Good Morning.

And when the blast of the trumpet sounded long and became louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him by voice. (Exodus 19:19)

As I shared yesterday, the sound of the shofar was used to announce God’s arrival upon Mount Sinai and to herald the dawn of a new day in Israel’s history. They were no longer slaves to man but a select nation called into God’s service. They had been redeemed and the sound of the shofar acknowledged this fact. Later, Messiah would corroborate the notion that the shofar would sound at the time of the Redemption. 

“And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” (Matthew 24:31) 

Making this even more interesting is the fact that, in Hebrew, the text from Exodus translated literally says the people heard the “voice of a shofar” — in other words, the shofar or ram’s horn has a voice. In Judaism, the “voice of the shofar” is interpreted to represent the Word of God. When we hear the sound produced by the blowing of the ram’s horn, we are to be reminded that we live by “every word which proceeds from the mouth of the LORD” (Deuteronomy 8:3).

We should also be reminded that the voice of the shofar is the voice of innocent blood. For the hearers to appreciate the sound of the shofar means that an innocent animal had to die. Furthermore, if we connect the tradition about the ram that was sacrificed by Abraham providing the horn that was sounded at Sinai, the particular “voice” heard at Sinai was the “voice” of the substitute sacrifice. I’m sure you can see where I am going with this.

Every time we hear the sound of the shofar we are reminded, not only of the coming Redemption, but also of the Innocent One who was sacrificed in our stead making our redemption sure. Maybe that’s why so many respond to the sounding of the shofar in such a spiritual way. It represents the voice of our Master calling out to us to return to Him and prepare ourselves for His return — and to remember that He is the One who paid the price that we might be reconciled to our King.

Blessings and Shalom,  

Bill  

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