We have reached the annual feast day which is called by many names. Some call it the Feast of Trumpets or Yom Teruah. But it is also known as The Day of Blowing, The Day of Shouting, The Remembrance of Teruah (see Leviticus 23:24), or even The Day of Making a Loud Noice. Most orthodox Jews call it “Rosh Hashanah” – literally “The Head of the Year” or “The Beginning of the Year”. In this respect, we certainly do not follow the orthodox Jews, because Scriptures clearly teach that today is the first day of the Seventh Month of the year, not the first day of the First Month of the year. We determine the beginning of the year according to the clear principle laid down in Exodus 12:2: “This new moon (or: this month, the month in which Pesach takes place) is the beginning of new moons (or: the beginning of the months) for you, it is the first new moon (or: the first month) of the year for you.” And, just as we are not following the almost universal Jewish practice of calling Yom Teruah, “Rosh Hashanah”, we are also not following their practice of celebrating it over two days. This is a Rabbinical tradition, not a Scriptural command. The Jews, worldwide, started their “New Years” celebrations this year on Wednesday evening (3 days ago) and concluded it on Friday evening, last night, which was the actual evening of the new moon. According to Scriptures, and according to the recorded practice in Y’shua’s time, any month (including the seventh month) can only start on the day after the evening when the first crescent of the new moon has been seen in the land of Israel. That evening was last night – Friday evening, making TODAY the first day of the seventh month and the proper Day of Yom Teruah.
What a privilege, that today, on the SEVENTH DAY of the week, we may also celebrate the beginning of the SEVENTH MONTH of the year! There is such a depth of meaning and significance in the number seven! Last week we saw that when Yahweh established a covenant with his people in the wilderness, He took an OATH that He would protect them, take care of them and provide for them, help them, save them and guide them, everywhere they, or their descendants, may find themselves, until the end of the days. And we noticed that the word for “taking an oath” was “shava”, which literally means: “to seven oneself”. And then, in the prophetic chapter of Isaiah 62, that is grouped together with the same Parashah in Deuteronomy in which this covenant and oath were described, we saw that Yahweh once again confirmed his faithfulness in remembering and keeping his oath towards his people. And how does he confirm his oath in Isaiah 62? He confirms it by promising his people that He, Himself, will bring about a SEVEN-FOLD name-change among his people that would change the entire course of their lives for good! (1) They would no longer be called Desolate (2) They would no longer be called Wilderness (3) They would be called “Chephtsibah” – My Delight (4) They would be called “Beulah” – My Wife (5) They would be called “Am Haqodesh” – My Set-apart People (6) They would be called “Ge’ulei” – My Redeemed Family, and (7) They would be called “Derushah” – The Desire of my Heart.
It is no coincidence that Yom Teruah is connected to the perfect number of seven, indicating the perfect and permanent COVENANT that Yahweh had made with his people. In 2 Chronicles 15 Yahweh spoke to Asa, one of the few kings of Yehudah of whom it was said that he did what was right in the eyes of Yahweh. Yahweh spoke through one of his prophets, and the very first words that came to Asa, and to the people of Yehudah and Benyamin, on that occasion, were these: “Yahweh is with you while you are with Him” (verse 2). No mention of the word “covenant”. But the covenant between Yahweh and his people is clearly implied. Because the basic formula of the covenant between Yahweh and his people, is this: “I shall be your Elohim, and you shall be my people.” For as long as you choose to be my people, and act as my people, I will be your Elohim. Or, to put it another way: “I shall be with you, while you are with Me.” And the reason why Yahweh started his address to Asa and the people in 2 Chronicles 15, with the words “Yahweh is with you while you are with Him”, was to remind them that He had NOT FORGOTTEN about his covenant with them – not for one, single moment.
Now, in 2 Chronicles 15 we see that Yahweh’s address to Asa and the people of Yehudah was followed by a FEAST-LIKE MEETING. It was not a normal feast of Yom Teruah, because it took place in the 3rd month, not the 7th month. But it is said that at this particular feast, “they swore (“shava”) to Yahweh with a loud voice, with shouting (“teruah”) and with trumpets and with shophars” (verse 14). And the BACKGROUND to this feast is given in verse 3: “For many days Yisrael has been without the true Elohim, and without a priest, and without Torah” Clearly, this meeting was intended to be something like a Yom Teruah, and maybe it WAS a Yom Teruah, held at a different time, because in the year before, in the seventh month, when Yom Teruah was supposed to be celebrated, “Yisrael had (still) been without Elohim and without Torah”. The Asa feast may not have taken place in the 7th month, but the word “shava” (meaning “to seven oneself”) is used three times in this chapter. And, on top of that, the number of bulls that were slaughtered that day was 700, and the number of sheep, 7000! Coincidence? I don’t think so. This is covenant language and covenant symbolism, and it is teaching us that the feasts are directly connected to the covenant that Yahweh had established between Israel and Himself, including those of us who would later be added to this never-ending covenant relationship.
Sometimes one gets the feeling that Yom Teruah is not as FIRMLY ROOTED in Isael’s history as the other six feasts. Unleavened Bread is connected to the Exodus out of Egypt. The Waving of the First Fruits of the Barley on the Sunday falling within the seven days of Unleavened Bread, is connected to Yahweh’s promise that He would bless the land. Shavuot is connected to the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai. Yom Kippur is connected to the forgiveness of sin in the wilderness, especially the sin of the golden calf. Sukkot is connected to the tents and the temporary living conditions in the wilderness. And the Eighth Day, following Sukkot, is connected to the entering into the Promised Land.
Yom Teruah, situated right in the middle of the seven feasts (3 feasts before, and 3 feasts after), is not connected to a specific event, directly before, during, or directly after Israel’s wilderness experience. But then again, it contains elements that relate to each one of the feasts. The blowing of the SHOFARS, the prominence of the number SEVEN and the focus on the formal connection between Yahweh and his people, called the COVENANT. At each and every feast it is confirmed: He will continue to be their Elohim, as long as they continue to be his people. And then there is the added fact that, as part of the set-apart people of Yahweh, we always have more than enough reason to SHOUT, or to make a loud noise. This, after all, is what the word “teruah” really means. Sometimes, like during YOM KIPPUR, the shouting is of a different kind. The kind of shouting one reads about in Joel 2:1, where it says there will be shouting (teruah) and trembling on Yahweh’s set-apart mountain on the future Day of Yahweh, a shouting coming from those who have been living in sin, failing to receive the forgiveness that Yahweh is always willing to give to those who come before Him with a repentant heart.
But we have many more reasons to shout, and this Day of Yom Teruah is highlighting these reasons. We have seen in 2 Chronicles 15 that a Yom Teruah-like feast was held after the people heard the words “Yahweh is with you, while you are with Him.” During this feast there was proper shouting and blowing of trumpets and shofars. But the TRIGGER for this shouting was when they reconfirmed the COVENANT and declared that they were going to seek Yahweh, the Elohim of their fathers, WITH ALL THEIR HEART AND WITH ALL THEIR BEING (verse 12).
Not a single sound that we make today, not the sound of shofars or musical instruments or singing, not the sound of rejoicing, not the sound of laughing, not even the sound of shouting, will mean anything, if we FAIL to delight in Yahweh’s covenant with his people, and in the fact that He EXTENDED his covenant to include outsiders like us. Like each one of the seven feasts, this is a feast of the SENSES. We have come together, based on a commandment of Yahweh. We can see each other. We can see and hear the Scriptures. We can listen to the prophetic words stretching over many generations. We can hear the sound of the shofars and touch the people and the things that are significant and precious to us. We can smell and taste the food and the symbols of Yahweh’s abundant provision. We can look forward, and remind one another of that Day, spoken of 1 Thessalonians 4:16, when Y’shua shall come down from heaven with a SHOUT (a TERUAH!) and with the TRUMPET of Elohim, and when the dead in Messiah, together with the living believers in Messiah shall rise, and be united with Him.
What remains to be done on this day, is once again to focus upon, and absorb, and share with one another the MIRACLE that Yahweh has INCLUDED us in his covenant. Maybe we don’t see ourselves as a shouting community. We can shout when looking at a sports spectacle. But when coming together on a Shabbat, the shouting often does not come easy, at all. But in Scriptures shouting often goes hand in hand with praising. And there is such a word that we all know: HALLELUYAH (meaning: “Praise Yahweh!”). Let us add two more words of shouting: BECHOL-LEVAVI (meaning: “with all my heart”) and BECHOL-NAFSHI (meaning: “with all my soul”). It is fitting to add these two words, because the people in Asa’s time responded with shouting, when they were reminded of Yahweh’s faithfulness in his covenant, and when they declared that they would once again seek and follow after Yahweh with all their heart and with all their soul. So, for now, we are done listening. Let us conclude with three simple and powerful words of shouting, and let us make it very personal:
How do you respond today to the fact that Yahweh has included you in his covenant? (HALLELU-YAH!!)
How do you intend to seek after Yahweh, until the Day of the coming of Messiah? (BECHOL-LEVAVI!!)
How do you intend to follow the words of Yahweh, until the sound of the last trumpet? (BECHOL-NAFSHI!!)