Trumpets, Cymbals, and Shouts of Praise!
On Yom T'ruah and Every Day, We Celebrate our God and His Return!
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Dear friends,

This year of 2024 the Feast of Trumpets or Yom T'ruah begins at sunset on October 2 and ends at nightfall on October 4! Later tradition recognizes two days for the celebration; however, the Bible mentions only one day in Leviticus 23:24.

Yom T’ruâh can also be called The Day of Loud Sound according to the original Hebrew word t’ruâh.
In the list of God’s Appointed Days in Leviticus 23, verse 24 reads, “Speak to the sons of Israel saying, ‘In the seventh month on the first of the month you shall have a rest, a reminder by t’ruâh, a holy convocation.’” Some versions italicize the words shofar or trumpets in place of t’ruâh to signify that these words are not actually there in the original text but only implied. T’ruâh actually means sound or loud noise. The sound can be made in many ways and for many reasons:

• In Numbers 10:5-6, it was the t’ruâh of silver trumpets signifying the time to break camp and move on.
• In Numbers 31:6, it was the t’ruâh of an alarm calling the people to battle.
• In Psalm 150:5, it was the t’ruâh of the crash of cymbals in praise to the Lord!

But most often in Scripture, t’ruâh refers to loud shouting made with our lips, vocal cords, and lungs:

• In 1 Samuel 4:5, it was the t’ruâh of all Israel shouting when the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord came into the camp. It was such a great, collective shout that “the earth resounded.”
• In Ezra 3:11-13, it was the t’ruâh of the shouts of joy at the re-laying of the foundation of the Temple – “and the t’ruâh was heard far away.”
• In Joshua 6:20, it was a great t’ruâh of the Israelites that felled the walls of Jericho.

Yom T’ruâh is a day of loud, raised, sustained sounds – shouting that is raised to the King of Kings filled with praise, thanksgiving, and great joy using voices, lyres, shofars, and every instrument possible!  

Whatever our earthly heritage, we are children of our heavenly Father because we have received His Son Yeshua Who gave His life to pay the debt of our gross wrongdoing. Out of His kindness and love, He delivered us from the domain of darkness, gave us a new identity as His sons and daughters, and transferred us into the kingdom of His beloved Son! So, we have a lot to shout about!

Yom T’ruah falls on Elul 29 on the Hebrew Calendar which usually puts it very near our first day of Autumn. Like a marker in time, this Day raises a banner between the end of summer and the approaching winter. It is a day for us to pause in remembrance and praise to Him! Let us praise Him with all our hearts, minds, souls, and strength! Even in hard times, let us offer a “sacrifice of praise” together:

And now my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me, and I will offer sacrifices in His tent with shouts of joy; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord!
Psalm 27:6

Sing to Him a new song; play skillfully with a shout of joy!
Psalm 33:3

Clap your hands, all you peoples; Shout to God with a voice of joy!
Psalm 47:1

My lips will shout for joy when I sing praises to You, and my soul that You have redeemed!
Psalm 71:23

Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord, let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation!
Psalm 95:1

Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth; Be cheerful and sing for joy and sing praises!
Psalm 98:4

With trumpets and the sound of the horn, shout joyfully before the King, the Lord!
Psalm 98:6

They shall praise His name with dancing; They shall sing praises to Him with tambourine and lyre!
Psalm 149:3

Praise Him with tambourine and dancing; Praise Him with stringed instruments and flute!
Psalm 150:4

Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is righteous and endowed with salvation, humble, and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a donkey!
Zechariah 9:9

The wilderness and the desert will rejoice, and the desert will shout for joy and blossom like the crocus!
Isaiah 35:1

And the redeemed of the Lord will return and come to Zion with joyful shouting, and everlasting joy will be on their heads! They will obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing will flee away!
Isaiah 35:10 

Yom T’ruah is also called The Ingathering, because trumpets (or shofars) are blown to gather the people in from their fields into the temple for accountability and preparation as they look toward the Day of Atonement that comes ten days later.

The Ingathering foreshadows the return of Yeshua the Messiah when He will gather His bride (all those who believed in Him) at the end of the age: “They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory, and He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.” Matthew 24:30-31

“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.” 1 Thessalonians 4:16

Let us worship the Lord with whole hearts and voices as we await His return!

Shalom, blessing, and joy in His love,
Beth Ann

The Shout joyfully art card is available in the Thanksgiving Collection at Flower Girl Greetings.com

The Feast of Trumpets Art Card is in the Feasts of Israel Fulfilled Collection at Flower Girl Greetings.com

Flower Girl Greetings, magnifying the beauty of God's Word! ©2020, All Rights Reserved.
Shale Fragments™ - devotionals by Beth Ann Phifer is a division of Flower Girl Greetings, LLC. ©2020, All Rights Reserved.

Yom Kippur
The Culmination of Adonai's Hesed

Jesus (Yeshua) fulfilled The Day of Atonement or Yom Kippur that comes about in the fall after the Feast of Trumpets that was just celebrated this past weekend (see last week’s post here). This year, Yom Kippur begins at sunset on September 27 and ends at nightfall on September 28.

Yom Kippur recognizes Father’s greatest act of hesed toward us. The Lord made His hesed (indescribable love) so tangible to me last August 8 in 2019. I am still not able to put the impact of the experience into words, but it affected everything including my prayers.

In honor of this special lavish learning from my Father, I created this long banner with green satin letters on white linen to be the centerpiece of our home – Hesed Adonai Khadash kol Boker or The lovingkindness of the Lord is new every morning!

The Feast of Trumpets
On the Feast of Trumpets and Every Day, We Celebrate His Return!

The Feast of Trumpets will be celebrated this year on September 19^th and will begin at sunset the evening before. It falls on the new moon of the 7^th Hebrew month Tishrei.

God appointed seven yearly feasts for the Israelites to observe (found in Leviticus 23) to foretell and foreshadow Jesus’ life, sacrifice, death, burial, resurrection and return!

December – I am Redeemed
Redeemed is the Hebrew nîgāl.

­­­“Come now, and let us reason together,” says the Lord, “Though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they will be like wool.” Isaiah 1:18

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us. Ephesians 1:7

November – I am Holy

­­And they will call them, “The holy people, the redeemed of the Lord.” Isaiah 62:12a

The heavens shall praise Your wonders, O Lord; Your faithfulness also in the assembly of the holy ones. Psalm 89:5

October – I am Beautiful
Beautiful is the Hebrew yāpeh

The King’s daughter is all glorious within; Her clothing is interwoven with gold. Psalm 45:13

I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Psalm 139:14a

You are altogether beautiful, my darling. Song of Songs 4:7a

September – I am a Reflector
Reflector is the Hebrew lashaqaph and means reflect, mirror, make visible.

For God Who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves. 2 Corinthians 4:6-7

August – I am Chosen
Chosen is the Hebrew bāhîr.

Jesus said, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit and that your fruit would remain…” John 15:16a

July – I am Sealed
Sealed is the Hebrew ’hātam and means kept secure.

After listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and also having believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise who is given as a pledge guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of God’s own possession to the praise of His glory. Ephesians 1:13-14

June – I am Strengthened
Strengthened is the Hebrew chazaq and means strong, courageous, sure, steadfast, prevailing.

Here are the memory verses on the front of the I am Strengthened Art Card:

"Those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings as eagles; they will run and not be weary; and they will walk and not faint."
Isaiah 40:31

May – I am Hidden
Hidden is the Hebrew tsāphan and means hidden, treasured, protected. 

April – I am Forgiven
Forgiven is the Hebrew nāśā and means lifted, taken away.

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us. Ephesians 1:7 ­

The Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many as He will bear their iniquities. Isaiah 53:11b

John saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world!” John 1:29

March – I am Blessed
Blessed is the Hebrew ashrei and means I am rich in lavished grace and inheritance.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. Ephesians 1:3

In Him we have also obtained an inheritance having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will. Ephesians 1:11

O taste and see that the Lord is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him! Psalm 34:8

February – I am Beloved
Beloved is the Hebrew yādîd and means I am greatly loved by the Lord and I am the one the Lord loves.

See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us that we should be called children of God!  1 John 3:1a­

The beloved of the Lord rests securely in Him for He shields him all the day, and the one the Lord loves rests between His shoulders.  Deuteronomy 33:12

January – I am New
New is the Hebrew chādāsh and means new, fresh, born again.

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. Ezekiel 36:26v

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. In His great mercy He caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. 1 Peter 1:3

Avinu, Abba
Father, Daddy - Engulfed in His Gaze

­­­The Hebrew word Avinu means Father. The Hebrew word Abba means Daddy.
“But now, O Lord, Thou art our Father; we are the clay, and Thou our potter, and we all are the work of Thy hand.” Isaiah 64:8

El Roi
God Who sees me

­­­The Hebrew name of God El Roi is found once in the Old Testament in Genesis 16:13-14 on the lips of Hagar, Sarai’s maid. Because of Sarai’s jealous, harsh treatment of her, Hagar fled and found herself in a desperate, lonely, thirsty place.

El Shaddai
The beginning word El means God of Eternity or Eternal One.

­­­El Shaddai is used 48 times in the Old Testament (31 times are in the book of Job, spoken by almost everyone in the story). Shaddai is translated as Almighty, All-powerful. Shaddai is a compound of she (meaning who) and day (meaning enough) which means The One Who is All-Sufficient.

Elohim
God the Creator

The Hebrew Name of God Elohim means God the Creator, Sovereign God, Majestic God, and God of Eternity. 

Elohim is a plural word used with singular verbs, adjectives, and pronouns conveying both one God and the unity of the one God in a plurality of persons. It is the first place we see the concept of the trinity and the confirmation of Colossian 1:16 about Jesus – “For by Him all things were created both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities – all things have been created by Him and for Him.” 

Redeemer
Gō’ēl

The Hebrew word for Redeemer, gō’ēl, is found most abundantly in the book of Isaiah. God’s redemption comes after a recounting of loss or waywardness. To redeem means to restore, to clear by payment, or to exchange something bad for something good.

Yahweh Nissi
The Lord our Banner

­Moses called God Yahweh Nissi after their victory over a cruel enemy. Nissi is derived from the Hebrew nēs meaning signal pole, standard, banner or sail. Yahweh Nissi means The Lord our Banner.

Yahweh Raah
The Lord is my Shepherd

Isaiah 40:11
He shall feed his flock like a shepherd; He shall gather the lambs with His arm and carry them in His bosom and gently lead those that are with young.

Yahweh Rapha
I am the Lord Who heals you.

Healing is a restoration of something that has been damaged or is not functioning in its intended capacity resulting in pain. Although we don’t always experience God’s healing, we should not limit His desire or ability to heal, even when the damage is self-inflicted.

Yahweh Shalom
The Lord our Peace

Gideon said, “Alas, O Lord God! I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face.” The Lord said, “Peace to you, do not fear; you shall not die.” Then Gideon built an altar there to the Lord and named it The Lord is Peace. Judges 6:22-24

Yahweh Shammah
The Lord is there.

Yahweh Shammah means The Lord is there. It is the name of the Heavenly City of God and is found in the last verse of Ezekiel (48:35).

Yahweh Tsuri
The Lord is my Rock

Throughout the Psalms and the writings of the prophets, God is spoken of as our Rock – a reliable, sure source of strength; an enduring firm foundation; a strong refuge.

Yahweh Yireh
The Lord will Provide

The Names of God were given by individuals when a characteristic of God became powerfully personal to them. Often they named the place where they were standing as a remembrance.

Genesis 22:14 says, “And Abraham called the name of that place Yahweh Yireh, meaning In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen. Abraham called God Yahweh Yireh when He provided the ram to replace the sacrifice of his son Isaac.

Yahweh Yireh means Yahweh will see, which translated means He will appear on the mountain. Yahweh Yireh has traditionally been translated The Lord Will Provide, because God powerfully appears in our lives when we are in need. His appearance is our provision.