The Significance of the Shofar
What is Rosh Hashanah?
For almost 3,500 years, Jewish people have been celebrating Rosh Hashanah on the first day of the Hebrew month of Tishri. Beginning on the first day, and culminating nine or ten days later on the holiday of Yom Kippur, this one to two day feast has many cultural idiosyncrasies that are often overlooked or misunderstood. Rosh Hashanah, literally translated to mean, Head of the Year, has evolved over time into a celebration of the Jewish New Year.However, that hasn’t always been the true meaning behind this glorious holiday.In fact, if you look at Scripture itself, Rosh Hashanah is not found in the Hebrew Bible and even more shockingly, the Jewish New Year fell in Spring before Passover, not in the fall. So how did this holiday change and what did its original celebration signify?
Rosh Hashanah Today
If you were to enter a synagogue today on Rosh Hashanah, you would see a beautiful celebration that includes blasts of the Shofar, appointed readings from Scripture, an atmosphere of repentance, and a posture of humility. The blasting of the Shofar is especially significant for this Holiday as it still remains celebrated after thousands of years of Biblical history. Additionally, some of the selected readings usually include: Genesis 21 (the birth of Isaac), Genesis 22 (the binding of Isaac), Numbers 29 (the commandment for this ancient holiday), 1 Samuel 1-2:10 (Hannah’s miracle birth of Samuel), and Jeremiah 31 (the remnant of Israel saved). Though each of these readings has huge implications of the Messiah, the celebration today is not what it once was in the Bible.
After hundreds of years of exile, followed by a repatriation (Aliyah) back to Israel, then another exile, then another repatriation (Aliyah) back to Israel, then the destruction of the temple, it’s easy to see how this holiday has evolved into something much different than its original celebration. In the most simple explanation possible, after the Babylonian exile, Rosh Hashanah was adopted as the Head of the Year, or New Year. From then on, Jewish people would greet each other with Happy New Year. However, this adoption came from the result of Babylonian Exile and not from Torah! So what was God’s original appointed Feast supposed to signify, celebrate, and point to? The answer, as you might predict, was found on the road to Emmaus as Jesus told His disciples that all of Scripture, including the Feasts, points to Him:
Then beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He explained to them the things written about Himself in all the Scriptures. Luke 24:27
The Feast of Trumpets
From the time of Moses, Rosh Hashanah was only known as The Feast of Trumpets, or in Hebrew, Yom Teruah, the Day of the Shofar. In the twenty-third chapter of Leviticus and the twenty-ninth chapter of Numbers, God commands Moses to celebrate seven Feasts known as, The Appointed Feasts of the LORD. The fifth feast commanded to Moses by God was The Feast of the Trumpets:
Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a Shabbat rest, a memorial of blowing the Shofar, a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work on it; and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD. Leviticus 23:23-25
And in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work. For you it is a day of blowing the Shofar. Numbers 29:1
Why the Shofar?
Through the lens of western and Gentile cultures, the blowing of the Shofar seems arbitrary and obscure, but the more we learn about its deep seeded history, the more we learn that not only is it packed with meaning, but that meaning points to the long awaited Messiah from the Hebrew Scriptures, Jesus.
Genesis 22
Abraham’s Faith
Like all Jewish Holidays, Rosh Hashanah, or The Feast of Trumpets, involves many appointed readings from the Scriptures. On the second day of Rosh Hashanah it is customary for Jews to read the twenty-second chapter of Genesis. This chapter is the unusual story of the binding of Isaac by Abraham for a burnt offering. This chapter recalls the famous account of God testing Abraham’s faith by commanding him to take his son Isaac to Mt. Moriah and offer him up as a sacrifice:
Then He said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” Genesis 22:2
According to Hebrews 11, Abraham knew that:
“ ‘In Isaac your seed shall be called,’ concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he received him in a figurative sense” (Hebrews 11:17-18).
Ever since this account, Abraham’s faith became this admirable and commendable faith that all Jews have long since strived for. But like most of Scripture, Jesus is hidden in the details.
Isaac’s Obedience
In this account, we see that God commands Abraham to sacrifice his beloved son. What we often overlook are the details behind the commandment.
Most paintings picture Isaac as a child toting a bundle of sticks under his Arm as he walks beside his elderly father. This is because Genesis 22:6 says that Abraham carried the knife while Isaac carried the wood for the sacrifice. But a sacrifice was offered by roasting an animal as a whole burnt offering, which took several hours over a full fire. The large logs needed for fuel would require the strength of a full-grown man to carry them. There was no way elderly Abraham could lift them, so he carried the knife while Isaac carried the wood. For most of the journey, two donkeys bore the massive burden (verse 3). Now we see that the story is not just about Abraham’s unshakeable faith in God; it’s about Isaac’s willing heroic obedience to submit to his father’s will. And suddenly the scene of Christ carrying his cross comes starkly into view.
- Lois Tverberg
When the correct context is put into perspective, our understanding that was once influenced by our culture’s paintings and depictions starts to fade away and the image of the true Messiah starts to pierce through every aspect of Scripture. However, though Abraham’s faith sets an almost unattainably high bar to aim at, and though Isaac’s obedience is a beautiful metaphor for Jesus’ obedience to death, the connection to God’s sacrificial love and The Feast of The Trumpets is beautifully exemplified in how God intervenes with a Ram.
The Ram’s Substitution
As the tension builds, and as Abraham is about to go through with sacrificing his son, the Angel of the Lord stops Abraham in the act and commends him for faithfully passing the test. It was now clear that Abraham put nothing, not even his own son, in the place of God on His throne. Immediately, God’s messianic plan for redemption and substitutionary atonement is revealed:
Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. And Abraham called the name of the place, The-LORD-Will-Provide, as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of the Lord it shall be provided. Genesis 22:13-14
So what is so important about this ram and how does it have any relation to The Feast of Trumpets?
The Ram’s Horns
Notice in the details, that the ram was caught by its horns in the thicket. According to the Torah, the sacrificial lamb worthy for Atonement has to be unblemished; symbolizing that the perfect and innocent blood is shed on behalf of the imperfect and guilty. The ram being caught by its horns allowed it to remain unharmed and unblemished. God cares about the details!! Pay attention, here is where Jewish tradition becomes pivotal. This ram becomes such a symbol in Jewish tradition that each one of these horns are used to do two significant things in Scripture. For these significant reasons, it is expected that Jews must hear the real Shofar blast on Rosh Hashanah and not a recording or audio of one. The commandment of the Shofar is more focused on the hearing of it rather than the blowing of it.
The Significance of the Shofar
The first significance behind the Shofar blasts is the memorial that commemorates the giving of the Torah on Mt. Sinai and the birth of God’s people as a nation. More often than not, the first mention of a word, idea, or image in Scripture is often very significant to its continued symbolism and meaning throughout the rest of scripture. In Exodus 19:16-20, we see the first mention of the Shofar blast:
In the morning of the third day, there was thundering and lightning, a thick cloud on
the mountain, and the blast of an exceedingly loud shofar.All the people in the camp
trembled. Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they
stood at the lowest part of the mountain. Now the entire Mount Sinai was in smoke,
because Adonai had descended upon it in fire. The smoke ascended like the smoke of a
furnace. The whole mountain quaked greatly. When the sound of the shofar grew
louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him with a thunderous sound.
Then Adonai came down onto Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain.
Here we see that at the first Shofar blast in biblical history, God came down and Moses went up. This first Shofar blast, which came from Heaven and not man, and the revelation at Mt. Sinai, was all about meeting God. The Shofar was a warning, calling, and gathering of the people to proclaim that God is on His way and about to do something significant. Here we have man and God coming together and a foreshadowing of what this Shofar blast and the final Shofar blast is all about. This now becomes a foreshadowing of the final trumpet blast when the Messiah will come and we will meet the Lord. This original Shofar blast was the beginning of the most pivotal event in Jewish history, when God officially appointed Israel as His nation by the giving of the Torah to Moses. The Feast of Trumpets later commanded by God through Moses, was to look back at this event and forever commemorate its significance in their calling as a people:
Then Adonai spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a sabbath-rest, a memorial of blowing of the shofars, a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work on it; and you shall offer an offering made by fire to Adonai.’ ” Leviticus 23:23-25
And in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work. For you it is a day of blowing the Shofars. Numbers 29:1
Moving forward throughout Israel’s history, this connection between the Shofar blast and God being revealed through His word grows more and more evident.
The Shofar’s Call to Hear God Speak
One of the most beautiful depictions of God’s people coming together to hear His word appears in the eighth chapter of Nehemiah. Consider the imagery in Exodus; God’s people are wandering through the desert after 400 years of being exiled to Egypt as slaves. Through God’s miraculous works in Moses, the Israelites arrive at Mt. Sinai where we hear the first Shofar blast. As we read, God comes down and Moses goes up to receive God’s word and from there, we get the Torah. As we look at Nehemiah, similar imagery is being utilized.
Now all the people gathered together as one man in the open square that was in front
of the WaterGate; and they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses,
which the Lord had commanded Israel. So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the
assembly of men and women and all who could hear with understanding on the first
day of the seventh month. Then he read from it in the open square that was in front
of the WaterGate from morning until midday, before the men and women and
those who could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book
of the Law. So Ezra the scribe stood on a platform of wood which they had made for
the purpose; [...] And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was
standing above all the people; and when he opened it, all the people stood up. And
Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God. Then all the people answered, “Amen, Amen!”
while lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with
their faces to the ground. Nehemiah 8:1-6
The essential historical context here is that Nehemiah is regathering the people of Israel after their repatriation back to Israel from Babylonian captivity, similar to the Israelites in the wilderness. Notice as they come together as one, they bring in the Law of Moses which the Lord gave to Moses on Mt. Sinai and they are hungry and thirsty for God’s Word. If you pay attention to the details here, twice Nehemiah records that Ezra went up, elevated higher than the people. First, Nehemiah records that Ezra “stood on a platform” which they made specifically for this reason. The second time, Nehemiah emphasizes that Ezra was “standing above all the people”. Now, unless you have the Jewish calendar days embedded in your brain, you might miss the most shocking detail that connects both accounts. This beautiful event that Nehemiah records for us happened on “the first day of the seventh month.” This event that is shockingly similar to Moses and the Israelites on Mt. Sinai, occurred on the Feast of Trumpets, the day of the blowing of the Shofar to remember when God came down to give the Torah on Mt. Sinai after the Scripture’s first Shofar blast. At this event in Nehemiah, a great revival breaks out as it was a beautiful day in Israel’s history. But how does this have any significance to Christians today?
God’s Calendar
The Spring Feasts
In the Spring time every year, it is customary for Christians to celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus. However, we often forget that these events happened on already existing Biblical Holidays. God commanded Israel and the Jewish people to celebrate these seven feast days on His calendar. When we remember God’s original holidays for Israel, we see that every one points to Jesus and that today’s celebrated holidays are actually the fulfillment of the older, more ancient biblical holidays. For example, Jesus’ death and resurrection, what we now call Good Friday and Easter, were actually the fulfillment of Passover and Firstfruits. Then, 50 days after Passover, we celebrate Pentecost, or the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, which was actually already the holiday of Shavuot (Feast of Weeks). These holidays on God’s calendar that were celebrated for thousands of years predate Jesus by more than 1,400 years and foreshadow his life, death, resurrection, and return.
The Fall Feasts
Here is the key to God’s foreshadowing feasts. God’s Spring Feasts all predict and foreshadow Jesus’ first coming and God’s Fall Feasts all foreshadow and predict Jesus’ second coming. Historically, Jews always associated Rosh Hashanah (the first Fall Feast) with the arrival of the Messiah. However, as we see in the Gospels, many Jews were so excited for the Messiah’s Fall Festival arrival that they missed his Spring Festival arrival (Passover, First Fruits, Shavuot). So The Feast of Trumpets, or Rosh Hashanah, is the first Holy Day of God’s Fall calendar that points to His second coming. In Leviticus we read that the Day of Blasts (Feast of the Trumpets), Yom Teruah, is a memorial. But a memorial to what exactly? The Shofar blasts are to remind us of the faithfulness of God to come down in the past at the first blast on Mt. Sinai, and the faithfulness of God to come down in the future at the last trumpet. So when you hear the Shofar blast, you enter into the past, bring it into the present, and connect it with the future.
The Future Shofar Blast
Nehemiah 8
As we looked previously at Nehemiah 8, we saw very similar imagery to the Exodus account when Moses went up and God’s word came down and consequently, a revival/nation was born. Nehemiah 8 is a great reminder of what God did for and through Israel at Mt. Sinai. Moreover, what often gets missed, is that this section of Scripture is also a great expectation of the future. Remember, Nehemiah 8 occurs on the Feast of the Trumpets (Yom Teruah), or Day of the Blasts.
Then all the people were brought as a single body into the plaza that was before the WaterGate. They said to Ezra the scribe, “Bring out the Torah scroll of Moses that Adonai had commanded Israel.” Ezra the kohen brought the Torah before the assembly, which included men and women and all who could understand what they heard. This happened on the first day of the seventh month. Nehemiah 8:1-2
The term in the first verse that says “single body” is really one man; a unity of all men and women under God’s authority that come together as one man. Connect this with Paul’s letter to the Ephesians:
…Till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. Ephesians 4:13
Nehemiah 8 is a foreshadowing of this unity where many become “one”, or ECHAD, under the fulfillment of Christ. Jesus predicts this future event during his prayer in John 17. This prayer seemingly goes unanswered, however, it will one day be fulfilled:
I pray not on behalf of these only, but also for those who believe in Me through their message, that they all may be one. Just as You, Father, are in Me and I am in You, so also may they be one in Us, so the world may believe that You sent Me. John 17:20-21
Nehemiah continues to go on to foreshadow this coming Kingdom Family:
Ezra opened the scroll in the sight of all the people for he was above all the people. When he opened it, all the people stood up. Ezra blessed Adonai, the great God, and all the people answered, “Amen, amen!” as they lifted up their hands. Then they bowed down and worshiped Adonai with their faces to the Ground. Nehemiah 8:5-6
This event in Nehemiah, as stated in verse 2, happens on The Feast of Trumpets and ends with all the people bowing on their faces worshiping the Lord. So how does this foreshadow the future?
Nehemiah vs Revelation
In Revelation, we read of a dramatic series of events where Angels blow a series of seven Shofars. The last Shofar is a remarkable event and gets astounding detail:
Then the seventh angel trumpeted, and there were loud voices in heaven saying, “The kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Anointed One. And He shall reign forever and ever!” And the twenty-four elders seated on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying, “We thank you, Adonai Elohei-Tzva’ot, who is and who was, because You have taken Your great power and begun to reign. The nations were enraged, but Your wrath has come and the time for the dead to be judged—to reward Your servants, the prophets and kedoshim, and those who fear Your name, the small and the great, and to destroy the destroyers of the earth.” Then the Temple of God in heaven was opened, and the Ark of His Covenant appeared in His Temple. And there were flashes of lightning and rumblings and clashes of thunder and an earthquake and heavy hail.
As you read this dramatic unfolding of events, the result and order of God’s Shofar blast becomes strikingly similar to Nehemiah’s. The Shofar is blasted, the Word of the Lord is revealed, and then consequently, unadulterated worship begins.
The Last Shofar Blast vs. The First Shofar Blast
Understanding that Nehemiah was both a memorial to the first shofar blast on Mt. Sinai and an expectation of the Last Shofar Blast in Revelation, what happens when we compare the last blast with the first?The details that come before the first Shofar blast are the same details that surround the Last Shofar Blast.
Exodus 19 | Revelation 11 |
It came to pass on the third day (v16) | After three days (v11) |
that there were thunderings and lightnings (v16) | And there were flashes of lightning and rumblings and clashes of thunder (v19) |
all the people who were in the camp trembled (v16) | and great fear fell on those who were watching (v11) |
“Away! Get down and then come up, you and Aaron with you.” (v24) | Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here!” (v12) |
and a thick cloud on the mountain (v16) | And they went up to heaven in a cloud (v12) |
and the sound of the(First) Shofar was very loud (v16) | Then the seventh angel trumpeted (Last Trumpet), and there were loud voices in heaven (v15) |
In Conclusion
As is evident, the First Shofar Blast on Mt. Sinai is extremely significant as a memorial, but more importantly, as a future symbol of God showing up to do something incredible. All Shofar Blasts are tiny portraits that paint a bigger picture of the ultimate Shofar blast that ushers in the Day of the Lord! Many other Scriptures point to this pattern, including but not limited to:
Blow the Shofar in Zion, And sound an alarm in My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; For the day of the LORD is coming, For it is at hand: Joel 2:1
Then the LORD will be seen over them, And His arrow will go forth like lightning. The Lord GOD will blow the Shofar, And go with whirlwinds from the south. Zechariah 9:14
In the place where you hear the sound of the Shofar, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us.
Nehemiah 4:20
As we read through Paul’s epistles, it becomes evident that Paul was well aware of the significance of this pattern and the importance of the Feast of Trumpets:
For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the Shofar of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 1 Thessalonians 4:16
In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last Shofar. For the Shofar will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 1 Corinthians 15:52
Lastly, the most reassuring piece of Scripture that encompasses all of the verses surrounding this great Feast of Trumpets, or Day of Blasts in Hebrew, is found in the 24th chapter of Matthew. The disciples eagerly ask the Messiah what will be the sign of the things to come. Jesus responds:
Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the
land will mourn, and they will see ‘the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven’ with
power and great glory. He will send out His angels with a great shofar, and they will
gather together His chosen from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”
Matthew 24:30-31
God’s patterns, harmony, and purpose behind every single detail in Scripture is a miracle in and of itself. It makes you wonder if Abraham had any idea of the true beauty behind finding that Ram caught in the thicket. Those very ram’s horns that kept it unblemished in the bushes, that provided the substitutionary sacrifice to replace Isaac, will one day be the sounding signal that ushers in the coming of the Messiah. Finally, at that blast, Jesus will bring home His children and bring justice to this world.
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