SCRIPTURE: Numbers 10
OBSERVATION/APPLICATION:
At the sound of the trumpet, God’s people are mobilized! Jesus talks about something similar, about the end times: At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other. [Matthew 24:30-31] At the sound of the trumpet, God’s people will be mobilized. Sad to say, on that day, not everyone will follow!
People will ultimately get what they want. Those who desire God, who humble themselves before God and hunger and thirst for right living, will hear that trumpet with joy, and will gather at the feet of Jesus. But those who do not want God or His mercy and help, will mourn at the sound of that trumpet. Instead of gathering, they will scatter. They will run, but they will not escape. They will receive what they always wanted – eternity without God, without good.
In one sense, the trumpet of the Lord is always blaring. Through history, through circumstances, through the conscience within, the Lord is trying to get our attention, to shake us and wake us to our need for Him. Come to Me, and I will give you rest! Reject Me, and you will forfeit rest.
One day the trumpet will sound its final call. Will I rejoice or mourn when I hear it? It all depends on what I am striving for here and now. Do I want to follow Him now? If not, what makes me think I will want to follow Him then? To follow Jesus is more than just believing in Him and waiting for heaven. It means believing what He stands for, and joining Him in living that way.
One day, when that trumpet sounds, everyone who set their heart on God, on good, on His kingdom, will rejoice when they see Jesus. They will be gathered together, and they will enter the new creation… rejoicing that what they hungered for all their lives, they now finally receive.
PRAYER:
Lord, I want to be there in that number when the saints go marching in. I want to respond with joy at the sound of the trumpet! Help me to follow You now, and into eternity!
Trumpets and marching go together. The trumpets here called the attention of the Israelites. It directed their journey before the Lord. It would also be encouagement since they knew it was of God. God was with them. They were to blow the trumpets whenever they went into battle and at their celebrations. They were armed with His presence at all times. So too, on my daily walk I must be armed with His gospel and encouraged by His Spirit. It directs me on my journey each and every day.
As the people had to chose to listen to the sound of the trumpet to move and follow its command, I too must chose to follow its command today in all I do and say. I must heed the trumpet call this day and every day until the last trumpet call.
Jesus calls us over the tumult
Of our life’s wild, restless, sea;
Day by day His sweet voice soundeth,
Saying, “Christian, follow Me!”