Numbers 10: The Silver Trumpets --- 2019/06/19

Rev. Brady Finnern, pastor of Messiah Lutheran Church in Sartell, Minnesota, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Numbers 10.

The cloud over the Tabernacle rises, the trumpets sound the alarm, and Judah set outs first with the eastern camps: Israel is on the move. Chapter 10 describes the first movement in the ancient Israelite saga since they arrived at Mt. Sinai nearly twelve months prior. As always, God’s timing shows grace for even the least in Israel.

Special detail is given to the pair of silver trumpets. They function to mark time, coordinate military activity, and communicate to the community at large. But they also function sacramentally: “You shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, that you may be remembered before the LORD your God, and you shall be saved.” Paul says that one day God will remember His promise for us too. God will make good on His baptismal promise, and with something like a trumpet blast, we will be raised to life, a glorious army marching into the sunrise of the resurrection. This promise is for the church, the true Israel. As the exchange between Moses and Hobab indicates, even in the Old Testament, God was grafting people of all nations into His people of promise.