If you will recall in Background Information on the Shofar, I established my belief that God’s breath was life giving and intimate (Genesis 2:7). I established my belief that God’s voice was powerful and creative (Genesis 1:3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 20, and 24). I established my belief that God’s breath is in our lungs. And, I established my belief that the sound of the shofar is that which like the voice of God as is referenced in Exodus 19:13-19, and Revelation 1:10; 4:1.
So, as best as I can tell, the Shofar is wrapped up in God’s breath and voice. Does that mean that the man wielding the shofar or the shofar in itself has any power, creative force, of life-giving essence? No, it does not mean that at all. Neither the shofar nor the man sounding it has any inherent power. The man is merely a man. The shofar is the horn of a dead animal. The shofar is not a magical wand that is sounded like a trumpet and miraculous, supernatural manifestations begin to occur. That kind of fantasy, or darkness, will rest in the Harry Potter camps.
However, when the man wielding the shofar is sensitive and obedient to the prompting of God’s Holy Spirit and/or God’s Word about where, when, and how to sound the shofar, it would be wise to EXPECT supernatural manifestations to be experienced. I believe that. I’ve heard about it. I’ve read about it. It’s in the Bible. I’ve seen it. But I’ll chase that rabbit in another article later on. If I don’t stay on track for the time being, I’ll be rambling without purpose or cause. That’s never a good thing.
The question that I’d like to concentrate on today is, “Who blows the shofar in the Bible?” Let’s investigate.
I would say that God sounds the shofar. As I mentioned in Background Information of the Shofar, it is possible that God either sounded the Rams Horn Shofar on Mount Sinai when the Law was handed down to Moses for the people of Israel in Exodus 19:13-19 or if God actually spoke in a voice that was like that of the shofar and then answered Moses with thunder or a thundering voice. I personally believe that God has more than one voice. Obviously, he spoke to many people in a voice in which they could understand. Revelation 1:10 and 4:1 state clearly that God’s voice was that like a great trumpet.
But Zechariah 9:14 is very distinct and precise. This verse is regarding the deliverance of Judah and Ephraim.
Then the LORD will appear over them,
And His arrow will go forth like lightning;
And the LORD God will blow the trumpet,
And will march in the storm winds in the south.
So, it’s pretty obvious that God sounded the shofar in the Bible. What about Jesus? Oh yeah, Jesus knows the shofar. Have a look at 1st Thessalonians 4:16,
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.
Jesus WILL sound the shofar. That’s one horn I’m waiting to hear. Not because of the quality of the horn that I know it will have to be. But rather, because of the quality of the one sounding the horn. It’s a day that I look forward to. Notice that the archangel is with Jesus. Do angels blow the shofar? Uh, yeah. Angels blow trumpets, a lot.
From Revelation 9:6 through Revelation 11:19 angels are sounding trumpets. I’ll ask that you go read these Chapters and passages in your Bible and highlight the soundings. There is no need for me to write out nearly three whole Chapters here. But there are three things that I want to point out about the angels and these soundings. The first thing is that all angels are created beings. The second thing is that all these angels were under God’s direction. They had orders and they followed their orders obediently. The third thing is, as each angel’s orders were completed and the trumpet was sounded, supernatural manifestations happened on a scale that could only be mentioned in biblical proportions. Remember that. As the angels fulfilled their orders obediently, supernatural things happened, IMMEDIATELY!
Okay, who else sounded the Shofar in the Bible? Well, it was the Priests who sounded the shofar in the realm of mankind. Numbers 10:8 is very clear on this.
“The priestly sons of Aaron moreover,
Shall blow the trumpets;
And this shall be for you a
Perpetual statute throughout your generations.”
The priests were appointed to sound the shofar. They were also given instruction on how, when, and where to sound the trumpets. Notice in Numbers Chapter 10 the instructions for making the trumpets. There were two trumpets of silver hammered out. Some translations indicate that they were hammered out of one piece of silver. That’s a lot of silver and pieces of silver in that volume would be expensive. These trumpets were used from the Tabernacle. Trumpets of this size, made from one piece of silver would definitely be cost prohibitive today. There are “Temple Trumpet” reproductions, to be sure, very fine ones indeed! But they are not found in matching pairs and not hammered from a single piece of silver! Additionally, the Yemenite Shofar (Kudu Horn) is most often used in Synagogue or Church settings today. It is noted that the Rams Horn is also used extensively in Synagogues as well. So, the priests sounded shofars.
Anyone else? Well, yes, there were others. They were called watchmen. Ezekiel gives us the best description of a watchman and a watchman’s duties in Ezekiel 33:2-6.
2. “Son of man, speak to the sons of your people and say to them, ‘If I bring
a sword upon a land, and the people of the land take one man
from among them and make him their watchman,
3. and he sees the sword coming upon the land and blows the trumpet
And warns the people,
4. then he who hears the sound of the trumpet and does not take warning
And a sword comes and takes him away, his blood will be on
His own head.
5. He heard the sound of the sound of the trumpet but did not take
Warning; his blood will be on himself. But had he taken warning,
he would have delivered his life.
6. But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow
the trumpet and the people are not warned, and a sword
comes and takes a person from them, he is taken away
in his iniquity; but his blood I will require from
the watchman’s hand.”
Now, that’s some serious responsibility! The watchman was perhaps usually a priest or priests assigned by higher level priests and they stood on the wall surrounding the city and watched for approaching enemies. The watchman on duty didn’t sleep on duty. If he missed seeing the danger and did not issue the alarm then everything he had was taken from him, even his life! But what if he sounded the alarm and the rulers did not hear or believe him? The watchman has fulfilled his obligations and suffers no penalty.
So, priests were watchmen. But they were not the only watchman. The priestly watchmen were chosen by man or higher priests. They were watchmen over cities. However, there were watchmen who were chosen by God to watch over nations. These men were sometimes prophets. The Shofar and the prophetic are interwoven in the Bible. Ezekiel was a major prophet and God established him as a watchman over Israel. Prophets are watchmen. Have you ever noticed how Prophets warned kings, nations, and groups of people! Let’s look at Ezekiel 33:7.
“Now as for you, son of man, I have appointed you
a watchman for the house of Israel; so you will
hear a message from My mouth and give them
warning from Me.”
I know what some of you are thinking. Some of you are thinking, “Lonnie, if priests and watchmen sound the shofar, then why are YOU sounding the shofar?” I am so glad you asked.
First of all, I am a Priest. God expressed to my pastor that I was a “Harim” mentioned in Ezra 2. There are two men mentioned with the name “Harim”. One was a priest who returned from exile with 1017 sons, in Ezra 2:39. The other “Harim” was a man who returned from exile with 320 sons in verse 32. Honestly, I don’t remember if the “Harim” God spoke to my Pastor about was a Priest of not. It really doesn’t matter. What does matter, to me at least, is that the name “Harim” means “the devoted one”, “dedicated to God”, “consecrated to God”. Harim the priest? I don’t know. But the meaning of the name fits and sticks.
Another thing that comes to mind is that 1st Peter 2:9 makes me a priest whether Ezra 2:39 does or not.
“But you are a CHOSEN RACE, a royal PRIESTHOOD,
A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR GOD’S OWN POSSESSION,
so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who
has called you out of darkness, and
into His marvelous light.
You know, reading that just now, it would seem to me that you have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior that YOU are a priest too. How ‘bout that? YOU can sound the shofar too!
Now, I am The Old Watchman. Five times I have been identified by prophetic words from different sources. Chosen by God, I watch over an area that I am yet to receive borders for. I am quite certain that I watch over the East Tennessee Valley. I’ve seen that much of the picture and heard that much in my spirit. For those of you who wonder. The horns and I were both anointed and set apart by my Pastor in our Church on March 11, 2019. However, I am the watchman over our church body. However, The Senior Pastor over a body of believers is the one whom God has placed in position over the flock. The Senior Pastor will determine the parameters in which the Shofar will be used within the church and in church sanctioned functions outside the church. The Senior Pastor, or a Pastor within the church are the only individuals that will dictate the use of the shofar in my hands and then, that is within the church body.
So, let’s review for a few moments.
- God’s Breath is life giving and intimate.
- God’s Voice is Powerful and Creative.
- God’s Voice (at least one of His voices) sounds like a shofar.
- The Sound of the Shofar is that which is LIKE God’s voice.
- God’s breath is in my lungs, and yours too!
- When I’m practicing sounding the shofar, nothing happens. I’m just practicing and learning to make notes and sounds. However, when I obey scripture and/or Holy Spirit’s prompting and sound the shofar, I’m expecting miracles as that which is like God’s Voice issues forth.
- God sounds the shofar.
- Jesus sounds the shofar.
- Angels sound the shofar
- Priests sound the shofar.
- Watchmen sound the shofar.
- We, You and I, can sound the shofar.
OH, and one more thing. Let us not forget how the Shofar and the watchman are interwoven into the Prophets and the prophetic. The shofar, the watchman, and the prophetic are inseparable. Or rather, they should be inseparable. In the American Church, overall, they have been separated. Sad but true.