May I Have Your Attention Please?

The Fall Feasts are upon us and the time for our appointments with ADONAI are fast approaching! First up is the two-for-one holiday of Yom Teruah/Rosh Hashanah. Known as the Day of Blasting (or Blowing), Yom Teruah is a time of corporate awareness - a time to be ready for whatever God is about to do in the next season and to prepare our hearts for the upcoming Day of Atonement.

According to Scripture, Yom Teruah is the day when Messiah's return will be announced through a great shofar blast from Heaven. But when that day comes, will you know what to listen for? Do you know what each of Yom Teruah's shofar blasts traditionally represent?

The four shofar blasts for Yom Teruah are:

1. Tekiah: A long, loud blast that lasts about three seconds
2. Shevarim: Three medium-length broken blasts that sound like crying
3. Teruah: Nine or more rapid staccato rings
4. Tekiah Gedolah: An extra-long blast that lasts about nine seconds

Tekiah is the call to attention. Shevarim is the call to repentance. Teruah is the call to battle. And Tekiah Gedolah is the call to announce the coming King.

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It seems obvious that we would recognize the Tekiah Gedolah as the great shofar sounding from Heaven. But without experiencing the smaller, shorter calls, how are we supposed to know the difference?

"Therefore stay alert; for you do not know what day your Lord is coming."

- Matthew 24:42 TLV

My son just officially started kindergarten and has quickly learned the difference between the start of school bell, the lunch bell, and the end of day bell - each of them different in tone, rhythm, melody, and frequency. His entire day is now ordered by the sounds of those bells. He can mimic them and has made sure that I know what they mean, too. And the structure makes him a happier, healthier, more stable little guy. But he knows them because they're an everyday, all-day addition to his life.

These shofar blasts are very much the same for those of us in the Commonwealth of Israel. They outline the timing of our appointments with ADONAI! When the Great Day comes, will you recognize the call of the coming King? ADONAI only asks us to spend one day a year learning His calls - one day out of 365 to know what His alert will sound like.

Yeshua says that His sheep know the sound of His voice. We forget that the shofar is one of the parts of His Voice, along with the thunderous noise from Sinai, the rushing winds of His Spirit, and the still, small voice of the Ruach HaKodesh in our hearts. His Word, His calendar, His rhythms, and His patterns are all ways that we learn to recognize ADONAI.

"My sheep hear My voice. I know them, and they follow Me."

- John 10:27 TLV

Participating in His appointed times trains us to be ready and prepared for whatever He might have for us between now and His return. So, pay attention this Yom Teruah to each of the calls. Commit them to memory. Treasure them in your heart.

And then prayerfully consider which of them feels the most relevant for this season of your life. Do you need to be awakened, alert, and ready? Do you need to prepare your heart to reflect, repent, and turn from sin in a revolutionary way that heals? Do you need to strengthen yourself, put on the armor of God, and pray for courage? Or do you need to increase the urgency with which you grow the Kingdom of Heaven through evangelism and discipleship?

The answer is between you and God. But He is indeed calling you to seek an answer. There is a new season ahead of you during these special times in God's Calendar. Don't miss out!

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