In the Old Testament, there are numerous times of celebration that the Lord referred to as Feasts. These days of the year that God set apart were always meant for a special purpose like the celebration of harvest or a time to remember God’s great deliverance of the believers’ forefathers. In today’s lesson, I wanted to teach you about a time of the year God had set apart called The Feast of Trumpets.
The Feast of Trumpets was celebrated during the Teshuvah season, that is during the month of August in the modern-world system. Teshuvah is a Hebrew word describing the Judaic and Christian tradition of repenting and turning our lives around. Teshuvah is required to last thirty days for “repentant Christians” and forty days for those who are not repentant in hopes that their hearts would soften and become repentant during the last ten days, referred to as “Days of Awe”.
During the period of Teshuvah, believers are to ask God for the ability to see the sins of the last year and ask Him for forgiveness as each one comes to mind. However, sins which were committed against another person must be forgiven by that person against whom the sin was done. In other words, we are to seek forgiveness from others for the sins and offenses we, as individuals, have committed against them. In turn, if a person who has offended us does not seek our forgiveness during this feast, it is our obligation to go to that person and give them the opportunity to ask forgiveness.
During this mind provoking time of repentance, the believer is encouraged to consider Matthew 6:12: “Forgive us our sins against You as we forgive those who have sinned against us.”
According to Jewish tradition, during the Feast of Trumphets, God sits on His throne of judgment and three books are opened; the Book of Life; the Book of Death; and the Book of the Intermediates. Those written in the Book of Life are the totally righteous who have fully repented of their sins, and had their repentance accepted by God. Those written in the Book of Death are the totally wicked who are fit only for destruction. The vast majority of people are written in the Book of Intermediates. These people have until Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) to repent and be written in the Book of Life. If they do not repent, they will be written in the Book of Death.
The crucial message and point of the Days of Awe is this: it’s a time of serious introspection, a time to consider the sins we’ve committed that we haven’t confessed (agreed with God that it is sin) and repented of (turned away from). Additionally, it’s a time or opportunity to seek reconciliation with people you may have wronged or of those who have wronged you. An important point I feel inclined to share with you is the difference between saying, “I’m sorry,” to someone and asking forgiveness.
When we step on someone’s toes or accidently elbow them we say, “I’m sorry.” I honestly believe that those two little words need to be reserved only for accidents. Asking forgiveness is something we need to do when we do something to hurt another person, i.e. when we sin against another person. Asking forgiveness requires that you humble yourself, take responsibility for walking in sin, and repenting to another person – and the Lord knows it’s not easy to do! Let me tell you a little secret about asking forgiveness from another person – if you do it in humility and sincerity, you will feel like a thousand pounds have been lifted from your soul. It’s scary, but unbelievably freeing.
There are two things you need to know about asking forgiveness from another person. One, you can’t go into it with expectations. For example, if you believe the person also needs to ask for forgiveness from you, don’t expect it to happen. If you do, it can lead you to walk away from the person heartbroken and potentially wrestling with more sin. Your goal should be only to take responsibility for your actions and ask forgiveness. If the other person also asks forgiveness may God be glorified, but don’t expect it. Next, you need to understand that you are not responsible for the other person’s response to you. If you sincerely ask for forgiveness and the other person blows up on you or rejects your attempt at reconciliation, that’s between them and God. You’ve done what God has commanded you to do. The ball is now in the other person’s court. Don’t allow your freedom in Christ to be hampered by the other person’s sin (lack of forgiveness) if that is the case.
The truth is that we need to always live in a continual state of “Days of Awe,” where we are looking over our past behavior and holding it in contempt according to God’s Word which is our standard or plumb line. Matter-of-fact, I encourage believers to do a daily spiritual inventory of their lives daily to see where they’ve sinned and who they’ve sinned against. Remember that every sin we commit against a person is also committed against God, thus forgiveness needs to be two-fold; to the person and God.
When you became a born-again Christian God forgave you of every sin you’ve every committed and every sin you’d ever commit, so I’ve had believers ask why they have to ask forgiveness of their sins. The truth is, believers are told to confess and repent; to agree with God that what you’ve done is sin and to turn away from sin. We do that continually (or at least we should) because we sin daily.
My prayer for you is that at this very moment you will take a few moments in prayer and ask God to reveal to you any sin you have committed in your life that you need to confess and repent from in your life. I also want to encourage you to go to those you’ve sinned against and take responsibility for your actions and do your part and being a vessel for reconciliation and peace in the Body of Christ. I’m praying for you and am here if you need help!
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