What are the days of awe? These are the days between the Feast of Trumpets and the Day of Atonement. These two Jewish feasts are the first of three fall feasts that begin in September and October of our calendar.
Feast of Trumpets Begins Days of Awe
God gives limited instructions for the Feast of Trumpets in the list of feasts in Leviticus 23. Leviticus 23: 23 The Lord said to Moses, 24 “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. On the first day of the appointed month in early autumn you are to observe a day of complete rest. It will be an official day for holy assembly, a day commemorated with loud blasts of a trumpet. 25 You must do no ordinary work on that day. Instead, you are to present special gifts to the Lord.”[1]
On the first day of the seventh month of the Jewish calendar, our September or October, God’s people were to celebrate the Feast of Trumpets. This day is also known as Rosh Hashanah which is Hebrew for the “head of the year.” This was the first day of a Jewish civil new year. [2]
A blowing of the trumpets announced the days of awe – a time of soul searching and repentance to prepare for the Day of Atonement on the 10th day of the same month. The days of awe were preparation for the most solemn of the Jewish Feast of Leviticus 23.
Days of Preparation for Jesus
God sent John the Baptist as a forerunner to Jesus. When Gabriel announced the birth of John to his father Zechariah, he prophesied what John would do. Luke 1: 17 He will be a man with the spirit and power of Elijah. He will prepare the people for the coming of the Lord. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and he will cause those who are rebellious to accept the wisdom of the godly.[3]
Matthew gives us more insight to John the Baptist in his Gospel. Matthew 3:1In those days John the Baptist came to the Judean wilderness and began preaching. His message was, 2 “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.” 3 The prophet Isaiah was speaking about John when he said, “He is a voice shouting in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord’s coming! Clear the road for him!’” [4]
In the Old Testament the trumpets were blown to get the people’s attention so that they could prepare their hearts to receive forgiveness in the service of the Day of Atonement. John the Baptist came as a voice in the wilderness telling the people to repent. Their hearts needed to be changed and prepared for the coming of Jesus and His forgiveness. To hear more about the days of awe, listen here:
https://podpoint.com/light-of-christ-church-podcast/foreshadowing-of-the-cross-day-of-atonement
[1,3,4] Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.
[2] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). Be Holy (p. 109). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.