The Day of Blowing the Trumpets
“And in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, ye shall have an holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work: it is a day of blowing the trumpets unto you.”Numbers 29:1 (KJV)
Israel’s calendar had a day set aside for trumpets. “And in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, ye shall have an holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work: it is a day of blowing the trumpets unto you.”
The trumpet was an announcement. It called the people together and told them something was coming. Paul uses the same picture for the return of Christ: “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first.”
And again: “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” The same sound that means alarm to some means rest and gathering to those who belong to him.
The gospel is a trumpet too. It still announces that those who were dead in their sins can be made alive. That sound is going out today.
Read it yourself
Read 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18. What does Paul tell believers to do with these words?
When you think about the trumpet sounding, do you feel fear or hope? Why?
Lord Jesus, I look for your coming. Until the trumpet sounds, help me live ready and share the good news. Amen.