Let us turn once again to God's
Word and turn into the portion that we read in the book of Leviticus.
In Leviticus chapter 23 and I'll read verses 23, 24 and 25. And the Lord spake unto Moses,
saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying in the seventh
month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a Sabbath,
a memorial of blowing of trumpets and holy convocation. Ye shall
do no servile work therein, but ye shall offer an offering made
by fire unto the Lord. Here we read of the feast of
trumpets at the end of the chapter. we are told our Moses declared
unto the children of Israel the feasts of the Lord and this feast
of trumpets is one of those feasts that were to be observed and
celebrated amongst the children of Israel and the important thing
for us is to understand what the typical character of this
particular feast is and it is the type of the trumpet of the
gospel. And that's the subject matter
that I want us to consider this morning. The gospel trumpet over
the past couple of weeks we've considered something of the ministry
and the proclamation of the gospel as it's spoken of in the prophecy
of Isaiah there in Isaiah chapter 61 and the opening verses and
then last Lord's Day we were considering more particularly
the great fulfillment of it in the ministry of the apostles
as we have it recorded there in 1st Thessalonians chapter
2 and verse 13. Paul speaks of the power of that
gospel as it came on to the Thessalonians. In and through it they experienced
the efficacious grace, the irresistible grace of God in their call, in
their conversion. So in a sense we're continuing
with the same theme but now as it's set before us here in Leviticus
in the type of the Feast of Trumpets and as I said that feast directs
us to the Gospel Trumpets. Now we know that it was not just
at the beginning of the seventh month that they were to sound
the trumpets. But every month of the year was
to be marked by the blowing of the trumpets. There in the opening
part of the book of Numbers in chapter 10, the opening part
of chapter 10 in the book of Numbers, we read of the silver
trumpets and how they were to be employed by the priests In
verse 10 it says, Also in the day of your gladness, and in
your solemn days, and in the beginnings of your months, ye
shall blow with the trumpets over your burnt offerings, and
over the sacrifices of your peace offerings, that they may be to
you for a memorial before your God. I am the Lord your God. It was in all their solemn days
in the days of gladness, the feast days and also the beginnings
of the month that there was to be the blowing of the trumpets
and certainly they would be blowing the trumpets at the first month,
the beginning of the year and that year began of course with
the Feast of the Passover as we see here previously in this
23rd chapter verse 4 these are the Feast of the Lord even holy
convocations which he shall proclaim in their seasons in the 14th
day of the first month that even it is the Lord's Passover and that's
first month was marked by the sounding of the trumpets. And then they would come, of
course, to the 14th day when they were to celebrate the Passover,
and that is one of the most remarkable types of the Lord Jesus, as we
know from the New Testament. Paul tells us there in 1 Corinthians
5, even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us. or the Passover fulfilled in
the Lord Jesus. What a remarkable type was that
particular feast. In it they reminded of what God
himself has purposed, what God himself has provided. We read
the details concerning the institution of the Passover back in Exodus
chapter 12 as they're about to come forth out of Egypt, God
having visited his judgments upon the Egyptians. The tenth
plague is about to come, the Passover, when God will pass
over all the homes of the Hebrews but will send destruction amongst
the Egyptians, destroying all their firstborn. and they're
told what to do with the lamb is to be set apart on the 10th
day on the 10th day of that particular month and they were to wait then
four days before they made the sacrifice and the Lord Jesus
the Passover lamb He is that lamb not separated four days
previous to the sacrifice but separated from all eternity,
the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. Oh God will provide
himself a Lamb for a sacrifice, said Abraham to his son Isaac. Now God himself has purposed
and provided that Lamb in the Lord Jesus. But then also when
we consider what he said concerning that Passover Lamb, It was prophesied
to be fulfilled in detail in the Lord Jesus Christ. They were
told concerning the Passover lamp in Exodus chapter 12 and
verse 46, neither shall you break a bone thereof. And when we come
to to the New Testament we've come to consider the sacrifice
of the Lord Jesus recorded there in John's Gospel in chapter 19,
how it is made so plain that not a bone of Christ was broken.
Or when they came to those three upon the cross, those malefactors,
they broke their legs, but not so with Christ. They thrust the
spear into his side, but they broke not a bone of him. He is
the Paschal man. all that was prophesied in the
Lamb was fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ and that Lamb was
perfect they were told your Lamb shall be without blemish and
how significant is that because Christ is that perfect and that
sinless sacrifice as Peter says a Lamb without blemish and without
spare well here's that one spoken of by the apostle writing
to the Hebrews, the high priest who becomes us, who is holy,
harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners, made higher than
the heavens. He is that one who is the sinless
one, who suffers in the room instead of those who are the
sinners. We see the type then so clearly
when we think in particular of the Passover that is spoken of
in the former part of this 23rd chapter of Leviticus. But the
whole book of Leviticus is full of types. Everything that we
read here has its anti-type. And the anti-type is to be found
in the Lord Jesus Christ and in his Gospel. Again, observe
how, with regards to the blowing of the trumpets, we have this
image, as it were, this type of something being proclaimed,
or being preached. In that verse that we referred
to in the 10th chapter of Numbers, I said that there in the opening
verses, we see the institution of the silver trumpets and how
they were to be used. Did you observe what it says
in that 10th verse? In the day of your gladness,
in your solemn days, and in the beginnings of your months, ye
shall blow with the trumpets, it says, over your burnt offerings. and over the sacrifices of your
peace offerings. There's a connection, there's
an association between the blowing of the trumpets and the offerings
that they're making. And here, with regards to this
feast of trumpets spoken of in this 23rd chapter of Leviticus
Look at what we are told at the end of the 24th verse. It's a
memorial of blowing of trumpets and holy convocation. Ye shall
do no servile work therein, but ye shall offer an offering made
by fire unto the Lord. On this, the first day of the
seventh month, as the trumpets are blown, so that blowing of
the trumpets is again associated with them offering a burnt sacrifice,
an offering made by fire unto the Lord. What is the imagery
that we have here? What is the type? It has to do
with the Lord Jesus. It's the proclamation of that
One who is the fulfillment of all the sacrifices. Remember
the language of the Apostle when he writes to the Corinthians.
And as he speaks of his ministry amongst them, we preach Christ,
he says, we preach Christ crucified. We preach the person of the Lord
Jesus Christ, in other words, and we also preach the work of
the Lord Jesus Christ. It is Christ and Him crucified. I determine not to know anything
among you, he says, to those Corinthians, save Jesus Christ
and Him crucified. And so as we come to consider
this Feast of Trumpets, the Gospel Trumpet, I want to divide what
I'm going to say this morning into some three parts. First
of all, to notice more carefully the significance of the month
that is being marked. And then secondly, we'll say
something with regards to the memorial, as we have it at the
end of verse 24, a memorial, a blowing of trumpets, and then
finally, we'll say something with regards to the meaning of
the type that he said before us. First of all, to consider
the month, the seventh month, and the significance of that
month. Now remember, that seven is clearly
a symbolic number. It suggests to us the perfect
works of God. God creates all things in six
days. as we read there in Genesis 1
and 2, and then on the seventh day God rests from all the work
that He has made and God hallows and sanctifies the seventh day.
He looks upon His creation and He pronounces it all to be very
good. And seven subsequently always has this idea of that
that is perfect. It is clearly then a symbolic
number. And what we have here is the
Feast of Trumpets being observed in the seventh month. Verse 24,
Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month,
in the first day of the month, shall ye have a Sabbath, a memorial
of blowing of trumpets. Now, we know that the seventh
day was to be observed as a special day and that is spoken of here
at the beginning of this chapter in verse 3, six days shall work
be done but the seventh day is the Sabbath of rest and holy
convocation ye shall do no work therein it is the Sabbath of
the Lord in all your dwellings and that is covered in the in
the Ten Commandments familiar with the content of those Commandments
are divided into two parts, the two tables of the Lord. The first
four have to do with man's duty, man's responsibility before his
God, and the last six have to do with man's relationship with
his fellow man. And there at the beginning, those
first four commandments, remember the fourth commandment, remember
the Sabbath day. Remember the Sabbath day, says
God, to keep it holy. How special was that day they
were to observe the Sabbath. Week by week the seventh day
was set apart. But then also we see here how
there was some significance with regards to the seventh week. Seven weeks after they had observed
the Passover they were to observe the Feast of Pentecost, or the
Feast of Weeks. And it's mentioned here, verse
15, "...ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath,
from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering,
seven sabbaths shall be complete." even unto the morrow after the
seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days and ye shall offer
a new meat offering unto the Lord." That accounts seven weeks,
that's 49 days, and the day following, the 50th day, that's the day
of Pentecost. So it's the seventh day that's
important, it's the seventh week. that is also to be observed. And then, as we see here in the
portion that we're considering concerning the Feast of Trumpets,
it's the seventh month. The seventh month is also a special
month. And then also we discover later
in chapter 25 that the seventh year was also to be marked there in verse 3 of 25 six years
thou shalt sow thy field and six years thou shalt prune thy
vineyard and gather in the fruit thereof but in the seventh year
shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land a sabbath for the Lord
thou shalt neither sow thy field nor prune thy vineyard the land
was to lie fallow for the whole of that 7th year it was to be
the Sabbath year to the land. How significant then are these
references to the 7th day, the 7th week, the 7th month, the
7th year and What do we see with regards in
particular to this particular month, the 7th month? Well we
see that the 7th month was one in which there was the observation
and celebration of feasts. It was in the 7th month that
they were to observe the Great Day of Atonement. Here in verse
27 also on the tenth day of this
month that is the seventh month there
shall be a day of atonement it shall be an holy convocation
unto you that ye shall afflict your souls and offer an offering
made by fire unto the Lord and the great day of atonement is
spoken of in some detail previously in chapter 16. You can read through
that 16th chapter concerning the Day of Atonement. But it
was to be observed in this 7th month on the 10th day of the
month. And then also, in the same month
they were to observe the Feast of Tabernacles. Verse 34, speak
unto the children of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of
the seventh month shall be the Feast of Tabernacles for seven
days unto the Lord. And so we have the detail concerning
the observation of that Feast of Tabernacles when they were
to dwell in those booths or those tabernacles for seven days, remembering
how their fathers had come out and wandered for those forty
years in the wilderness having no permanent dwelling place.
They were to observe then the feast of Tabernacles. How significant then is this
particular month that is marked on the first day with the blowing
of the trumpets? And it's spoken of as a memorial,
a memorial of blowing of trumpets it's the seventh month now the first month is spoken of
back in in verse 5 and that first month of course was connected
with the with the Passover When they came out of Egypt they were
told quite clearly that that day was to be to them the beginning
of months. Exodus 12 verse 2, This shall
be unto you the beginning of months. And it was the Jewish
month of Nisan, sometimes also called Abib, and it was the first
month of what they knew as their religious year. But, interestingly,
the seventh month was also a significant month because that marked the
beginning of their civil year. The religious year begins with
Nisan or Abib, But the civil year begins with Tisri or Hethanim,
which is the seventh month. That's not unusual. Here, of
course, in our own country, January marks the beginning of the New
Year, but the tax year doesn't begin till April. So, we don't
always mark things from the beginning of what we call the New Year
on January the 1st. like those Israelites of old,
as they had a religious year beginning with Nisan, so also
they had a civil year beginning with the seventh month, the month
Tisra. And here, as they opened that
seventh month, they had to blow the trumpets as a memorial. What's
the significance of a memorial? Well, there's a remembering of
pastimes, but there's also a reminder of times to come. When the year
changes, of course, there's a looking back, there's a looking forward
in that sense. And as you're probably aware,
I mean, the month January as we know it, comes from the name
of the pagan god Janus two-faced god, a god that's looking backwards
and looking forwards at the same time and that's where we get
the name of January from that pagan god Janus so there is not
only a remembering of things that have passed but there's
also a reminding It is interesting because this word memorial is
also used later in the book of the prophet Isaiah, there in
Isaiah chapter 62 concerning those watchmen upon the walls
of Jerusalem. You know those words that we
have there in Isaiah 62.6 I have said, Watch men upon thy walls,
O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night.
Ye that make mention of the Lord, keep not silence. Or as the Margin
said, Ye that are the Lord's remembrances, keep not silence
and give him no rest till he establish and make Jerusalem
a praise in the earth. They were those who were to not
only sound an alarm, to warn any potential attack upon the
city, but they were to be the Lord's remembrances, they were
to remind Him. And here, with this memorial
of blowing of trumpets, in a sense we're to think in terms of that
that comes before God. When We read in the New Testament
concerning Cornelius. Remember in Acts chapter 10 how
that there we see Peter, as it were, using the keys as the gospel
comes to the Gentiles. This Roman centurion who is clearly
a God-fearer. And he is told there in verse
4 of Acts 10, thy prayers are come up for a memorial before
God. how prayers, as it were, come
for a memorial. Yes, the trumpet sounds, and
the people hear the sound of the trumpet then on that first
day of the seventh month, but also the trumpet, as it were,
is heard by God, and God hears and God answers. That's a remarkable
thing. God hears and God answers. There's the idea of them coming
before the Lord and pleading with the Lord God himself. And does God answer? How does
God answer? Well, God, in a sense, answers in the law. When we think of trumpets, remember
in the giving of the law, the trumpet was to sound. There was
an alarm. The people were to be warned
to stand back and not to come too near unto the mount as God
would descend upon it to speak those 10 commandments. In the
19th chapter of Exodus we're told, when the voice of the trumpet
sounded long and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake and God
answered him by a voice and the Lord came down upon Mount Sinai
on the top of the mount and how the man quakes and shakes as
the Lord descends upon it. But as God speaks in his law,
so God will keep men at bay. They are not to venture too near. It fills them with dread, they
are to stand back. But how different it is when
God comes in the Gospel. And we said concerning the the
Feast of Trumpets, how it's a wonderful type really of the Gospel and
what does God say in the Gospel? God calls sinners to Him, He
doesn't tell them to stand back those words that we read at the
end of Isaiah 27 He shall come to pass in that day and that
day is the great day of the Gospel He shall come to pass in that
day that the great trumpet shall be blown and they shall come
which were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and the
outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the Lord in
the holy mount of Jerusalem. Oh, when the trumpet sounds,
it's a memorial, it goes before God, God hears it. And now God
comes, and God comes so graciously in the Gospel. And He says to
sinners, come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden,
and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, learn
of mine, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest
unto your souls. Oh, the Lord comes so graciously
there. in the blowing of these trumpets. It's a great memorial. It's that that comes before God,
and God hears and God answers so graciously. Well, having said
something with regards to the month and the significance of
this great month of feast in Israel, the Feast of the Atonement,
and also the the Feast of Tabernacles were to be observed within that
month and having said something with regard to the memorial I
want as we come to a conclusion this morning to to look more
carefully at the at the type and the meaning of the type. What does Paul say when he writes
in that Epistle to the Hebrews to address to Hebrew believers
and in some ways Hebrews is the New Testament answer to the book
of Leviticus. And there in Hebrews 10, in the
opening verse, Paul speaks of the Levitical laws in terms of
a shadow of good things to come. A shadow of good things to come. Or as we have it in Colossians
2.17, the shadow of things to come, he says, but the body is
of Christ. Here we have the shadow in Christ,
we have the body, the substance. Here we have the type, in the
Lord Jesus Christ we have the anti-type. How important it is then that
when we read through such a book as this we recognize that it
is a book that is in many ways full of gospel truths. And I
would commend to you in particular that commentary on the book of
Leviticus by Andrew Boehner. It's a lovely book, the way Boehner
brings out the types. And it's full of the Lord Jesus
Christ. I know that Christ is in all the Scriptures. He himself
said to those Jews in John 8, search the Scriptures, in them
you think that you have life, eternal life. And these are they
that testify of mine. But, oh, Leviticus is full of
the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, what do we have here? Well,
as I've said, it is a type of the preaching of the gospel it's a type of the preaching
of the gospel in the portion that we read from Isaiah 27 we
see repeated references to that day there in the opening verses of
Isaiah 27 in that day again in the second verse in that day
singing on to her and go through to the end you see also verse
12 it shall come to pass in that day verse 13 and it shall come
to pass in that day that the great trumpet shall be blown
Now, the imagery that we have in Isaiah 27 is not easy. In some ways it is evidently
being spoken to those Jews who would be taken into captivity,
that they'd be brought out, there'd be a coming again, a return. As we see there at the end of
verse 12, "...ye shall be gathered one by one, O ye children of
Israel." God is going to bring them back. We're not to overlook
the historical significance then, the fulfillment that occurred
at the time of the restoration of the Jews. But ultimately,
it is speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is speaking of the Gospel.
And how that Gospel comes to those, as we see in that last
verse, those who are afar off, those who are the outcasts, those
who are perishing. And this is what the Feast of
Trumpets speaks of. It speaks of the proclamation of the gospel. As we see in in Numbers 10 and
verse 10 the trumpets were to be blown over the burnt offering
so that's the message that is to be proclaimed that the Christ
has accomplished by his life and by his death it is to be
that proclamation that preaching of Jesus Christ and him crucified
and it is Interesting to see how
these things are developed in the scriptures. Even in the days of Nehemiah
when they returned. You remember how they had first
gone back under Ezra, there had been the rebuilding of the Temple
of the Lord. The work was so incomplete. Nehemiah
is there in the palace in Shushan and he hears still of the sad
condition in Jerusalem the walls of the city are still falling
down and he receives permission to return and so there is the
rebuilding not only of the temple but also the rebuilding of the
walls of Jerusalem and then in Nehemiah chapter 8 we read of a most significant
day in the history of God's ancient people there in the opening verses
of that 8th chapter all the people it says gathered
themselves together as one man into the street that was before
the water gate and they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring
the book of the Lord of Moses which the Lord had commanded
to Israel. And Ezra the priest brought the
law before the congregation, both of men and women, and all
that could hear with understanding, upon the first day of the seventh
month. And he read therein before the
street that was before the water gate, from the morning until
midday, before the men and the women, and those that could understand,
and the ears of all the people were attentive unto the book
of the law. And so it continues. We have
the names of those scribes who were standing with Ezra upon
the pulpits. Verse 8, So they read in the
book in the law of God distinctly, and gave a sense, and caused
them to understand the reading. It's the first day of the seventh
month. It's the day of the Feast of
Trumpets. But what do we see in the Amirah? Not so much the
blowing of the trumpets, but an intimation as to what it's
all about. There's the solemn reading of
the Lord of God. And they're attentive to the
Book of the Lord. They're not just the Ten Commandments. The law might refer to the whole
of God's revelation as it was in those days. The scripture
was not complete. But remember how in the 119th Psalm we celebrate
the Word of God and we have those various synonyms used in reference
to the Word, God's statutes, God's judgments, God's laws.
They're reading God's Word, solemnly reading God's Word, but not only
the reading of the Word, But it says there at verse 8 how
they read in the book of the law distinctly and gave the sense. There was an expounding, there's
a preaching really. There is the intimation you see. Or what is the Feast of Trumpets? It's a type of the proclamation
of the Word of God. It's a type of the preaching
of the gospel. Even, as we said, when the law
was given at Mount Sinai, there in chapter 19 of Exodus, we see
how the trumpet sounds. But how it is more glorious when
we come to the New Testament. The law was given by Moses, yes,
but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. And it is clearly a far
greater privilege to be those who hear that joyful sound. of
the gospel, the proclamation and the preaching of the gospel.
In Hebrews chapter 12, doesn't Paul there draw a contrast between
the giving of the law and the gospel? I'm sure you're aware
of that passage. It's in Hebrews chapter 12 at
verse 18. He says, Ye are not come unto
the mount that might be touched, that's Mount Sinai, and that
burns with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest, and
the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words, which voice they
that heard entreated that the word should not be spoken to
them any more, and which fills them with dread, and they have
to stand back. But he continues, verse 22, But ye are come unto
Mount Sinai, and unto the City of the Living God, the heavenly
Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the General
Assembly and Church of the Firstborn, which are written in heaven,
and to God's, the Judge of all, and to the Spirit of just men
made perfect, and to Jesus, the Mediator of the New Covenant,
and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than
that of Abel. See, that year issue is not him
that speaketh. Or the Gospel, you see. This
is what we have here in the memorial of blowing of trumpets, the feast
of trumpets. It directs us to God's Word,
to God's Gospel and the proclamation of that Gospel. But it's not
just the type of the of the preaching of the Gospel. It's more than
that. Is he not also a type, ultimately,
of God's voice? God's voice in that Gospel. When we come to the very last
book of Holy Scripture, there in the opening chapter of the
Revelation, what does John tell us concerning his own experience? I was in the Spirit on the Lord's
Day. who is in the Spirit and it's that day, the first day
of the week, the Lord's Day I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day,
he says and I heard behind me a great voice as of a trumpet
and it is Christ who comes and appears to him there though he
be in exile, though he be cut off from all fellowship with
fellow believers he is not cut off from his Lord In the Spirit
he hears that voice as of a trumpet and it's Christ. All blessed
is that people that know the joyful sound. You know there
in Numbers chapter 10 where we read of those silver
trumpets And I said it's not just verse
10, it's all the opening parts of that chapter. What was the
real significance of those trumpets? They were used to summon the
people. They were used for the gathering
of the people. Verse 2, Make thee two trumpets
of silver of a whole piece, that thou mayest use them for the
calling of the assembly, and for the journeying of the camps,
and when they shall blow with them, all the assembly shall
assemble together to thee at the door of the tabernacle of
the congregation." Verse 7, when the congregation is to be gathered
together, ye shall blow, but ye shall not sound an alarm.
All the blowing of that trumpet it is for the gathering of the
congregation. And is it not the Lord who must
come. It's the Lord's voice you see
that must be heard if there's going to be a gathering. He is
at Shiloh and unto Him shall the gathering of the people burn. He says my sheep hear my voice.
My sheep hear my voice. How do they hear His voice? They hear His voice in the Gospel. I know them He says. I give unto
them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any
man pluck them out of My hand." This Feast of the Trumpets then,
it directs us to more than just the man standing preaching the
office of the ministry. It should direct us to Christ,
as He is pleased to condescend to come by His Spirit and in
His words. aren't all the promises of God
in him, yea, and in him, amen. Oh, it's not a yea and nay gospel. All those promises are yea and
they're amen. What does God say with regards
to this new covenant? There, at the end of that long
16th chapter, in the book of the Prophet Ezekiel. Verse 62, he says, I will establish
my covenant with thee and thou shalt know that I am the Lord. This is how the Lord comes in
the New Covenant, in the Gospel. He says, I will and ye shall. All where the voice of a king
is, there is authority. and friends as we come together
surely this is the voice that we should desire to hear today
the voice of the Lord Jesus or not that voice of God thundering
in the Lord that says stand back and that was the experience of
the children of Israel they were filled with dread but how gracious
are the words of the Lord Jesus Christ in the gospel when he
says come unto me Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy
laden, I will give you rest. That's the language that is prefigured
and foreshadowed here in this Feast of the Trumpets. The Lord
spake unto Moses saying, Speak unto the children of Israel,
saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month,
shall ye have a Sabbath, a memorial, the blowing of trumpets and holy
convocation that is a holy gathering and it's a gathering for a Sabbath
it's a gathering to rest ye shall do no serve our work therein
but ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord for
the Lord be pleasing to bless this word to us today Amen