Rosh Hashanah: A Holy Interruption

When Christians say that “Jesus is Lord,” what do we mean by that? I think that for many, this statement is an intellectual consent to the abstract concept that Jesus is God and rules over the World. We like that there is a grand benevolence looking down on us. It makes us feel safe, secure, even cozy. Sadly, that’s only half of the picture. A “Lord” is expected to look after His subjects, but His subjects are also obligated to bow to the wishes of their Lord. What we mean when we say, “Jesus is Lord” is usually closer to, “Jesus takes care of me,” than “I serve Jesus with absolute abject self-denial.” However, the second is without a doubt what the phrase means.

Today is Rosh Hashanah, the feast of Trumpets. Actually, it began last night when the new moon rose over Jerusalem. Today, this festival marks the beginning of the Jewish New Year. It is the first day (Tishri 1) of the year 5778 on the Jewish calendar. Biblically, though, this day served as a “Holy Interruption” in the busy time of the Harvest. There has been a long 4-month span of time since the last holiday when all Jewish men were required to be in Jerusalem. During that time, the harvest has been coming in: first barley and wheat, then other grains, fruits, vegetables, and lastly the wine. In a predominantly agrarian society, men would be hard at work, reaping the blessings of God through the increase of their crops. They would be storing their goods away for the winter and selling their produce at the market. There’s a lot of commotion and activity.

Then, on one night in late summer, a blast on a ram’s horn in the Temple indicates that the High Priest has observed the rising of the new moon from the Temple complex. This signal is carried throughout the land as synagogues around the Temple take up the sound and blast it on. The sound is carried from town to town, as the elders and priest in each hear the distant blast and sound their own horns, carrying the signal throughout the nation. Eventually, the wind carries the sound of trumpets out to the fields, where the men are hard at work. It’s a signal to them to lay down their tools, set down their baskets. All the men aged 12 and over need to make preparations to leave. In 10 days they have to be in Jerusalem, ceremonially clean, bearing offerings, and ready to celebrate the day of atonement. The productive time of the labor of men and commerce has come to an end. God is calling.

For the next 24 hours, no work can occur. Hearts are to be turned toward God. A season of devotion and spiritual inventory is coming. Today is the closing of the door to self-promotion and the opening of the door to worship. Tomorrow, work can resume again in the fields, but only in the hands of the women and children. The men will begin their pilgrimage journey to Jerusalem during the 10 days that have come to be known as the 10 “days of awe.” As men leave the provision of their families in smaller hands, they are to repent of sin, confess their brokenness to the Lord, gather the needed offerings for their temple worship, and turn their faces toward Jerusalem.

They knew it was coming. They’ve seen the waning moon every night and knew that their interruption was fast approaching. It drove them to work harder and stay out later, but they didn’t know exactly when it would occur. The High Priest had to see the new moon from the Temple. Clouds, trees, and buildings all stand as obstacles to the visualization of the rising of the moon. For this reason, it is widely reported that “No man knows the day or the hour” when the blast of the horn would be heard. The season can be determined, the approaching time can be seen, but the moment always takes them by surprise. When the interruption comes, it comes with authority. The rest begins immediately. Tools are dropped. Crops left in the field. No work can happen until tomorrow when the women and children will pick up and carry on in the absence of the men.

There are two clear applications for me. I’m not a farmer, and no trumpets rang through the air last night where I live. Still, I am called to be interrupted. I have a busy life. There’s a lot I have to get done. In fact, I was debating with myself if I was going to take the time to write this out! Then, the meaning of the holiday hit me. God has demanded the right to interrupt me for His purposes. If He is Lord, then He can do so whenever he chooses. This holiday is, at least in part, about celebrating God’s interruptions. So, here I am. I really “should be” grading, planning, sending emails, organizing AWANA materials, getting ready to chair this year’s state science fair, etc. In the midst of it all, though, God has demanded His right to interrupt everything that I do (even though it’s all ‘ministry’) and focus my entire attention on Him and His intentional worship. Today, we celebrate His interruptions and the stopping of all things “urgent” and “needful” for the sake of the one thing that is “best.”

The second application is as a picture of the rapture. The church is currently about the work of bringing in the “harvest of souls.” We are aware that the time is running short, much as the waning moon told the harvesters to get on the task with urgency, but we don’t know exactly when the “trump of God” will sound and we will be called home. When the trumpet of the rapture sounds, the work of the church will cease suddenly. We will leave our tools behind, whatever hasn’t been harvested by then will need to be harvested by others, and we will go into the presence of the Lord to worship. Soon after, the harvesting of souls will continue, but it will be done by Jewish believers who, having been left behind by the rapture, come to realize that Jesus is the Messiah, place their faith in Him, and start to spread the gospel again. The harvest during this time, however, will be slower than in the church age, and relatively few people will be saved during the tribulation. Meanwhile, the church will be in the presence of the Lord and at rest.

There are many who teach (and I loosely agree with them) that whatever year the rapture happens, it will be on Rosh Hashanah. The Bible is very clear that “no man will know the day or the hour,” but that is actually a phrase that comes from this holiday. Also, as God has fulfilled all of the images in the other feasts, He’s done so actually on that day. Jesus was born on Sukkot, killed on Passover, resurrected on Firstfruits, and the Spirit came on Shavuot. His track record is to show the world what the feast has always been pointing toward on the feast day. There is little reason to think that He’ll change that pattern. Also, right after 1Thes 5:2 says that the timing of the Lord’s return will be like a “thief in the night,” verse 4 says that those who are saved and paying attention will not be caught off-guard. The “surprise” will be for the unsaved who suddenly are left without co-workers, neighbors, and friends. I say that I hold this loosely because way too many Christians have said, “The rapture will happen on day x.” They’ve all been wrong, and it gives the church a black eye. So I’m not going to hesitate to pay bills or go to work as Rosh Hashanah comes around each year, but I will use this day to remind me that, at some point, my work will be done here and will need to be finished by others. I should be as diligent as I can be until that time. Who knows, perhaps I’ll be flying heavenward today?

So hear this encouragement: If Jesus is “Lord” of your life, then He has the right to interrupt your work--even your sanctified work--and force you to come worship Him. You have the obligation to obey. Also, there will come a time when that interruption is not temporary or seasonal but is final. We can see that the day is fast approaching, so let’s work hard and be about the work of the “harvest of souls” while we can!

Have a Blessed Holiday. Thank you for allowing God to interrupt you!