Rosh Hashanah

Introduction:

Expec’t! The Celebrations of Israel:

As journey thru these, think: “Not pertain to me.” “Not important.” “Not relevant.”

Reveal s’thing about nature & Ways of God; Reminder: living out gospel today!

High holy days all about life right now — living out God’s goodness

Also point us to the future… {to Isr. & future to US today]

Lst wk: Yom Kippur, Day of Atone’t {Holy day of reset, covering for Isr. sin; JESUS perfect!]

Jesus in desert — DoA rope myth…

TODAY: Going to cover a short celebration actually comes right B4 YK >>

Rosh Hashanah: “Head of Months”

AKA: Feast of Trumpets or Day of Blasts!

Israel’s ‘New Year celebration… celebrated halfway thru the year!

Leviticus 23:23–25 “The Lord said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites: ‘On the first day of the seventh month you are to have a day of sabbath rest, a sacred assembly commemorated with trumpet blasts. Do no regular work, but present a food offering to the Lord.’ ””

Rosh Hoshanah called Israel to prepare their hearts for Yom Kippur, and honor God for His provision over the last planting season.

Lunar cal; ev’ry month start on New Moon. Dependent on seeing NEW moon!

New Season of growth!

Thanking God for providing & trusting Him for future produc’n!

Most unique, important part of RH celebration (as found in Torah) was >>

The Trumpet Call:

Traditionally, Israelites used a ram’s horn, called a Shofar in Hebrew.

This horn carried a lot of different emphases in worsh.

Highlight a few that pertain to R.H…

to Wake up & Repent

Israel prepared their hearts for the Day of Atonement with a sudden call to repent.

Psalm 33:13,15 “From heaven the LORD looks down and sees all mankind… he who forms the hearts of all, who considers everything they do.”

As trad. expanded, they now blow ~100x!

Short and long blasts, each with dif. names, meanings. Growing louder!!

Designed to shock system; overwhelm & wake U up emotionally.

Wake up to your sin & who God is.

A call to repent; a call

for God to reign as King

Shofars were used in Bible times was to inaugurate a new king!

The blasting of the RH trumpet was a call for the people to ackn. YH as king!

Psalm 47:5–7 “God has ascended amid shouts of joy, the Lord amid the sounding of trumpets. Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises. For God is the King of all the earth; sing to him a psalm of praise.”

Phys - wanted YH as their king. Spir. - His Ways 2B on their minds & in <3’s

The trumpet blasts were a welcome convocation to the one TRUE ruler of Isr.

Interestingly, YH never spec. commands trumpets (implied)

When the crowds cheered & celebrated Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, their vocal ‘blasts’ were like the ‘Teruah’ (Lev.23)!

Luke 19:37 “When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices…”

These loud voices, annou'g & calling to their desired king fulfilled this shade of R.H. call!

While not a trumpet, the command is to loud blasts!

Ironically, the crowd’s shouts even better lines up with Sukkot - next wk!

A trumpet call: for repent’ce; new king & >>

for all Israel to Assemble

The trumpet blasts would regularly call all of Israel to join together (at the temple, in worship, etc) as one.

The shofar was a uniting vessel; drawing Isr. out from where they were at to a sacred or unifying observance.

After Exile, Israel longed for a day when all 12 tribes would be reconstituted as one!

Jeremiah 31:31 ““The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah.”

The people desired unity - as they had under David & Solomon.

Due to own sin & reject’n, Assyria & Baby’n had scattered them… esp. N’ern

God promised to do this HIMSELF.

Micah 2:12 ““I will surely gather all of you, Jacob; I will surely bring together the remnant of Israel. I will bring them together like sheep in a pen, like a flock in its pasture; the place will throng with people.”

Isaiah’s portrait of ‘YH’s gathering’ saw an intermediary - a suffering servant complete this task.

We know that Jesus began uniting a scattered Israel at the cross & Pentecost confirmed it.

Jews from every nation under heaven present 2 witness & respond to God’s pres. being poured out!

And, tho that suff'g serv. now sits @ right hand of Father

Like Palm Sunday,

Jesus will Enter Jerusalem Again…

R.Hashanah, Feast of Trumpets, reminds us of Christ’s return.

He entered into our world with a blast of angels’ voices.

Like the fest., He entered ministry through the waters of baptism w/ booming sound of God’s voice,

At his return, X will come >>

...At the Blast of a Trumpet (Yom Teruah)

Day of “blasts”! Ment’d earlier, modern >

Rosh Hashanah festivities contain >100 trumpet blasts!

Three main types of blasts to signify different things - call to specific prayers & readings

Zikkaron - remembrance!

The trumpet blast is the easiest connection with X’s second coming

1 Corinthians 15:52 “in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.”

Whether U see Rapture/ 2Com’g in this psg, X is going to come back to trump!

Many messianic Jews today see Feast of trump’s as connected to rapture

Even believe that X will call up believers during celebration - Sep/Oct.

A key part of Rapture idea is its immenance; Jesus will return >>

...When we Least Expect it (Yom Hakeseh)

“Hidden Day” - later traditional label for it

Labeled Hidden bc dependent on the New Moon.

Again, lunar calendar - started when New Moon began

Couldn’t 100% predict when new moon happened…

Jews would typically say about Rosh Hashanah, "Of that day and hour no one knows."

Hopefully those words sound familiar to you.

By Jesus’ day, that tradition was spread throughout & he ref. it in Mt24…

Matthew 24:36 ““But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”

Jesus says that His return will happen in the blink of eye; no one knows!

R.H. taken on mysterious quality, being 1st of mo. HIDDEN DAY. “Hidden from Satan.”

R.H. lines up w X reuturn (@ trumpet, unkown) & >>

...To Judge the Living & the Dead (Yom Hadin)

One of reasons for trumpet blowing was to call us to account for sins.

In judg’t, a trumpet was bllown to signify God’s rule/auth.

As Isr. was prep. hearts for Yom Kippur —cover over sin— repent & ackn. sin

Tradition added to Rosh Hashanah: was a day when Yahweh opened the books of life & death.

In the trad. that developed, YH opened & check’d his books dur. R.H. Life or Death… chance to repent!

R.H. was a day consider status in those books! As we discuss R.H. same for us!

In X’s long teaching on His return, he connects a trumpet w/ Not just return, but eschat’l judgment!

Matthew 24:31 “And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.”

The pic here: gathering up harvest - what is good or bad; worthy or not.

One day, Christ will return to reckon his creation.

Those that have accepted HIS life will gain it. Those who have rejected Him, chose death, will also receive that. >>

Remember: Christ is King!

The one who rules stands as the gateway to true life:

Acts 4:12 “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.””

So many religions declare that theirs is pathw’y to life; their founders/ teach’s all died & stayed that way.

Jesus claimed to be the only path to true life - and he’s still alive to back up that claim today.

The Apostles preached:

Acts 10:42 “...[Therefore, Christ] is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead.”

God in X JC holds the standard by which every soul will be judged. FAIR. JUST.

Judg’t isn’t inherently punitive; those IN Christ will be judg’d & rewarded. Bema seat.

This righteous judge is one true king of the World & >>

The King is Coming!

1 Thessalonians 4:16 “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.”

Trumpets of R.H. call us today to remember what will be.

WAKE UP to the silent death inside; call to account for sin.

Receive Jesus today as your lord & sav’r.

1 Thessalonians 4:17 “After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.”

There is eternal life promised; something deeper or beyond this life!

ARE YOU READY?

Paul calls us to not just accept Jesus, but walk in His power to grow closer & therefore holier to God.

Ephesians 5:8, 14 “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light… 14 “This is why it is said: “Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.””

WAKE UP!

Walk in the light as you have been called out of darkness…