accomplishes two things. It gets everyone’s attention, and invokes fear in everyone’s live to God. At that moment at least, no one is questioning the validity of the commands just given them. Any way in which they may be in violation of these commands is going to lead to repentance. According to Solomon, the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom and discretion.

Why do you think that the Days of Awe start with a day of blowing the shofar? It is partially to get our attention. It is to bring us back to the foot of Mt.Sinai. It is to help us acknowledge God as our King. In medieval times, any time a King came to speak to the people, His arrival was heralded with the blowing of trumpets. Everyone knew when they heard the trumpets that the king was there and had something to say.

This brings me to the other side to the blowing of the shofar. Throughout Scripture, we see a connection between the sound of the shofar and the voice of God. We already saw one example in Sh’mot. Here is another.

Mount Sinai was enveloped in smoke, because Adonai descended onto it in fire — its smoke went up like the smoke from a furnace, and the whole mountain shook violently.

As the sound of the shofar grew louder and louder, Moshe spoke; and God answered him with a voice. [Sh’mot 19:18-19]

Now the prophets:

Shout out loud! Don't hold back! Raise your voice like a shofar! Proclaim to my people what rebels they are, to the house of Ya`akov their sins. [Yesha’yahu/Isaiah 58:1]

And the end of the Bible…

I came to be, in the Spirit, on the Day of the Lord; and I heard behind me a loud voice, like a trumpet, saying, "Write down what you see on a scroll, and send it to the seven Messianic communities — Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea!"  I turned around to see who was speaking to me; and when I had turned, I saw seven gold menorahs; and among the menorahs was someone like a Son of Man, wearing a robe down to his feet and a gold band around his chest. [Revelation 1:10-13]

Yochanan/John hears the sound of a shofar behind him and turns around to see Messiah Himself. The sound of the shofar may not be the voice of God, but it ought to tell us that God is present and has something to say. Our job at that point is to listen. This may not be true of any time the shofar is blown, but when it is blown as part of a Torah command, then we need to be listening ot our Shepherd.

I am the good shepherd; I know my own, and my own know me — just as the Father knows me, and I know the Father — and I lay down my life on behalf of the sheep. Also I have other sheep which are not from this pen; I need to bring them, and they will hear my voice; and there will be one flock, one shepherd. [Yochanan/John 10:14-16]

            Not only does the blowing the shofar relate to the voice of God, but the voice of those commissioned by God to watch over people and like the sound of a shofar, warn them of impending danger because of their sin.

"Human being, speak to your people; say to them, 'Suppose I bring the sword on a country, and the people of that country take one of their men and appoint him their watchman. Now if, upon seeing the sword coming against that country, he blows the shofar and warns the people; then, if the sword comes and takes away someone who heard the sound of the shofar but paid no attention to it, the responsibility for that person's death will be his own — he heard the shofar but paid no attention, so the responsibility for his death is his own; whereas if he had paid attention, he would have saved his life.  But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the shofar, so that the people are not warned; and then the sword comes and takes any one of them, that one is indeed taken away in his guilt, but I will hold the watchman responsible for his death.' "Likewise you, human being — I have appointed you as watchman for the house of Isra'el. Therefore, when you hear the word from my mouth, warn them for me. When I tell the wicked person, 'Wicked person, you will certainly die'; and you fail to speak and warn the wicked person to leave his way; then that wicked person will die guilty; and I will hold you responsible for his death.  On the other hand, if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he doesn't turn from his way; then he will still die guilty, but you will have saved your own life. "Therefore, you, human being, say to the house of Isra'el: 'You say, "Our crimes and sins are weighing us down, we're pining away because of them, how can we even stay alive?" Say to them, 'As I live,' swears Adonai Elohim, 'I take no pleasure in having the wicked person die, but in having the wicked person turn from his way and live. So repent! Turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, house of Isra'el?' [Yechez’kel/Ezekiel 33:2-11] [see also Hoshea/Hosea 8:1-4]

God appoints prophets to be His watchmen, his mouthpiece in the world. Unless those who have this gifting and calling live it out, severe consequences will result. Whatever place God has for you in His Kingdom, it is important to do what He has called you to do. Others who live without the love of God and truth of Torah in their lives depend on it. Not everyone will heed the voice of one calling in the wilderness, but they must at least have the opportunity.

As we celebrate Yom Teruah, we need to see exactly what teruah is in Hebrew.                     

ter-oo-aw'

From H7321; clamor, that is, acclamation of joy or a battle cry; especially clangor of trumpets, as an alarum: - alarm, blow (-ing) (of, the) (trumpets), joy, jubile, loud noise, rejoicing, shout (-ing), (high, joyful) sound (-ing).

Here are some verses which use this word in ways other than trumpet or shofar.

He prays to God and is accepted by him, so that he sees [God's] face with joy, and [God] repays the man for his righteousness. He declares before everyone, 'I sinned; I perverted what was right, and it gained me nothing.  [God] redeemed me from going into the pit, and now my life sees light.' [Iyov/Job 33:36]

Then my head will be lifted up above my surrounding foes, and I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing, sing praises to Adonai.  [Tehellim/Psalms 27:6]

 God goes up to shouts of acclaim, Adonai to a blast on the shofar. [Tehellim 47:5]

How happy are the people who know the joyful shout! They walk in the light of your presence, Adonai. [Tehellim 89:15]

Teruah is all about loudness, which expresses the incredible joy of our heart from the incredible love of our God. At the same time this exclamation at the beginning of the year is to get our attention and the attention of others. We are to acknowledge the awesomeness of our God and the humility of our own humanity. We stand before our King who has saved us from the bonds of sin, but who requires us to be holy as He is holy. He has a divine purpose for each of us as we learn to join Him in the work He is doing in the world.

As we blow the shofar it is our battle cry to wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against the powers and principalities of this dark world.

As we blow the shofar it is our call to worship the God who in six days created the heavens and the earth.

As we blow the shofar it is a time of celebration for we are fearfully and wonderfully made and His ways are a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path.

As we blow the shofar we are calling upon God to hear us and save us from our sins and teach us His ways as He leads us to His Kingdom.

As we blow the shofar it is a warning to ourselves and all who hear that the King is coming. We are to prepare ourselves, humble ourselves, repent of our sin, and listen to Him.

As we hear the shofar, not blown by human lips, rejoice for the Messiah has returned!