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Rosh
HaShanah
Sundown, Friday, September 18 until
Sundown, Sunday, September 20, 2020

Biblical Date: Tishri 1-2, 5781

Rosh Hashanah, the head of the year,
begins the new calendar year: 5781
CONTENTS
03 Did You Know?

04 The Coming King

08 Blow a Trumpet in Zion

11 A Forgotten Holiday

14 Preparing For The King

20 Write A Letter To God

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Did You
Know?
ROSH HASHANAH IS THE FEAST
OF TRUMPETS (YOM TERUAH)
"And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the
people of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, on the
first day of the month, you shall observe a day of solemn
rest, a memorial proclaimed with blast of trumpets, a
holy convocation.  You shall not do any ordinary work,
and you shall present a food offering to the Lord.”
- Leviticus 23: 23–25 ESV
ROSH CHODESH
Rosh HaShanah is also Rosh Chodesh, the head
of the month, for the seventh month - Tishrei.

Sing aloud to God our strength;

shout for joy to the God of
Jacob! Raise a song; sound the
tambourine, the sweet lyre with the harp.
Blow the trumpet at the new moon
at the full moon, on our feast day.
- Psalm 81:1-3 ESV

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The Coming
King
THE PURPOSE OF THE SHOFAR
The trump or shofar was used  during the days of
the Bible for multiple purposes.

Numbers 10 shows us that the shofar or trumpet

was sounded to gather people, to to direct them
in battle and as a sign of remembrance.

Both 2 Samuel 15:10 and 2 Kings 9:13 shows us that

the shofar blast is used to announce the King.

The shofar blasts of Yom Teruah remind us not

only of the coming of King Jesus, but
that He is returning to gather
His people and to defeat
our adversary, Satan.
THE CONQUERING KING
Think of the shofar
"Then the seventh angel sounded his
blasts as a celebration
trumpet, and loud voices called out in
that we serve King
heaven:“The kingdom of the world has
Jesus, He is returning
become the kingdom of our Lord and of His
& with our names
Christ,and He will reign forever and ever.”
written in His book,
- Revelation 11:15 ESV
we will reign with
Him forever.
(Revelation 22:5.) CRACK YOUR BIBLE® | 04
A SYMBOL OF MERCY
On the first night of Rosh HaShanah,  Genesis 21 is read, where God is
true to His Word and Sarah conceived Isaac.

On the second night, Genesis 22 is read, where Abraham nearly

sacrificed his son but was stopped at the last minute
by an angel. God provided Abraham with a ram caught in a thicket for
the sacrifice and Isaac was saved.

These ram horns remind us of God's mercy not only towards Abraham
and Isaac, but to us as well. Like God provided a ram to Abraham as a
substitutionary sacrifice, so too did God send Jesus as a substitutionary
sacrifice for our sins.

A SHADOW OF CHRIST
The first mention of love in the Bible is in Genesis 22:

"Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go
to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I
will show you.”
- Genesis 22: 2 NIV

This first mention of love, ahava, is specifically about the love of a

father towards his son, who willingly laid down his life as a sacrifice, at
the direction of his father. Consider John 3:16.

Not only was Issac a shadow of Christ, but he was nearly sacrificed in
the land of Moriah. The land of Moriah is also the location of Golgotha,
where Jesus went to the cross as a sacrifice for the sins of the world.

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FORESHADOWING THE CRUCIFIXION

Abraham and Isaac, Giovanni Lanfranco, 1600's

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Consider these verses:

"Praise the LORD! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty
heavens! Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent
greatness! Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp!
Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe!
Praise him with sounding cymbals;praise him with loud clashing cymbals! Let
everything that has breath praise the LORD! Praise the LORD!"
- Psalm 150:1-6 ESV

"Then the LORD will appear over them,and his arrow will go forth like
lightning; the Lord GOD will sound the trumpet and will march forth in the
whirlwinds of the south."
- Zechariah 9:14 ESV

"And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will
gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other."
-Matthew 24:31 ESV

"I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God,
nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold! I tell you a mystery.
We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the
twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the
dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed."
- 1 Corinthians 15:50-52 ESV

"For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with
the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the
dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be
caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so
we will always be with the Lord."
-1 Thessalonians 416-17 ESV
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Blow a Trumpet
in Zion
A SYMBOL OF THE COMING DAY OF THE LORD
JOEL 2:1-32 ESV

"Blow a trumpet in Zion; sound an alarm on my holy mountain! Let all

the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming;
it is near, day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick
darkness! Like blackness there is spread upon the mountains a great
and powerful people;their like has never been before, nor will be again
after them through the years of all generations.

Fire devours before them, and behind them a flame burns. The land is
like the garden of Eden before them, but behind them a desolate
wilderness, and nothing escapes them. Their appearance is like the
appearance of horses, and like war horses they run. As with the
rumbling of chariots, they leap on the tops of the mountains, like the
crackling of a flame of fire devouring the stubble, like a powerful army
drawn up for battle.

Before them peoples are in anguish; all faces grow pale. Like warriors
they charge; like soldiers they scale the wall. They march each on his
way; they do not swerve from their paths. They do not jostle one
another; each marches in his path;they burst through the weapons and
are not halted. They leap upon the city,they run upon the walls, they
climb up into the houses, they enter through the windows like a thief.

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The earth quakes before them;the heavens tremble.The sun and the
moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining. The LORD 
utters his voice before his army, for his camp is exceedingly great; he
who executes his word is powerful. For the day of the LORD is great and
very awesome;who can endure it?

“Yet even now,” declares the LORD,“ return to me with all your heart,
with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts
and not your garments.”Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious
and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he
relents over disaster.

Who knows whether he will not turn and relent, and leave a blessing
behind him, a grain offering and a drink offering for the LORD your
God? Blow the trumpet in Zion; consecrate a fast; call a solemn
assembly; gather the people.

Consecrate the congregation; assemble the elders; gather the children,

even nursing infants. Let the bridegroom leave his room, and the bride
her chamber. Between the vestibule and the altar let the priests, the
ministers of the LORD, weepand say, “Spare your people, O LORD,and
make not your heritage a reproach,a byword among the nations. Why
should they say among the peoples,‘Where is their God?’”

Then the LORD became jealous for his land and had pity on his people.
The LORD answered and said to his people, “Behold, I am sending to
you grain, wine, and oil, and you will be satisfied; and I will no more
make you a reproach among the nations. “I will remove the northerner
far from you, and drive him into a parched and desolate land, his
vanguard into the eastern sea,and his rear guard into the western sea;
the stench and foul smell of him will rise, for he has done great things.

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“Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice, for the LORD has done great
things! Fear not, you beasts of the field,for the pastures of the wilderness
are green; the tree bears its fruit; the fig tree and vine give their full
yield.

“Be glad, O children of Zion,and rejoice in the LORD your God, for he has

given the early rain for your vindication; he has poured down for you
abundant rain, the early and the latter rain, as before. “The threshing
floors shall be full of grain; the vats shall overflow with wine and oil.

I will restored to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the
hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army, which I sent
among you.“You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name
of the LORD your God,who has dealt wondrously with you. And my
people shall never again be put to shame.You shall know that I am in the
midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your God and there is none else.
And my people shall never again be put to shame.

“And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all
flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall
dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. Even on the male
and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit.

“And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire
and columns of smoke. The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the
moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes.

And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of
the LORD shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall
be those who escape, as the LORD has said, and among the survivors
shall be those whom the LORD calls."

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A Forgotten
Holiday
EZRA READS THE LAW
NEHEMIAH 8:1-13 ESV

And all the people gathered as one man into

the square before the Water Gate. And they
told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses that
the Lord had commanded Israel.

So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, both men and
women and all who could understand what they heard, on the first day
of the seventh month.  And he read from it facing the square before the
Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the
men and the women and those who could understand. And the ears of
all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law.

And Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden platform that they had made for
the purpose. And beside him stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah,
Hilkiah, and Maaseiah on his right hand, and Pedaiah, Mishael,
Malchijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam on his
left hand. 

And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was
above all the people, and as he opened it all the people stood.

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And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and all the people
answered, “Amen, Amen,” lifting up their hands. And they bowed their
heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.

Also Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah,

Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, the Levites, helped
the people to understand the Law, while the people remained in their
places. They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they
gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.

And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe,
and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “This day
is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep.” For all the people
wept as they heard the words of the Law.

Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine
and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy
to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your
strength.”

So the Levites calmed all the people, saying, “Be quiet, for this day is
holy; do not be grieved.”

And all the people went their way to eat and drink and to send portions
and to make great rejoicing, because they had understood the words
that were declared to them.

On the second day the heads of fathers' houses of all the people, with
the priests and the Levites, came together to Ezra the scribe in order to
study the words of the Law.

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Ezra Reads the Law to the People, Gustave Doré, 1865

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Preparing To
Meet The King
DO YOU GIVE MORE HONOR TO HUMANS
WITH HIGH STATUS THAN YOU GIVE TO GOD?

After reading the account of the Israelites in Nehemiah 8:1-13, notice how
they had sorrow for their past wrongs and joy at the prospect of
reconciliation with God.

Likewise, at the beginning of this new year, we too should be grieved for
the times we have sinned against God. When we sin, we should quickly
repent and ask God for forgiveness.

Repentance is not something done flippantly, ex: "Hey God, sorry about
those things I did. Now anyway, back to what I need you to give me."

Reflect back on the past 12 months, or even longer and make a list if
necessary of times where you did not act according to the will of God,
embarrassed God through your behavior, or were walking in the flesh.
Truly repent and ask God to help you to overcome any sins you continue to
struggle with.

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Consider these verses:

"For even if I made you grieve with my letter, I do not regret it—though I did
regret it, for I see that that letter grieved you, though only for a while.  As it is,
I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into
repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through
us.For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without
regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.."
- 2 Corinthians 7:8-10 ESV

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
- 1 John 1:9 ESV

"The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people

everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the
world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has
given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”
- Acts 17:30-31 ESV

Not only should we be happy when other repent, but recognize that it
makes Heaven rejoice when we repent.

"Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who
repents.”
- Luke 15:10 ESV

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Are You Prepared To Meet The King?

If you were meeting with a celebrity, politician or royal, you'd spend

more than a few minutes getting ready for your moment to speak to
this person. You'd probably get a new outfit and spend days thinking
about what you'd say to this person, especially if you had a request.

Likewise, when we are going to meet the King of the Universe to not
only repent, but to praise Him and request blessings from Him, we
should carefully consider what we'd like to say to Him.

For this holiday, consider what you'd like to say to God. You can do this
by writing a letter, which we'll discuss more in the next article.

Prepare To Give Him Praise

While you can call on Jesus at any time, imagine what you would do if
you met Jesus face to face.

Consider how Revelation  shows us how the heavenly beings praise

and worship God:

"And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all
around and within, and day and night they never cease to say,“Holy, holy, holy,
is the Lord God Almighty,who was and is and is to come!”

And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him
who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders
fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives
forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying,“Worthy are
you, our Lord and God,to receive glory and honor and power,for you created all
things,and by your will they existed and were created.”
- Revelation 4:8-11 ESV
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Are You Prepared To Make A Request?

Kings are constantly entertaining requests of their subjects. Naturally,

God, as King of the Universe, is no different.

Consider what you need from God to become a better ambassador for
His kingdom.

Do you need more stability in your life so that you can focus more on
studying the Word of God with less distractions?

Do you need peace in your relationships so that you can focus on

spiritual warfare outside of the home, rather than battling on two
fronts?

Do you need your physical needs met so that you can focus your
energies on the work God has set before you?

Do you need more money so that you can become more charitable to
support widows, orphans or the work of the ministry?

Do you need more rest so that you're physically and mentally prepared
to face Satan's attacks head on?

Whatever it is you need, no matter how big or small, consider what

you need and ask God to provide!

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 Consider these verses:

"And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything
according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever
we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him."
- 1 John 5:14-15 ESV

"You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your
passions."
-James 4:3

"And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they
think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for
your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

Pray then like this: 'Our Father in heaven,hallowed be your name.Your

kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day
our daily bread, and forgive us our debts,as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,but deliver us from evil.'

For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive
you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father
forgive your trespasses."
- Matthew 6:7-14 ESV

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Prepare To Give Him Thanks

Traditionally people would wear new clothes as a sign of respect for  the
king that is coming (Matthew 22:11) additionally, people will purchase
new clothes or try new foods simply for the purpose of having yet
another thing to give thanks to God for.

If you decide to purchase a new outfit for this special occasion, make
sure to thank God for all of the many blessings that led up to this
purchase - the money to pay for it, the device you used to order it and /
or pick it up, and the space in which to wear it.

If you'd like to host a dinner (sweet foods such as pomegranates, apples

and honey are traditional) like the people in Nehemiah's day, think
about the ways God has blessed you and thank Him for these foods and
the people you're sharing them with.

Shehecheyanu

A common prayer recited on Rosh HaShanah is called "Shehecheyanu."

Barukh atah Adonai

Blessed are you, Lord

Eloheinu, melekh ha'olam

our God, King of the universe

shehecheyanu v'kiyimanu, v'higi'anu

who has granted us life, sustained us, and enabled us

laz'man hazeh. (Amein)

to reach this season (Amen)
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Write God
A Letter
OUTLINE YOUR PRAISE, DESIRES
& THANKS FOR THE NEW YEAR

If you have ever felt unsure about what to say to

God when talking with Him (praying) you're not
alone. Oftentimes, what is difficult to say in the
moment is easier to write on paper.

With Yom Kippur fast approaching, traditionally,

people reflect and write
God a letter at Rosh Hashanah
using this outline: praise God,
ask God, thank God.

Praise the King, bring

your petitions for
what you need to BEFORE YOUR WRITE
better serve Him.
Finally, thank Him Before you bring your prayers &
for His blessings  petitions to God prior to the new year,
and mercies. spend time truly repenting of any sins
you've committed thus far.
Extend forgiveness to those
who have wronged you.
See Matthew 5:23-24, 6:15.
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