5 Ways to Celebrate the Feast of Trumpets as a Christian

There are so many celebrations that the church is missing out on. We can learn from Passover, the Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah), the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) and the Feast of Tabernacles.

Many people today think these are not celebrations for the New Testament church however remember that Jesus kept the feasts of His people, going up to Jerusalem for Passover and Tabernacles (Luke 2:41-42; John 7:10), and He taught that He came to fulfill the Law (see the Sermon on the Mount and the Law).

The celebration and its message have much to teach us. The question that we ask ourselves with the feast of trumpets is are you prepared to meet God?

Have you been saved (see these Bible verses about being saved)? Jesus is going to return for his people at the last trumpet call. The apostle Paul wrote about this in his letter to the Thessalonians.

“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of a trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus, we shall always be with the Lord.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17)

Ancient Israel celebrated this, and we can as well. Here are five practical ways to add this Jewish tradition into our lives.

1. Sing songs about God’s coming

Worship and praise THE LORD for His soon Coming, yes, His being our present Help in trouble. One song I recommend is the song “Days of Elijah.”

You will find that the lyrics of this song will move your heart and prepare you for the celebration of the trumpet. You will want to hear the trumpet as you are singing.

Take time to meditate, and spend time in his presence. Singing and listening to music while you wait for the sound of a trumpet will create a space in your heart for God to move (see these Bible verses about musical instruments).

Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you as you sing and speak to you. Ask Him to show you places in your life that need to change.

You can start this a few weeks before the celebration as a way for your heart to be prepared. If you play the same songs every year you will find that they will bring happy memories to your family just like Christmas music does.

Music has a great way of bringing us back to a place or feeling we had before. Sing, worship, meditate on God's word, and prepare your heart and family for Jesus' soon return.

2. Decorate your home

Scripture does not describe decorations for this feast, but decorating is a simple way to make the day stand out at home. We often do decorate during other seasons, such as Christmas.

So the idea of decorating our home with Christian home decor is not a new idea. Just like Christmas, get your children involved in the decoration. This is how we teach our children about how God has kept his people and will continue to keep his people.

But we all know how to decorate for Christmas, how do we decorate for this Jewish holiday? There are many Pinterest pages on this topic.

So a little research will go a long way. Here are a few options. Place an empty cornucopia on the table to decorate. A cornucopia is shaped like a horn, the same shape as a shofar. The empty horn can be shown during the Feast of Trumpets and then filled during the Feast of Tabernacles a few weeks later. Declare your victory over the enemy and his defeat as a result of Jesus' death on the cross. You can also decorate the altar at the front of your sanctuary (here are some church altar decorations) so that in your church services you can celebrate this season. When we see these decorations in our home and church our children will be reminded to watch for the fulfillment of the feast of trumpets, the Lord's return.

Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a sabbath-rest, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work on it, and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD.’” (Lev. 23:23-25)

Once you start looking for decorating ideas you will find that you have many of the options in your fall decorations ideas already.

3. Get a shofar

You may have to find a place online where you can order a shofar. They are not easy to find. If you can't find an actual shofar you can find apps that make the same sound. When you play this sound think about the time when that sound will come and welcome in the second coming of our Lord. The Bible says that we will one day hear the sound of the trumpet call of God, when the angel will come with a loud voice that sounds like a trumpet and we will be changed and meet our Lord Jesus in the air. The question to ask is, are you ready?

1 Corinthians 15:51-52 NKJV "Behold, I tell you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed."

Offer God a sacrifice of praise in gratitude for Jesus Christ's offering of Himself (Hebrews 13:15). God wants to have a personal relationship with you.

Take this time to work on your personal relationship with God. If you find a Shofar put it in a place of honor in your home. This can be something that is passed on to the next generation. As your children grow and leave your family a Shofar is a great gift to give them for their new home, alongside other Christian housewarming gift ideas.

4. Play the sound of a shofar in your home

If you can't find an actual shofar you can find apps that make the same sound. When you play this sound think about the time when that sound will come and welcome in the second coming of our Lord.

God's people should be excited about Jesus' return. The trumpet blasts will be your reminder that Jesus is going to return soon.

Why blow the trumpet? In Numbers 10:9-10, God told Israel to sound the trumpets in battle and at their appointed feasts so that they would “be remembered before the LORD your God.” The sound can be our call for God to remember us in our troubles too. Think about family issues, financial struggles, ministry needs, or health problems. Whatever we are going through when we blow the Shofar we are asking God to come and help us. Even if this is not the time of his triumph time of return, He can still come into our family and help us with the issues we are struggling with.

Psalm 98:6 (CJB) says, “With trumpets and the sound of the shofar, shout for joy before the king, Adonai.”

You will see in this passage that we are to celebrate with joy. This is not a time of fear or anxiety. When you think about the return of Jesus Christ you should be filled with Joy.

The Trumpet sound should bring you pure joy. I remember one time I looked out my window to see my three-year-old sitting on the swing and staring at the sky. I went outside to ask "What are you doing" With the sweetest little voice she replied "Just waiting for Jesus to come back" We should all be looking toward heaven with this same joy and anticipation. But throughout the year we become so busy we forget to look to the sky and wait. Setting aside a time during the year to focus our attention on Jesus and his return is a way to make sure we never forget where our hope is found.

5. Have a Sabbath rest

The Bible is very clear about our need to take time to rest. It is a gift of God. When we set aside a time of year when we are resting and spending special time with God and our family then we will find ourselves recovering from hard times we faced over the year.

Leviticus 23:23 "Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying. Speak to the children of Israel saying: 'In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a sabbath‐rest, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. 'You shall do no customary work on it, and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord.'"

God wants us to keep the sabbath. He knows we need this time of rest to heal and prepare for what is coming next.

If Jesus does not return this year, the year ahead will still bring its share of sadness, stress and pain. We need to be filled with the hope of God to help us survive what is coming to us this year.

During this time of rest eat some of the food from this season. My very favorite is apples with honey. This is the most amazing thing I have ever eaten. Jewish families eat them as a wish for a sweet new year, and I remember the sweet promise that God would send a Savior to save us from our sin (Genesis 3:15).

What happened on the Feast of Trumpets in Nehemiah 8

The Bible records one Feast of Trumpets in detail. After the exiles returned and rebuilt Jerusalem’s walls, the people gathered “on the first day of the seventh month,” and Ezra read the Law aloud from daybreak until noon while the people listened (Nehemiah 8:2-3). When they understood it, they wept.

Nehemiah told them, “Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength,” and sent them home to eat, drink and share food with those who had nothing prepared (Nehemiah 8:9-12). It is one of the great revivals recorded in the Bible and a good pattern for celebrating today.

Do Christians have to keep the Feast of Trumpets?

No. Paul told believers not to let anyone judge them “with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day,” because these were “a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ” (Colossians 2:16-17). Romans 14:5-6 leaves each believer free to set apart a special day to the Lord or not, so keeping the feast is a choice, not a condition of salvation.

Why these feasts still matter

There are many important celebrations that we the church should be celebrating. From the feast of Passover to the feast of the trumpets take the time to learn about these important celebrations.

These Jewish feasts do not save us. But they give us an opportunity to think about the work of Jesus Christ in our lives. As we enter the fall feast season this year, think about adding some of these traditions into your home.

We do not know the exact day of the return of Christ. But we do know that He will return and that we will have eternal life with Him in Heaven. There is no better news than this.