Feast of Trumpets and Day of Atonement

October 2-4, 2024, is the Feast of Trumpets, or Rosh Hashanah

This is the Jewish New Year and the traditional anniversary of the creation of Adam and Eve and a Sabbath day of rest which includes a day of rest and the blowing of horns. It is also called the Days of Awe. So, we have three names for this Holy Day, which makes it all the more confusing.

It is mentioned in Lev. 23:23-25, “Say to the Israelites: ‘On the first day of the seventh month you are to have a day of rest, a sacred assembly commemorated with trumpet blasts. Do no regular work, but present an offering made to the Lord by fire.

In Num. 29:1-6 it says, “It is a day for you to sound trumpets. As an aroma pleasing to the Lord, prepare a burnt offering . . .”

So far, all we know about this holy day is that it is a sabbath day, a day of rest, it is a memorial or a commemoration of something and there are a lot of trumpets blowing. Any questions? I have one. What is it commemorating? What is it a memorial to? Imagine the Jews standing at the temple watching the musicians blowing their trumpets and someone asks, “Why are we here?” The Jews figured, that since that day led up to the Day of Atonement, when all their sins were forgiven, it must be a time of self-examination and the trumpets were a wake-up call for them to get right with God. And since trumpets were blown at Mt. Sinai (Ex. 19:5-7), this day also commemorates the giving of the Law.

So, this Holy Day commemorates the giving of the Law, the Israelites entering into the covenant to obey the law and a wake-up call to prepare for the coming judgment.

Between the Feast of Trumpets and the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) the Jews would reflect on their lives, turn away from their sins and hopefully, according to tradition, get their names in the book of life before the books are closed up on the Day of Atonement.

Rosh Hashanah meals usually include apples dipped in honey to symbolize a sweet new year and pomegranates to symbolize being fruitful. Why pomegranates? Well, they are filled with a large number of seeds.

A ritual is oftentimes performed where prayers are recited near natural flowing water, and one's sins are symbolically cast into the water. This is done by throwing bread or pebbles into the water, symbolizing the casting off of sins as seen in Micah 7:19, “You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.” The feast of Trumpets ushers in a ten-day period of repentance which culminates in the fast day of Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement.

We know that some days in the Old Testament have a special meaning to those in the Church. For instance, the Passover of Exodus 12, the blood of the lamb over the doorposts led to the Israelites being delivered from slavery. Jesus, the Lamb of God, delivers us from slavery, also, slavery from sin.

Israelites ate only unleavened bread during the Days of Unleavened Bread, symbolizing a holy walk with God. I Cor. 5:7-8 tells us to purge out the old leaven and Jesus is the Bread of Life. Then there is the First Fruits, where a sheaf of the first harvest would be brought to the priest. Paul wrote that in Adam all died, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his order: Christ the first fruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming (I Cor. 15:23). Then we have Pentecost, where two wave loafs are used to symbolize the first fruits unto the Lord. God is predicting that the church would have both Jews and Gentiles. It seems more than coincidental that He was crucified on Passover, buried on Unleavened Bread, raised on First fruits and sent the Holy Spirit on Pentecost.

How do Christians understand the Feast of Trumpets? There is quite a calendar time gap between Pentecost and Trumpets. The gap in time seems to represent the Church Age. Trumpets represent rapture. Trumpets were the signal for workers to stop harvesting and make their way to the Temple. 1 Thess. 4:16-17 says that the Lord will come “with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.” 1 Cor 15:51-52 speaks of trumpets, “We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed-in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.”

Christians have their own reminder of their relationship with God in the Lord’s Supper. This is like our New Year. We end one year with regrets, and we make resolutions to do better in the coming year. It is also similar to the 40-day season of Lent, a time of reflection for Anglicans, Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Lutheran and Methodists as they prepare to remember and celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Baptists, Evangelicals and Pentecostalists usually do not observe Lent.

October 11, 2024, Day of Atonement or Yom Kippur

The Day of Atonement or Yom Kippur which is the most important Holy Day. Many Jews who do not observe any other Jewish holiday will refrain from work, fast and/or attend synagogue services on this day. Similar to how some Christians attend church only on Easter or Christmas.

During the Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah), God inscribes the Israelite’s names in either the book of life or death. On the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) the judgment entered in these books was sealed.

Lev.16:29 mandates establishment of this holy day on the 10th day of the 7th month as the day of atonement for sins. It calls it the Sabbath of Sabbaths and a day upon which one must afflict one's soul (fast) and it is a day of rest.

Lev. 16:5-10 describes how two male goats were to be sacrificed on the Day of Atonement, one was a sin offering, the other was the scapegoat. The first one was killed, its blood sprinkled in the Most Holy Place to appease God for another year. The other goat, the scapegoat, was sent away alive and bearing the sins of the nation. This was the only time the high priest entered the Most Holy Place or the Holy of Holies. When the second Temple was destroyed in the year 70 AD., individual Jews would perform the sacrifice “in the temple of his heart.”

Beyond fasting on this day, tradition requires that Jews abstain from washing, applying oils or lotions to the skin, having marital relations, and wearing leather shoes. Huh? What wrong with leather shoes? Well, back in the day, it was a luxury to have leather shoes, so part of “afflicting your body” is doing without leather shoes. Sneakers have become fashionable footwear on the Day of atonement.

During the year Jews focus on food, work, possessions and pleasures. During this one day they are to deny themselves these things. This tends to make them more sensitive to the sufferings of others.

Although Yom Kippur is the most solemn day of the year, there is an undercurrent of joy. Joy is the sense of being forgiven of their sins.

Christians have a better sacrifice for their sins than the goats provided on the annual Day of Atonement. The blood of goats could only cover up our sins (Heb. 9:8-14). Jesus removed our sins (Heb. 9:28). Goats had to be sacrificed every year. Christ’s single sacrifice was permanent (1 Peter 3:18) “once and for all.”

We have peace because we know that we have been reconciled with God. That’s past tense, not a future hope. His crucifixion paid for the sins of all who would trust in Him (Heb. 4:15; 2 Cor. 5:21), and His resurrection guarantees our justification before God (Rom. 4:25). Since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 5:1). Peace with God means that our great sin debt has been paid and God sees us as righteous (Col. 2:14; Rom. 3:22). We are no longer enemies but beloved children (1 John 3:2). We have been reconciled. We have peace.

Don’t religions love to add to what is required by God? If you stripped away all man-made traditions, both Judaism and Christianity would be unrecognizable and a lot simpler. I wonder how many of our traditions, good as they may be, are sometimes a distraction from what is essential.

Here is some trivia about Yom Kippur. In 1973, Egypt and Syria attacked Israel on Yom Kippur, when many military personnel were at home observing the holy day and weakened by hunger. Israel won.

In 1965, Sandy Koufax, the Los Angeles Dodger Hall of Fame pitcher, decided not to pitch Game 1 of the World Series because it fell on Yom Kippur.

In 1934, Hall of Fame first baseman Hank Greenberg refused to play baseball on Yom Kippur, even though the Detroit Tigers were in the middle of a pennant race, and he was leading the league in RBIs. When Greenberg arrived in synagogue on Yom Kippur, the service stopped suddenly, and the congregation gave an embarrassed Greenberg a standing ovation.

There you have it, two holy days. The first to wake you up and the second to clean you up. The next holy day that Jews will be acknowledging is later in this month, called the Feast of Tabernacles.

Christians are not under any obligation to observe these days since they were given to Israel as part of the Old Covenant, which expired with the coming of the Messiah (Gal. 3:25).