When God gave the Mosaic Law to Israel, He was very generous. Among the many commandments, He also gave the Jews many holidays; along with the weekly Sabbath, there were many feasts to commemorate and celebrate. These were set or appointed times, what the Hebrew calls Moedim, selected times when the individual would stop all his works to rest and even rejoice.
It was a time when one could look back, look forward and most importantly, look up to God and reassess his place here in this world, in the light of eternity. This, I believe, is one significant function of the Feasts of Israel: Stop, rest, taste and see how good our Lord is. The worries and stresses of this life will often pull us away, and even make us forget the great things that God wants us to experience in Him. These feasts are here, like windows to eternity, to remind us that there is another world out there waiting for us.
Furthermore, let us not lose sight of how these Feasts speak so clearly about the Messiah; each one bringing out a facet of His ministry, of the work that He performed for us. Our goal and desire is to have these Scriptures expounded to us, in the way Yeshua expounded them to the two men on the road to Emmaus. Then we will see Him,beginning at Moses, throughout the Torah.
The Feast of Trumpets (Leviticus 23: 23-25), the first Fall feast, has an aura of mystery surrounding it. It is given as a memorial in blowing trumpets, but no reason for blowing the trumpet is ever attached to it. It also says that it is holy convocation-but for what purpose? We are not told why, as we were for the previous feasts in how it was related to the harvests of the land.
Jewish traditions have attempted to fill and even over-fill the gap left by this mystery. But once we consider the life and work of Messiah, we understand how He fulfills that gap with the coming of the Rapture, when the trumpet will blow and we will be changed in the twinkling of an eye. As we explore this feast we will uncover truths about it which will encourage us in our walk, strengthen us in our commitment and hopefully allow us to be loud as a trumpet, proclaiming the need of mankind for a Redeemer and pointing to Yeshua as the only sin bearer and imputer of righteousness in our lives. Be blessed during this Jewish holiday season as we keep looking up for His soon appearing.