Yom Teruah (Feast of Trumpets) pt. 2

"...on the first day of the [seventh] month, you shall have a sabbath-rest, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation."
-Leviticus 23:24b

"a memorial of blowing of trumpets" is teruah in the Hebrew:
H8643
תּרוּעה
terû‛âh
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).

H7321 is 'rua' which literally means "to shout (for alarm or joy); to sound an alarm; to cry aloud; to make a joyful noise."

The Feast of Trumpets is much more than just blowing the shofar (Hebrew for trumpet). In fact it's not limited to the blowing of the trumpet, but it is for the voice as well. This is important because as we shout to God with the voice of triumph (Psalm 47:1) there is a Voice that we are to be listening for - The Lord God Almighty's!

In fact that is what this Feast, or Day, is all about...hearing HIS Voice!

In looking at the pattern of the fall Feasts of YHWH, there is no doubt that Tabernacles is about the time of restitution and Him dwelling with (literally 'tabernacling with') His people...for eternity! (Revelation 21:3). Going backward to the Day of Atonement we see not only the picture of redemption in Messiah Yeshua, but also the Day of His judgment upon the earth. This inevitably leads us back ten days to Trumpets which is a picture of His heralded return! The day Yeshua comes back for His bride, the church! If this is the case then there should certainly be more than one witness of this in the Scriptures.

The first picture we have took place at Mt. Sinai, as Yahweh called His people to enter covenant with Him.

"Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine.
And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation...

Then the LORD said to Moses, 'Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their clothes.
And let them be ready for the third day. For on the third day the LORD will come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.

Then it came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there were thunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain; and the sound of the trumpet was very loud, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled.

And when the blast of the trumpet sounded long and became louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him by voice."
-Exodus 19:5-6; 10-11; 16; 19

What an amazing event! And there are so many things to see in this passage that one could devote hours to it, but we won't do that today! But do check out a couple of passages about whom the LORD calls to be a "kingdom of priests, a holy nation, and a special treasure"
(1 Peter 2:4-5; 9; Revelation 1:6).

One thing that obviously stands out is hearing God's voice. This isn't the only place in Scripture that He tells His people to hear His voice. But we also see this clearly in the New Testament,

"As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.
"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me."
-John 10:15-16; 27

Notice that He says that His sheep hear His voice. Back in verse 5 of John 10, Yeshua said that His sheep will not follow a 'thief' because they do not know his voice. If we do not know the voice of God then we will end up following those who are lawless. If we expect to hear the LORD call our name when He returns then we better know His voice, which He identifies with keeping HIS Commandments (Genesis 26:5; Exodus 15:26; Deuteronomy 13:4, 18; 15:5; 26:17; 27:10; 28:1, 15, 45; 30:8, 10; Psalm 103:20).

Are you lawful or lawless? The anti-christ is identified as the 'man of lawlessness' in 2 Thessalonians 2:3 . Something to think about.

Hearing the voice of Yahweh is knowing His Word and keeping His Commandments which the Holy Spirit writes on the hearts and minds of true believers (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ezekiel 36:27; John 16:13, 17:17 /Psalm 119:142).

As we continue to look at this, keep in mind the picture of the feast of trumpets - the Lord's return.

As we've seen the blast of the shofar (trumpet) is the awakening sound of the voice of the LORD calling His people to HIM!

"Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other."
-Matthew 24:29-31

"...in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed."
-1 Corinthians 15:52

"For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first."
-1 Thessalonians 4:16

Messiah will return with shouting and blasting of a shofar...an awakening blast! A cry of battle and terror for the lawless, but a shout of joy and acclamation for those who are His! Those who hear HIS Voice!

"I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet, saying, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,"
-Revelation 1:10-11a

Yeshua, in speaking to John about the Day to come, shouted His return. It will be for all to hear, but not everyone will hear the same message depending on where they stand. We are either with Him, standing on His commandments, or we are against Him, standing on shaky ground.

I want to leave you with a psalm that speaks of not only His return, but of how triumphant and joyful it will be in that Day. When Messiah returns for His bride, may we be awake and ready, with oil in our lamps, our wicks trimmed, and listening for His Voice.

"Oh, clap your hands all you peoples!
Shout to God with the voice of triumph!
For YHWH Most High is awesome!
He is the great King over all the earth
He will subdue the peoples under us,
and the nations under our feet.
He will choose our inheritance for us,
The excellence of Jacob whom He loves. Selah
God has gone up with a shout,
YHWH with the sound of the trumpet.
Sing praises to our God, sing praises!
Sing praises to our King, sing praises!
For God is the King of all the earth;
Sing praises with understanding.
God reigns over the nations;
God sits on His holy throne.
The princes of the people
have gathered together.
The people of the God of Abraham.
For the shields of the earth belong to God;
He is greatly exalted.
-Psalm 47