from Israel My Glory, Vol. 49, No.4 (1991)
A Trumpet in Zion
by Elwood McQuaid
Israel’s great fall feasts were celebrations that
witnessed a pendulum swing of national emotions sweeping from
trepidation to exhilaration. These spectacular festivals, around which all
national life revolved, were seasons of intense personal interaction
with Judaism and Jehovah.
They also reflected the summary expectations of Israel, for as the men of Israel came “up to Jerusalem” in obedience to the Lord’s solemn command to “appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose” (Dt. 16:16), priests and people were scanning faces to identify, at long last, the promised Messiah.
Four features were common to Israel’s feasts.
1. Historical aspects: Israel was to remember what God had done in the past and His power to deliver.
2. Agricultural aspects: A benevolent Father brought the rains and fruits of creation to sustain His people.
3. Sacrificial aspects: Sacrifices were central elements at the heart of the feasts. Atonement and heart peace were objects Jews fondly pursued to Mount Moriah.
4. Prophetic aspects: All feasts held tokens of future prospects for Israel. At the heart of it all lay the anticipation of the Messiah’s future ministry.
The fall cycle held immense prophetic significance. Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah) was a magnificent foreview of Israel’s ultimate regathering to the land. The Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) heralded the day of Israel’s final repentance and reconciliation to Jehovah. Finally, Tabernacles set forth her final ingathering under the triumphant hand of the Messiah in preparation for His Kingdom reign.
BIBLICAL BACKDROP
Rosh Hashanah was the day designated for the blowing of trumpets: “And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation. Ye shall do no servile work therein: but ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD” (Lev. 23:23–25).
Trumpets, historically and typically, signified Israel’s national return to the land of their fathers. But, most significantly, the emphasis was placed upon the regathering that would result in Israel’s embracing the Messiah. Isaiah stated the case clearly: “and ye shall be gathered one by one, O ye children of Israel. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the great trumpet shall be blown, and they shall come who were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the LORD in the holy mount at Jerusalem” (Isa. 27:12–13).
In this connection, Isaiah emphasized the trumpets in their association with the lifting up of an ensign (Isa. 18:3). The ensign is identified as the delivering Messiah: “nd in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, who shall stand for an ensign of the peoples; to him shall the nations seek, and his rest shall be glorious” (Isa. 11:10).
Nehemiah 8:1–12 provides an account of an observance of Rosh Hashanah. Jews returning from the Babylonian Captivity were assembled on the “first day of the seventh month [Tishri]” (v. 2). As Ezra the scribe read the Torah, “all the people wept, when they heard the words of the law” (v. 9). Their penitential weeping was turned to joy, however, “because they had understood the words that were declared unto them” (v. 12). Trumpets was, for them, a day of national repentance.
Joel carried the theme further, with the future prophetic aspect dominating the text (Joel 2:1–3:21): “Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly” (2:15). The coming Day of the Lord will move Israel toward her greatest day of regathering.
THE NEW YEAR
As Passover initiated the religious year, Rosh Hashanah marked the beginning of the civil year. Thus, it was a day of special significance to the Jewish people. Extreme care was taken to observe the rising of Tishri’s new moon, which would confirm that the new year had arrived. Eyewitnesses were required to certify the rising of the new moon—not one, but at least two were required. In the Second Temple days, these witnesses were heard in the Hall of Hewn Stones at the Temple. When witnesses were properly examined, the proclamation was issued, “It is sanctified,” and the feast commenced. Silver trumpets and shofars (ram’s horns) were blown throughout the day. Jews of the diaspora learned of the new year’s appearance from signal fires lighted on hilltops to send forth the news. Witnesses had seen, the Council had declared, the trumpets had sounded—let the celebration begin!
Next week we'll continue with the remainder of A Trumpet in Zion.
 Elwood McQuaid served as the executive director of The Friends of Israel for 12 years. He currently serves as executive editor of Israel My Glory magazine, which has a circulation of 200,000 with subscribers in 151 countries. He also hosts Friends of Israel's daily and weekly radio programs, "This Week with Friends of Israel," and "Eye on the Middle East," which air on more than 700 outlets in the United States.
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