Lesson 338: "Annunciation"
LISTEN FOR THE TRUMPET TO ANNOUNCE THE BIRTHDAY OF JESUS CHRIST AND HAVE A MERRY CHRISTMAS.
An annunciation is the act of announcing or to make a proclamation. Prophets, priests, kings and angels used the sound of trumpets to make proclamations. The blast of trumpets was a “wake-up” call, a signal to prepare, to move or to act.
When God told Moses that He would meet the people on Mount Sinai, He gave very strict instructions as to how and when the people could go up the mountain. Whoever touched the mountain before God said would be stoned, or shot with arrows and not be permitted to live. Only when the ram’s horn sounded a long blast were they permitted to go up to the mountain. On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast and as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder Moses spoke and God answered. What He spoke was the Ten Commandments (Ex. 19:1-25, 20:1-21). The Year of Jubilee started out with a trumpet sounding throughout the land (Lev. 25:8-12). Trumpets were hammered out of silver and sounded to call everyone to the Tent of Meeting. Two blasts for the entire community and only one for the leaders (Num. 10:1-4). And we all remember that Jericho was tightly shut up against the Israelites until the seventh day of marching, the sound of long blasts on the trumpets and the walls came tumbling down (Jos. 6:1-5).
Gideon was the man who asked for three fleeces (signs) from God that he and his army could actually defeat the Midianites. God granted these three requests but in turn, and to prove to Gideon that all he needed was the power of God, God diminished Gideon’s army to 300 men. Now it gets even better! The 300 men had only trumpets and empty jars with torches inside to fight against the Midianite force of 135,000 armed men. During the changing of the camp guards, the Israelites blew their trumpets, broke the jars exposing the glowing torches and shouted loudly. The confusion in the Midianite camp was unbelievable as they imagined a much larger force attacking them and perhaps mistook their own retiring guards for Israelites. They turned on each other with swords while the Israelites apparently watched on safe ground, and then the Midianite fled in fear.
The trumpet sounded to stop the battle between the house of David and Saul (2 Sam. 2:8-28), the trumpet blew to announce that David had turned his kingdom over to his son Solomon (1 Kings 1:32-35), Nehemiah armed his “carpenters” so they were prepared to fight off the opposition of the rebuilding of the wall when they heard the trumpet sound (Neh. 4:1-23). At the blast of the trumpet the war-horse catches the scent of battle from afar and cannot stand still (Job 39:24-25), the psalmist tells us to praise the Lord with the sounding of the trumpet, with harp and lyre, tambourine , strings and flute, with the clash of cymbals and with dancing (Ps. 150:1-6).
These annunciations are recorded throughout the bible with the sound of trumpets and were heard throughout the land by everyone. There will be one last trumpet sound that we (they) on earth will hear. “In a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet, the dead will be raised imperishable and we will be changed” (1 Cor. 15:52). “For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God and the dead in Christ will rise first” (1 Thess. 4:16-17). The Church will not be on earth when the last of the last trumpets sound. These are the seven angels with the seven trumpets that will send down the horrendous catastrophes onto earth in the Tribulation. Before the last three trumpets sound there will be an eagle calling in a loud voice. Woe! Woe! Woe! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth! Still, John reports, people did not repent! Listen for your trumpet (calling) now because that seventh trumpet sound from heaven will bring the devil down to earth and woe be to the ones who have ignored God (Rev. 11:15, 12:12).
Worship God (Rev. 22:9)!