Imagine the relief that the patriarch Abraham felt when he heard the divine command not to lay a hand on Isaac, “…Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him: for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me” (Genesis 22:12, NKJV here and throughout).

Yes, Abraham had faith that God would resurrect Isaac (Genesis 22:5), but how wonderful that neither he nor Isaac had to literally experience what they had both thought was about to occur. The Book of Hebrews tells us that, “By faith, Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, ‘In Isaac your seed shall be called,’ concluding God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense” (Hebrew 11:17-19).

The episode foreshadowed the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ, a descendant of Abraham. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

In Genesis 22 we see Isaac as a type of Jesus Christ.  Further reading informs us that a ram was sacrificed in place of Isaac. Thus the ram becomes symbolic of Jesus Christ, the Lion of Judah who became a sacrificial lamb (Revelation 5:5-6).

Horns in the Bible can symbolize strength and power (Psalm 148:14). Genesis 22:13 tells us about the sacrificial animal substituted for Isaac. It states, “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.”

 After performing this act of worship, Abraham heard a dramatic reiteration of God’s special promises to him which are first recorded in Genesis 12:3, “In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice” (Genesis 22:18).

The blowing of a ram’s horn (shophar) has reminded Israel throughout its history of the “Akedah,” the “Binding of Isaac” and its repercussions for the covenantal people. As the ram’s power was restrained (Genesis 22:13), so that it could become a sacrifice, so did Christ allow Himself to be divested of power so that He could become our sacrifice (Philippians 2:5-11). For Christians, who should understand the symbolic role of the sacrificial ram, the piercing sound of the blowing of the ram’s horn over the centuries foreshadowed Matthew 27:50. “And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit.”

In Leviticus 23:24 God commanded, “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 trumpets, a holy convocation.”

This “memorial” reminded Israel of its covenant with God based on the relationship between God and Abraham. It reminds Christians of the New Covenant made possible by Jesus Christ’s voluntary sacrifice of Himself. It is a time each year to review our commitment to God’s Covenant as we also do every Spring at the Passover.

            Traditionally, Jews see the Festival of Trumpets as a memorial of creation. Just as the seventh day of each week memorializes God’s creation of the world that we inhabit (Genesis 2:1-3; Exodus 20:11; Exodus 31:16-17) so does the New Moon of the seventh month. The world’s chronology begins with the first day of what became the seventh month. In Exodus 12 an ecclesiastical year was instituted with the first month coming in the spring (12:1-2). The civil year continued to begin in or near autumn. For example, the Jubilee year was to be declared on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 25:9).  Hebrew speakers usually refer to the Festival of Trumpets as Rosh Hashanah , “New Year,” (literally the beginning of the year).

It should be noted that the Jubilee year gets its name from the “yobel,” the ram’s horn that was sounded at its official beginning. It is also called the “shophar” (Leviticus 25:9). Thus the sounding of the shophar can also signify a cry of liberation (Leviticus 25:10).

Besides memorializing creation, the New Year reminds us to evaluate our spiritual condition as we do at the beginning of the ecclesiastical year before the Passover and Days of Unleavened Bread (I Corinthians 5:6-8 & 11:28). Rosh Hashanah begins a series of fall festivals and gives us the opportunity to get back in shape spiritually, to more effectively observe the remaining seasonal festivals.

Practically speaking, the blowing of a ram’s horn was used in ancient Israel as a cry of alarm (Amos 3:6), or to summon a solemn gathering (Psalm 81:3). The sounding of a shophar also traditionally announced the coronation of a king (I Kings 1:34). God as Creator of the universe is also the King of the universe (Psalm 24:1-2, 7-10). Commemorating the creation of the world commemorates the coronation of God as the King over all that He had created (Psalm 98:6-7).

The ram’s horn was also used as a signal in waging war and in celebrating a victory (Joshua 6:16, Judges 7:20). The shophar, presumably taken and fashioned after the sacrifice of a ram, was blown as part of Tabernacle or Temple services, becoming an element of worship (I Chronicles 15:28; Psalms 98:6; 150:3). It reminded God’s people that God’s Kingdom will ultimately triumph over all evil.

The Hebrew word for trumpeting teru`ah comes from the root meaning to raise a shout or give a blast. We can see this root in Joshua’s statement before the fall of Jericho, “Shout for the Eternal has given you the city!” (Joshua 6:16).  It’s interesting that the command “shout” in Hebrew sounds like the English cheer, “Hurray!”

To sum up, the blast of a shophar can be both joyful and terrifying. We can now better understand the meaning of the Festival of Trumpets in God’s plan of salvation. The climax of human history, the Year of the Eternal (Year of the Lord), will begin with the sounding of a trumpet followed by six more through the remainder of that year. These trumpets will be sounded by angels (Revelation 8-9, 11). The seventh trumpet will signal the Second Coming of Christ and the resurrection of the saints to immortal life (Revelation 11:15; I Corinthians 15:51-52; I Thessalonians 4:14-18).

The events associated with each trumpet are covered in the Book of Revelation, chapters eight, nine, and eleven. The Year of the Lord is a time of judgment for humankind and ultimately for Satan and the demons who have influenced humanity to pursue a self-destructive way of life, a way that leads to death. It is very sobering to consider the judgment to come (Joel 2:1; Isaiah 58:1), but it is also exhilarating to contemplate the liberation of humankind, the victory of righteousness, the establishment of the Kingdom of God on earth (I Corinthians 15:5-7).

The Prophet Isaiah looked forward to that time: “So it shall be in that day: The great trumpet will be blown; they will come, who are about to perish in the land of Assyria, and they who are outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the Lord in the holy mount at Jerusalem (27:13).

We don’t know the date on the sacred calendar of Christ’s return (Matthew 24:36, 44; Acts 1:6-7).  However, we can expect that the Year of the Lord will begin after two and a half years of the Great Tribulation (Hosea 6:2). We can also expect that the final year of that phase of human history, the Year of the Lord, will probably begin on the date of the Festival of Trumpets, the first day of the seventh month on the sacred calendar.

The last trumpet will literally awaken the dead (Isaiah 26:19). From year to year the Festival of Trumpets is a spiritual wake-up call, bringing to mind the Apostle Paul’s warning to the church at Ephesus to keep that future awakening in mind (Ephesians 5:11-17).

We do not know in what specific year the final countdown towards Christ’s return will begin. Nor do we know how long each of us will live our physical life. However, each year as we observe the Festival of Trumpets, we can be excited about being one year closer to the fulfillment of the prayer of Matthew 6:10, “Your kingdom come.”