"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."
Leviticus 23:24
This is the basis for the Jewish holiday Rosh Ha'shanah, the celebration of the New Year. Also called the feast of Trumpets. Rosh Ha'shanah 2012 happened on September 16.
When I was little, my family celebrated Rosh Ha'shanah by making a crown out of golden construction paper and placing on the globe as the centerpiece of the table. This celebrated the fact that God is Melek b'ha'shamyim, vha'eretz, King of heaven and earth. It's the coronation day for the King, for on this day He brought the crown of His creation into existence and became their King!
Later in the evening, after supper, we would go outside and my father would blow the shofar, the ram's horn. (In ancient times, the shofar was used in times of war or celebration. Now it is mostly used ceremonially.) Sometimes we all had paper party blowers and we would make quite a racket! After my father had given the Tekiah, (one single long blast) followed by the Shevarim, (three short blasts) we would all take turns trying to get a sound out of the shofar. (Its a lot harder than it looks, especially for the small lips of children!) I didn't understand the meaning of blowing the shofar, only that it was part of the celebration of Rosh Ha'shanah, but the pattern of blasts had a deep meaning for the ancient Jews.
The first blast is Tekiah- one long blast signifying the King's coronation.
The second is Shevarim- three short blasts, like wailing, signifying repentance.
The third is Teru'ah- nine staccato blasts, like a warning call to awaken the soul.
The fourth and final is Tekiah ha'Gadol- a great, loud, long blast.
The celebration of Rosh Ha'shanah is just that, a celebration but it also is closely tied with another feast, Yom Kippur. The celebration of the coronation of the King of Kings also brings to mind the holiness and justice of the King and the people's realization that they are neither holy nor just.
The next ten days in the Jewish calendar are called the Aseret Yemei Teshuvah, the Ten Days of Repentance. The blowing of the shofar called the people to self-examination and repentance in anticipation of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. On this day the Kodesh Gadol, the High Priest, would lay his hands on the head of a goat and confer on it the sins of the people. The goat would then be driven out into the wilderness, carrying the sins of the nation with it. And the people would be forgiven and in restored fellowship with God.
When my family celebrated this feast, we would commemorate this taking away of sins by gathering a handful of stones and casting them one by one in the lake, where they disappeared from view. I always remember this, because it usually happened on or near my birthday. When I was quite young, it was sort of a birthday tradition. But as I grew older, the realization of what I was doing started to dawn on my consciousness. Though simple enough for a child to understand, the spiritual implication of that casting away of sin (the stones) is enormous.
I have found myself in solemn contemplation during this year's yomei teshuvah, days of repentance. For myself, yes. But also for this nation. For revival to bring repentance and a return to God. We don't have to wait for that one day of the year when a priest, a man like the rest of us, would go into the Holy of Holies and intercede for us. We have a living and holy Kodesh Gadol, high priest.
His name is Yeshua.
Son of God.
Son of Man.
Creator that became as the created.
The korban pesach, the sacrificial Lamb.
Now the Kodesh Gadol, the Great High Priest.
With the blood of His sacrifice, He obtained our redemption and stands as minister and mediator of His sacrifice.
For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens; who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the people's, for this He did once for all when He offered up {Himself.}
But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of bulls and goats... sanctifies for the purification of the flesh, how much more shall {the blood of Christ,} who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot before God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.
For Christ has not entered the holy place made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us...
Hebrews 7:26, 9:11-14,24-25
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