The Feast of Trumpets | Awake and Prepare For Jesus’ Return

“The Lord said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites: ‘On the first day of the seventh month you are to have a day of sabbath rest, a sacred assembly commemorated with trumpet blasts.” Leviticus 23:23-24, NIV.

The Feast of Trumpets today is commonly celebrated as Rosh Hashanah. It is a time for personal and communal renewal. The Jewish civil New Year begins with the sound of the shofar (a ram’s horn) which has a loud, piercing noise that breaks through the ordinary and calls God’s people to attention. It is not a feast of celebration, like some of the other feasts, but a feast of awakening. Scripture commands us to wake out of sleep (Romans 13:11). The trumpets announce that something holy is coming: the Day of Atonement is near.

How To Apply The Feast Of Trumpets To Our Lives Today

This feast calls us to spiritual alertness. Oftentimes, we are so busy with day-to-day tasks that we do not take the time to think about the return of Christ. Jesus told us that the midnight hour is at hand and that we, the church, need to prepare ourselves and be ready.

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 gives us insight into what we have to look forward to, “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and 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.”    

Today, God is calling us to awaken out of slumber, repent, and make sure we are clothed in garments without spots or wrinkles. We are to anticipate the return of our Lord (1 Corinthians 15:52), sound the trumpet to get the attention of others and rejoice in our Savior.

Journal Prompt:

Where in your life do you feel spiritually sleepy or distracted? What would it look like to “wake up” and return to God in that area? Write about the habits, prayers, or changes you sense God inviting you into as a way of preparing your heart.

Prayer:

Lord, I pray You will wake me where I’ve fallen asleep. Blow the trumpet in my soul so I can be ready for Your return. I pray that I will live every day with urgency, humility, and expectation of your return. In Jesus name, amen.

Devotion written by Angela Overton.