“The Lord spoke to Moses saying, “Make two trumpets of hammered silver for yourself. They are for summoning the community and having the camps set out” (Num. 10:1-2).
Make for yourself two חֲצֹצְרָה/hasosra, trumpets of hammered silver. These trumpets, blown by the sons of Aaron, would call the leaders or the congregation before the Tabernacle. The sound would prepare the camp to march, call to war, and announce times of rejoicing and sacrifice. The sound was different from the Shofar, used at the Jubilee, but they aligned the children of Israel with the covenant Lord.
Of such importance to the Tabernacle and Temple, and to the children of Israel, that they were part of the spoils of war memorialized on the Arch of Titus in Rome. Why? They invoked courage and cheerfulness in those who heard. The courage to stand knowing that the Lord was with them, and the joy of His presence.
It is an eternal ordinance, for generations to come (Num. 10:10). What do we learn from this? People in every generation, the rabbis tell us, had to make their own trumpet. Meaning, they had to find their own song and sound that helped connect them to the reality of the divine presence. As it says in Psalm 33:1-3:
“Shout for joy in the Lord, O you righteous! Praise befits the upright. Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre; make melody to him with the harp of ten strings! Sing to him a new song; play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.”
As most of us know, from a contemporary context, that we are not always inspired by the music of our parents, or the music of our children. While the music of our parents may inspire nostalgia, it may not inspire movement. We need to resonate with a song that is uniquely ours within our generation of faith, one inspiring faith and the good courage to face present challenges, as we read in Psalm 96:1-2, “Oh sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth! Sing to the Lord, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day.”
The command remains the same, but how the command sounds may be different; not wrong, just different. We all have songs that speak to our heart, reminding us of the Lord’s immediate presence. This is the heart of the command: to inspire courage and joy by presence.
It is eternal, so how is it active today? In Revelation 1:10, John hears “a loud voice like that of a trumpet.” This voice as a trumpet is, of course, Yeshua/Jesus. Why did Yeshua speak to John in this way?
Both Yeshua and John heard the sound of the trumpet in the Temple; and before the Temple was destroyed, the priesthood shifted from Levitical to Messianic. John is about to see in the Book of Revelation the final struggle and deliverance of the people of God, leading to the judgment of the world.
Yeshua speaks to John with the sound of the Trumpet, to call John to Himself, to announce the time to follow the Spirit of God, in courage and to joy. In much the same way as the trumpet is commanded to be used in Numbers 10:1-10. The כֶּסֶף מִקְשָׁה/hammered silver of the trumpet speaks beautifully of the pressure experienced by the redeemed, but also one beautiful point. Yeshua is saying to John, in a very Jewish way, that the Lord is with him and the congregation of God: as Emmanuel standing in the midst of the congregations (Rev. 1:10, 12-13). Remember, John was alone on Patmos, a Roman death by isolation and loneliness, but Yeshua, our Emmanuel was with him.
Every generation needs to learn to connect to and experience the holy presence of Yeshua, Who is with us always, even to the end of the age. Every generation needs to learn to resonate with the sound of Yeshua’s voice in order to stand (Rev. 6:17), and have the fullness of His joy even in desperate circumstances. As John tells us in Revelation 1:12-13, the voice that He heard is standing in the midst of the congregations even now.
And what is His voice saying to this generation? “Take heart! I have overcome the world” (Jn. 16:33).
Be well. Shalom.
the mountain mensch 