Sermon #53                                                    Leviticus Sermons

 

     Title:       The Feast of Trumpets

     Text:       Leviticus 23:23-25

     Subject:  The Feast of Trumpets—The Gospel Trumpet

     Date:       Sunday Morning—January 12, 2003

     Tape #    X-41a

     Reading: Psalm 81:1-4, 85:1-13 and 89:1-18

     Introduction:

 

Gospel preachers are trumpeters. The preaching of the gospel is frequently compared to the blowing of a trumpet in the Scriptures. Sometimes it is compared to a trumpet sound of joyous announcement. And sometimes it is compared to a sound of alarm in preparation for war. “If the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to battle?” But throughout the Book gospel preaching is compared to the blowing of a trumpet.

 

First Mention

 

The first mention of a trumpet is found in connection with the giving of the law at Mt. Sinai, when God called Moses up into the mount (Ex. 19:13, 19; 20:18).

 

Exodus 19:13  There shall not an hand touch it, but he shall surely be stoned, or shot through; whether it be beast or man, it shall not live: when the trumpet soundeth long, they shall come up to the mount.

 

Exodus 19:19  And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice.

 

Exodus 20:18-21  And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off. 19 And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die. 20 And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not. 21 And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.

 

Throughout the Old Testament, the Lord God used the blasts of trumpets to call, to summons his people to himself.

 

·        To Call for Solemn Assemblies.

·        In Preparation for Journeys.

·        To Prepare for War.

·        To Announce the New Moons.

·        In the Year of Jubilee.

 

All this was, of course, highly symbolic. In fact, one of the annual feasts of worship, one of Israel’s annual holy convocations, was The Feast of Trumpets. It is describe in Leviticus 23:23-25.

 

Leviticus 23:23-25  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 24 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation. 25 Ye shall do no servile work therein: but ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD.

 

We are given a little more detail in Numbers 10:1-10 and 29:1-6.

 

Numbers 10:1-10  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 2 Make thee two trumpets of silver; of a whole piece shalt thou make them: that thou mayest use them for the calling of the assembly, and for the journeying of the camps. 3 And when they shall blow with them, all the assembly shall assemble themselves to thee at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. 4 And if they blow but with one trumpet, then the princes, which are heads of the thousands of Israel, shall gather themselves unto thee. 5 When ye blow an alarm, then the camps that lie on the east parts shall go forward. 6 When ye blow an alarm the second time, then the camps that lie on the south side shall take their journey: they shall blow an alarm for their journeys. 7 But when the congregation is to be gathered together, ye shall blow, but ye shall not sound an alarm. 8 And the sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow with the trumpets; and they shall be to you for an ordinance for ever throughout your generations. 9 And if ye go to war in your land against the enemy that oppresseth you, then ye shall blow an alarm with the trumpets; and ye shall be remembered before the LORD your God, and ye shall be saved from your enemies. 10 Also in the day of your gladness, and in your solemn days, and in the beginnings of your months, ye shall blow with the trumpets over your burnt offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; that they may be to you for a memorial before your God: I am the LORD your God.

 

Numbers 29:1-6  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. 2 And ye shall offer a burnt offering for a sweet savour unto the LORD; one young bullock, one ram, and seven lambs of the first year without blemish: 3 And their meat offering shall be of flour mingled with oil, three tenth deals for a bullock, and two tenth deals for a ram, 4 And one tenth deal for one lamb, throughout the seven lambs: 5 And one kid of the goats for a sin offering, to make an atonement for you: 6 Beside the burnt offering of the month, and his meat offering, and the daily burnt offering, and his meat offering, and their drink offerings, according unto their manner, for a sweet savour, a sacrifice made by fire unto the LORD.

 

Proposition: Without a doubt, the Feast of Trumpets was a representation of that spiritual joy and gladness that belongs to God’s elect, the gladness of redemption and the joy of grace that is found in Christ (Isa. 35:10) when we are made to know the joyful sound of the gospel (Ps. 89:14-18).

 

Isaiah 35:10  And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

 

Psalms 89:14-18  Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne: mercy and truth shall go before thy face. 15 Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O LORD, in the light of thy countenance. 16 In thy name shall they rejoice all the day: and in thy righteousness shall they be exalted. 17 For thou art the glory of their strength: and in thy favour our horn shall be exalted. 18 For the LORD is our defense; and the Holy One of Israel is our king.

 

Let’s look at this a little more closely and see what God the Holy Spirit would have us to learn from the Feast of Trumpets.

 

I.       As the trumpet sounded as God’s voice, calling his people to himself, so the preaching of the gospel is God’s voice to us.—“See that ye refuse not the voice of him that speaketh!

 

As the trumpet at Sinai represented the voice of the Almighty, when the Apostle John heard the Lord Jesus speaking to him on the Isle of Patmos his voice was as the voice of a great trumpet (Rev. 1:10). What a gracious God we have! He who spoke in terror at Sinai calls us to everlasting bliss by the gospel.

 

Hebrews 12:25  See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven:

 

A.   God’s voice is the voice of two trumpets (Num. 10:2)—The Old Testament and the New.

 

B.    Yet, these two trumpets are one, “a whole piece.”—The Gospel is one message.

 

These trumpets were typical of the gospel. The blowing of the trumpets symbolized the preaching of the gospel, which is called “the great trumpet” (Isa. 27:13).

 

Isaiah 27:13  And it shall come to pass in that day, that the great trumpet shall be blown, and they shall come which were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the LORD in the holy mount at Jerusalem.

 

Gospel preachers are to lift up their voice like a trumpet, both to sound an alarm to perishing sinners, warning them of wrath to come, and to call them to come to Christ for salvation (Isa. 58:1).

 

Isaiah 58:1  Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.

 

C.   These trumpets were made of silver.

 

The Gospel is comparable to silver, because it is fetched out of the mines of the sacred Scriptures, because it is pure and free from the dross of errors and human inventions, because it will bear to be tried by the standard of the word, and because it is lasting and durable. It is the everlasting Gospel. It is compared to silver because it is of great value and infinitely precious. Here we find the unsearchable riches of Christ and all the treasures of divine truth, called “gold, silver, and precious stones.”

 

D.   These two trumpets, like the preaching of the gospel, were used “for the calling of the assembly,” for the gathering of God’s elect.

 

·        Romans 10:13-17

·        1 Peter 2:23-25

 

E.    These same trumpets, like the gospel of Christ, were used to inspire and direct the children of Israel in their journey to the land of promise.

 

F.    These two silver trumpets were the weapons of Israel’s warfare along the way, by which they prevailed over their enemies (Num. 10:9; 2 Cor. 10:3-5).

 

Numbers 10:9  And if ye go to war in your land against the enemy that oppresseth you, then ye shall blow an alarm with the trumpets; and ye shall be remembered before the LORD your God, and ye shall be saved from your enemies.

 

2 Corinthians 10:3-5  For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: 4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

 

G.   The trumpets were to be blown only by the sons of Aaron, only by divinely appointed men (Num. 10:8).

 

H.   Now, look at Numbers 10:10. These silver trumpets of grace were to be blown over the sacrifices, for there is no good news for sinners but by the sacrifice of Christ.

 

Numbers 10:10  Also in the day of your gladness, and in your solemn days, and in the beginnings of your months, ye shall blow with the trumpets over your burnt offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; that they may be to you for a memorial before your God: I am the LORD your God.

 

·        Blown at the beginning of your months[1].

·        Blown over the sacrifices.

·        Blown as a memorial before the Lord.—A memorial of faith, joy and gratitude remembering the past and in hope of the future.

 

II.    The Feast of Trumpets was symbolical of God’s mercy, love and grace proclaimed in the gospel. The blowing of the trumpets portrayed the preaching of the gospel, the proclamation of good news, the good news of a finished redemption, redemption finished and salvation obtained by the sacrifice of Christ.

 

There is no good news in the gospel of the works-monger. Good news is the declaration that justice is satisfied, sin has been put away, righteousness has been brought in, eternal redemption has been obtained by the doing and dying of the Son of God!

 

It was in realization of that which was signified by the blowing of these trumpets that David wrote Psalm 89.

 

Psalms 89:14-18  Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne: mercy and truth shall go before thy face. 15 Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O LORD, in the light of thy countenance. 16 In thy name shall they rejoice all the day: and in thy righteousness shall they be exalted. 17 For thou art the glory of their strength: and in thy favour our horn shall be exalted. 18 For the LORD is our defense; and the Holy One of Israel is our king.

 

In this Psalm David sets before us, in the most powerfully plain terms imaginable, the gracious, covenant promises made with the Lord Jesus Christ that are eternal and certain (Ps. 89:3, 28, 34, 37). Many commentators of scripture have called this Psalm, "The glorious covenant Psalm," and truly it is. We read about covenant mercies, covenant faithfulness of the Surety, the covenant God Who rules over all and the promise to the covenant seed being established forever in Christ Jesus (Ps. 89:4, 29, 36). He is a covenant God, therefore His covenant people must be blessed (Eph. 1:3). God gives us this glorious description of His people in verses 15,16, and 17 of this Psalm.

A.   They know the joyful sound of the gospel. The sheep of Christ know the effectual voice of the Great Shepherd and they delight to follow Him (John 10:27-30). It is the sound of victory over sin through His blood. It is the sound of love, peace and pardon in and through Christ Jesus (Eph. 1:6).

B.    They shall walk in the light of His countenance. Their darkened heart has been illuminated through the preaching of the gospel and the quickening of the Holy Spirit to see the beauty, glory and necessity of their great Redeemer and King (2 Cor. 4:6). Christ is our Light (John 9:5).

C.   They shall rejoice in His name all the day. Believers have every reason to rejoice in Christ alone and have no confidence in the flesh (Phil. 3:3). They have been redeemed, justified and exalted in His name.

D.   They shall be exalted in His righteousness. The perfect righteousness that Jesus Christ worked out for His elect has been freely, eternally and fully imputed to them that believe (Rom. 4:6). Christ Jesus is the Lord our Righteousness (Jer. 23:5; Phil. 3:7-9). From sin and misery to all grace and glory. From the gutter-most sin to the uttermost salvation (Heb. 7:25).20

E.    The Lord Jesus Christ is our glory and strength. Without Him we can do nothing and know nothing (John. 15:5). Any spiritual strength or spiritual knowledge that we enjoy and experience, must be because of His grace worked within us (Phil. 1:6; 4:13).

F.    The Lord is our defense. We are unable to defend ourselves against our spiritual enemies, there are too many of them and they are too powerful for us even to begin to fight. However, our Lord stood face to face with all our enemies and won the glorious victory for us (Ps. 98:1). He defeated sin by making atonement for it (Heb. 9:26). He honored the Law for us (Gal. 3:13). He defeated Satan by crushing his dominion and power (Heb. 2:14). He defeated death by raising Himself from the dead (Rev. 1:18).

 

III. Like the blowing of these silver trumpets, the preaching of the gospel is a call to rest.

 

Leviticus 23:23-25  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 24 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation. 25 Ye shall do no servile work therein: but ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD.

 

Matthew 11:28-30  Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

 

The trumpet sound was like the word “behold” so commonly used in the New Testament, that word by which we are called to Christ. Let me wrap this message up by sounding in your ears a few blasts of the trumpet. May God the Holy Spirit, whose word I speak, now call you by his almighty, omnipotent grace and irresistible mercy to Christ and give you rest in him.

 

John 1:29  The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

 

John 19:22  Pilate answered, What I have written I have written.

 

1 Corinthians 15:51  Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,

 

Hebrews 2:13  And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, Behold I and the children which God hath given me.

 

1 John 3:1  Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.

 

Revelation 1:7  Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.

 

Revelation 4:1-2  After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will show thee things which must be hereafter. 2 And immediately I was in the spirit; and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.

 

Revelation 5:5  And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.

 

Revelation 21:3-5  And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. 4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. 5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.

 

Revelation 22:7  Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.

 

Revelation 22:12  And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.

 



[1] The Jews had two calendars and observed two new years each year. When the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt, he proclaimed that their new year (Ex. 12:2). That was the day of spiritual beginnings. But their civil, legal, political new year was the first day of the seventh month. “This day then was the first day in the new year; and the feast of trumpets was to them ‘a memorial;’ a memorial of mercies received, and of mercies promised” (Charles Simeon).