9-25-14 Message to Resurrection Anglican Fellowship – Rosh Hashanah
Holy Day Torah Portion; Gen 21:1-34,
Haftarah: 1 Sam 1:1-2:10
Suggested Acheron K’tuvim:
1 Thess 4:13-18
Remember…
Central question of
this message: What should be remembered?
Tonight we begin the first of the fall festivals of Leviticus
23, the festival of Rosh Hashanah, as it has now been called.
But that naming is a more modern invention. In Scripture it is described as shabbaton zikron teruah (literally a
“Sabbath of remembrance teruah - the name
of the staccato Shofar blast).
Lev 23:23-25
23 Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 24 "Speak to the sons of
Israel, saying, 'In the seventh month on the first of the month, you shall have
a rest, a reminder by blowing of
trumpets, a holy convocation. 25 'You shall not do any laborious work, but
you shall present an offering by fire to the Lord.'"
The translators in modern English Bibles always seem to confuse
the concept of the shofar (which is made of a kosher animal’s carefully
prepared horn) with a trumpet (which is made of metal).
Not being steeped in the understanding that comes from being
Jewish, I suspect that they had a short discussion about the sound that a
shofar makes, shrugged their shoulders, and simply wrote “trumpet” rather than
“shofar”, so they could go on to the next word.
But know this, my holy friends… the shofar is by no means a trumpet. The
shofar is a holy thing, and is not properly used as any kind of musical
instrument.
A metal trumpet can be consecrated to a holy use, as the
silver trumpets were consecrated to Temple service. They are found in Num 10.
They hammered from pure silver. They were to be used to summon the
congregation, and for telling the separate camps to set out on the
journey. They were to be blown only by
sons of Aaron, and thus were very narrow in their proper uses.
Num 10:1-9
10 The Lord spoke further to
Moses, saying, 2 "Make yourself two trumpets of silver, of hammered work
you shall make them; and you shall use them for summoning the congregation and
for having the camps set out. 3 And when both are blown, all the
congregation shall gather themselves to you at the doorway of the tent of
meeting. 4 Yet if only one is blown, then the leaders, the heads of the
divisions of Israel, shall assemble before you. 5 But when you blow an alarm,
the camps that are pitched on the east side shall set out. 6 And when you blow
an alarm the second time, the camps that are pitched on the south side shall
set out; an alarm is to be blown for them to set out. 7 When convening the
assembly, however, you shall blow without sounding an alarm. 8 The priestly sons of Aaron, moreover,
shall blow the trumpets; and this shall be for you a perpetual statute
throughout your generations.
But the shofar is quite different. Not only is the horn itself sanctified, but
those who sound it are likewise to be sanctified.
The shofar has a large number of legitimate uses, and can be
blown by persons who have been properly selected, trained and anointed to that
task, regardless of family affiliation, or even nation of origin.
A shofar blower, according to our traditions, must be bar (or
bat) mitzvah, a student of Torah, and be properly trained by a shofar blower
before him. Once he or she has shown
proper mastery of Torah and of the shofar, the shofar blower is called up and
anointed in a ceremony which inducts him into the ranks of those who blow the
shofar.
Apart from those, there seem to be no special requirements
apart from being a member in the body – whether by being a natural branch, or a
grafted-in branch. And it is my firm conviction that a woman, just as well as a
man, can be selected, trained, and anointed to this holy task.
There is more in Scripture written regarding the use of the
shofar than is written regarding preaching.
I am not saying that G-d regards preachers less highly than he does
shofar blowers, but I am saying that G-d’s Word contains a dramatic and
persistent emphasis upon this holy office, and it is not to be entered into
lightly.
Rosh Hashanah means literally “Head of the Year”, but even a
cursory examination of the origins of G-d’s festivals it is not the “true”
head. The true head of our year begins on
the first of the month of Nisan, fourteen days before Passover, in the spring
of the year.
Ex 12:1-4
12 Now the Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, 2 "This month shall be the beginning of
months for you; it is to be the first month of the year to you. 3 Speak to
all the congregation of Israel, saying, 'On the tenth of this month they are
each one to take a lamb for themselves, according to their fathers' households,
a lamb for each household.
Tonight at sunset is the first day of the seventh Hebrew month, Tishrei.
But over the last couple of millennia, our people have
shifted the emphasis from Passover, to Rosh Hashana, and Yom Kippur. And that emphasis, I believe, comes from the
singular issue of how we have dealt with Yeshua, and the destruction of the
Second Temple.
We find additional instructions regarding this festival in
Numbers 29.
Num 29:1-6
'Now in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall also
have a holy convocation; you shall do no laborious work. It will be to you a day for blowing trumpets. 2 'And you shall
offer a burnt offering as a soothing aroma to the Lord: one bull, one ram, and
seven male lambs one year old without defect; 3 also their grain offering, fine
flour mixed with oil, three-tenths of an ephah for the bull, two-tenths for the
ram, 4 and one-tenth for each of the seven lambs. 5 'And offer one male goat
for a sin offering, to make atonement for you, 6 besides the burnt offering of
the new moon, and its grain offering, and the continual burnt offering and its
grain offering, and their libations, according to their ordinance, for a
soothing aroma, an offering by fire to the Lord.
It is from this passage that the other name of the festival
is derived: Yom Teruah – day of the
shofar blast.
So, we have now three titles for this same festival: Shabbaton
Zikron; Yom Teruah; and now in
this later age, Rosh Hashanah.
What is most interesting about the title Shabbaton Zikron (Sabbath of remembrance), is that nowhere are we told what it is that we
are commanded to remember.
Surely it is important that we should remember something, for
G-d would not have called it a Sabbath of Remembrance without something in
mind.
This question has occupied the minds of our people since the
time of Moses, and lacks a definitive answer even today. But I think I might have some insight into
that question for you today.
In this generation, our people have used this occasion to
light yartzheit candles to remember the six million of the last generation who
were exterminated. That is proper, and
holy, and good.
But is that recent
event really what we are to remember? I
think there must be something more than that.
And since the sound of the shofar is tied directly to that
remembrance, then I think we can begin to maybe discern what it might be that G-d
might have in mind. I wonder if our
people might have been giving one another hints about the deeper meanings, even
without knowing it, for many generations.
The customary greeting in Hebrew is "l'shanah tovah," which means “for a
good year”.
In Yiddish, we say “Gut
Yantev”, or “Good Holy-day” in colloquial English. This greeting is appropriate for all holy
days with the exception of Yom Kippur.
We’re not, technically, supposed to have a “good” Yom Kippur, since that
is the day we are to afflict our souls.
A more extensive greeting in the Jewish community is "L'shana tovah tikatevi”, which means
"May you be inscribed for a good year."
This begs a question, “Into what should we be inscribed?”
Our traditions indicate that the inscription we hope for will be that
our name will appear in the “Book of Life.”
This is a Jewish tradition which John affirmed as accurate in Revelation
chapter 20.
Rev 20:11-15
11 And I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose
presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. 12 And I
saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books
were opened; and another book was
opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things
which were written in the books, according to their deeds. 13 And the sea gave
up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were
in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. 14
And death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second
death, the lake of fire. 15 And if
anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the
lake of fire.
A proper response to this greeting would be “U’metukah”, meaning, “and sweet”.
Most certainly, having your name inscribed in the Book of
Live would not be anything less than perfectly “sweet”.
The Hebrew people have been, for many generations, trying to
figure out the significance of the blowing of the shofar on Yom Teruah, and the
connection with what we are to remember on this day.
Hear the musings of Rabbi Eliezer, as recorded in Midrash Rabba Vayikra 29:1.
It was taught in the name of R. Eliezer: The world was created on the
twenty-fifth of Elul. The view of Rav agrees with the teaching of R. Eliezer.
For we have learned in the blessing for the Shofar composed by Rav: ' This day,
on which was the beginning of work, a memorial of the first day, for it is a
statute for Israel, a decree of the God of Yaakov. On it, sentence is
pronounced upon countries: which of them is destined to the sword and which to
peace, which to famine and which to plenty; and each individual creature is
visited on that day, and recorded for life or for death.' Thus we learn that on
Rosh Hashana, in the first hour the idea of creating Man entered His mind, in
the second He took counsel with the Ministering Angels, [this is the errant theology that
some antimissionaries use today to refute the idea that Yeshua was G-d, and
with G-d in the creation when He said, “Let US make man in OUR image…] in the third He assembled Adam's dust, in
the fourth He kneaded it, in the fifth He shaped him, in the sixth He made him
into a lifeless body, in the seventh He breathed a soul into him, in the eighth
He brought him into the Garden of Eden, in the ninth he was commanded [against
eating of the fruit of the tree of knowledge], in the tenth he transgressed, in
the eleventh he was judged, in the twelfth he was pardoned. 'The Holy One,
blessed be He, said to Adam, 'This will
be a sign to your children. As you stood in judgment before Me this day and
came out with a free pardon, so will your children in the future stand in
judgment before Me on this day and will come out from My presence with a free
pardon.' When will that be? 'In the seventh month, on the first day of the
month.'
But there is considerable value to the teaching. I think he was beginning to see something
when he said, “This will be a sign to you and to your children…”.
Rabbi Ari Kahn teaches that the first breath of life into
Adam in the garden happened on Yom Teruah.
He likens that to the sounding of the shofar on Yom Teruah, as if we are
hearing the voice of G-d in it.
That is a good teaching.
For in Exodus 19, we see that G-d’s voice and the sound of the shofar
become interchangeable.
Ex 19:16-19
So it came about on the third day,
when it was morning, that there were thunder and lightning flashes and a thick
cloud upon the mountain and a very loud trumpet sound, so that all the people
who were in the camp trembled. 17 And Moses brought the people out of the camp
to meet God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. 18 Now Mount Sinai was
all in smoke because the Lord descended upon it in fire; and its smoke ascended
like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked violently. 19 When
the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and God answered him with thunder. [lit. “voice”]
The translators here, I believe, again miss the best
translation. The Hebrew literally says that
when “the voice of the shofar” sounded the long blast – the tekiah godolah (the final blast of the
shofar service) – Moses spoke and G-d answered him with “a voice”.
Clearly, G-d’s voice is closely-associated with the sound of
the shofar, particularly with the tekiah
godolah – the long final blast.
When you restore the word “shofar” to its most primitive
form, and then restore it to the pre-Babylonian pictographic Hebrew, where each
letter carries with it a concept. You
can see more of its meaning. It contains
the concepts of “voice”, and “prince”.
In a very real way, the Hebrew word shofar literally means
“voice of the Prince”.
Which prince? The only
Prince that is closely associated with G-d.
The only Prince that speaks with the very words of G-d to mankind. That Prince is Messiah Yeshua.
We, as believers, know that the festivals of Leviticus 23 are
a roadmap of the kingdom. We have seen
the fulfillments of Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits, and even
Shavuot. But the long summer lingers,
and we still await the kingdom fulfillment of Yom Teruah.
I believe that on this day of Yom Teruah, we are commanded to
remember.
I believe it is important that we remember our offenses to
our fellow man over the last year, and if we have not already reconciled, we
must do so now. Look to Matthew 18:15
for guidance. And remember to let your
words be edifying, as is set forth in Ephesians 4.
Eph 4:1-6
4 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner
worthy of the calling with which you have been called, 2 with all humility and
gentleness, with patience, showing forbearance to one another in love, 3 being
diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is
one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your
calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all who is
over all and through all and in all.
I believe it is important that we remember our offenses to
G-d over the last year, and if we have not already repented, we must do so
now.
Let no account, whether on earth or in heaven, remain to be
paid by you to the One to whom it is owed.
But I also believe on this day of Yom Teruah, the voice of
our shofars here below serve to remind
G-d of something as well.
If tradition is accurate, and we were created as a new
creature by receiving the breath of life on Yom Teruah; and, if tradition is
accurate and redemption from our fall was announced to Adam likewise on that
very same day – Yom Teruah; and if the voice of the Prince really is found represented
by the voice of the shofar; then there is much significance in not only this
day, but also the sound of the shofar.
I believe it is good for us to pause on this day, and during
the next ten days as well, to pull out the road maps of our lives, and look at
them closely.
Can you put your finger on that map, indicating where you are
today? Can you trace with your finger the road you are on, or where you are
headed? The path is bright, and lined with
stars, toward your final destination. It
terminates in unspeakable joy, and unfathomable light, and love. Raise your spiritual eyes, my holy friends,
and look at it.
I believe G-d likewise opens His heavenly map, and is tracing
with His finger the progress of our world on it. Nothing He sees is surprising to Him. Nothing is unknown, nor unforeseen.
I believe there are very few sounds from this earth that are
able to penetrate the gates of heaven, and be heard above. Certainly one is the whimpering cry of a
child in prayer… but also I believe the shofar’s loud voice is clearly heard in
the throne room above.
And when G-d hears from heaven the sounds of our shofar
blasts, and our songs of praise, He also remembers His promises made to our
forefathers, and to us. The promise is
that of salvation by faith, for those who will only but accept that holy
gift.
After the time of repentance and reconciliation, let us then bow
before our King, as sons and daughters, in praise of His holy work, completed
on the cross, for us.
Let us keep our faith strong, in the face of these coming
days of tribulation.
And we should always be listening to hear the sounds of the
heavenly tekia godolah, the final
long blast of the shofar, for with that sound the dead shall arise first, and
then we will meet them in the sky… and G-d will no longer need to remember His
promise, because it will have been fulfilled.
Here Paul’s account of that wonderful day, as he expressed it
to the church at Thessaloniki.
1 Thess 4:13-18
13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are
asleep, that you may not grieve, as do the rest who have no hope. 14 For if we
believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those
who have fallen asleep in Jesus. 15 For this we say to you by the word of the
Lord, that we who are alive, and remain until the coming of the Lord, shall not
precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from
heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet [actually the shofar] of God; and the dead
in Christ shall rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught
up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we
shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these
words.
And so it is that I will greet you now with l'shana tovah tikatevi.
Maybe the more appropriate greeting is rather, l’olam tovah kikatevi.
May you be inscribed in the Book of Life for not only a good
year – but for eternity – for that
inscription is written in the blood of the Lamb.
Verses for Rosh Hashanah
Lev 23:23-25
Num 10:1-9
Ex 12:1-4
Num 29:1-6
Rev 20:11-15
Ex 19:16-19
Eph 4:1-6
1 Thess 4:13-18
