So, I was reading from Numbers 10 about the use of silver trumpets within the nation of Israel. It was interesting, but I was sort of thinking about it as being on par (in terms of importance) with prohibitions against boiling an animal in its mother’s milk or something like that. I’m such a Gentile.
Then, I got to Psalm 47. Verse 5 says:
God has gone up with a shout,
the LORD with the sound of a trumpet.
The fascinating thing here (or, at least, it struck me as fascinating) is that this verse seems to be the exact opposite of 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, especially verse 16:
For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command [often translated “shout”], with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God
This only gets cooler, though, when we look at the purpose of a trumpet in Numbers 10:9-10:
9And when you go to war in your land against the adversary who oppresses you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, that you may be remembered before the LORD your God, and you shall be saved from your enemies. 10On the day of your gladness also, and at your appointed feasts and at the beginnings of your months, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings. They shall be a reminder of you before your God: I am the LORD your God.
Not only will the return of the Lord be signaled with a trumpet that calls us to war, but that will also usher in feasts with the LORD, our God! So cool.
