Shalom!
 
In today's world, we all find ourselves in the midst of a war, whether it be a physical battlefield with weapons, or a spiritual battle against an unseen enemy. We read accounts of horrible human behavior contrasted with the most heroic deeds during times of combat. To win a conflict, there must be a strategy...a plan for success.
 
Ephesians 6:12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
 
Victory is only through YHWH, the mighty Man of War, as we follow His action plan:
 
Shemot/Exodus 15:3 YHWH is a man of war; YHWH is His name.
 
Isaiah 42:13 YHWH shall go forth like a mighty man; He shall stir up His zeal like a Man of war. He shall cry out, yes, shout aloud; He shall prevail against His enemies.
 
Revelation 19:11 Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. 12 His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. 13 He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of Elohim. 14 And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses.
 
A bit of this action plan is found this week in our Torah parashah, Beha'alotcha. In Bemidbar/Numbers 10, we begin reading about the "silver trumpets" (chatsotserot kasef):
 
Bemidbar/Numbers 10:1 And YHWH spoke to Moshe, saying: 2 "Make two silver trumpets (chatsotserot) for yourself; you shall make them of hammered work; you shall use them for calling the congregation and for directing the movement of the camps. 3 "When they blow (verb - teka) both of them, all the congregation shall gather before you at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. 4 "But if they blow (teka) only one, then the leaders, the heads of the divisions of Israel, shall gather to you. 5 "And when you blow (teka) an alarm (teruah), the camps that lie on the east side shall take their journey. 6 And when you blow (teka) an alarm (teruah) the second time, the camps that lie on the south side shall set forward; they shall blow an alarm (teruah) for their journeys. 7 "And when the assembly is to be gathered together, you shall blow (teka) , but do not sound an alarm (teruah) . 8 "The sons of Aharon, the priests, shall blow the trumpets (chatsotserot); and these shall be to you as an ordinance forever throughout your generations. 9 "When you go to war in your land against the enemy who oppresses you, then you shall sound an alarm (teruah) with the trumpets (chatsotserot) , and you will be remembered before YHWH your Elohim, and you will be saved from your enemies. 10 "Also in the day of your gladness, in your appointed feasts, and at the beginning of your months, you shall blow (teka) the trumpets (chatsotserot) over your burnt offerings and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; and they shall be a memorial for you before your Elohim: I am YHWH your Elohim."
 
The "silver trumpets" (chatsotserot) were made of "beaten silver" (hammered just like the menorah). Josephus gave a description - "In length a little short of a cubit, it is a narrow tube, slightly thicker than a flute." The "silver trumpets" of Herod's temple are pictured on the Arch of Titus, depicting the siege of Jerusalem in 70 A.D.
 
 
We are so much more familiar with the "shofar," its uses and its symbolism. But what about these "silver trumpets?" Both types are instruments which cannot make a sound without a "breath" blowing through them. Breath, spirit, and wind, all are translated from the same Hebrew word, "ruach." It is the "breath" of Elohim that gives us life. Breathing is absolutely essential to life and is also necessary for bringing forth the sounds of the trumpets. We must first inhale before we can exhale. Think about it. We must be breathing the Breath of the Almighty, before we can be an instrument which He can blow through.
 
According to Bemidbar/Numbers 10:8, it was the priests who were to use the silver trumpets for calling people together and for alerting them when it was time to break up camp and move on. The trumpets were also to be blown as an alarm of danger and when going to war, in praise, and as part of the feasts and ceremonies of the Tabernacle/Temple.
 
By comparison, the shofar was a common every day instrument and was used not only by the priests, but by any man, from shepherds to watchmen. The shofar was made from a ram's horn, a beast of the earth. The silver trumpets, on the other hand, had to be specially made according to the specific design and instructions from Elohim - that is, from one piece of hammered silver. They were to be used only on specific occasions and only by the priests, under the control and instruction of the "Breath/Spirit." There were two of them made from the same material, indicating unity and partnership.
 
Why silver? Some properties of silver - it is light sensitive. It is the best reflector known to man which is why it is used in mirrors. Silver is the best conductor of heat and electricity out of all other metals and will not corrode. Silver is costly and must be refined and purified by fire in order to get rid of all impurities before it can be used and formed into an instrument. Silver ore is first crushed and ground before going through the refining fire. Silver must be kept clean and polished so as not to get tarnished. Does that not sound like us? YHWH cleanses, refines, and polishes us, restoring and keeping us in optimal condition - ready for His Breath to blow through us. The trumpets were merely a means or an instrument for conveying the sound caused by the Breath. The instruments, while necessary, are nothing without the Trumpeter! Without the Breath/Spirit, trumpets are silent and can make no noise.
 
We are reminded of a verse speaking of "vessels of silver":
 
2 Timothy 2:20 But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor.
 
From "silver" comes righteous and true words:
 
Proverbs 10:20 The tongue of the righteous is choice silver; The heart of the wicked is worth little.
 
YHWH's "Voice" is likened to a trumpet, and the words spoken from His mouth are like "pure silver":
 
Shemot/Exodus 19:19 And when the blast of the trumpet sounded long and became louder and louder, Moshe spoke, and Elohim answered him by Voice.
 
Revelation 1:10 I was in the Spirit on Adonai's Day, and I heard behind me a loud Voice, as of a trumpet
 
Revelation 4:1 After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, "Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this." 2 Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne set in heaven, and One sat on the throne.
 
 
Psalm 12:6 The words of YHWH are pure words, Like silver tried in a furnace of earth, Purified seven times.
 
Perhaps the "silver trumpets" are symbolic of the vessel for Yah's Word and His Message to go forth in clarity and purity. Is it not interesting that when playing a trumpet, one must use his breath, tongue, and lips? All of these are also necessary for speaking! The sound which comes forth must be distinct and clear:
 
1 Corinthians 14:8 For if the trumpet makes an uncertain sound, who will prepare himself for battle?
 
If one tries to trumpet forth a message without first being hammered and refined by the Almighty, he will just be like useless "wind":
 
Jeremiah 5:13 And the prophets become wind, For the word is not in them. Thus shall it be done to them."
 
The trumpet blast is what is necessary to break through spiritual death/sleep/lifelessness and raise us up to life in Messiah!
 
1 Corinthians 15:51 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed -- 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
 
There is a lot of overlap between the functions of the "silver trumpets" (chatsotserot) and the functions of "shofarot." We notice that the "shofar" (ram's horn) was also used to muster the army...bringing about a regathering in the last days:
 
Judges 3:27 And it happened, when he arrived, that he blew (teka) the trumpet (shofar) in the mountains of Ephraim, and the children of Israel went down with him from the mountains; and he led them.
 
Judges 6:34 But the Spirit of YHWH came upon Gideon; then he blew (teka) the trumpet (shofar), and the Abiezrites gathered behind him.
 
Isaiah 27:13 So it shall be in that day: The great trumpet (shofar) will be blown (teka); They will come, who are about to perish in the land of Assyria, And they who are outcasts in the land of Egypt, And shall worship YHWH in the holy mount at Jerusalem.
 
Matthew 24:31 "And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
 
Like the "silver trumpets," the "shofar" heralds in the "New Moon":
 
Psalm 81:3 Blow (teki'a) the shofar at the time of the New Moon, At the full moon, on our solemn feast day.
 
There are also multiple verses referring to His people as making the same sounds as the trumpets:
 
Psalm 98:6 With trumpets (chatsotserot) and the sound of a shofar; shout (verb - ruah) joyfully before YHWH, the King.
 
Psalm 150:5 Praise Him with cymbals of sounding, Praise Him with cymbals of shouting (teruah) .
 
Zechariah 9:9 " Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout (ruah), O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.
 
Zephaniah 1:15 That day will be a day of wrath, a day of distress and anguish, a day of trouble and ruin, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness, 16 a day of trumpet (shofar) and shouting (teruah) against the fortified cities and against the corner towers.
Yehoshua/Joshua 6:16 And the seventh time it happened, when the priests blew (teka) the shofarot (rams horns), that Yehoshua said to the people: "Shout (ruah), for YHWH has given you the city!
 
Yehoshua/Joshua 6:20 So the people shouted (ruah) when the priests blew (teka) the trumpets (shofarot). And it happened when the people heard the sound of the shofar, and the people shouted (teruah) with a great shout (teruah), that the wall fell down flat. Then the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city.
 
Psalm 47:1 To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. Oh, clap (teka) your hands, all you peoples! Shout (ruah) to Elohim with the voice of triumph!
 
Joel 2:1 Blow (teka) the shofar in Zion, And shout (ruah) in My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; For the day of YHWH is coming, For it is at hand:
 
Regardless of the "vessel" from which the sounds come forth:
 
Isaiah 42:13 YHWH shall go forth like a mighty man; He shall stir up His zeal like a Man of war. He shall cry out (ruah), yes, shout aloud; He shall prevail against His enemies
 
Psalm 89:15 Blessed are the people who know the shout (teruah)! They walk, O YHWH, in the light of Your countenance.
 
And that...that's our victorious battle plan!
 
Shabbat Shalom!

Ardelle