Lesson for the Lord’s Day
Speak unto the children of Israel saying, In the seventh month in the first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation. Leviticus 23:24
If we were Jewish, we would be very interested in the feast of trumpets, referred to today as Rosh Hashanah. This is the most solemn day of the year for God’s earthly people. This is a day marked by the blowing of rams’ horns and by the calling of the people to contemplation of God’s judgment. One of the events of this special day involves a ceremony known as Tashlich, in which the devout Jews walk by running water and say a prayer from Micah 7 acknowledging the Lord as a pardoning God of mercy, and symbolically casting off their sins into the water. An interesting aspect of this day is that, unlike Passover and some other Jewish feasts, this day does not commemorate a past event even though it is referred to as a memorial. It commemorates an event yet to come.
The blowing of a trumpet also marks a very important day for the Christian. We have not heard that trumpet yet, but we are all eagerly anticipating its sound. We are living in the hope of hearing that trumpet and of being caught away from this scene into the presence of the Lord forever. Earth’s sorrows and worries are forever laid aside and Heaven’s joys and wonders are forever begun. We try to imagine what the Rapture will be like, and try to picture the splendour of Heaven, and know that our imagination must fall far short of what the reality will be. This joyous aspect of the blowing of the trumpet is incorporated into our weekly remembrance of our Lord, as we follow the instructions to ‘show the Lord’s death until He come’. A tradition of Rosh Hashanah is a meal that includes eating apples dipped in honey, speaking of the sweetness of the anticipation of the Lord’s presence. As Christians, we can appreciate that. But remember, there is a very solemn side to this great occasion.
The Rapture marks not only the end of our limitations and struggles while in our earthly tabernacle, it also marks the end of all our labours and our occupation in the service of our King. The Rapture calls us to an accounting of all the deeds done in the flesh, the review before the Judgment Seat of Christ. That our sins are covered by the blood is a great comfort. But the review we face will see the faithful service accounted as gold, silver, and precious stones, but the idle words and disobedience marked by the burning of the wood, hay, and stubble. That is indeed a solemn thought!
Ponder the feast of trumpets with delightful anticipation of our Lord’s return and serious contemplation of our Lord’s review. – Jim MacIntosh