Rosh Hashanah, or the “Feast of Trumpets”, is the fifth of the Seven Feasts that the Lord gave Moses in the wilderness. Each of the Feasts celebrates the story of redemption; and all of them are fulfilled in Christ.
Oftentimes, in present day, the Holy Spirit will greatly emphasize redemption’s story in Jesus Christ during the Feasts. For me, Rosh Hashanah is my favorite Feast in that it calls the New Year forward and allows the past to let go of the present.
It’s the sound of awakening to love.
It’s awakening to Christ and His truth. It’s a time of judgement or rather, adjustment, in Christ. Our faith gets wobbly, our grace may be tired, and our prayers have grown cold; but at the sound of the trumpet, our spirits stand to attention and we see Jesus! We give our past year to Him, along with all of the other years we might be holding onto, and He adjusts us back into present truth.
He shifts us back into the future, into our inheritance in Christ. Sometimes, it is subtle; other times, not. But if we pause for a moment and get quiet, we will become aware that change is happening. Undulations of His voice resound, causing a swaying underneath or even a shaking. Do not be afraid; we are not being judged to punishment but awakened to reward. It is our chance to allow the new that is eternal in Christ to take hold of our temporary state.
We shift.
We begin to think new thoughts! Repentance to salvation is in this “Feast of Trumpets” so we can think new thoughts or recognize old ones. “Oh no!” We might exclaim as we realize the oil for our lamps has not been refilled and our lamps are growing dim. But our “Oh no!” will soon become praise to Jesus as the Holy Spirit comes to our honest appraisal, providing for us out of Christ’s abundance!
Here is the adjustment: We see in truth and are shifted into Christ.
Feast of Freedom!
Rosh Hashanah is the “Feast of Freedom” where we bring ourselves to the judgement seat of Christ for His inspection and the liberty that only He can bring. Not fear, for fear involves punishment; but surrender, for surrender brings fulfillment.
I will ask forgiveness, I will give forgiveness, and I will receive forgiveness in waves of His mercy. For where I had been striving, I now cease from my labors and enter into His rest.
Jesus is Rosh Hashanah, the trumpet of God! We can all appear before Him in sincerity and truth, and joyfully receive our New Year.
