Numbers 10:1-10, “And YHWH spoke to Moses, saying: “Make two silver trumpets for yourself; you shall make them of hammered work; you shall use them for calling the congregation and for directing the movement of the camps. When they blow both of them, all the congregation shall gather before you at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. But if they blow only one, then the leaders, the heads of the divisions of Israel, shall gather to you. When you sound the advance, the camps that lie on the east side shall then begin their journey. When you sound the advance the second time, then the camps that lie on the south side shall begin their journey; they shall sound the call for them to begin their journeys. And when the assembly is to be gathered together, you shall blow, but not sound the advance.

The sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow the trumpets; and these shall be to you as an ordinance forever throughout your generations. “When you go to war in your land against the enemy who oppresses you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, and you will be remembered before YHWH your God, and you will be saved from your enemies. Also in the day of your gladness, in your appointed feasts, and at the beginning of your months, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; and they shall be a memorial for you before your God: I am YHWH your God.”

YHWH descended upon Mount Sinai accompanied by loud trumpet blasts, initially termed yobel (ram’s horn), and then shofar (referring to its clear, incising sound), announcing the arrival of Israel’s King (Exo. 19:13, 16). At a precise moment in Israel’s history, YHWH led His people of the promise out of exile to His holy mountain. The Sinai scene replayed Eden’s Mountain Garden, God walking and speaking with Adam. Significantly, on the way of the Sabbaths to Sinai, YHWH overpowered Israel’s enemies, revealing His salvation through the Sea, repeating Genesis 1:2-31’s God’s Spirit dividing and ordering via His voice. He led Israel into judgment, treading down the enemy, and will lead all who seek Him into the covenant blessings of Eden’s shalom. Since flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God, the end of the seventh Sabbath depicted a transformation from corruption to incorruption, a change coinciding with trumpets sounding and the voice of YHWH. Israel’s returning to the Land of Promise and conquering Jericho occurred with the jubilee ram horn’s distinct, bright sound and a shout. YHWH leading Israel (and humanity) in a jubilee return to the Garden of Eden’s sacred space involved transformation from flesh to spirit through judgment. Essentially, by Yeshua’s being led as a lamb to the slaughter, an atoning sacrifice, a just relationship with God is possible. Only by His bearing away our sins can we draw near God’s cosmic mountain temple without His wrath breaking out against corruption. “Of His own will, Christ brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures” (Jas. 1:17–18). The first trumpet’s voice biblically originated from YHWH at the conquering King’s enthronement upon Mount Sinai, creating a pattern for what is yet to come.

Since only a select priest mediator could safely approach YHWH’s holy space, only Aaron’s sons blew trumpets to communicate with YHWH. By the priest’s duties, Israel was brought near God. When Israel went to war, the priests sounded the alarm with the two silver trumpets, causing YHWH to remember them and be saved from their enemies. Once YHWH paid attention to Israel’s cry of alarm, they fought valiantly through Him, for it was He who treaded down their enemies (Psa. 108). By remembering the name of their God and King in battle, Israel actively recognized that the help of man was useless. If the priest and prophet existed in the same person, such as Ezekiel, he functioned as a watchman who sounded the warning to the nation or city of impending disaster.

Other thought-provoking themes surround the blowing of the trumpets. Besides sounding the alarm of war, Aaron’s sons blew the trumpets to signal the advancement of the camp, announce the new moons and feasts, and summon an assembly. Trumpets were blown over the burnt offerings and peace offerings, making the trumpet sound analogous to prayer, requesting God to remember them. The blowing of the trumpets prepared the people for YHWH’s presence, and Israel confidently expected YHWH to come to their aid.

Bringing these trumpet uses onto the new covenant stage, our acceptable whole burnt offering to God is a living sacrifice to do His will through our High Priest Yeshua. Giving our lives in totality to YHWH changes us from flesh to spirit, giving us great joy in the relationship. Our trumpet/prayer of unrestrained rejoicing in all that He has done for us is pleasing and satisfying to Him.

Trumpets announce God’s New Testament events. When the last trumpet sounds, calling to His people to draw near for the firstfruit jubilee Sabbath, the first resurrection occurs, transforming them from flesh to spirit (1Co. 15:50–53, 1Th. 4:13–18). The trumpets series blown by the priests from the temple, announcing the approaching Sabbath (first calling to those farthest away to come and lastly calling all close by to enter into the city and presence of God’s rest) are not to be confused with the trumpets of judgment blown in John’s book of Revelations blown by angels. Our High Priest blows the trumpet, calling the dead in Christ first, and then those who are alive to meet Him in the air to forever be with Him. The trumpets blown in memorial of the seventh Sabbath on the Feast of Trumpets’ new moon commemorates Christ’s perfecting His bride and Lamb’s marriage, shouting His victory to humanity (Rev. 19:17–21), bringing creation into Sabbath peace.

And finally, 2 Chronicles 15 gives us a vital key to understanding human use of trumpets. Verses 3–6 describe scattered Israel’s lack of leadership. God commanded His people (vs. 2, 7) to repent and seek Him, then work hard, motivated by the soon-coming reward of God’s presence. In verses 14–15, Israel swore an oath before YHWH with shouting, trumpets, and rams’ horns to seek Him and confidently work with all their soul, for He was with them. YHWH was found of them and gave them rest all around. Israel used trumpets to signal to YHWH their oath and confidence in His saving arm.

Takeaway:
The biblical use of trumpets was one of communication between heaven and earth. Trumpets blown only by the priests in ancient Israel point to Yeshua, our High Priest, as the conduit through which all interaction with the Father must flow. Through Christ, we have constant access into the Father’s holy space and fellowship with Him. His trumpet calls us to draw near on the Sabbaths and Feast days, walking with Him in the Spirit, remembering Eden’s Garden.

Fun Factors:
Numbers 10:1-10 has 490 letters (7² × 10) in 107 words (victory’s fullness), totaling 36205, 5 × 13 × 557, 22² + 189² (189 = 3³ × 7), saying the voice of God’s Word (22) flowing from His sanctuary (27) completes/perfects (7). Another way to link Yom Teruah to YHWH’s perfect timing in bringing His promises to Abraham to pass is by factoring 36205 as 65 × 557, or 65(19² + 14²). Enoch, the man who did not see death, was 65 at the birth of His firstborn; 19 relates to the perfections of the lunar calendar upon which the plans of God are hung, and 14 calls to mind His sacrifice upon which the plans of God are initiated. Abraham’s 175 years equal the product of 557’s digits, and the sum of 557’s digits is 17, the 10 + 7 of YHWH’s victory in perfecting the generations of humanity.