The Holidays Are Here!

The holidays are here! No, not those holidays, they are still a ways off. But these are, or should be, for us as Christians, just as meaningful, and therefore just as anticipated. I'm referring to the feast and festival days that God commanded the Israelite people to set aside as "sacred assemblies". I love these holidays, or festival/ feast days. No, I am not a Jew. But I am an inheritor of all that is considered holy and sacred for the Jews, according to Romans, Hebrews, etc. I am Christ follower. And since every "Holy" day that God commanded the Jews to observe has at it's core the message of the Messiah - Jesus Christ - they are holidays that I may claim as sacred assemblies for me. And thus, for any of you who call Jesus your Lord, and follow Him! Sunday, Sept. 16, is the beginning of the first of these festivals: The Festival of Trumpets, better known today as Rosh Hashanah. Most Jewish believers celebrate it as the Jewish New Year. But it is far more than just the celebration of the turning of a new calendar page. It was, and is, to be set aside as a time of Thanksgiving to God for the bounty and grace with which we have been blessed. But notice, I said that this day was the "beginning" of the festival. The oft neglected part of this festival are the ten days which follow, the "Days of Awe". On these days they were commanded to consider their sins, how they have rejected God and His law, and how He has blessed them in spite of that. This fact should lead them, then, to a time of repentance, as Paul reminds in Romans 2: "...that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance". These ten days lead into the next of the holidays: Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. The day when their repentant hearts are covered with the blood of the sacrificial lamb, and God forgives their sins. Are you seeing it all a bit more clearly now? Let's back up a moment. Look at the name God has given to the first celebration: Trumpets. The trumpet was most often used in the Old Testament to call the people to a gathering, whether for worship, for battle, or even for a party. In this case it was to get the attention of the people to consider God and their relationship to Him. Hmmm...when Jesus arrived here on earth, there were a multitude of angels that "trumpeted" the coming of the Messiah, the one who would bring God to man, and seek a relationship with them. The scripture tells us that when Christ returns, "the trumpet will sound...", and we will all be gathered together in the sky with Him, to be escorted home. It seems to me that the Festival of Trumpets might have been a way of preparing them - us - for our coming Messiah. The one that, by the way, went to Calvary to die as a sacrificial Lamb to "atone" for our sins. I don't know about you, but I'm getting my horn out and getting this festival started. The Lord said to Moses, "Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'These are my appointed festivals, the appointed festivals of the Lord, which you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies. (Leviticus 23:1, 2 NIV) Want to join me?