Messianic Report Blog w/Don Meecha September 22, 2009

10 REASONS FOR BLOWING THE SHOFAR

The Days of Awe The shofar is blown each of the ten days leading up to Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. These ten days are called Yomim Nora’im, the Days of Awe. Each day calls us to the remembrance of a specific aspect of the relationship between the God of Israel and His people:  

Day 1: Creation

To celebrate the wonder of creation,which the Holy one, blessed be He,created and reigned over.  Thus when we designate the Creator, we also recognize Him as King on this day. as David said, “With trumpets and the sound of the horn shout joyfully before the King, the Lord” (Psalm 98:6).

Day 2: Repentance

To remind us of the importance of repentance, as it is written in the prophets, "Come, let us return to the Lord … He will revive us after two days; He will raise us up on the third day that we may live before Him-’ (Hosea 6:1-2).

 

Day 3: The coming of God to establish His Covenants

 

To remind us Of Mt. Sinai, as it is said, "the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder" (Exodus 19:19).  We also bring to mind the fact that we broke God’s covenant at Mount Sinai, but we now enjoy God’s New Covenant through the Messiah, as it is written, "Behold, the days are coming when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah… " (Jeremiah 31:31).

 

Day 4: The words of the prophets

 

To remind us of the word of the prophets that was compared to the sound of the shofar, as it is said, ‘Then he who hears the sound of the trumpet, but did not take the warning; his blood will be       on himself… He heard the sound of the trumpet but did not take the warning" (Ezekiel 33:4-5).

 

Day 5: The alarm of war and destruction of the Temple

 

To remind us of the destruction of the Temple which was prophesied by our Messiah Yeshua, as it is written, "Behold, your house is being left to you desolate! For I say to you from now on you shall not see Me until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord’ " (Matthew 23:38-39).

 

Day 6: The offering of Isaac

 

To remind us of the offering of  Isaac, even as we should also offer our lives to God through the Messiah.  As the Now Covenant instructs us, ‘I urge you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship" (Romans 12:1).

 

Day 7: The coming of Israel’s Messiah

 

To remind us of the gathering of the members of the Body of Messiah when He comes to receive us to Himself, as it is written, "We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall all be changed" (I Corinthian 15:51-52).

 

Day 8: The Day of Judgement

 

To recall the great day of judgment and to sound forth the good news of the Messiah’s deliverance, as it is written, " For God has not destined us for  wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Yeshua the Messiah" (I Thessalonians 5:9).

 

Day 9: The gathering of the remnant of Israel

 

To remind us of the ingathering of the scattered ones of Israel, as it is written, "And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather  together His elect from the four winds"(Matthew 24:31).

 

Day 10: The resurrection

 

To remind us of the resurrection of the dead, as it is written, "Your dead will live: their corpses shall rise.  You who lie in the dust, awake and shout for joy, for your dew is as the dew of the dawn, and the earth will give birth to the departed spirits" (Isaiah 26:19).

 

In the book of Isaiah, in the twenty fourth chapter, we find a description of a day of worldwide judgement when the earth and all creation will respond violently to the nearness of God. All of the seasons of this earth, as we now know them, will come to an end. Yeshua echoes a warning in the record of Mattityahu/Matthew 24:3-30. Kefa (Peter) reminds all believers that the coming day of the Lord will be as Isaiah and Yeshua described (2 Kefa/Peter 3:10), when all the elements of this earth, as we now know them, will come to an end. We await Messiah’s promised fulfillment of Yom Teruah upon His return (Mattityahu/Matthew 24:31;25:31-46).

The Days of Awe have a special significance to Messianic believers in light of the Counsel from the B’rit Chadashah: "Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not expect Him. Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household to give them food in due season? Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing. Surely, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods. But if that evil servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’ and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards, the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth" (Mattityahu/Matthew 24:44-51).

"Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace,without spot and blameless . . .You therefore, beloved, since you know these things beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Messiah Yeshua. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen" (2 Kefa/Peter 3:11-14,17-18).

"The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed" (Romans 13:11).

Under the form of Judaism now practiced, Rabbinic Judaism, the synagogue service for Yom Teruah is focused on the Book of Life, or as it is also called the Book of Remembrance. The prophet Malachi spoke of this when he described the Day of Judgement. Malachi saw one book in which the names of only those who fear the L-rd and meditate on His Name are written. Everyone else will then receive the full wrath of God.

A later rabbi, Yochanan ben Nappaha, attempted to improve upon Malachi’s vision by promoting the notion there are other books. He believes one of these is the Book of Death in which the names of the unredeemably wicked are written. He says the other is a ledger in which the names of the not so wicked, but the not truly righteous, are written. God gives these people ten days before Yom Kippur to attain to some greater level of righteousness by penitential behavior and the performance of prescribed mitzvot. During those ten days, God evaluates the people in this ledger and adds up their works. The names of those who have performed satisfactorily are then written in the Book of Life. The remainder are written in the Book of Death. At sunset on Yom Kippur the books are closed till next Yom Teruah.  

Thus, we gain understanding into the traditional greeting among Jewish people from Yom Teruah to Yom Kippur: "L’shanah tovah tikatayvu/ May you be inscribed for a good year!"

Yochanan ben Zebedee, John the son of Zebedee, was one of Messiah Yeshua’s talmidim (disciples). He agrees there are other books, but that the other books are volumes that form one record of the names of those who approach the judging gaze of a holy God confident of their own works (Revelation 20:11-15). In the Book of Life, however, are written the names of those who fear the L-rd and would never approach His judging gaze without the Blood of the Lamb. He says the Book of Life belongs to the Lamb of God so does everyone whose name is written there (Revelation 21:22-22:5).

On the afternoon of Yom Teruah, it is traditional to go to a river or body of water for a special observance called Tashlich. This Hebrew word means, "You shall cast into the seas" (Micah 7:19). Some observers carry bread crumbs to cast into the water. Others carry pebbles or pretty, polished stones. In either case, these little "burdens" represent sinful habits from which the observance of Tashlich is intended to relieve us. The bread crumbs contain leaven which, in the Scriptures, represents sin. The polished, smooth pebbles are like the sinful habits we continually do, and those sinful habits for which we have formed a particular attachment. The exercise of Tashlich is aimed at returning our affections to God and freeing us from the weight of any attachment that hinders us from knowing His love. This exercise has special significance for Messianic believers in light of the Counsel from the B’rit Chadasha (New Covenant):

"Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us" (Hebrews 12:1).

Other festivities for Yom Teruah include the sharing of apples and honey symbolic of the hope for the sweetness of a good year. Since God’s creative power and sovereignty resounds during the Days of Awe, challah baked in a round shape and blended with raisins is a favorite food. For Messianic believers the food is a reminder of the sweetness of Life in Yeshua!