As we prepare here in Israel to celebrate the Feast of Trumpets, I have been thinking about a sound that has echoed through the story of our people for thousands of years: the sound of the shofar.
In Hebrew, this biblical feast is called Yom Teruah—the Day of the Shofar Blast, or the Day of Trumpet Blasts. The shofar is not the kind of trumpet we normally picture today. It is a ram’s horn, something taken from God’s creation, and its sound has carried a powerful meaning throughout Scripture.
But why did God command Israel to remember this sound? To understand it, we have to go back to the wilderness.
Israel had just come out of Egypt. They had seen the plagues, crossed the Red Sea, and experienced the miraculous deliverance of God. Then they came to Mount Sinai, where something happened that no generation could easily forget.
Exodus tells us:
“Then it came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there were thunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain; and the sound of the trumpet was very loud, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled.”
Exodus 19:16
Imagine standing there.
Thunder. Lightning. A thick cloud covering the mountain. And then the sound of the shofar growing very loud.
This was not simply a dramatic moment. God was preparing His people to hear His voice. He had brought Israel out of slavery, but now He was calling them into covenant with Himself. He was about to give them His commandments and teach them how to walk as His people.
That is why I believe there is such a beautiful message for us in the Feast of Trumpets. The shofar calls us to remember that God has spoken.
We live in a world filled with voices. Every day something is competing for our attention. News, responsibilities, worries, opinions, plans for the future, problems in our families—sometimes there is so much noise around us that we can easily lose sight of the voice that matters most.
The shofar interrupts the noise. It calls us to remember. Remember who God is. Remember what He has done. Remember what He has spoken. Remember that the God who delivered Israel from Egypt and spoke at Sinai has not changed.
And there is another beautiful dimension to this feast. It does not only point us backward. The biblical feasts have a remarkable way of connecting the past, present, and future.
We remember what God has done. We ask what He is saying to us today. And we look forward with expectation to what He has promised still to do.
The New Testament also uses the sound of the trumpet when speaking about the future fulfillment of God’s purposes. Paul writes that “the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible” (1 Corinthians 15:52). Again, in 1 Thessalonians 4:16, we read of the Lord descending from heaven “with the trumpet of God.”
The same biblical image that calls us to remember also calls us to look forward.
And perhaps that is the word I want to leave with you this Shabbat and during this Feast of Trumpets: do not become so surrounded by the noise of today that you forget what God has spoken or lose expectation for what He will yet do.
Maybe you are entering this season carrying questions. Perhaps you are waiting for direction, praying for someone you love, or facing something you cannot resolve yourself. You may not know what the coming months will bring.
But you can remember. Remember the times God has already been faithful. Remember the promises He has given in His Word. Remember the prayers He has answered and the doors He has opened. And when the future is uncertain, remember that our hope is not built upon our ability to see what comes next. Our hope is built upon the faithfulness of the One who already knows.
This is what the sound of the shofar awakens in my heart.
God has spoken. God is speaking. And God will fulfill what He has promised.
So as the shofar sounds here in Israel, my prayer is that something will also awaken within your heart. May the Lord quiet every voice that has become louder than His. May He remind you of His faithfulness in your past, give you ears to hear Him in your present, and fill you with hope for everything He has promised for the future.
“Lord, as we enter this biblical feast, help us to remember. Remind us of Your faithfulness and bring us back to Your Word. Give us hearts that are sensitive to Your voice and courage to obey what You speak. Where there is fear about the future, replace it with trust. Where we have become distracted, draw our attention back to You. And as we hear the sound of the shofar, awaken within us a fresh expectation for the fulfillment of Your promises. May Israel hear Your voice, turn toward You, and come to know the salvation You have given through Yeshua our Messiah. Amen.”
From Israel, I wish you and your family a blessed Feast of Trumpets. May the sound of the shofar remind you that the God who has been faithful through every generation is still faithful today.
Shabbat Shalom and blessings from Israel,
Pastor Israel Pochtar
