©️2021 by Gloria M. Chang
You shall count seven weeks of years—seven times seven years—such that the seven weeks of years amount to forty-nine years. Then, on the tenth day of the seventh month let the ram’s horn resound; on this, the Day of Atonement, the ram’s horn blast shall resound throughout your land. You shall treat this fiftieth year as sacred. You shall proclaim liberty in the land for all its inhabitants.
Leviticus 25:8-10a
The year of Jubilee (yobel) which means “ram” or “ram’s horn” commenced on the Day of Atonement with the blast of the shofar (trumpet). Made from the hollowed out horn of a ram, the majestic sound of the shofar inspired reverence, awe, and fear of the Lord. The God who provided Abraham with a ram to sacrifice in place of his son Isaac on Mount Moriah is Yahweh-yireh (“the Lord will provide”).
Abraham looked up and saw a single ram caught by its horns in the thicket. So Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering in place of his son. Abraham named that place Yahweh-yireh; hence people today say, “On the mountain the Lord will provide.”
Genesis 22:13-14
On another mountain, the Lord provided the law of the covenant to guide the descendants of Abraham—“numerous as the stars in the sky”—in divine wisdom, forming a nation for himself. The ram’s horn blasted amidst peals of thunder and lightning in the wilderness at Sinai on the third day of the third month after Israel’s departure from Egypt. Moses was summoned to the top of Mount Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments (Exodus 19-20).
The ram’s horn will blast to usher in the Messianic age, according to Rabbinic tradition interpreting the prophet Isaiah (see Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 31):
On that day,
Isaiah 27:13
A great trumpet shall blow,
and the lost in the land of Assyria
and the outcasts in the land of Egypt
Shall come and worship the Lord
on the holy mountain, in Jerusalem.
The ram of Abraham and Isaac is a type of Christ who proclaimed like a trumpet, by the breath of the Spirit:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
Luke 4:18-19 (cf. Isaiah 61:1-3)
because he has anointed me
to bring glad tidings to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.”
The fiftieth year is a year of Jubilee.
Let the ram’s horn resound and proclaim liberty!
A great trumpet will blow in the land.
Calling all to praise God.
The trumpet sounded glorious
as our choir sang O Holy Night.
Voices in harmony mixed
with trumpet interludes.
Twas the call of Christmas
to greet the eternal Light.
At nearby cemetery,
I heard the loud trumpet blast.
A soldier is laid to rest
after service to God and country.
Amazing Grace with taps
sends the soldier to peace at last.
Thank you for your joyous and heart-filled poem of praise and thanksgiving to God for all his gifts. We have a lot to be thankful for. Great November and December images too (All Souls and Christmas).
Dear GMC, Abraham becomes familiar with God, capable of arguing with Him, but always faithful. Our Lord wants a relationship with us where we come as ourselves and give our hearts over to him. And he does the same for us. Thank you for your reflection, GMC, that keeps me learning and yearning for God.