By God’s grace, we have been studying on the feasts of the Lord (as outlined in Leviticus 23 and other relevant passages). We have understood that these feasts (seven of them) are spiritual milestones that the Lord expects us His people to experience (individually and as a church). We understood that the first feast (Passover) marks the beginning of our Christian journey (towards becoming divine sons of God like Christ Jesus our Lord), while the seventh feast (Ingathering) marks the conclusion of the journey (when we have indeed become divine sons of God like Christ Jesus our Lord). Currently, we are on the fifth feast: The Feast of the blowing of Trumpets. And we trust the Lord in His mercy to reveal to us how we are to experience this feast of trumpets, and how this feast is to help us advance towards the final feast. We will proceed by considering different questions and looking at different passages, trusting the Lord to breathe upon them for us.
What is the feast of trumpets?
- Read and comment on Leviticus 23:23-25, Numbers 29:1-6. “… ye shall have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation.” (Leviticus 23:24). “… it is a day of blowing the trumpets unto you.” (Numbers 29:1).
- It is a sabbath day that is a holy convocation for the blowing of trumpets.
- What is a day? It is the period of the shining of the sun. Who is the Sun? Our Lord Jesus Christ (Malachi 4:2, Revelation 22:16). How do we enter a day? We enter a day (relative to a matter) when the Lord Jesus gives us light (understanding) on that matter (to experience it). For example, we enter the day of the blowing of trumpets when the Lord gives us understanding on the blowing of trumpets and we begin to keep the feast by blowing the trumpet.
- What is a sabbath? Exodus 12:16. It is a time of seizing from our own works and doing only the work of preparing the food we will eat. The food is the Word of God. We prepare the food by studying the Word of God to understand and believe it. And we eat the food by praying it (prophesying it) into our lives.
- What is a holy convocation? The Hebrew word translated “convocation”means a rehearsal, which means to read out something (or to declare something). For us, we carry out a holy convocation by consciously rehearsing the word of God over ourselves.
- What is the trumpet we are to blow? Isaiah 58:1. Revelation 1:10-11.Revelation 4:1. The trumpet is a prophetic symbol for declaring the Word of God. When God speaks it is a trumpet. When God gives His word to a man to speak, the man is blowing the trumpet. Thus, to blow the trumpet, one must first receive the Word from God (Ezekiel 2:6–3:12). According to 1 Corinthians 14:6-9, the blowing of the trumpet could be in the form of revelation, or knowledge, or prophesying, or doctrine. Ezekiel, for example, was blowing the trumpet over the dry bones in Ezekiel 37:1-14 (by receiving the word of God and prophesying it over the dry bones), and they came to life.
- Putting all these together:
- What is the feast of trumpets? That is, what does it mean (for us in theNew Testament) to have a “day” for the blowing of trumpets (as mentionedin Numbers 29:1)?
- How do we partake of this feast?
What is the purpose or effect of the blowing of trumpets?
- Read and comment on Leviticus 25:9, Numbers 10:2-10, Joshua 6:5, Judges 3:27, Judges 6:34, Isaiah 27:13, Judges 7:20, 1 Kings 1:39.
- Leviticus 25:9. It ushers in a new era in the life of a believer, church or community. In this case in Leviticus 25:9, it ushers in the year of Jubilee where the captive become free. Meaning, for us, when we, by faith and patience, blow the trumpet, it enables us enter a new era of our walk with God. Reflect on practical scenarios of applying this.
- Numbers 10:2-6. Verse 6 says “… they shall blow an alarm for their journeys.”. Blowing the trumpet triggers a moving forward in our spiritual journey towards the promise of entering the fullness of Christ. Reflect on practical scenarios of applying this.
- Numbers 10:9, Joshua 6:5. It draws God’s attention and makes us benefit from His enabling grace, because He has respect for His word and would always fulfill it when we trumpet it to Him. His response to our trumpeting His word is the enablement to overcome, and the breaking down of the enemy’s walls of opposition, so that we can advance and ascend into the next phase of our walk with God. Reflect on practical scenarios of applying this.
- Numbers 10:10, Judges 7:20. It enables us to offer unto God an acceptable burnt offering and peace offering. The response of grace that God gives when we trumpet His word to Him also has the effect of enabling us to offer ourselves to Him as whole burnt offerings (which is typified by the breaking of the pitcher (vessel) in Judges 7:20—we are vessels). Thus, to receive grace to offer ourselves wholly to God, we blow the trumpet of His word. For example, patiently trumpeting 2 Samuel 22:33 or Psalm 18:32 and more (in faith) would yield a response of enablement and strength to work perfectly in righteousness and true holiness with God. This effect of the blowing of trumpets is a key reason why the feast of trumpets comes before the day of atonement, because one who effectively keeps the feast of trumpets would receive grace to deny himself (as required in the day of atonement)—a denying that is beyond denying the pleasures of sin, but rather denying the expression of one’s freewill (to submit to God’s sovereign will). Reflect on practical scenarios of applying this.
- Judges 3:27, Judges 6:34, Isaiah 27:13. Blowing the trumpet has a gathering effect. On the individual level, blowing the trumpet has the effect of gathering the heart of the believer unto God. That is, it causes one to be willing to do the will of God. As such, if you want to be willing to do of His good pleasure (for example, His good pleasure of denying yourself in the day of atonement), then blow the trumpet (keep the feast of the blowing of trumpets). Reflect!
- 1 Kings 1:39. Blowing the trumpet imparts the anointing of the Holy Spirit to enable a person (or a people) to function fruitfully in ministry. Except otherwise stated in scripture, the trumpet is made from a ram’s horn (which had to be slain and sacrificed for its horn to be gotten—representing Jesus). Here, the horn is referred to as an horn of oil because it was used to hold the oil used for anointing kings (Solomon in this case). But we know that the trumpet is the word of God, and we know that our Lord Jesus is He who was sacrificed on our behalf. The horn represents the strength of the animal. For our Lord, His horn is the Word of God. Romans 1:16 calls the gospel the power of God unto salvation. Referring to the horn as the horn of oil, for us, tells us that blowing the trumpet also has the effect of imparting the anointing oil on a person (or people). But for us, the anointing oil is the Holy Spirit (1 John 2:20, 27). And this oil is imparted upon us through the blowing of the trumpet of the Word of God, because the Word of God is Spirit and Life (John 6:63). With this impartation, we are equipped to functional fruitfully in ministry. Do you want to grow in grace and function fruitfully in ministry? Then take the horn of oil (even the trumpet of the word of God) and blow it upon yourself (in faith and with patience). Reflect!
Throughout this study, we would notice a constant reference to the Word of God. It is because the word of God is the means by which God created all things (Hebrews 1:3, 11:3), and it is by the Word of God that we are being created into His likeness.