IT’S YOM TERUAH! THE FEAST OF TRUMPETS! IT’S A DAY OF SHOUTING!
This is also the first day of The 10 Days of Awe.
I thought about breaking this post into two parts for the 31st day of teshuvah and the first day of awe, but they go together anyway, so I’ll leave it as one post. We have some Scripture to read for the remaining days of teshuvah, and I’ll share some things about Yom Teruah.
First, let’s learn some things about this day.
On the Hebrew calendar, this day is known as Rosh Hashanah. It means head of the year. But we know from Exodus 12:3 that the month of Abib (March-April), or Nisan, is to be the head of the year. What’s the deal?
Rosh Hashanah, or Tishri 1, is also known as the first day of creation when the universe began. That’s why the Jewish year number changes on Tishri 1. This day starts the civil calendar, but this month is still the seventh month. In the Spring, the calendar of Festivals, or the ceremonial calendar, begins with the first month. All of the appointed times (mo’ed) of the Father are calculated from this calendar.
This day is known as Yom Teruah, the Day of Shouting. Most people call it the Feast of Trumpets. It’s the one appointed time when we don’t know when it actually begins because it starts with the new moon, and the new moon happens on the other side of the earth. Of course, with today’s technology, we know exactly when the conjunction happens, but that’s beside the point. This is the expected day of the Messiah’s return, like a thief in the night. Though, the Feast of Trumpets is a day for announcing things. It could be that the trumpets sound to announce His imminent coming, but not necessarily on that very day. For example, the Year of Jubilee was announced on the 1st of Tishri but didn’t begin until the 10th of the month. His return could be any of those ten days. There is a lot more that could be said about this day, but we need to get back to the Ten Days of Awe.
This is Day 1 of the Ten Days of Awe. We’ll revisit Psalm 27 over the next ten days and then read other passages. Let’s begin.
Psalm 27: 1 “Of David. YHWH is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? YHWH is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”
Franklin D. Roosevelt said, “We have nothing to fear but fear itself.” That is especially true if we have a relationship with God. We should only fear being fearful because there is nothing to fear with God on our side. Fear comes from the adversary. Don’t let it in.
Genesis 1:26-27 “Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. 27 So God created man in His Own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”
Remember that we were made in God’s image. Because of Adam’s sin, we are born into Adam’s image, but God created us for a purpose. It’s our duty to live according to the purpose.
Ecclesiastes 12:13 “The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.”
We were made to live HIs way and to praise Him.
Psalm 145:1-3 “A Song of Praise. Of David. I will extol You, my God and King, and bless Your Name forever and ever. 2 Every day I will bless You and praise Your Name forever and ever. 3 Great is YHWH, and greatly to be praised, and His greatness is unsearchable.”
This day also coordinates with the first day of creation.
Genesis 1:1-5 ” In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. 3 And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.”