Feasts of the Lord – Rosh Hashanah/Yom Teruah and the Days of Awe
The Lord spoke to Moses: “Tell the Israelites: In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you are to have a day of complete rest, commemoration, and joyful shouting]—a sacred assembly. You must not do any daily work, but you must present a fire offering to the Lord.” Leviticus 23:23-25
In the Jewish biblical calendar, there are two festival seasons – the spring and the fall. We have already talked about the spring festivals, which include Passover, Unleavened Bread Firstfruits, counting the omer and Shavuot. We found that these festivals have been fully fullfilled in Jesus Christ. He became the spotless Passover Lamb for us. He is the unleavened bread of life, pure, holy and without sin. He is the firstfruit of the resurrection. And, after counting the omer, Jesus has given us a “Counselor that will be with us forever” John 14:16. Furthermore, Jesus says, “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit—the Father will send Him in My name—will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have told you.” John 14:26
We are now to the fall festivals, which include Rosh Hashanah (also known biblically as Yom Teruah), Yom Kippur, Sukkot and Simchat Torah. These are festivals that have been partially fulfilled and await future fulfillment. Jesus has indeed fulfilled all the festivals, but we will also find that there is fulfillment that is to come – when Christ comes again. Today we are going to look at Rosh Hashanah and then look at what is known as the Days of Awe.
Before we begin, we need to do a little background. You will notice that I have entitled this Bible study Rosh Hashanah/Yom Teruah. Although they are the same holiday, they have very different meanings. The holiday is known biblically as Yom Teruah, but has become known as Rosh Hashanah. So, how did Yom Teruah become Rosh Hashanah? To answer this, we must go all the way back to the time of the Babylonian captivity. When the people of Israel were taken to Babylon, they slowly began to adopt Babylonian names and customs. In Babylon, there were two new year celebrations and one coincided with Yom Teruah. Over the course of years, the name Rosh Hashanah, which means “head of the year”, was given to the holiday and the names of the Babylonian names for the months were adopted such as Nissan, when Passover starts and Tishri, when Yom Teruah begins. So this is why in the 7th month of the Hebrew calendar, there is a holiday that literally means “head of the year.” As the people of Israel began to incorporate Babylonian names, they also became more susceptible to Babylonian beliefs and customs. This shows up in Rabbinical writings where some Babylonian deities appear as Jewish angels or demons. They did not learn the lesson that Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah taught them – stay true to God and God alone. Daniel and his friends did not allow social or cultural influences to sway them from following God’s word. (BTW – you will know the 3 men listed after Daniel by their Babylonian names: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.) Because they stayed true to God and God alone, they were tossed in a fiery furnace and a lion’s den. Each time, God rescued them and changed the spiritual course for the kings and the people of Babylon.
This is a lesson to us as well – no matter what is going on in our culture, or social world, God is who we need to follow. We cannot be swayed by popular belief systems or by what is going on in the current culture. These are things that shift like the sands on the beach. Jesus said in His sermon on the mount; “Therefore, everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them will be like a sensible man who built his house on the rock. The rain fell, the rivers rose, and the winds blew and pounded that house. Yet it didn’t collapse, because its foundation was on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of Mine and doesn’t act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, the rivers rose, the winds blew and pounded that house, and it collapsed. And its collapse was great!” Matthew 7:24-27. When we put our faith in a political system, a man or woman, an ideal, etc. we will always fail. They are shifting sands that disappoint us with their imperfection and lack of righteousness. The rains will come and the winds will blow and they will always collapse. Our foundation must be built on the Rock who is God and God alone. Only then can we walk through the fire and look at the lions head on with faith that God will stand with us.
We also find that as the meaning of the titles get lost, so does the understanding of the fulfillment. By replacing Yom Teruah with a holiday that celebrates a new year, and by changing the names of the months from the biblical names, we lose God’s intent and purpose for the holiday. This is the reason I will use the biblical title Yom Teruah for this study. The word “teruah” literally means shouting or blasting. The root of the word is “ruah” and is used in several places throughout scripture. In Joshua 6:5 the teruah is the shout the people make after the trumpets blast – and the walls of Jericho fell. It is used several times in the Psalms – 47:1; 66:1; 81:1; 100:1 – the assembly comes together and in unison they shout to God in praise and adoration. One unique aspect of this festival is the scripture does not tell us the purpose for the holiday. All the other holidays have a purpose – to remember something, to celebrate something etc. But Yom Teruah just is. The key to this holiday is a day of coming together for prayer and joyful shouts or joyful blasts. To get a better understanding of how the festival has been, and will be fulfilled we can look at Psalm 100. “Shout triumphantly to the Lord, all the earth. Serve the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs. Acknowledge that Yahweh is God. He made us, and we are His — His people, the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him and praise His name. For Yahweh is good, and His love is eternal; His faithfulness endures through all generations.” This is the picture of Yom Teruah: a day set aside to shout triumphantly and joyfully to the Lord and acknowledge that He is God. It is a day that symbolizes a triumphant entry of Jesus and the shouting that accompanies this.
Christ fulfilled this when he came – a heavenly host of angels appeared to shepherds declaring Glory to God in the highest. He fulfilled it after 40 days of fasting when Satan came to tempt Him. He declared three times – God and God alone. And we get a glimpse – a prequel if you will – of the final triumphant entry: ”Then the crowds who went ahead of Him and those who followed kept shouting: Hosanna to the Son of David! He who comes in the name of the Lord is the blessed One! Hosanna in the highest heaven!” Matthew 21:9. That day Jesus came riding on a donkey, but in the last days, He will come riding on a white horse.
I am a huge J. R. R. Tolkien fan and I absolutely love the Lord of the Rings – books and movies. When I read this, a scene from the movie Two Towers comes to mind. The heroes are trapped and many have fallen. There seems to be no hope. The king of Rohan asks the question, “What can men do against such reckless hate?” His faith is waning. The answer comes from Aragorn – “Ride out with me.” It breaks the king out of his despair and hope rises once again. The trumpet is sounded and they ride out in faith. And then the rider on the white horse appears and light shatters the darkness. The enemy is defeated. It is a powerful scene. Hear what Revelation 19:11-16 says, “Then I saw heaven opened, and there was a white horse. Its rider is called Faithful and True, and He judges and makes war in righteousness. His eyes were like a fiery flame, and many crowns were on His head. He had a name written that no one knows except Himself. He wore a robe stained with blood, and His name is the Word of God. The armies that were in heaven followed Him on white horses, wearing pure white linen. A sharp sword came from His mouth, so that He might strike the nations with it. He will shepherd them with an iron scepter. He will also trample the winepress of the fierce anger of God, the Almighty. And He has a name written on His robe and on His thigh: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.” Paul writes in I Corinthians 15:51-52, “ Listen! I am telling you a mystery: We will not all fall asleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the blink of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we will be changed.” The shouting that comes with the fulfillment of Yom Teruah will not come from earth, but from heaven. There will be a shout and the trumpets will sound when Jesus returns. Again, Paul writes to the Thessalonians: ”For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the archangel’s voice, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are still alive will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and so we will always be with the Lord. ” I Thessalonians 4:16-17. Shout to the Lord all the earth! Let us shout and sing of His wondrous grace and mercy, of His righteousness and goodness, of His marvelous deeds throughout all the earth!
Yom Teruah also begins a period known as the Days of Awe. You will not find this in the Bible, but I do want to highlight it because I believe it is important. The Days of Awe is the time period from Yom Teruah to Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) It is said that Yom Teruah, with it’s shouting and blasting, reawakens us to look within ourselves and discover the things in our life that need readjustment, realignment and repentance. In the time between the two highest of holy days, we have the opportunity to do just that. If we have wronged someone, it is our opportunity to make it right. If we have strayed, it is the time to get back on the path. If we have become apathetic, it is the time to regain our passion. The blasting and shouting awaken us, reminding us to seek after God and God alone.
We need to readjust our focus. It is so easy to get out of focus these days. There are twitter accounts to keep up with, things to search for on amazon, games to play, netflix to watch and so many other things that compete for our attention. With the blast of the trumpet we are awakened from our sleep-walking trek through life. We are reminded that He is Lord, He is the King of the universe and He is Creator of all things. We can readjust our focus and follow the One who Was, who Is and who Is to come.
We need a realignment. The Days of Awe give us an opportunity to realign ourselves with our creator and be about His will. He has called us to be ready – for we are in a battle: “For our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world powers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens” Ephesians 6:12. God’s desire is for us to walk in His path. The shouting and blasts are a call to arms, to put on His armor: the belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, ready feet, shield of faith, and helmet of salvation. Only then are we ready for what the enemy throws at us.
And most important, there is a need for repentance. As we approach the Day of Atonement, our focus is our need for repentance which leads to salvation. We are called to seek forgiveness – but not only that – we are to forgive. In the Lord’s Prayer it says, “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” Jesus reminds us, if we have something against someone we are to drop our offering and make amends. Then we can make an offering to the Lord. The desire and goal is for our name to be in the Lamb’s book of Life. This requires repentance and acceptance of the salvation the Lamb of God offers us. The shouting and blasting makes us aware of our sin and failings. We can now bring these to God who is full of grace and mercy. He will forgive us. The Days of Awe lead us to the very throne of the One who is our Creator, Lord, and King. Once we get there, we bow before Him in awe.
So, Yom Teruah leads us to a reawakening. Allowing us to readjust our focus, realign our allegiance and repent from our sins. God is calling us to walk his path, to stand firm on the Rock of our salvation. Then one day Jesus will return. There will be a shout from all the heavenly host and the blast of trumpets. Christ will come riding a white horse, triumphant. His righteousness and holiness will be proclaimed over all the earth. And finally, Yom Teruah will be fulfilled.
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